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Tei Shi – No Angel (Beyonce)

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Tei Shi, the Brooklyn-based quickly-rising songstress who impressed earlier in the year on singles “Nevermind The End” and “M&Ms” and on a great feature for Glass Animals, turns in a great cover/remix of Bync’s “No Angel” constructed in Tei Shi’s distinctive modern pop style.

Tei Shi newyork (Soundscloud)

Rating 8.4

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reviewed by
08-05-14

Beyonce – Flawless (Remix) (Feat. Nicki Minaj)

beyoncenicki

‘Yonce comes with the predictable, hip-hop linkbait, “elevator incident”-referencing new remix to her hit “Flawless”. The remix’s feature artist Nicki Minaj is the track’s clear victor as the young Ms. Miraj puts down an immediate set of some of her best bars to date. Beyonce and Nicki Minaj, google’em.

Beyonce texas (Official)

Rating 8.5

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reviewed by
08-04-14

Drake – Girls Love Beyonce (ft. James Fauntleroy)

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Yes, Drake did take it there. So if “Girls Love Beyonce”, do dudes loves Drake? We do (but don’t ask us to speculate any further). So what did Drake do here? The owl man takes DC’s “Say My Name” and in the style of 2013 slows it down, smooths it out, spooks it out (with an assist from Cocaine 80’s collaborator James Fauntleroy) and scores an engaging and heartened viber that only gets realer on the third, fourth, etc listens.

Drake – Girls Love Beyonce (ft. James Fauntleroy)

Drake (Twitter)

Rating 8.4

brown8

reviewed by
04-16-13

Beyonce – Countdown (Isabella Machine Remix)

isabellasummers

Isabella Summers a/k/a Isabella Machine and her bandmate, one Florence Welch sat in for Annie Mac last night on BBC Radio 1. Isa and Flo dropped jams from Switch, Azealia Banks, Joy Orbison and this Beyonce remix, cooked down by Isabella herself. It’s “Countdown”.

Beyonce – Countdown (Isabella Machine Remix)

Isabella Summers england (Myspace) (Tumblr)

Rating 8.2

brown8

reviewed by
11-26-11

Beyonce – Party (DJ Tedsmooth Remix) (Feat. Styles P)

beyonce

Tedsmooth puts Bey on some straight Marvin Gaye shit on this new remix for “Party”. In addition to the new mix, the NYC DJ grabs Styles P for a couple fresh verses. Sweet.

Beyonce – Party (DJ Tedsmooth Remix) (Feat. Styles P)

DJ Tedsmooth newyork (Official) (Twitter)

Rating 8.1

brown8

reviewed by
11-15-11

Beyonce – Countdown (Jack Beats Remix)

beyoncecountdown

Beyonce’s latest single gets some support from big bloke in London Jack Beats. Jack laces up a sharp 1-2 step (London speed it up) putting on a mix that’s sounds sort of like a marching band that’s had wayyyyy too much coffee (or drugs); basically excerpting the best parts of Bey’s original track and leaving much of the weaker rap-y shit that doesn’t work as well off the track. Listen.

Jack Beats england (Facebook) (Soundcloud)

Rating 8.4

brown8

reviewed by
10-13-11

Jay-Z & Kanye West – Lift Off (Feat. Beyonce) / No Church in the Wild (Feat. Frank Ocean) / Why I Love You (Feat. Mr. Hudson)

watchthethrone

Watch the Throne. So we got a Bey feature, a Frank Ocean feature, and Mr. Hudson howling on top a Cassius sample. This shit is pretty major. Hit those play buttons.

Jay-Z & Kanye West – No Church in the Wild (Feat. Frank Ocean)

Jay-Z & Kanye West – Lift Off (Feat. Beyonce)

Jay-Z & Kanye West – Why I Love You (Feat. Mr. Hudson)

Watch the Throne (Purchase)

reviewed by
08-07-11

That Time Beyonce Quoted Goodfellas

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I once said to my ex that the most empowered I ever felt at Get Right (a testosterone-laden club night we’d go to in Columbus, Ohio) was the time the DJ played “Single Ladies.” While the playlist for the night ranged from Pac & Dre’s “California Love,” an inexplicable favorite for a place extremely far from its setting, to Pharoahe Monch’s “Simon Says” to 8ball & MJG’s “Alcohol Pussy Weed”, Beyonce’s kiss off to a dude who didn’t realize how good he had it was an anomaly.

