Author page: Natalee Gilbert

Last year, on May 23, TA-RA posted another flawless selfie with the caption “Solar System Angel.” Little did she know that this caption would be the forefront of her latest 10-tracked album, RARE 1.

Sonically soothing to the ears and a confidence booster, TA-RA’s RARE 1 takes a futuristic approach to the R&B scene.

 

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★☆✰✪✯……….:.Solar System Angel ⛓⚙️🛰🌌

A post shared by ta-Ra (@tuaregshawty) on May 23, 2018 at 2:02pm PDT

Her glittery, trance-like vocals and different studs of production seem to make listeners starry-eyed. It’d be no surprise if the Billboards chose to “make it go gold, make it go far.”

Nevertheless, Ta-Ra knows what she brings to the table and this album just proves that.

“This project is really about affirming oneself by understanding that through myself I am everything else and that every living being is rare and needed,” said Ta-Ra.

From time to time the French singer even uses Japan’s notable economic growth to drive her sound. But even so, the album artwork speaks volumes for Ta-Ra. Its special effects look three dimensional. Additionally, specks of purple, grey, and green are used to portray her as the universe.

 

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#RARE1 ©️📂OUT February 22 / Cover by @tuaregshawty + @laura_ma_ + @hologramedias + Clement D.S

A post shared by ta-Ra (@tuaregshawty) on Feb 13, 2019 at 1:24pm PST

Still, she thanks her lucky stars for being an entity. Without them and music, Ta-Ra would feel alienated. RARE 1 starts off with a track that’s sure to “work ya body” called “Avatar.”

Deriving from Japanese roots — the track uses a flute and faint glass ping effect to capture its essence. To keep it even more trill, Ta-Ra even adds in a drum kit to propel the message further.

To me, this track would be a great addition to the movie Carmen: A Hip Hopera’s soundtrack. Essentially “Avatar” is seductive by nature but she’s not wailing like Beyoncé to Mekhi Phifer, “C’mon and touch me D. I know you want to.”

Instead, Ta-Ra shuts out those scumbags and gives a word of advice.

“Where you at? That’s what I get the most, I’m lowkey/You wanna tell the world the motion, take it slow emotion/I’m excited when it’s getting crucial/If you wanna ride you better get a purpose.”

The second track, “Spyro,” fits its name. From its echo sound wave to the scattered synths and looped piano, the production remains elusive.

You’d think that Ta-Ra was referring to one who schemes on obtaining information yet the R&B singer is comparing herself to Spyro, the dragon from the timeless PlayStation video game.

“I’m a pyroman, Spyro baby/ Throwing tantrums, throw a flame/Got volcanos in my brain/Young shawty.”

In the gist of things, “Spyro” has a combative yet sneaky appeal. Ta-Ra doesn’t trust anyone. They’re just way too envious.

“Swear these witches do not want me at the top/ I made ways all I do touch turn into gold/Planet Earth called saying that you was a hoe/I’m so high we different, I’m an astronaut/Capricorn, you fuck with me cause I’m the goat.”

Driving a spacious Japanese sound once again the third track “5star” uses an elevated UFO sound effect, woodwinds, and organ chords whilst referring herself to “a scientist alchemist” or “the biggest mistake of all of her exes.”

Here, Ta-Ra is boasting her realness.

“I’m real until my death, I could never fake it, ouh.”

Still, what stands out from the very beginning is that reference, the one her Insta followers know and love — “Solar system angel, I am flying on a comet.”

Not missing a beat, “Nebulas” rolls in as the fourth track on Rare 1. She struts her stuff from the very beginning. “Proving this, Nebulas” starts off with a vintage “walking down the runway” sound and synth keyboard that seems to dance around.

As Ta-Ra croons soothingly “I’m on a call with you. If you with it shawty. I’m finna die with you. As long as you ride my sky is blue.” The listener thinks of their own undying love for their friends as well. The purpose of this song is for Ta-Ra to show her devotion to the real ones.

“If you homie you my family.”

Pleasantly the fifth track, “Falcon7” starts off with an out of tune guitar riff that finds its way to our reward circuit. From there the track just keeps getting better — easing in with snares and a low piano chord.

As Ta-Ra allows herself to be vulnerable, she speaks on how her heart is just way too big. Despite being done dirty, she manages to clean it up with forgiveness but now she’s questioning her motives from now on.

