Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Beat.
Bubba Army
If you're from the Tampa Bay area, or Siri, you'll hear about the Bubba The Love Sponge Show here and there. The show mostly known for it's FCC violations, the Nedley prank calls, Bubba Clem's lawsuits, and many more. This morning show became so popular within the Tampa Bay area, that thousands of fans began to promote Bubba Army gear, and so on (like myself).
By Deborah Klinker8 years ago in Beat
Must Have: Mumford & Sons
Mumford & Sons have been in my life for quite some time, and they are exceptional for bringing a new sound to the alternative genre. Their accolades consist of being nominated in 2011 for Grammy's Best New Artist and then Babel winning the 2013 Grammy award for Album of the Year.
By Cody Deitz8 years ago in Beat
Rihanna
Rihanna is one the top pop/R&B artists in the world. Before she became a famous artist, she was born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988 in St. Michael Parish, Barbados. She is oldest of three children of her parents Monica, who is an accountant. And her father Ronald, who is a warehouse supervisor. Rihanna's childhood wasn't always a walk in the park. Her father had struggled with drugs and alcohol, which hurt his marriage to Rihanna's mother. They divorced when Rihanna was a teenager. Throughout her childhood, Rihanna dealt with horrible headaches. She never told her friends or classmates at all about the headaches. She didn't want to be teased about it. When things became too much for Rihanna at home, she turned to music to help her with her troubles. When she came of teen years, her and two of her best friends formed a girl group and scored an audition with Evan Rodgers. He loved Rihanna and knew she had what it took to make it in the music business. It was like the other girls didn't even exist at all. So when Rihanna was 16 years old, she left Barbados to move in with Evan Rodgers and his wife to Connecticut to work on her demo. In 2005, Rihanna landed an audition for Def Jam Records, which Jay-Z is the president of now. She sang in front of Jay-Z and she was signed. A few months later, Rihanna released her first hit song "Pon De Replay," from her first debut album 'Music of the Sun.' Her song went to number two on the Billboards chart. Her first album went to number ten on the Billboards. Then, Rihanna released her second album called 'A Girl Like Me.' Two major hits came from the album. "SOS" and "Unfaithful" were her two major hits from that album. In 2007, Rihanna decided to change from teen pop star to sex symbol for her next album 'Good Girl Gone Bad.' Her most popular song from this album is "Umbrella," featuring Jay-Z. "Umbrella" won Rihanna her first Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Other hits from the album were "Shut Up and Drive" and "Don't Stop the Music." The following year, Rihanna released 'Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded' with bigger hits like "Disturbia," "Take A Bow" and "Hate That I Love You." Just when you thought she was done making hits after hits, she released her album 'Rated R' with singles like "Hard" and "Rude Boy." Her album 'Loud' became commercially popular with the hit songs "What's My Name," "Only Girl (In the World)" and "S&M." Rihanna didn't just make hits, she collaborated with other artist like Eminem ("Love the Way You Lie"), Jay-Z ("Run This Town"), Kanye West ("All Of The Lights"), and Maroon 5 ("If I Never See Your Face Again"). In 2011, Rihanna released her sixth album 'Talk That Talk' with her hit song "We Found Love" with DJ Calvin Harris. The song won her a Grammy for Best Short Form for a music video. Rihanna did make a few headlines like she had an affair with Jay-Z. She laughed it out when she heard about it. She hit headlines again when she was assaulted by Chris Brown. Rihanna became a spokesperson for domestic violence. Rihanna did date a few good looking guys. Her and LA Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp did date for a while. But the couple went their separate ways. Her Grammy winning album 'Unapologetic' had number one hits like "Diamonds" and "Stay" featuring Mikky Ekko. This album was her first album to hit number one on the billboards. She worked with Coldplay on a song called "Princess of China." And she collaborated with Eminem again on a song called 'The Monster.' Around that time she decided to star in some movies like "Battleship" and "Home." In 2014, Rihanna changed from Def Jam Records to Jay-Z's Roc Nation Records. August 2015, Rihanna announced she was going to be key adviser for The Voice's Season nine. That same year she did a collaboration with Kanye West and Beatles singer Paul McCartney on "Four Five Seconds." Another hit song she made was "Bitch Better Have My Money." Then in 2016, she released a song called "Work" with fellow rapper Drake. That song is so catchy that it will stay in your head forever. Then Rihanna decided to do more acting. She was on the show Bates Motel. And she was also in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Now she is going to be in a movie with Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, and Anne Hathaway called Ocean's 8. A female spin off of "Ocean's Trilogy." Rihanna is a multi-talented singer and actress. Her song "Love On The Brain" is one of the best songs she ever sang ever. It's a really powerful song. That's another song that will get in your head quickly. You will sing it in your sleep. Rihanna will always be the Barbadian Princess of the world.
