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Since then, Taylor has been unloading a number singles like “Dreamstate” and “Real Ones” until the announcement of her next full-length project. In the meantime, she featured on Abby Jasmine‘s “Relax” in advance of her forthcoming album. “My next project will have a mix of vibes,” she says.

Taylor is readying to release her newest material, “Dimensions,” tomorrow. The single will arrive on the heels of “Blah Blah,” which dropped in March. “It’s about self-acceptance and accepting other people for who they are rather than making judgments,” Belle tells us about the song. Peep the interview below.

What are your earliest memories of music?

So I remember my whole life growing up I would run through the halls singing and making up songs. I think my most prominent memory was in third grade during the talent show, all the kids were singing along.

Did you know you would be a singer-songwriter when you grew up?

Singing was always my main thing. I was into a few creative outlets like writing, but singing definitely. If not, I definitely think I would still be in the music industry just because I love being around it.

Who or what were your musical influences as an artist?

Growing up, I used to sing a lot of Whitney Houston. I would perform “I Will Always Love You” a lot. Even when I was younger, I would sing Oldies groups and legends. I had a lot of older influences like Beyonce as well.

If you could create an R&B duo with one artist, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Frank Ocean. (laughs)

Let’s get into music, how would you describe your forthcoming single “Dimensions”?

So lyrically, it’s more of a personal mantra. Sonically, it’s an acoustic vibe. It’s about self-acceptance and accepting other people for who they are rather than making judgments. We all have so many things that make us up as a person.

Is that particular song a representation on what’s going to be on your forthcoming project?

My next project will have a mix of vibes. There will definitely be more acoustic, melodic songs on there. Even some songs that have more of a hip-hop influence.

Now take us all the way back to your Loved and Lost EP. Where were you in life when you recorded that project?

So when I recorded that, I had taken a year break on music. One of my best friends now asked me if I wanted to come to the studio and make my own song. I went and we made “What You Do” which I think is the third track on the project. I was going through a break-up at the time. So that kind-of was the theme of the project: falling in love and then falling out of it then falling in love with yourself.

What do you want people to take away from your music when they hear it?

I want people to feel inspired to do whatever it is that they’re passionate about. I want people to feel accepting of themselves and happy.

Outside of music, what do you enjoy?

I honestly spend most of my time either writing music or singing but I’m really into spirituality and reading so I do a lot of meditation and reading up on how to be more connected with myself.

Is there any advice you would give to an aspiring singer or even yourself a few years back?

Just to be authentic to who you are and don’t feel like you need to put yourself in a certain mold. Just do what makes you feel fulfilled and get through whatever you’re going through.

Photo by Aubrey Wipfli

The post Taylor Belle Talks New Single “Dimensions,” R&B Duos, & More appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Nikko Baby – Hurricane

The post Nikko Baby Whirls Through with New Single “Hurricane” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Photo cred. – Bryan Spitzer

Harlem’s own, singer, songwriter, recording artist, and producer, Lovel, returns to RESPECT. with the premiere of his latest Lee Al-Taquan produced project. 

Free Before 12 is a short prelude to his next full EP, Passenger, set to release at the top of the new year.  The forthcoming project is the second installment of a trilogy of EPs that Lovel has been religiously working on.  His previous release, Backseat Memories is the first of the trilogy, was also featured here on RESPECT. back in 2015, and happens to be one of our favorite indie projects that year.

In his short career as an artist, LoVel’s success has been prominent as he’s gained worldwide exposure and notched over 1.6 Million total plays on Soundcloud with his releases to date.

Listen to the dope melodies and reminiscent vibes below and be sure to check back with us at the top of 2018 for the release Passenger!

Suggested Articles:
Harlem’s LoVel Offers Up New Single – “Àndale” (prod. by Lee Al-Taquan)
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Listen to LoVel’s – “Backseat Memories” EP

The post RESPECT. Premiere: LoVel – “Free Before 12” (EP Stream) appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

The Bronx native began singing as a background singer/songwriter. Wanting to take his career to the next level, James dropped out of college and branched off to start working on this solo project.

In an interview with RESPECT, James spoke about his process putting together this project.

“I turn my journals into songs. ‘Boys Hurt too’ is similar to it in that there may be one page where I say, man I love this girl. Yet the next day it could be today was crazy man fuck everything. It’s made for times like that. It’s definitely a vibe. The pain after a heartbreak kind of feel.

Further explaining the album, James’ spoke about the lead single, “With You” saying,

“My mom one day just opened the door and asked how’s this person. Like last week we had that conversation, and I was like yeah we broke up. It’s cool. She has somebody new I can’t really be mad. And a week after she opened [the conversation] back up and asked yo are you serious, really? I said yeah it really happened. She told me don’t worry, I know you’re hurt right now but you’re going to grow from it and you just have to be the best person you can be for yourself and someone will love you for that. I was like yo, you’re a real mom.”

https://soundcloud.com/jamesxscott/sets/boys-hurt-too

Follow JamesxScott on Instagram and Twitter: @JamesxScott

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The post The Alternative: Bronx R&B Crooner JamesxScott Releases ‘Boys Hurt too’ appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

THE MUSEUM OF LIGHT: Just as an alchemist transforms led into gold, do you feel that being an artist relates to that of being an alchemist? Do you view the artist journey and your creative expression, as alchemy?