Fool her once shame on you, fool her twice ‘can only put the blame on you. Simple.

“My love for you is a constant intake/I keep on going and going for them/I’m about to go off ’cause they abusing it/Oh, I am all of your call/Falcon high, vision installed/Them no high, vision is low/My love for you is inevitable.”

“Talking to the stars and sky alone” the sixth track “Nymph” speaks on a future love she just can’t seem to get out of her head. Although she has yet to meet him, Ta-Ra hopes he’ll come soon.

While the xylophone and hi-hats bang in, Nymph creates a nostalgic atmosphere. As we make a wish, we beg for “the one”.

“Hello, hello, hello…../I’d love to meet you/Where the f*ck is you/Is you right and how you do/Waiting on you/Every moon/I been looking like a fool.”

For RARE 1’s seventh track, “OG Love Key,” Ta-Ra uses 808s, a drone sound effect, and dream-ridden vocals. Thus, taking us to another level.

Hesitant about giving her all to a new love, Ta-Ra professes how she’s feeling and even if it’s tough, she’s willing to try because she is really fond of him.

“Swimming in your waters I don’t care about your sharks/I give love to you/It’s tough/I’m about to lose it ‘cause I need that OG love.”

More of a pop-ish song, the eighth track “Exit” features Vroskiii. Additionally, Ta-Ra slides in some rhymes. It merely has a futuristic vibe with its looped synths & reverbs.

Still, the song comes with a powerful message. They speak for others out there who have a similar feeling and are looking for a way out.

“Tryna find a way out/See the kids up in my city/Shanghai Tokyo and in Paris/All they tryna do/Is tryna find a way out.”

In the same fashion, Vroskiii expresses how he’s going to continue doing him. All in all, society can’t keep him chained. He’s breaking free. “Tired of those wanting a piece of me. I’m doing me doing what I want…”

As the ninth track, “VenusFlower” lays out a beautiful harp, a scale of futuristic sound effects and 808s. Ta-Ra adds to the calm aura with her soft vocality. Alas, she’s ”planting all the seeds of all her love into his garden” and is ready to “ride down the coast where he likes to fly.”

When she hits those high notes in the same manner, you feel warm and enthralled. As the quote goes, “Pressure makes diamonds.”

Lastly, the tenth track “NorthStar” speaks on how “she’s on level 50 in the building.” I am unsure if this song’s purpose is to speak on independence or finding love but nevertheless the core of it is discovery.

“Got the space and time/You rolling with a dime/Brain cells getting so overloaded Northstar/Got me on my path/I’m rocking with it/Got my Northstar I been wishing/Praying for a second/With it.”

In the background expect to hear a sci-fi machinery loop coupled with a dagger of synths. As for her vocals, the repetitive verses just bring you back to earth. It’s a track that makes you do some reflection.

To put in words — RARE 1 will have you over the moon. It’s a timeless piece of work and will never depreciate in value.

For RARE 1, Ta-Ra went beyond the realms of conscience. We might not be Martian’s but we are so similar that it’s almost unimaginable. Like Ta-Ra says in “Avatar,” “If they know the way to power we on something much louder.”

If you are curious, stream Ta-Ra’s entire album below via this audiovisual experience.

Rewinding the hands of time — Anderson .Paak gives us that “automatic, supersonic, hypnotic, funky fresh” sound we seemingly love in his latest album Ventura.

With this in mind, you’d think that Ventura and Malibu’s sound are alike but they aren’t. Malibu was more personable. Ventura speaks on unity.

 

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A post shared by INDIE ANDY JONES (@anderson._paak) on Apr 13, 2019 at 11:45am PDT

It’s a given that most will get up on the dance floor while listening to this nostalgic piece. Still, Anderson .Paak furnished features from icons Andre 3000, Smokey Robinson, Lalah Hathaway, Jasmine Sullivan, Sonyae Elise, Brandy, and Nate Dogg to keep us on our toes.

In the same way, Ventura does the same with its subgenres like soul, disco, and alternative R&B. Still, the main thing for keeps on each track is Anderson’s distinctive husky vocal pattern.

It just “begs you to come home” and at once you’re in your younger years, at your local rink or at the jukebox slow dancing with a cutie.

https://tidal.com/track/107325495

This groovy 11-track collective starts off with “Come Home” featuring Andre 3000. Pleading for a reconciliation with his true love, Anderson .Paak thinks they should stop playing the blame game because “all of the signs are brightly drawn” and point back to her open arms.

