Different Subjects.

   

2017 was a year where R&B music was in transition. New school sounds and imagery were abundant. You have Starboy being popular done by The Weeknd featuring Draft Punk. Rae Sremmurd made Black Beatles featuring Gucci Mane. Bruno Mars had That's What I Like. I'm the One was released by DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, and Lil Wayne.  One song that was very popular was Wild Thoughts done by DJ Khaled featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller. Khalid made music too. This was the year when Khalid increased his popular in the R&B world. Jacob Banks made a song called Unknown (To You). He also made a powerful song called Chainsmoking which is about life and people's diverse experiences. Cyphi The Prynce made the song of No Dope on Sundays ft. Pusha T. This year saw a continuation of R&B/hip hop hybrid songs like Dawin'sBreek done by Ty Dolla $ign ft. Jeremih. Knox Fortune made the song of Lil Thing. Toro y Moi released the song of Girl Like You. Sampha made the song of No One Knows Me like the Piano. His song was a tribute to her mother, who lost her life to cancer. It is a very emotional record. Provider is a song made by Frank Ocean.  Godlink released the song called Crew featuring Shy Glizzy and Brent Faiyaz. The Weekend is a song made by SZA. Blessed is music from Daniel Caesar. The Canadian group of Majid Jordan made the record of Gave Your Love Away. The albums of 2017 involving R&B were diverse like SZA's Ctrl, Khalid's American Teen, Kehlani's SweetSexySavage, Daniel Caesar's Fruedian, Sampha's Process, Miguel's War and Leisure, Thundercat's Drunk, Kelela's Take Me Apart, Syd Tha Kid's Fin, Mary J. Blige's Strength of a Woman, Jhene Aiko's Trip, Bryson Tiller's True to Self, Majid Jordan's The Space Between, Sharon Jones' Soul of a Woman, Curtis Harding's Face Your Fear, and K. Michelle's Kimberly: The People I Used to Know.

 

 

By 2018, there were songs like Rockstar and Finesse. Drake had the R&B and hip hop fusion song of God's Plan. Ella Mai had the son of Trip including Boo. The artist of Childish Gambino had the song called This is America.  This is America is about the epidemic of anti-black violence, murder, and injustice in general. The irony of Childish Gambino is that he acts like he's pro-black, but he is known to made anti-black jokes in his comedy routines years ago without apologizing for it. Ella Mai Howell stood out in 2018 too involving R&B culture. She is a Afro-British singer and songwriter.  Her singing career began at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute in London in 2014, during which time she auditioned as part of a trio on the 11th season of The X Factor. In 2015, she uploaded a four-track solo EP of originals to SoundCloud titled Troubled, and was discovered on social media by American record producer Mustard and signed with his record label, 10 Summers Records. From 2016 to 2018, she released three EPs on the label, including Time, Change, and Ready. Her self-titled debut studio album was released in October 2018. She was born on November 3, 1994 at London, England. Her mother is Jamaican and her father is Irish. In 2019, "Boo'd Up" was nominated for two Grammy Awards: Song of the Year and Best R&B Song, winning for the latter, as well as Mai herself being nominated for British Breakthrough Act at the 2019 Brit Awards.  At the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, she won three awards, including the award for Top R&B Artist. She is a fan of Arsenal F.C. By 2020, she released Not Another Love Song. She is inspired by Lauryn Hill, Chris Brown, Brandy, Destiny's Child, Alicia Keyes, and Mariah Carey. Ella Mai is also inspired by 90's R&B music too. 2018 had tons of complex, history making R&B albums. One such album in 2018 was Janelle Monae's Dirty Computer. It showed music videos showing her songs as well. It featured subjects that deals with love, romance, computers, sexuality, feminism, and empowering women. Dirty Computer uses pop, funk, hip hop, &B, and neo-soul. It has space rock, trap, futurepop, new wave, electropop, and other genres. Her four singles out of many include Make Me Feel, Django Jane, Pynk, and I Like That. The album had a 46 minute narrative film project of the same name. Many people have praised the album. Prince inspired her to make more music. Janelle Monae said that Dirty Computer is a homage to women and the spectrum of sexual identities. No one can deny Janelle Monae's talent. In 2018, Teyana Tyalor released the album of K.T.S.E., The Weeknd had the album of My Dear Melancholy, Mariah Carey released Caution, The Carters released Everything is Love, 6LACK released East Atlanta Love Letter, Dev Hynes released Negro Swan, Islation was released by Kali Uchis, Jorja Smith released Lost and Found, and The Internet released Hive Mind. Toni Braxton made the huge comeback album of Sex and Cigarettes too in 2018. Toni Braxton's album was about love and disappointments at fraudulent partners. The song Sorry shows some of her best vocals and lyrics on the album. Ariana Grande released Sweetener. 

