4 Black Artists You Should Be Listening to This Month!

Written by: Ingrid Anderson

ODIE

Personal Favorite: Night Terrific!

If you’re looking for something where the lyrics are flowing and mellifluous, paired with a peppy rhythm, listen to Odie. Born in Toronto, Ontario by Nigerian parents, he then moved to the West Coast when he was 12 and never left. As a relatively new artist, most of Odie’s music has been produced in the past 2 years, beginning on Soundcloud and eventually migrating to putting his content on Spotify.

Odie makes music about his own experiences in life, and his personal perspective on the world. His thoughtful lyrics are paired with layers of harmonic rhythms that are easy to listen to, but still keep your mind entertained with differing beats. He draws a lot of inspiration from Kid Cudi, Coldplay, and Nigerian songs he grew up listening to, which you’ll definitely be aware of.

UMI

Personal Favorite: High School

Umi, a 21-year-old singer who grew up in Seattle, produces music while attending college in California. She started writing music at the age of four with plenty of support from her family (who were all also passionate about music themselves), and started putting her songs online in high school. Born as Tierra Smith, Umi is her middle name that means “ocean.”

She has songs that range from a slow, sultry melody, to more upbeat tunes. Since Umi is a young-adult producer, she creates music that’s easy to identify with and relate to. She describes her music as “bedroom R&B,” and she couldn’t have captured it more perfectly. UMI is perfect to listen to when you’re alone, or lounging in a low-lit room with some of your closest friends.

DANIEL CAESAR

Personal Favorite: Hold Me Down

Having released his debut album in 2017, Daniel Caesar is a somewhat new artist. He was born as Ashton Simmonds in Toronto, Ontario in 1995. His parents are Jamaican and Barbadian, and he was raised on a lot of soul and gospel music, which is reflected in his art.

In his music, Daniel uses a lot of slow melodies with thoughtful lyrics, where it’s easy to lose yourself in his slow, somber voice. He already has three albums out, each with their own sound and rhythm to them. His songs mostly revolve around spirituality and love, and he draws inspiration from artists like Beyonce and Frank Ocean. Listening to him, you’ll be surrounded by his soulful lyrics layered classical music and a strong rhythm.

KIERA PLEASE

Personal Favorite: Obvious Secret

Kiera Please is a cosplayer from Virginia who recently started producing music. She still has a relatively small content collection, but the tracks that she produced are all amazing, multilayered songs where she talks about her personal perception of this world. A strong believer in self-love and individuality, she doesn’t fail to communicate that message through her music.

Being a pop artist, her music is catchy and easy to listen to with catchy beats and lyrics, which reflects her personal style a lot, as she is drawn towards constantly changing bright hair colors and bright artistic makeup.  Kiera also runs a YouTube, where she posts her music videos, along with a few vlogs and videos about self-expression.

Makeup in the Decades

Throughout the 60s to the present, there hasn’t been much representation for anyone who wasn’t the so-called “ideal standard” of beauty. The idea behind this project is to recreate classic looks from the past but to also add diversity to them. That said, we hope to modernize these retro looks with inclusivity. Being inclusive to all people is an important part of our platform; this project allows us to mesh that with our love for makeup.

We started off with the 60s and decided to recreate the iconic twiggy eyeshadow look. The 70s look was inspired by makeup ads from that decade. For the 80s look, we went for a colorful appearance and added a lot of blush. Lastly, the 90s look was inspired by the rise of the supermodels of that decade.

The Influence of Music On Fashion Throughout the Decades

Written by: Caroline Friedl

It’s almost impossible to imagine a world where fashion and music are not platforms of self-expression and creativity. However, a hundred years ago, young people viewed “fashionable” cravats and corsets as symbols of repression instead of catalysts for freedom. And instead of blasting punk rock music in their rooms, the common form of rebellion 100 years ago was reading books by the scandalous German philosopher Fredrich Nietzche under the dinner table.

Clearly, today’s millennials and Gen Z are much different — instead of reading philosophy books in secret, we’re bold and loud about our dissent. Using music and fashion as mechanisms of defiance actually started in the 1920s and, throughout the decades, music has become a platform for expressing political beliefs, individuality, and sexuality — thus giving birth to fashion styles that still live on today.

Women’s fashion became more daring during the 1920s thanks to jazz.