By Shante Hernandez8 years ago in Beat
5 Notable Album Releases for 1/10/2018
It's the beginning of the year and we're past that phase where artists are afraid to release albums because they'll be in that bitter spot where they miss a lot of the top ten lists and then not be eligible for the top album lists at the end of next year. Run the Jewels in hip-hop and Zao in the metal category are examples of December releases that would have made a few more lists if they weren't released mid to late December 2016.
By Christopher Sarda8 years ago in Beat
Funniest Drake Quotes of All Time
Drake isn't afraid to show his soft side in his raps; he's become one of our favorite sad boys. But when he's not out there proving that rappers can be vulnerable, too, he's spitting some pretty hilarious lyrics. One of the funniest Drake quotes of all time even sparked a really strange beef with a fellow artist. Are your favorite Drake lyrics on this list? Read on to find out.
By Hydro Wilson8 years ago in Beat
LL Cool J
All the ladies love LL Cool J. Especially those lips, he even licks them every 30 seconds to 1 minute. Before all the hall and fame for Mr. Macho Man, LL Cool J was born James Todd Smith January 14, 1968 in Long Island, New York. When he was growing up in New York, he took the name LL Cool J (which stands for "Ladies Love Cool James") as his rapper name. As he reached his teen years, he signed to Def Jam Records in 1984. The label was founded by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin. Not too long after signing with Def Jam, he released a hit song called "I Need a Beat," which sold more than 100,000 copies. LL Cool J left school to record his debut album Radio. There were two major hits on that album that sold one million copies. Those hits were "I Can't Live Without My Radio" and "Rock the Bells." In 1985, he appeared in a movie called Krush Groove. Other famous artists and groups appeared in the movie also. New Edition, Fat Boys, and Run D.M.C. were in the movie like LL Cool J. His first speaking role was in 1986, the movie was called Wildcats. In 1987, he made his follow up album Bigger and Deffer. His hit song "I Need Love" showed a another side of LL Cool J that we have never seen. But the song became a hit on the pop and rap charts.
By Shante Hernandez8 years ago in Beat
Remembering David Bowie 1947–2016. Top Story - January 2018.
This week inconceivably marks two years since David Bowie’s untimely passing, but it’s still hard to believe he’s gone. This week, on what would have been his 71st birthday, I am once again exploring his extensive catalog, as I fondly reflect upon my personal journey of discovery into the bewildering artistry of Bowie.
By Eric Allen8 years ago in Beat
Insane Art—'Human Nature Bright Side/Dark Side' review
Insane Art is an interesting four-piece Siberian Groove Metal band from Novosibirsk, Russia, with a monster of a two-part album for their first ever releases. Though they were released almost a year apart, they flow together so well that I wanted to review them as one body of work. Even just by title, these two seem to follow a concept of a lighter/dark-type double album, which, in concept, I, as a listener, really enjoy! Their overall sound is a good blend of traditional groove metal (ie: Lamb of God and Pantera) mixed very well with early 2000s era metalcore like Chimaira or Unearthed, which comes off as chaotic in the best way! As a vocalist and lyricist, I would usually talk about lyrics and the like, but for these dudes I'm going to give that a pass, as there is a bit of a language barrier. I can say, vocally, the lead singer has great chops on screaming as well as his cleans (don’t worry, my metalhead friends, when I say "cleans," it is closer to a thrash metal yell for the most part, nothing whine-y or autotuned will be found on theses disks). But enough about the dudes, let's get into what they have created!
By Rip Mitchell8 years ago in Beat
The 10 R&B Albums of 2017 You Must Have in Your Library
In a year where “Bodak Yellow” and “Despacito” battled at the top of the charts, EDM’s rise in popularity is at fever pitch, and “pop” is now defined by angsty hip-hop artists such as Lil Uzi Vert. It’s easy to have missed some amazing R&B albums the past year. Some say the genre died years ago with singers going to more “popular” sounds and even rapping.
By Chauncey Balsom8 years ago in Beat
A Swift Rise to Fame: the Internet's Favorite 7-Year-Old Taylor Swift Impersonator Unveils Her Axl Rose Impression
Last week, the internet went wild for Xia Vigor, a 7-year-old little popstar who's currently competing on the Philippine TV talent show Your Face Sounds Familiar (Kids). Despite ranking low in the show's weekly challenge, Xia broke the internet with her spot-on impersonation of America's sweetheart, #TaylorSwift.
By Karina Thyra8 years ago in Beat
The Best Two Weeks of My Life: Part One
I'm sure a lot of us can say "2017 was the worst year of my life." I know for sure I can say it. It's not because of politics, and not because of all the chaos that's happened. Nine days into 2017, I lost the most important person in my life. I lost my mom.
By Katherine Ruiz8 years ago in Beat