 

 

By early 2019, songs like Trip by Ella Mai, Sicko Mode by Travis Scott, and Please Me were high on the charts. Khalid made Better and Talk that expanded his power in music. Khalid Donnel Robinson was born on February 11, 1998. He is part of the new generation of R&B singers with something to say. He was born at Fort Stewart, Georgia.  Khalid released the number one pop songs, “Love Lies” with Normani and “Eastside” with Benny Blanco and Halsey, both of which tied the record for longest charting songs on the Mainstream Top 40 chart and reached the top-10 on the Billboard Hot 100. In September 2018, Khalid released the number one rhythmic song, “Better”, as the lead single from his top-10 EP, Suncity. In April 2019, he released his second studio album, Free Spirit, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart. The lead single “Talk”, peaked at number 3 in the US, and earned him a Grammy Award for Record of the Year nomination. Khalid has received multiple accolades including six Grammy Award nominations, six Billboard Music Awards, three American Music Awards and a MTV Video Music Award. In 2019, Khalid was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People. Khalid cites his mother as his leading musical inspiration and has cited Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Rocky, Father John Misty, Frank Ocean, Grizzly Bear, Chance the Rapper, Lorde, India.Arie, and James Blake as other influences.  In 2019, some of R&B greatest music came from Bryson Tiller, Ari Lennox, and Jacquees. In 2019, Summer Walker made the song of Fun Girl, Marco McKinnis made the song of Give It Up, Ann Marie's My Body, Hope Tala's Lovestained, Rotimi's Love Riddin', Girl Utra's Discrecion, Ride by YK Osiris and Kehlani, Ari Lennox's BMO, DJ Snake's Smile ft. Bryson Tiller, and other music. In 2019, Solange released the album of When I Get Home. It is her 4th studio album. Knowles produced the album alongside a variety of collaborators, including John Key, John Carrol Kirby, Standing on the Corner, Chassol, Jamire Williams and Pharrell Williams. The album also features contributions from several high-profile musicians, including Sampha, Playboi Carti, Gucci Mane, Panda Bear, Tyler, the Creator, Metro Boomin, The-Dream, Abra, Dev Hynes, Steve Lacy, Earl Sweatshirt and Scarface. The work has jazz, hip hop, and R&B elements. It celebrates the Houston hip hop culture in the Third Ward. It celebrates African American women from Houston too. She made a viusal film in relating to the album too. Songs like Things I Imagined, Down with the Clique, Way to the Show, Stay Flo, Dreams, My Skin is my Logo, I'm a Witness, etc. represent how she feels about her life. Summer Walker released the album of Over It, Jamila Woods released Legacy! Legacy!, Anderson Paak shown the album of Ventura, and Sir released Chasing Summer. Ari Lennox released Shea Butter Baby on May 7, 2019. This album was produced by Elite. The album has R&B, soul, neo soul, and jazz. The title track being the second single "Shea Butter Baby" with J. Cole, was released on February 26, 2019, which first appeared on the Creed II soundtrack on November 16, 2018. The song was accompanied by a music video on February 20, 2019 and surpassed three million views via YouTube within the first week. On April 30, Ari Lennox announced the release date and tracklist of the album, and released the single "Up Late", and the music video for the song was released on May 14. This album is about Ari Lennox showing herself to the world in merging neo-soul with R&B music. Her passions, her love, and her intentions are all displayed in Shea Butter Baby. Lizzo released Cuz I Love You in 2019, Kehlani had While We Wait, Toro Y Moi had Outer Peace, Tinashe had Songs for You, and Raphael Saadiq had Jimmy Lee. Snoh Aalegra had Ugh, Those Feels Again. Beyonce released The Lion King: The Gift in 2019 that celebrates African culture and heritage. The album was also produced by Beyoncé and features African artists such as Wizkid, Shatta Wale, Burna Boy, Mr Eazi, Tiwa Savage, Tekno, Yemi Alade, Busiswa and Salatiel, as well as appearances from Jay-Z, Blue Ivy Carter, Childish Gambino, Pharrell Williams, Kendrick Lamar, Tierra Whack, 070 Shake, and Jessie Reyez, among others. At the 2019 Soul Train Music Awards, "Spirit" was nominated for Best Video of the Year and Best Dance Performance, while "Brown Skin Girl" was nominated for Best Collaboration and The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award, winning the latter. The album was praised by African musicians too, and it caused a new era of Beyonce's legendary career. Mahalia released Love and Compromise. Jacquees released the album of The King of R&B, Lucky Daye released Painted, and H.E.R. released I Use to Know Her. 2019 R&B music saw tons of new artists and a new chapter being written constantly. 