Going into the 1920s, the world was similar to today: kind of a mess. Instead of having #worldwar3 trending on Twitter, this generation was recovering from World War I. More Americans turned to “speakeasies” as nationwide prohibition started in January of 1920. Speakeasies contained alcohol, as well as the controversial music genre, jazz. Many groups, such as the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, labeled jazz as immoral and too sexual. These criticisms were racially fueled since most jazz performers were African American. But feeling rebellious and in a party mode, people of all races flocked to these clubs to drink and hear this new controversial music. This “wayward” form of entertainment and expression opened the door for a new revolutionary form of fashion for the youth. Young women ditched the loose full-skirt trends of the 1910s for a more scandalous look, sporting long pearl necklaces, short bob haircuts, and beaded evening dresses just below the knee (gasp). Men traded their polite double-breasted coats and high-collared shirts for the famous “Zoot Suits” and fedoras. Ultimately, the “speakeasies” symbolized a place of defiance by housing controversial jazz music and, in turn, inspired people to start expressing their defiance against society through fashion.

Moving on to the 1970s, America was gripped by the horrors of the Vietnam War and the Watergate Scandal. This led to music and fashion becoming a hotbed for dissent once again, allowing music genres like punk rock to shine. Emerging from British Mod Culture, punk rock had quickly become known for its aggressive sound and focus on originality and independence, giving the middle finger to the status quo. This musical liberation impacted the appearance of the “punk” crowd, who often donned tight leather, mohawks, and dark makeup around the eyes. The ultimate goal was to look radically different from anyone else, which is why punk rock is considered the first real music subculture.

Another booming subculture in the 1970s was glam rock. As the Star Wars franchise grew in pop culture, many musicians used sci-fi as a source of inspiration. The result was many futuristic and outlandish performances by David Bowie, Elton John, and Queen. The style of glam rock is characterized by catsuits, body paint, and a camp/androgynous looks. Since these outrageous looks didn’t absorb into the mainstream, glam rock is widely considered to have spurred another fashion subculture.

Music-based subcultures impacted fashion choices during the 1970s.

While glam rock and punk encapsulated the ‘70s, another form of music was being created at block parties in New York City: rap. It would go on to dominate music and fashion in the 1980s up until today. Since its birth, rap has served as a voice for marginalized groups. To this day, it is pioneered by minority artists, most who overcame violence-ridden neighborhoods in their youth and found both success and liberation through their music. This is when streetwear really started gaining attention; unlike the meticulously curated looks of punk and glam rock, rappers dressed to represent who they were and the communities they came from (much like their music). One of the earliest and biggest influences in the rap fashion community is Run DMC. The trio immortalized Adidas tracksuits, Adidas Superstars, and gold chains. They even wrote a song called “My Adidas,” which landed them a sponsorship with the company — the first time rap artists were supported by a big brand. This collaboration was the first to predict the long-lasting impact of this revolutionary self-defining genre on fashion.

So what about today? Even though Rave and EDM music in fashion had a brief stint in the 2000s, one of the largest influences on the fashion community right now is, again, rap. Rap started developing a different tone in 2011 when LA-based rap collective Odd Future dropped their album, The OF Tape, Vol. 2. Among the first groups to be born out of the social media era, their loud, freeform, out-of-sync sound was mesmerizingly authentic and representative of emerging counter-cultures like skate, surf, and hip hop. However, their style was drastically different from the gold chains and the designer labels that rappers in the 80s and 90s flaunted. Their West Coast style microculture was turned into a full-scale streetwear revolution consisting of bucket hats, torn up Vans, and Supreme, which resulted in hypebeast style. Realizing this link between fashion and music, the Odd Future leader, Tyler, the Creator, designed his fashion label Golf Wang.

Rap has influenced much of fashion today.

Throughout the decades the world has changed in millions of ways, but at least one constant is the lasting influence of music on fashion. In 2019, Hypebeast and Strategy& published a Streetwear Style Report surveying 40,960 people about the impact of streetwear on their look, and the majority said that they drew inspiration from musicians. So remember, the next time you’re getting ready to go out, think about how much music from the past century has influenced the look you’re putting together: the shoes, the jacket, the hat. After all, music and fashion are some of the best storytellers.

The Freshman 15

Written by: Mason Braasch

This summer, as I approached my first semester of college there were many worries that crowded my mind. They were basic concerns that the majority of students deal with: Will I make friends? Will I like my roommate? Will I be okay academically? Will I miss my mom? — All very normal and valid concerns. None of these concerns, however, were as consistent as the thoughts of the infamous “Freshman 15.”

I have known about the Freshman 15 (or for those of you that don't know, the extra pounds that incoming college students gain) since I was in elementary school. It was often a topic of gentle teasing or the punchline of a sitcom joke, filling my brain with the worries of the inevitable weight gain in my first year of freedom. And it turns out, I am not alone in these concerns. A quick google search brings up numerous articles claiming to know the secrets against The Freshman 15. Most of these articles promote healthy eating habits and lots of exercise but fail to include the truth: The Freshman 15 is, for the most part, a myth.

Studies have proven that on average, weight gain among freshman college students totals less than six pounds, with most individuals only gaining about two. Furthermore, individuals that did not attend college gained the same amount as those that did, suggesting that perhaps it is not the college lifestyle that is leading to weight gain, but rather, it’s just a part of growing up.