Until it reached its saturation point (Liza Minelli’s cover in Sex and the City 2 being my own personal node), I loved that song. It said everything about being an unattached woman in the 21st Century that is capable of being said in a pop song, and it came from a long line of Beyonce-penned anthems that sought to do the same thing. While I don’t include “Single Ladies” in my trinity of Beyonce empowerment, it sets the tone.

independent

For the genesis of her triple threat, I have to go back to 2000. Destiny’s Child’s “Independent Women (Part I),” while a shill for the Charlie’s Angels sequel, was a more succinct version of ideas bandied about in “Survivor” and “Bills Bills Bills”. Not only could women get over some lame dude who wasn’t worth trashing on the internet, she could also pay all the bills and profit, buy her own rings and her own home. “It ain’t easy bein’ independent,” Beyonce confesses, but that struggle was way more worth it than the flip side of being beholden to a man. While Destiny’s Child were in their early 20s at the time, they shed the idea of being girls for full-fledged womanhood; this becomes peculiar as later songs revert to the diminutive.

diva

In 2008, having launched her solo career, Beyonce released “Diva” as a single following the proliferating success of “Single Ladies.” because Beyonce and Jay-Z are inextricably linked in my mind, I always think of this track as the companion to “Dirt Off Your Shoulders.” ladies aren’t pimps, Jay – “a diva is the female version of a hustler.” While this song commands in a way her other tracks don’t, the message is the same: “I did this myself and I didn’t need a man for it.” (He better not show up without a six pack though.) While I wouldn’t necessarily want to be called a diva in the way that is punishing for women, the point is made.

girlsruntheworld

That’s what I find so puzzling about 2011’s “Run the World (Girls).” In a way, this escalates the tone of “Diva”; it implies that women are not only running shit, but the invocation of the Goodfellas classic “fuck you pay me” adds an attitude she hasn’t copped really ever. In a decade, Beyonce has gone from celebrating her ability to profit dollars to demanding you respect her or she’ll come at your neck. I don’t blame her; for as much as I hear the term “post-feminism” bandied about I know that isn’t the world Im living in, and apparently B knows that too.

The true conundrum to me is the use of the world “Girls” – if this were a song meant for tweens (who will undoubtedly really enjoy that version lacking Ray Liotta’s famed quote), I’d get it, but that’s not where she is now. She’s cursing. She’s a livewire. Even today, the hairpin discusses the use of the world girls when referring to women. I understand the pop sensibility behind using “Girls” – it’s less syllables, it vaguely rhymes with “world”, and maybe using “babes” was out of the question. I just can’t get behind “Run the World” in the way i could with “Independent Women” and even “Diva”; I don’t want to be in an army of girls. I’m a grown-ass woman, and so is Beyonce.

Obviously, this is no gross misstep on B’s part. It could be so much worse than deference to the world “Girls” over “Women.” I’m not trying to start any infighting among a group that needs solidarity to fight for equality, not splintering. Her message has been consistent the whole time; it is only the language around it that shifts. If “Run the World” helps advance what the former two singles laid the groundwork for, namely the respect and autonomy of women, I can’t be held up in being put off by the usage of “Girls.” If I heard it on the dance floor in between any of the songs at get right or any other male-dominated club night, I’d be just as empowered.

Contributed by Erin Routson

Destiny’s Child – Independent Women, Part I

Beyonce – Diva

Beyonce – Run the World (Girls)

Beyonce texas: (Official) (Myspace) (Twitter)

reviewed by
06-23-11

Beyonce – Party (Feat. Andre 3000) (Prod. Kanye West)

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A murder’s row of collaborators. 3 Stacks links up with Bey on this new Kanye produced track. But does the track add up? Is this a Top 40 hit? Prob not. Is it an ace track? Check back. p.s. Peep the Slick Rick/Doug E. Fresh sample on the beat, straight sick.

