April 2016

First Impressions: Beyoncé’s ‘LEMONADE’

April 24, 2016

It’s been 24 hours since Beyoncé unleashed her second visual album, LEMONADE. Several of us here at EST. 1997 are huge Beyoncé fans. While there is so much to be said about this great body of work, we decided to begin our coverage on the project with our first impressions. Undoubtedly, we

Celebrating Janet Jackson’s ‘All For You’

April 24, 2016

For the Nostalgia·In Depth·Janet Jackson·Music·Then

April 24, 2001. “You just gotta get it in you now…” “I know, right? I wish I had a lot of stuff in me now.” Janet Jackson’s All For You opens with a completely random minute of mumblings between Janet and a friend in the studio. She ends it, asking, “Are you

On the charts: Week ending 04/15

April 20, 2016

Music

This week’s top 10 songs and albums on the Billboard charts (04/30 issue). Hot 100 01. (01) Rihanna – “Work” ft. Drake (*9 weeks*) 02. (05) Desiigner – “Panda” 03. (02) Lukas Graham – “7 Years” 04. (03) Meghan Trainor – “No” 05. (04) ZAYN – “Pillowtalk” 06. (08) Mike Posner

How Mariah Carey proved her literary prowess via lyrical allusions

April 15, 2016

For the Nostalgia·In Depth·Mariah Carey·Music

Let’s get technical for a bit, shall we? Have you ever heard of the literary device called allusion? It is not the same as its more common homophone, illusion; allusion is when a writer refers to another commonly known work of art, literature, person, or historical event. On the ballad “For the Record,” featured on 2008

How ‘Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite’ helped revolutionize R&B

April 14, 2016

For the Nostalgia·In Depth·Music·Then

Rhythm and Blues has always been evolutionary. Deeply rooted in gospel, jazz, and the blues, R&B has become one of the main expressions of the African-American experience throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Whether the subject matter ranges from civil disobedience, to love, family, or to sex, what is

Happy Anniversary to The Emancipation of Mimi!

April 12, 2016

For the Nostalgia·Mariah Carey·Music·Now

On April 12, 2005, Mariah Carey released what became known as her comeback album, The Emancipation of Mimi. Today, we celebrate it’s anniversary. As you know, here at The 97, we love us some Mariah so we won’t let an anniversary roll by! Over the years, we’ve went in-depth about a few of TEOM‘s

Album Review: Gwen Stefani’s ‘Truth’ reaches new heights

April 10, 2016

Music·Now·Reviews

After a rocky start to Gwen Stefani’s third solo studio album—no thanks to the mediocre performing “Baby Don’t Lie” and embarrassing chart bomb “Spark The Fire”—surprisingly her divorce in 2015 marked a bright and much needed new beginning. After dissolving her 13 year marriage to Gavin Rossdale, Gwen was finally

Single Review: Maxwell dives back onto the scene in “Lake by the Ocean”

April 10, 2016

Music·Now·Reviews

Not every artist can take a seven year break in between albums and return to the very same open arms (and probably legs, too, in his case) as well as Maxwell can. However, the neo-soul fanbase is a loyal one, and of course fiercely so for one of its pioneers.

Album Review: K. Michelle has “More Issues Than Vogue”

April 2, 2016

Music·Now·Reviews

Never one to back down from getting people to talk about her, K. Michelle had originally planned to give her 3rd album a rather provocative title: I Ain’t White, But I Hope You Like. This album was supposed to be K. Michelle’s experiment with different genres, including Country, for which

First Impressions: Beyoncé’s ‘LEMONADE’

Celebrating Janet Jackson’s ‘All For You’

On the charts: Week ending 04/15

How Mariah Carey proved her literary prowess via lyrical allusions

How ‘Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite’ helped revolutionize R&B

Happy Anniversary to The Emancipation of Mimi!

Album Review: Gwen Stefani’s ‘Truth’ reaches new heights

Single Review: Maxwell dives back onto the scene in “Lake by the Ocean”

Album Review: K. Michelle has “More Issues Than Vogue”

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April 2016

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