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Haraya would like to wish all Harayans and their families a beautiful holiday filled with love, laughs, and good food! How are you all spending your Thanksgiving? Send us pictures at harayablog@gmail.com and we'll post them here after the break! 

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Jhene Aiko's New Album Makes Waves

     

Attention music lovers: there’s some new underground tunes that are sure to have you sit back, close your eyes and drift off to a world far away from your own reality. Treat yourself to a trip to a musical paradise by sailing out with recording artist, Jhene Aiko. The former T.U.G. artist has come a long way from kicking it with R&B group B2K to establishing herself as an artist to look out for.
       Last Tuesday, Aiko released her highly anticipated EP titled Sail Out. Since releasing her first musical project in years, Sailing Souls, fans have been eagerly waiting to hear some fresh sounds from the singer, myself included. Since then, many labels have been dying to sign the brand new face on the music scene, but in the end, Def Jam won the prize. Aiko’s decision was found to be the right one. Upon signing, she has been on tour with the likes of two powerhouse names, multi-platinum Hip Hop artists Nas and Drake. We can assume that because of all the performances there were to tend to, studio time just wasn't a priority. However, the wait has finally come to an end with not just one, but two presents (YAAY!).
       Aiko has called the EP "a bridge between Sailing Souls and her first solo album Souled Out". The album is set for release in early January of 2014, so it looks like Aiko’s fans should be sitting tight until the next album. I know that I (a fan since the T.U.G. days) am more than satisfied and cannot wait to hear more. If you know Aiko, then you know her style: smooth, sultry and easy on the ears. Her voice and melodic rhythm are captivating and her lyrics cut deep into the soul. She has said that the album will be a little different than what we’re used to, but hey, I’m up for the challenge. Any artist that can step out of their comfort zone musically and succeed at it is a go in my book.
       If you’re looking for something new for your iPod, definitely give Jhene Aiko a listen. Sail Out  is only six dollars on iTunes and is in this week’s top 10 new album releases. Collaborations on the EP include Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino, and Ab-Soul. Aiko touches on issues ranging from deep conversations about her personal life to lighter expression about her love of hibiscus and just being a bum for the day with your significant other. This is definitely an EP that will be on repeat for me until further notice.

- Ashley Germain

Jhene Aiko's video "Bed Peace" from Sail Out

Kanye West "Takes Back" Confederate Flag

   Kanye West is known to do outlandish things that never cease to shock the public. It works like a charm, every time, and we are always entertained. His actions, his words and his mannerisms are very hard to predict but when will we stop acting so surprised? Kanye has made it clear to his audience that if he has a statement to make, it will be made, and last week’s events were no different from the rest.

                Last Tuesday, Kanye was seen sporting a jacket with the Confederate flag shining in all its glory on his right sleeve. Ironically enough, this happened at about the same time that Kanye slandered Barney’s for racially profiling in its stores. Now, before I get to how I feel about the charade, let’s get to the general public point of view. From all the articles I have read and all the newscasts I have seen, public opinion is split between two sides: publicity stunt and “cultural hero”. On the one hand, you might cry publicity stunt because Kanye is known for his antics; he needs to stay in the public eye to, (say it with me) make money. As long as Kanye remains a household name, he is getting called for photo shoots, commercials, advertisements, sponsorships and the list goes on. Not that we don’t talk about him enough as it is but it would make sense for him to pull a stunt like this.

West takes it even further by placing the Confederate flag on his tour merchandise. We’re talking t-shirts, sweaters, snapbacks, etc. which leads us to believe that this could be a marketing technique as well. On the other hand, some people see Kanye as the one person who looks out for the Black community. As an African-American, once you dig deeper, I can see how this could be a positive action that most people could take as a negative at face value. For example, take the N-word. People outside of our culture don’t understand why some of us use it. African-Americans sought to take that word that has such a negative connotation in our history, and turn it into something more endearing. Then we face the problem of “Well if you can use the word, why can’t I?” from non-African-American people. There’s a whole lot of controversy that comes with this, but you should understand the point I’m trying to get across. Kanye may be trying to abolish an ugly symbol that has lasted too long in our history.

            As for my thoughts, I believe Kanye has every opportunity to carry out the latter. Whether or not he is aware of this opportunity remains unknown. And even if he is, his statements in previous interviews give me the impression that he doesn’t really care. But that could be a bluff as well. I want to believe that Kanye has every intention to set the bar for African-Americans to succeed, however I need to see the fruits of that labor. If you are going to call yourself God, if you are going to flaunt the Confederate flag, have an end purpose to it all. Otherwise, the amount of ruckus that was made on your behalf was in vain, and these actions will just be thrown into the same pile as the Miley Cyrus’s or Lindsay Lohans. There will be no accomplishments made. I don’t want Kanye to be a walking oxymoron, exploiting those who he claims to support just for the sake of self-gain. What happens when Caucasians start wearing the flag as a fashion statement? Will not history repeat itself (as irony would have it)? Who knows, maybe I set my sights too high for someone who has no filter… ever. Only time will tell. What do you think? Is this a stunt, stirring up controversy for some publicity or taking back a negative symbol that has been in the African-American culture for years?

     

- Ashley Germain