ROBERT GLASPER: I feel like the transforming of something into another thing as far as the alchemist goes in music is basically understanding all of the elements of the genre that I’m in. Once you understand the element, you’ve got to study the element, and you actually can authentically replicate that element, then, at that you point, you know the ins and outs of it, and you can change it. I feel like that’s what my band does. We’ve all studied and we know the history of the music and all these different things and we know sonically what makes one thing sound different from another thing. So that allows us to have the tools to be able to go from one thing to another and change things. And even have the tools to try to do something that is different that we haven’t really heard as far as we know. A lot of that really comes from studying all types of things. Some people know genres from a far when they hear it and never really played it or lived it. So it’s very important to be in it and then that really helps.

THE MUSEUM OF LIGHT: Artists are often labeled as “stars.” Just as a star radiates light and the planets then reflect this light, do you see your work as an artist like that of a star? Is this “light” that stars radiate merely the evidence of this journey of becoming a star/learning to radiate light?

ROBERT GLASPER: I see my work as a light to people. I feel that because I’ve been able to read feedback from people from social media, talked to people at shows, I get a lot of insight on what my music does for them. And even for some music, my intention wasn’t for a certain feeling, but for somebody else it resonated a certain way. I was like, ‘Wow. I didn’t have that in mind when I wrote this song.’ For them it’s like something else. It’s great. You never know what your music is gonna do for people. It’s very good to be open and honest about your music because people are going to interpret it different ways anyway. So being a cookie cutter and doing what somebody else does, for what? They’re going to have their feeling about what it makes them feel like. People can feel when something is pretentious. They feel it when it’s not honest. I try to always be honest because that’s what’s gotten me this far. People telling me how my music has changed their life or changed a situation. It let’s me know that was a light for them. I think that’s great and what motivates me.

THE MUSEUM OF LIGHT: When an artist is not “creating” it is often labeled a “creative block.” How do you navigate this space, how do you find the creative spark in the dark, and does it require courage to create from this unknown space? Describe this process.

ROBERT GLASPER: What’s helping me create and find that spark? It’s funny a lot of people when they create, musicians, we tend to say, All right tomorrow at 2 o’clock, I’m going to sit down and write a song. Like they got the universe on lock. Like at 2 o’clock that’s when the Gods are going to give me this beam and the song is gonna be written and this amazing thing. I don’t do that. Pretty much since I started playing, recording music, I’ve always had voice notes on my phone because I get inspired by so many things in my life: riding a train, walking down the street, in the bathroom. Like a song might play in the bathroom while I’m taking a piss and it inspires another thought. And as musicians, thoughts come and go really fast. So we let go of more than we keep, just naturally. So I try to record as much as I can to keep as much as I can. Immediately I pick up my phone and I sing whatever idea it was in my phone. And that’s how I recorded 95 percent of my music by doing that because I get inspired when I’m not in front of the piano. Seeing the piano doesn’t inspire me. Life inspires me. So whereever that might be, I always carry my phone so I can try to capture that moment. Then, I’ll work on it later. Flesh it out and make it something. But that’s what I’m inspired by: life. It could be anything. Any person, any song, a bird. The other day I saw this hummingbird flying around the tree. Somebody had a little hummingbird feeder with sap in it and boom. It inspired me somehow. I took out my phone and sung a melody. I might not use it for six months, but when it’s time, I’ll go back and listen and will be like, Oh, I can use that as a tag for that song or ending or bridge or anything. I just try to record all my ideas.

THE MUSEUM OF LIGHT: If you want to know what alchemy sounds like, listen to Robert Glasper Experiment’s work. His new album, ArtScience, out today, is transformation at its finest. It’s among pop music’s most eclectic merging of genres, incorporating jazz, R&B, Hip Hop, drum and bass, and more.

In addition to addressing the fusion of Art and Science in the album title, Robert also expounds on it on the album’s opening track, “This Is Not Fear.”  As the production moves from battling, frantic saxophone and piano solos, the music calms to allow Robert to speak. He says, “The reality is my people have given the world so many styles of music, so many different styles. So why should I just confine myself to one. We want to explore them all.”

As Robert’s voice fades, the music shifts again and so on. He follows this course for the duration of the album, refusing to limit himself creatively. It’s the way alchemists transform lead into gold.

Photo Credit: Mathieu Bitton

The Museum of Light is curated by: 

Billy Johnson Jr., Adell Henderson, Joslyn Rose Lyons, Rafael Casal, Matt Smith, Malik Buie.

Fore more on The Museum of Light visit:

http://themuseumoflight.com
https://instagram.com/museumoflight/
Tweets by museumoflight

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Literally – 18 reasons.

Frank Ocean’s 18-track visual album, Endless has been the spark of controversy for both fans and naysayers alike. When the singer unveiled yet another mysterious video stream on his site, boysdontcry.co (last evening), it set the cyber world ablaze. This caused pandemonium, forcing major publications to copy, paste and analyze the estranged, yet hidden works Frank Ocean had presented. After all of the elevated gossip, endless hours of wait time and several disappointments, the album had come and gone in a matter of hours. And of course, no one could truly appreciate it’s glory before its swift departure from the net.

And who took it down you ask? Well, we can speculate Mr. Ocean himself.

Not free for the public as it was last night, Endless now currently streams on Apple Music exclusively. And of course, you have to own a subscription to view. But for the many fans who don’t have access, they are forced to wait.

hypefresh won’t let you sit cold – as we present “18” reasons why you should head over to apple music and purchase a subscription. If only for Frank Ocean, it’s the best way to show your love and support for his favorited gift in music. Listen below (for your personal pleasure) and head over to Apple to grab your 45 min visual album.

Stream Here: http://goo.gl/tUcOKL

Stream courtesy of hypefresh.

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