Shocking, I know. Yet, as I poured over these facts, baffled at the reality of one of my biggest worries, I had to ask that if the Freshman 15 really is a myth, why is it such a prevalent fear among college students today? An article published by the Atlantic explains that since its first mention in Seventeen magazine in 1989, the number of mentions of the Freshman 15 in popular culture has skyrocketed, only adding to the fears that I and many other students around the world experienced.

Why can’t we let this infamous trend go? Why does popular culture continue to feed into this paranoia that has been linked to eating disorders among a countless number of college students? Olga Khazan, a staff writer for the Atlantic suggests that “it might be time to retire our unfounded paranoia over a sudden bodily ballooning,” just as we have left the unflattering trends of the past.

But, maybe we don't have to completely eradicate the Freshman 15. In many cases, the gains of college can be a positive thing. Perhaps instead of counting pounds gained, we can count the gaining of friendships, new perspectives, and new interests. Maybe the Freshman 15 can turn positive, after all these years of worry and paranoia. We gain so much more than pounds in college, and what you choose to count can make all the difference.

The “Real Cost” of Fear-mongering

Written by: Panagioti Tsiamis

YouTube is a wonderful place to hide over the holidays. With 300 hours of content being uploaded every minute, there is undoubtedly something for everyone. However, there is also a catch: incessant ads. For every five videos that I watched online over break, two contained ads that I wasn’t able to skip. For every three of those ads, two of them were sponsored by the FDA, specifically to do with nicotine.

We get it, smoking kills [insert foreboding music here].

The news is neither surprising nor revolutionary. This fact has been ingrained into us from a young age, with warnings issued from as early as elementary school and far into adulthood. Tobacco usage has declined within the last decade at an astounding rate. Yet for whatever reason, these ads seem to have only increased with alarming (and obnoxious) frequency.

Launched in 2014, the “Real Cost” campaign aimed to educate at-risk youth about the harmful effects of smoking. Admittedly, the campaign has made an impact, reportedly preventing up to 587,000 youth ages 11 to 19 from initiating smoking between February 2014 and November 2016. But at what cost?

The aesthetic of the campaign has remained the same throughout the majority of 2019, and (from my personal experience) it lingers yet in 2020: horror... or at least an attempt at it. On their website, the organization states, “We’re not here to tell you what to do. The ‘Real Cost’ gives you what you need to know – real facts, so you can make your own decision.”

Yet their current strategy seems anything but that, resorting primarily to feeble scare tactics. Their ads consist of gaping neck wounds, boiling tubs of acid, rotting sentient teeth, stereotypically edgy teens, and an obnoxious amount of screaming. The less dramatic ads feature tooth extractions and videos titled “Imagine this was your [insert body part here]” featuring the mutilation of grocery store meat. As a whole, the campaign teeters on the line between somewhat disturbing and awkwardly laughable (for reference, please be sure to check out their commentary on vaping, in which a magician magically transforms a vape into a cigarette).

“How is this supposed to dissuade anyone from smoking?” you might ask yourself. I know I did. For some people, perhaps it does, but for me, it provides little more than annoyance.

We live in an age of fear-mongering, and not solely to do with the dangers of tobacco usage. Fear-based strategies are, if anything, heavily encouraged. In researching the topic, I came across countless articles detailing how to successfully make use of shock advertising to drive consumer behavior. This ploy, first used most notably in Listerine’s 1920s lucrative marketing campaign (see image below), has quickly integrated itself into our lives. The evocation of fear is now present in politics, education, religion, and media as a whole. Scare tactics are used to sway people one way or another, preying on their biases, insecurities and personal beliefs. Through scare tactics, a populace can be driven toward the purpose of any greater power, be it helpful or destructive. It doesn’t matter.

Fun Fact: Halitosis wasn’t(and isn’t) a real medical condition; bad breath just doesn’t sound as scary.

Even if the “Real Cost” campaign was successful in its use of fear-mongering, could we call it a just or beneficial long-term strategy? Even if it was done in the name of saving lives? Smoking kills, after all. Or are we just creating a culture of fear? Mistrust. Bias. Is that a culture anyone would want to truly be a part of?

It’s easy to call for a logical and just approach to rhetoric, one in which scare tactics, ad hominem attacks, and other argumentative fallacies are rendered obsolete. The reality is far more difficult. As is the process of presenting an argument devoid of faults. If we ever hope to produce a well-educated culture of trust, justice, and truth, we must be willing to take the longer road. The FDA and other organizations hoping to inspire change mustn't result in a purely pathos-inducing strategy. The brief shock experienced by an at-risk youth while browsing the web only lasts so long and, after seeing the same fear-mongering at work twenty more times, the influence the ad had is quickly lost if not wholly resented.