Beyonce – Party (Feat. Andre 3000) (Prod. Kanye West)

Beyonce: (Official) (Twitter) (Facebook)

Rating: ??

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reviewed by
06-07-11

Rina Sawayama – Where U Are

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Japanese singer in London Rina Sawayama turns in an electric modern R&B makeover of MJ’s “I Wanna Be Where You Are”. Of the cover, which features a (and these are merely reference points as Rina’s voice is pretty singular in our opinion) Jessie Ware/Mariah-esque timbre in the vocals and a instrumental that reminds a bit fidelity-wise of Beyonce’s “Party”, Rina said about its genesis, “Online you can present your best edited self, and bypass lots of the messiness and awkwardness that comes with real human interactions. Your overheating phone substitutes human warmth. Weirdest of all- you’re together, but also very alone”. Stream “Where U Are” below.

Rina Sawayama (Soundcloud)
Track Reviews
reviewed by
02-02-16

Drake – On a Wave (Feat. Tinashe)

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The genre of “Drake leak” is at a volume peak right now as the ramp up to Aubrey’s Views From the 6 LP is in full motion. The Tinashe-assisted “On a Wave” follows Beyonce-collab “Can I” in a simiarly styled latter-days “40” minimalist feel. A simple melange of piano and a four bar synth figure carry much of the track’s instrumental weight while D & T rhyme poetic on the subject “my schedule is busy”. “On a Wave” is great and probably our favorite of the post-Nothing Was the Same Drake tracks. If you’re not into Drake, we can’t be friends.

Drake (Twitter)

reviewed by
05-27-15

B3SCI Best of 2014: Top 40 Songs

b3scitop40songs

Thanks for reading in 2014. See you in the new year.

jackwhitelazaretto

40. Jack White – Lazaretto

fkatwigstwoweeks

39. FKA Twigs – Two Weeks

templesaquestionisntanswered

38. Temples – A Question Isn’t Answered

misunelieli

37. Misun – Eli Eli

alvvaysarchiemarryme

36. Alvvays – Archie, Marry Me

georgemapletalktalk

35. George Maple – Talk Talk

orwellswhoneedsyou

34. The Orwells – Who Needs You

talaserbia

33. TĀLĀ – Serbia

nickhakimpouranother

32. Nick Hakim – Pour Another

majidjordan

31. Majid Jordan – A Place Like This

hoodlemoldfriend

30. Hoodlem – Old Friend

talostetheredbones

29. Talos – Tethered Bones

cathedralswantmylove

28. Cathedrals – Want My Love

yumizoumathebrae

27. Yumi Zouma – The Brae

saintpepsifionacoyne

26. Saint Pepsi – Fiona Coyne

kateboyselfcontrol

25. Kate Boy – Self Control

zhufaded

24. Zhu – Faded

madeinheightsmurakami

23. Made In Heights – Murakami

aquiloigaveitall

22. Aquilo – I Gave It All

junglebusyearnin

21. Jungle – Busy Earnin’

samsmithstaywithme

20. Sam Smith – Stay With Me

hoziertakemetochurch

19. Hozier – Take Me To Church

altjhungerofthepine

18. Alt J – Hunger of the Pine

warondrugs

17. The War On Drugs – Red Eyes

futureislands

16. Future Islands – Seasons

benkhanyouth

15. Ben Khan – Youth

ushergoodkisser

14. Usher – Good Kisser

miguelsimplethings

13. Miguel – Simplethings

siachandelier

12. Sia – Chandelier

teishibassically

11. Tei Shi – Bassically

marianhillgotit

10. Marian Hill – Got It

beyonce711

09. Beyonce – 7/11

runthejewelscloseyoureyes

08. Run The Jewels – Close Your Eyes

katyperrydarkhorse

07. Katy Perry – Dark Horse

tinashe2on

06. Tinashe – 2 On

raesremmurd

05. Rae Sremmurd – No Flex Zone

arianagrandeproblem

04. Ariana Grande – Problem

kieszahideaway

03. Kiesza – Hideaway

lanadelreywestcoast

02. Lana Del Rey – West Coast

honnewarmonacoldnight

01. Honne – Warm On A Cold Night

reviewed by
12-27-14