ELSV'S 2020 - TOP ALBUMS OF 2020
AND HERE IT IS… ELSV’S TOP ALBUMS OF 2020
It’s been an interesting year for music and releases, especially in a Pandemic, with no concerts and a number of releases pushed back or put on hold because of the uncertainty of times. As 2020 went on, and the world seemed to get back on track and through it all some artist took their creativity to the next levels.
Albums that’s been in the rotation this year
Kehlani - “It was good til it wasn’t”
Eric Bellinger - “Eric B For President: Term 3”
Ye Ali - “Traphouse Jodeci 2”
Jojo - “good to know”
Pop Smoke - “Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon”
Omarion - “The Kinetion”
Chrystian Lehr - “Offline II”
Alicia Keys - “ALICIA”
Teyana Taylor - “The Album”
Honorable Mention - KiD CuDi - Man On The Moon 3: The Chosen
#5. JHENE AIKO “CHILOMBO” - You can expect a sonic experience when it comes to Jhene Aiko’s music. And with this release, the journey of sounds that Jhene Aiko puts together will always bring out an out of body experience through the conversations of relationships turmoil. Is good to see an album be an album; that isn’t 30 minutes. The album features the singles Triggered (Freestyle), None of Your Concern, Pussy Fairy (OTW,) and Happiness Over Everything (H.O.E.). Standouts / Favorites include Speak, Tryna Smoke, and Summer 2020.
#4. NAS “KING’S DISEASE” - Back for his 13th studio album; a needed shift from the 6-7 ‘Wyoming Kanye Sessions’ Albums. The album for me brings back a mix of Nostalgia with something new. You get classic Nas. Its the opening and closing of the album. The launch of this particular story. By definition, “king’s disease” is when a person develops gout. Also called the disease of riches, it can be contracted as the result of the overconsumption of certain foods, mainly meat, seafood, and alcohol. As the common theme of the album, Nas uses this as a metaphor for how, in life, one must focus on the right things and avoid indulging in negative behavior. The album features the singles Ultra Black and Replace Me featuring Big Sean. Standouts / Favorites includes King’s Disease, The Cure, and Full Circle.
#3. BRANDY “B7” - Finally. After almost 8 years since her previous studio album, Brandy releases B7. A clear shift from her previous works which saw her getting more personal than ever before. B7 including a change in format then her previous work, saw Brandy being more involved in the process and writing more; Taking us on her personal journey of the pass 8 years, from her mental health struggles to heartbreak and more. The album includes the singles Baby Mama featuring Chance The Rapper, Borderline and No Tomorrow. Standouts / Favorites includes, Saving All My Love, Unconditional Oceans, Rather Be, and Say Something.
Tim Saccenti for Setta Studio
#2. RO JAMES “MANTIC” - Possibly one of the most underrated albums and overlooked artists this year. Ro James returned with his sophomore album featuring the singles Touchy Feely and Last Time. What surprises me is the lack of talk or promo around Male R&B acts. Seems there was a discussion of who was the R&B King, with no clear act decided and then its been quiet for Male R&B. The album which Ro James described as “THE MUSIC I CREATE EVOKES A FEELING OF ROMANCE, BUT I WANTED TO DISSECT THAT WORD AND BREAK IT DOWN BY TAKING THE ‘RO’ OUT OF IT. MANTIC REFERS TO DIVINATION AND PROPHECY—SEEKING KNOWLEDGE OF THE FUTURE THROUGH SUPERNATURAL MEANS. SPEAKING THINGS INTO EXISTENCE AND LIVING FORWARD, HAVING FAITH IN WHERE YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE, AND WHERE YOU’RE GOING.”
Standouts / Favorites includes, Roses, the Brandy assisted Plan B, Rain, Be Mine and Baby Blue. The albums closer, the acapella Look of Things leaves the album for what’s to come for Ro James, whether that is his 3rd studio album or a Deluxe Edition.
#1. CHLOE X HALLE “UNGODLY HOUR” - the groups second album — a coherent, tighter collection that easily shows the duos growth — the sisters make it clear that they have layers. From the involvement in production and writing every song to the harmonies that showcase their signature sound, Ungodly Hour is a tribute to the moral complexities of young adulthood. The album’s 13 songs frequently reference late night hijinks, drunken texts and trysts cut short by insecurity and betrayal.
In addition to releasing during the pandemic — at the height of a shutdown — the duo wasn’t phased and didn’t slow up from creating some of the best visuals and virtual performances in support of the album. Pushing several of the album’s standouts including the singles “Do It” and “Forgive Me” plus “Ungodly Hour,” “Don’t Make It Harder on Me,” “Busy Boy,” and “Wonder What She Thinks of Me.”
TEN YEARS OF LAST TRAIN TO PARIS
Ten years later and ‘Last Train To Paris’ remains the most progressive body of work of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ career. As his fifth studio album, Diddy recruited Dawn Richard from his Making The Band act - Danity Kane, along with Kalenna Harper to create “a look, a sound, a movement, [and] a crew. - Diddy stated that with this concept, he wanted something refreshing, something unique, something forward for himself as an artist; a love story.