 

  

 

Caribbean culture is all about diversity. The art, music, literature, culinary, politics, and social elements of the Caribbean is global also not just confined to a region. So many of the legends that we celebrate today in our generation and during the past are from the Caribbean. Caribbean culture had spread into America, Canada, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and all over the world in other locations too. Caribbean culture has been developed by history, geography, and human development. Multicultural heritages of Africa, Native Americans, Europeans (Spanish came first, then the French, and then the English), Latino people, Indian people, Chinese people, and other groups of people make the Caribbean culture as expansive as it is. Back in 1492, Spain conquered much of the Caribbean, then British conquests reached into a higher level by 1759, and then French and Dutch people came into the region. Although officially a quarter of the Caribbean population is English-speaking, the largest linguistic group comprises Spanish speakers (due to the inclusion of mainland Caribbean states), some 22% speak French while only 1% speak Dutch. Though the Caribbean today features 59 living languages  these are not spoken in the "insular Caribbean", but on what is referred to as the "continental Caribbean." Many Caribbean people speak French too. There is a strong Chinese element of culture in Trinidad and other places. A strong Indian element of culture is found in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, and other lands of the Caribbean. We know of the black African cultural influences in the Caribbean spanning long centuries. From leaders like Touissant to modern day heroes, black people in the Caribbean have made huge contributions in the world atmosphere. Symbols of the Caribbean are the parrot, palm, and the shell.  Women artists of the Caribbean: El vendedor de andullo (Tobacco Vendor), 1938, by modernist Celeste Woss y Gil of the Dominican Republic, and an oil painting entitled Marpacífico (Hibiscus-Marpacífico is the name used in Cuba for the hibiscus flower), 1943, by Cuban modernist Amelia Peláez are prominent. There have even been a rare selection of prints by Haitian artists such as Castera Bazile, Wilson Bigaud, Dieudonné Cedor, Jacques-Enguerrand Gourgue and Gabriel Lévêque, that have not been exhibited since they were part of a traveling exhibition in 1948.

 

Caribbean literature has been written in English, French, Spanish, and a creole language. Caribbean authors have won numerous awards. Mark McWatt won Best First Book Award (2006) and Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Suspended Sentences: Fictions of Atonement. Sir V. S. Naipaul won the Man Booker Prize (1971), the Trinity Cross of Trinidad and Tobago, and the Nobel Prize in Literature (2001). Derek Walcott also won the Nobel Prize (1992). One of the biggest parts of Caribbean culture is the Carnival. It is annual celebration of life, music, dance, and togetherness among human beings. People wear costumes, be creative, dance, and have fun.  Traditionally, most Caribbean islands celebrate carnival on Ash Wednesday or the days leading up to Lent. Barbados celebrates the delivery of the last Sugar Canes called 'Crop Over' better known as the 'Sweetest Summer Festival' which is held in August. Carnival has been celebrated in New York City, Toronto, London, and other places of the world. Caribbean music can be raggae, the Indo-Caribbean musical form of Chutney, and other genres. Film, television, and theater have been elaborately displayed in the Caribbean region as well. Basketball, soccer, track, boxing, racing, cycling, golf, hiking, horse racing, wrestling, tennis, triathlon, and other sports are common in the Caribbean including baseball. The Caribbean Awards Sports Icons (CASI) are based on accomplishments made over the last 60 years (1948–2008), for those who have made their mark in the various fields of sports. Great achievements in Caribbean sport are recognized by Caribbean's Sports Hall of Fame, while trophies are awarded annually to top athletes by a panel of journalists. From food to other aspects of culture, Caribbean human beings have always been a blessing to the overall human family. 

 

 

 

Lana Del Rey's Chemtrails Over the Country Club not only has multiple meanings. It outlines how mainstream society readily promotes a false image that ignores the brutal reality of what time it is in the world. The music video of the song have chemtrails being sprayed in the sky, while wealthy women turn into witches at night. Lana Del Rey have had a career making songs about relationships, sometimes being even toxic. Her real name is Elizabeth Woolridge Grant. She used to go by Lizzie Grant. Then, she developed into Lana Del Rey with a new style, a new aesthetic, and a new philosophy about life. In the cover of Lovecat Magazine in 2012, she is in a picture with her using a diamond to hide one eye. The industry certainly have an influence on her. Lana was once pictured with the perverted and rapist Harvey Weinstein. Lana mimicked the image of Marilyn Monroe, and as we know Monroe was a victim of massive abuse, and she is a rumored Beta Kitten slave. In the song Body Electric, Lana Del Ray sings that, "Elvis is my daddy, Marilyn is my mother." In National Anthem, LDR recreates Monroe’s iconic “Happy Birthday Mr. President” moment which was dedicated to JFK. In 2020, she spoke in support of third wave feminism. She said that she is interested in witchcraft and wants her fans to engage in rituals with her. So, she is part of the elite's agenda, as the elite are in love with alternative forms of spirituality that goes against the Judeo-Christian ethic. 

