Like Family Don't Matter...

  

  Young Thug has to be praised for his long standing career. In today's modern era of music, 6-7 years is approximately 20 years in entertainment. You can scrunch together your facial muscles if you like, but with the output of music being at a premium constant (#create content or die), Mr. Jeffrey Williams is a seasoned vet. Once continuously mistaken for well known artist such as Future and Lil Wayne, Young Thug has stayed relevant by shape shifting his musical content as well as his fashion sense. Yet I'm curious as to how a talented artist stays afloat this long while navigating through years of negative tabloids.

   I'm not afraid to call out how I see the music culture I indulge in. Hip-hop is the most recognized music genre to date but it's traditionalist stance on homosexuality has secretly survived the murky waters of subconscious bias. Young Thug represents the breaking of that mold. No, he has not come out and claimed to be bisexual or gay. In fact it would matter none. Music fanatics however are incline to become personally invested in an artists' life and Young Thug is no different. Social media has slandered him for wearing makeup, blouses and even a dress on his well marketed album "Easy Breezy Beautiful Thugger Girls". He has been quoted calling other male artist pet names that mystified audiences across the world for the misunderstanding of his slang usage. Or maybe there is no misunderstanding at all. Young Thug was representing what he has always represented. Being different.

   There has been a rare amount of male artist who would publicly admit being interested in feminine attire of all forms when they were younger. Unless you've truly accepted yourself as unique parts of a whole, even many from the LGBTQ community struggle with that issue on a daily. He has also represented a new crop of music that young listeners have progressively and aggressively exploited; melodic use of auto-tune, intertwined with formulated shock value lyrics that usually describe four of life's vices. It is believed though, that Young Thug takes it all in stride. Its nearly evident. He creates a new trend, then abandons it, leaving the rest of the suckling bottom feeders and admirers alike copying his past fad.

    It is not unexpected then for Young Thug to come up with a hybrid concept of a country album. This is something his core audience can learn to get behind while again reshaping his image and hip-hops' general formality. The song "Family Don't Matter" has all the remnants of his classic formulated lyrics that stays true to his core fan ideologies. By adding UK female artist Millie Go Lightly (another progressive trend into the U.S market), the melodic undertones of the hit song merges raps' roots into a country aura hardly touched by recognized hip-hop greats. The song seems to have a underlining meaning of isolating himself away from all things familiar while relentlessly pursuing a love interest.

    How funny irony is. If you take a listen to "Family Don't Matter", a song that may not fit into your musical wheel house; you'll find at the basic level an artist that has masterfully capitalized on a growing markets' aesthetic need for acts that purposefully blend familiar yet divergent entertainment. From the nose ring and eyebrow tattoos that somehow telepathically speak to a younger demographic, you may not be able to appreciate the sly genius in curating millions of fans and fortune by not sticking to the "hip-hop script". Then again, I wonder if it even matters.

Bali Baby; The Bridge Toward The Otherworldly.

                           


   There are many ways to bring up this young lady in the left corner of this page that would add shock value to all the individuals around the world who aren't in the know of her growing potential. I've said a mouthful, I know. I'm also willing to start out by being vague. For delicate minds I believe I must. The picture alone brings into play a multifaceted women who represents a change in the way music lovers appreciate music. Her core audience by in large would embrace her as a modern day rock star, a renaissance artist if you will. I would not dare classify her as a hiphop rapper; not only does that pigeon hole her melodic output, hiphop itself is at the dawn of sub dividing its contents to provide depth toward various types of stylistic influences currently produced. I will try carefully to explain her dedication to her craft. Her being Bali Baby.
    For intellectual minds, you may have experienced a slight brain cramp over the presentation of her stage name. Bali Baby is relatively new to the music scene, perhaps making music all of her life but gaining strong exposure during 2016. Her diverse resume includes rhythmic and witty lyrical punchlines, harmonic yet sassy cadence as well as graphically jolting illustrations in her music videos and or IG pictures that are made to rattle, but attract our jaded senses. There is no doubt that she is visually intense. The creativity engulfed in her visual pov is uncanny AND disturbing; you know, the ingredients of a creative genius. Bali Baby is a anomaly. Her rise to fame distorts the male dominated genre of hardcore music accepted and exalted by the masses. Bali's ego boosted sound patterns the bravado of a Madonna, the rawness of a Pink or Miley Cyrus, yet beautifully presented in today's trance-like harmonies. If your looking to feel a sense of beautified cohesiveness between you an artist and the world, listen to a John Lennon record. If your in a progressive mood to begin to connect and understand modern day energy, Bali is a front runner.

   American multimedia personality "Star" (birth name Troi Torain) gave Bali her 2018 mass media introduction by mentioning her on a widely talked about Youtube show called Everyday Struggle. Mentioned from the platform of the media conglomerate Complex, Bali was classified as one the bigger new generation artist that would have significant influence on music in the months and years to come. Bali makes it her business to prove women in music do not have to follow a traditional, sexist route to display edgy and imaginative lyrics. Within the same breath, she provokes the ideas of sexuality through sometimes pleasant and other times asylum-like phantasm.

   Almost naturally, Bali is consistently on social media, catering to her fans and opening a entire new world for casual onlookers. You can blame it on a generational skill to advertise ones self without structural training from say, college. I am more of the belief that Bali understands music is a competitive business/sport and the more your presence is felt toward the world around you, the higher your percentage to continue playing its capitalistic game... Combine her lyrical content with her willingness to "push the envelope", Bali's message seems pretty clear; Whatever you can do, I can do better.


*Note: if you still feel a vague sense of what Bali Baby represents, I purposefully trail blazed that agenda for this article. My suggestion; check out her music videos or visual antics, if you dare...