Released on December 14, 2010; the album which included guest features Grace Jones, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Skylar Grey, Drake, Justin Timberlake, Nicki Minaj, T.I., Wiz Khalifa, Swizz Beatz, Trey Songz, Rick Ross, Usher, Sevyn Streeter, James Fauntleroy, Bilal and The Notorious B.I.G. spawned the singles “Love Come Down,” "Angels," "Hello Good Morning," "Loving You No More," "Coming Home," "Your Love," and "Ass on the Floor."
Debuting at No. 7 on the US Billboard 200 with 101,000 copies sold in its first week of release, Last Train To Paris would push Dirty Money to winning a BET Award for Best Group in 2011. The group would disband in 2012 with Harper and Dawn both going on to pursue other musical endeavors individually.
KiD CuDi is back with MAN ON THE MOON III
2008 saw a young Kid Cudi storm the industry with his debut mixtape A Kid Named Cudi which later followed with the release of his debut studio album Man on the Moon: The End of Day; featuring breakout single “Day N Nite,” plus “Make Her Say,” “Pursuit of Happiness” and more. After releasing follow up Man on The Moon II: The Legend of Mr Rager; in 2010; we saw Kid Cudi shift into other realms of releasing, leaving the Man on the Moon saga behind. With WZRD; Cudi & Dot Da Genius released the collaborative alternative rock album. The anticipation for another Man On The Moon grew, with each of Cudi’s next releases [Indicud (2013), Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon (2014), Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven (2015), Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin' (2016) and the collaborative effort with Kanye West; Kids See Ghosts (2018)]. For fans, in retrospect, it was a necessary journey to bring us to Man on the Moon III: The Chosen; 11 years after the first Man On The Moon; well worth the wait.
Each act has a corresponding title, as the previous albums did— “Madness,” “The Menace,” “Heart of Rose Gold,” and “Powers” — that guides us through a series of varying themes and styles on the album. The album features Skepta, Trippie Redd, Phoebe Bridgers, and the late Pop Smoke.
Stream below.
Current stand outs for ELSV: Tequila Shots, Another Day, She Knows This, Heaven on Earth, Show Out.
Man on the Moon III: The Chosen release comes before the previously announced Entergalactic which was pushed back due to production on the accompanying Netflix series.
Check out our ELSV curated KiD CuDi playlist.
Ashanti & Keyshia Cole VERZUZ postponed
On Saturday (Dec. 12), just before showtime of Ashanti and Keyshia Cole’s highly anticipated Verzuz, it was announced that the scheduled battled was canceled. Later the news broke that the former Murder Inc. recording artist tested positive for Coronavirus.
“Hey y’all. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I tested positive for COVID-19. I’m OK and not in any pain. I’m actually down to do the Verzuz from my house...we’re trying to figure it out,” Ashanti admitted on her Instagram account. Though fans were extremely disappointed after learning this, many showed concerned for the star, and wish her a speedy recovery. Ashanti asked fans what they thought and many sided with the idea of the Verzuz being postponed, while some reminisced about the old Verzuz days before artists were in the same room on a stage and they streamed from their perspective locations and played their songs back to back.
Of course since its inception at the start of quarantine, Verzuz has evolved quickly over the pandemic. As the world slowly began to open up; we saw a new stage for what began as an Instagram live battle between two artists. With the addition of the Instagram Live battle, Verzuz was also prepped for streaming on Apple Music with the addition of curated playlist as sort of a cheat sheet for what to expect from each battle.
With this being the first battle affected by Covid-19 directly before its schedule, its clear the anticipation is still high with fans reacting and various memes created in response to its postponement. Keyshia Cole joined Ashanti on IG Live to discuss what happened, and their decision to postpone, also telling Ashanti to take the time to rest and recover. Cole also stated how the battle meant more than them and took a stand on women empowerment and how Female Artists need to be able to come together.
Ashanti Verzuz Keyshia Cole is planned to take place January 9th.
Here’s ELSV’s Playlist of our favorites for the battle.
ZENDAYA FOR ESSENCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE
Fresh off her Emmy Win for Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role in Euphoria, Zendaya covers Essence’s 50th Anniversary Digital Cover - paying homage to the amazing icon Donyale Luna.
Zendaya November/December 2020 ESSENCE cover credits:
Photography by AB+DM
Creative Direction and Fashion Styling by Law Roach
Hair by Larry Sims/Flawless/Forward Artists.
Makeup by Sheika Daley.
Manicure by Chaun Legend/opi/The Only Agency.
Set design by Ward Robinson/Wooden Ladder.
Production by Natalie Gialluca, Naydea Davis and Jordan Brewster.
Euphoria returns for two special episodes in December. Read Full Essence Interview Here.
LEAVING A JOB DURING A PANDEMIC?
8 Years. 7 Months. + Working during a pandemic.
It’s been a weird year. As much as I reflect on it, I still struggle with putting into words what brought me to this decision, especially when the beginning of the year seemed so promising, with so many opportunities on the horizon. During the start of a pandemic, everything changing and the world reacting in response to this new idea of social distancing and working from home, it would change everything for me in a major way. Add in the heightened racial tensions and the uncovering of the disparities that has always there and you come up with a very different outlook especially being affected by it directly.