 

The title of LDR’s 2021 album (and lead single) Chemtrails Over the Country Club has multi-leveled symbolism. Chemtrails is about the theory that the government or other entities are in a secret program to add toxic chemicals to the atmosphere via aircraft. It looks like visible plumes in the sky similar to contrails. People, who believe in it, readily claim that the chemtrails can cause sterilization, reduction of life expectancy, mind control, or weather control. The music video have chemtrails sprayed over the country club. The video shows the stereotypical image of mostly white Americans during the 1950's. The album cover shows a lack of diverse people, because back in the day about 80 percent of Americans were white. People have criticized her for the cover being a lack of people of color. Lana responds that some of her best friends are rappers and her boyfriends are rappers. It's like saying that she has black friends, so she can't be racist. That's a silly argument, because many racists have dated and slept with black people before. The symbolism of the video is all about 1950's American society. The video has her driving a red Mercedes representing wealth and affluence. There is the country club with privileged women and children.

 

Lana has the mesh maks on. The video has a child looking at the sky while the chemtrails are sprayed above people. Later, Lana watches a movie with a girl that looks like her. The video alludes to the girl being her at a younger age. There are mirrors and reflections which are found in MK symbolism. The girl looks in the mirror, and Lana looks at her reflection in the car's side view mirror. Later, the sunny skies witness a tornado. This looks similar to the tornado in the movie of The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy is took to the land of OZ. It is no secret that the author of the Wizard of Oz have links to Theosophy and the occult. L. Frank Baum, the author of the Wizard of Oz was a member of the Theosophical Society. Lana's car is sweep up in the tornado. The mirror is shattered. Later, Lana and her friends seemed to be possessed by walking around with red eyes. Vampire teeth and reptilian eyes exist. The red Mercedes is on fire, and Lana connects with a wolf kissing it. Lana becomes the wolf losing her inhibitions. Later, women are drawn to blood. Dissociate to the elite's secret, controversial side is part of the video. The video ends with the women going to bed and getting ready to act “normal” the next day. The video show women relaxing and turning into vampries doing sex and blood rituals. The symbolism shows these people as puppets of the elites. It is not a secret that the occult inspired elite do occultist rituals. One example is the Cremation of Care ritual in the Bohemian Grove. Another example is the Rothschild party back in the 1970's that inspired the Eyes Wide Shut Film. Another example is how musicians and celebrities tell stories all of the time of secret industry parties where sex rituals take place. So, nothing is new under the sun. We reject brainwashing people and the goals of the evil people in the establishment. 

 

  

As we approach the Summer of 2021, we witness extraordinary developments from a new President to debates about infrastructure. Subsequently, we face a lot of challenges. Just last year, we witnessed the largest multiracial, pro-working class protest movement for racial justice in world history. Today, we still reckon with the epidemics of global police brutality, economic inequality, xenophobia, racial oppression, sexism, and other evils. To put this time into perspective, we are near the quarter century mark of the 21st century. The events of 9/11 saw the viciousness of evil along with the expansion of the war economy. Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq transformed our society. The unjust Iraq War especially exposed imperialism as a detriment to peace and true tranquility. Speaking of America, America always have the dual reality of both righteous people who reject unjust antagonism in seeking justice for all along with extremists who desire to destroy the foundation of democracy (as exemplified by the failed January 6, 2021 coup attempt). Liberation is meant for all people. That means that the poor, the working class, and all oppressed people deserve dignity, respect, and freedom to establish their own destinies as human beings. The young people today are the first generation to witness 9/11, the first black President of the United States of America, and the first black Vice President of the United States of America. It has been 30 years after the end of the Cold War. Among that time, we have witnessed the injurious policies of capitalist exploitation, the growth of political polarization, and a new generation of progressive activists seeking social change. Also, statistics have documented the record economic inequality (resulting in social stratification, massive poverty, and disparities of health) so vast that it's necessary to advocate for a radical redistribution of economic and political power. Likewise, many of the older generation have adopted the progressive value of social change as well. Now, folks are dealing with the pandemic by getting vaccines, wearing masks, and doing other activities.

  

By Timothy