Latest news with #Toronto-bred
Associated Press
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Music Review: Jessie Reyez returns in triumph with ‘Paid in Memories'
Most artists would make the first song on their new album something welcoming, trendy or pleasing, at least to make the Spotify algorithm happy. Not Jessie Reyez. She crafted a song with clear red flags — 'I Never Said I Was Sane' — a totally bananas opening cut that includes screaming, taunting, religious texts, whispering, heavy distortion, a little flute and a babyish pout. 'Lost some screws along the way to L.A.,' she sings. That's why Reyez is always a glorious sonic handful and why the album 'Paid in Memories' is another of her messy triumphs. Think of her as the anti-Tate McRae. The Toronto-bred musician is a magpie of an artist, taking a little from hip-hop here, dipping into some alt-rock on another, using a cool soul lick or a Latin beat. If you know where the next song is taking you, you're lying. She can go from purring along to a plunky guitar to feet-planted battle rapping, even in the same song. Reyez, who in the past leaned on co-writers, this time often supplies the music and lyrics alone, a sign of her continuing maturity and control. Few artists could accommodate such varied big-name guests as Lil Wayne, Miguel, 6lack, Lil Yachty, Deyaz, Big Sean and Ari Lennox. Each time, she makes it work on her terms. One song — 'Couldn't Be Me' — features Sam Smith, and you might expect to hear their voices swirling together in a melodic, naughty club banger. Instead, Reyez sings a melancholy ballad of lost love, with the last minute taken up by a touching voicemail by Smith sending her encouragement after the breakup. There's often a bite to Reyez's songs so it's refreshing to hear unalloyed sincerity on 'Goliath,' a pure love song: 'You love me like a Sunday morning/But you kiss me like a Friday night.' There's also the fun dance-pop 'New York Baby,' which has the vibe of a hysterically low-rent 'American Boy' by Estelle (she lands in Newark and is picked up by her lover in a truck). 'Jeans' with Miguel is destined to be one of the sexiest songs of 2025 ('Cause you fit/Better than a pair of jeans, baby') and 'Psilocybin & Daisies,' lifts from '1979' performed by The Smashing Pumpkins, terrifically. Who samples from the Pumpkins? She and 6lack extend their long, fruitful collaborations — this time she accommodatingly stylizes the song '6lessings' for him as their styles swirl perfectly — and she gets slinky with the murky dance track 'Palo Santo.' Reyez gets very personal at times — her estrangements with her brother is the topic of a song — and on 'Been Abouta Year' takes stock of her life: 'Where's the famous silver lining I was promised?/To be honest/Life is falling kinda short.' You and us all, sister. Just glad you're here. ___
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Suns' Kevin Durant, friend of Drake, says Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl show 'meant nothing'
Kevin Durant felt indifferent about Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl 59 halftime show performance on Sunday. "It meant nothing to me," the Phoenix Suns All-Star said to reporters during the team's practice Monday. Durant's nonchalant reply ignited a social media frenzy because he was specifically asked his take on Kendrick Lamar's climactic rendition of "Not Like Us," the incendiary Drake diss record and Billboard chart-topping single. Many people who saw the short video of his response posted by The Arizona Republic on X speculated that Durant is being loyal to his longtime friend and Toronto-bred rap megastar Drake. 'No thoughts. I really didn't pay attention to it, to be honest," Durant said. From the kickoff, the Philadelphia Eagles dominated the two-time titleholder Chiefs 34-0 through 2:40 left in the third quarter, winning 40-22. So Durant not giving full attention to the halftime show might have been justified based on that alone. Maybe he turned his TV off before the Vince Lombardi trophy ceremony. "The game got out of hand," Durant said. "The Super Bowl halftime show was just … I ain't pay attention to it. I kind of skimmed through the whole thing, to be honest.' Drake and Kendrick Lamar have been subliminally feuding on and off over the past decade. Their musical cold war culminated in what became one of the most consequential rap battles ever when they traded diss records in 2024. On Feb. 2, "Not Like Us" won five Grammy awards, including Song Of The Year, one week prior to the Super Bowl. Many fans and music industry professionals cite Kendrick Lamar as the presumptive battle victor. Durant, who's a hip-hop savant and occasional rapper, had a stoic facial expression with his brief response that didn't disparage the hip-hop titan's biggest career moment. Perhaps he's part of the contingent of viewers who truly weren't impressed by any of it. Maybe Durant was preoccupied doing something else. The theatrical 13-minute set was filled with a large fleet of flamboyant dancers' choreography. The New Orleans' Caesars Superdome crowd contributed a huge light formation of the words "Game Over" after Kendrick ended with his new fan-favorite song "TV Off" from his latest album titled "GNX." But Durant has had numerous instances pledging his allegiance to Drake, which can't be ignored. Some recent examples include when Durant walked with Drake onstage during the rapper's It's All A Blur concert tour show in Austin, Texas in September 2023. Also, Durant was credited as the A&R for Drake's "For All My Dogs" album which was released one month later, and said Drake's crew "OVO is like family to me." Drake has name-dropped Durant in some of his songs' lyrics. They've also been in public hanging out countless times since he played for the Golden State Warriors. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kevin Durant shuns Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime show