On one hand you have all of the projects that is within your grasps and in the space of the direction you want to go in and then you have your actual work that is deemed “essential”. While everyone has a work from home plan, that leaves no plan for the essential work that needs to be done on site. All of the projects gets cancelled or postponed and there is no real plan for it to continue and work becomes stressful. You hear about everyone’s experience working from home and how they hate it, and how its hard being at home and its an experience you can’t understand because you’re working, in a pandemic, risking your life and facing the unknown while being tasks with everything outside of your job description. You rarely hear the experience on the opposite side from those deemed essential outside of healthcare. It definitely puts a strain on finding ways to be creative and the time set aside for creativity.
Launching ELSV in 2014 and revisiting it in 2019 with plans for 2020 was a highlight for where it seemed 2020 was going. With a planned event in March, that would kickstart the original goal that helped launch ELSV — creating a space for Black Voices often silenced; celebrating Black stories and Black Creatives and pushing the boundaries of what it looks like to be Black in the future. 2020 has been a year that has brought unexpected challenges. Months into a pandemic and having to take a concerning look at where things are and where they are heading and what is important in a time of uncertainty can be alarming. Being deemed essential but being overlooked, left out and forgotten can also be alarming. So deciding on the plan you had in mind long before Covid-19 becomes easy. Reflecting on leaving, one month later, puts things into perspective. If 2020 can teach us anything, it is the resilience we have when faced with a variety of difficulties — That we can become stronger and adapt and thrive in spite of. So for me, a new city, rebuilding a brand, taking on new opportunities becomes promising. It becomes a step that seems necessary when looking at the upside of 2020.
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UNITY IS GREAT BUT FREEDOM IS BETTER
"I think certain sides have given a lot, you know. And I think the question is, how much more do we need to give? You know, I always say this: unity is great, but freedom is better. And there's a part of this population that has sacrificed their freedom time and time again for unity, and they're tired of it. Yes, we want to have compromise. Yes, we want bipartisanship. But it shouldn't cost people [their] wages, and health care, and education. So if you're asking us to come together and that means that *my* world doesn't change, the people whose world needs to change doesn't change, I don't want that kind of unity. I want the kind of unity that leads to change for people who have waited for it. And if this pandemic hasn't showed us that we need to serve people *first*, and that needs to be a unifying message, the Republicans need to be on board with actually taking care of people, if we can unify around that then I'm all for it. But if that means we're gonna compromise and we're gonna continue to serve the one percent, the people who we have always served, that's not the kind of unity we need right now." - Yvette Simpson
As everyone responds to the news of the president elect being Joe Biden and having a democratic candidate win; It is important to see a clear transition from what we have come to see, not only in the past 4 years but for the system that has been in place for so long. It is important for us to see a clear direction of change. A Democratic Presidential win can’t be the end of a movement towards change. A female Vice President elect can’t be the final stop towards breaking barriers. This process shouldn’t stop here. The work must continue and it should be taken lightly because there is still so much that needs to get done.
As we have seen, the racial disparities when it comes to how this pandemic has affected communities and have a system in place has failed so many. This win shouldn’t take away from black lives matter movement. This win, for many, shouldn’t be the quick fix that some are taking this as. The President elect spoke about ‘uniting both sides,” after his win but this shouldn’t erase of overshadow the issues Black and minority communities have faced.
We we’re in the negative and now we are at zero -
Just as I viewed this Instagram Post, what Yvette Simpson stated embodied exactly my thoughts on how this year and this election has played out. Once again Black Women are showing up and doing the work.
BLACK LIVES MATTERS AND BLACK VOTES MATTER
Black Lives Matter.
Black Creatives Matter.
Black Art Matters.
Black Voices Matter.
Black Freedom Matters.
A Democratic win for the presidential election is just the beginning. Highlighted by both Biden and Harris in their speeches following becoming the president and vice president elect, was how Black Women have shown up again; this time to carry democracy. Biden highlighted his plans to unify a nation and what that means for America; touching on the need to come together no matter if you are Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, Gay, Straight, Male, Female... And the need for America to have an administration that reflects that.
It’s important to include the most marginalized, the most misrepresented, the most under appreciated. Its important to note that without Black voices, importantly Black Women the results would have been different and this applies across a number of spaces; professionally and personally.
A country built off the backs of its Black citizens continues to thrive because of us, yet continues to ignore the systemic racism, the high incarcerations, the missed opportunities, the police brutalities, the inequities… and the energy has to remain the same that,
Black Lives Matter. Black Creatives Matter. Black Art Matters. Black Voices Matter. Black Freedom Matters and the Election Day reminded everyone that Black Votes Matter.
As we have been heavily effected by a system built against us; a virus that continues to ravish Black Communities, an economy that fails to bring support these Black Communities and Black Owned Businesses; we must push for changes, actual changes and not promises that prop up these elected officials until they make it in. The work must continue. We all have work to do and we must do our parts.
MASSIVE CELEBRATIONS ERUPTS WITH BIDEN-HARRIS WIN
From California to New York, people are celebrating President-elect Joe Biden's projected win today.