The Motown inspired production also gives Anderson .Paak and Andre 3000 some leeway to take the song in many directions (the guitar riffs, piano’s low/high register to the kick drum and even the flute.) Yet the matter at hand forces them to stick with what they’ve got.

Right after Anderson.Paak says his piece, Andre 3000 goes in with his internal rhyming style — giving his love something to chew on. For the listeners worldwide, how’s that for food of thought?

“We fightin’, we might need counseling, possibly more-so me, Sounds to me frowns’ll be grounds to leave, Hounds’ll be lookin’ for you before you drop a tear.”

The second track, “Make it Better” featuring Smokey Robinson oozes with a refined version of 70s soul. As Anderson .Paak uses his honeyed voice simultaneously with Smokey Robinson — you can’t help but think that Paak’s gotten some pointers from the legend!

Like, “Come Home,” Anderson .Paak sings about mending his relationship. Although it seems difficult, he knows that together things could get easier if they just keep on trying but she will need convincing.

“Somehow, we fell in love, then fell right out of touch. And ooh, that was hard. But ooh, here we are. And it’s easier to walk away. Then to look for what would make you stay.“

Their crooning is followed by dynamic guitar riffs, the famous kick-drum & a projectile violin.

“Reachin’ 2 Much” featuring Laila Hathaway reaches for a medium and it does an exceptional job. From the organ chords and bass drum to the horns, claps & futuristic sound effects — this two-part track perfectly expresses how disco & funk should sound.

As Anderson .Paak tries to figure out if the girl he’s speaking about is on the same page, Laila backs him up with her trancelike harmony & scatts.

https://tidal.com/track/107325497

“I see you too much, baby, I need to (Take some space)/You kiss me too much, baby, forgot to (Wipe my face)/I treat you too much, baby, why don’t you (Ever pay?) I think you’re too much, baby, I need to (Pump my brakes)/(I think I’m doin’ way too much, I)/How can one thing mean so much to you and (So little to me?)/You stay here too much, baby, you know it’s (Not your place)/You’re sniffin’ too much, baby, I had to (Hide my yay’)”.

This song perfectly describes what it’d be like if someone had a friend with benefits & the friend wanted more than benefits.

The fourth track, “Winner Circle” goes for a Musiq Soulchild vibe, blending jazz with hip-hop. Most of his life Anderson .Paak has played his cards and versatile rhymes right, but he’s also played the roles of the women who’ve given him attention.

Still, there’s this one girl.. one girl who’s different from the rest.

https://tidal.com/track/107325498

“They gon’ have to come for me/Came out my comfort zone to be your missing company/Somethin’ about the way you never gave it up to me/But let me know that I can get it any day of the week.”

By the fifth track, “Good Heels” featuring Jazmine Sullivan, Anderson .Paak goes back to his player ways.

Singing from two perspectives, Paak finds himself in a sticky situation when his side chick leaves her keys and clothes in his house, but with his girl on the way, he can’t risk letting her in through the door. His greatest vice for her,

“Pull up, uh, the fire escape, uh Open up the window, get your little thangs/Get your little keys, get your little rings/Just free in the wind, though, before she see your face.”

https://tidal.com/track/107325499

More liberated than ever in the sixth track — “Yada Yada” keeps the funk going! Anderson .Paak speaks about how grateful he is to be where he’s at now because things weren’t so grand before.

He goes from rapping to singing and it just goes to show why he’s here, to begin with.

“When the dreams become reality (It could be)/ It’s hard to keep a smile off the mug (Look at me)/Label tried to play me like I didn’t do all the work/I found another way through the open gate and my purpose/Now I’m goin’ crazy like (Right).”

https://tidal.com/track/107325500

Keeping the same energy the seventh track, “King James” pays its respect to Lebron James for standing up for his people.

Though it is admirable, Paak charges them to do the same. Check these lyrics,

“And we salute King James for using his change/To create some equal opportunities/Cold stares can never put the fear in me/There’s a movement we’ve been groovin’ on/You can move or stay your ass asleep/Let’s just not talk about it/Everything they tried to hide/We’re taking back for yours and mine. Out of everything that the production brings, the whistle blows makes the message stick out like a sore thumb.”

https://tidal.com/track/107325501

“Chosen One” off of Ventura uses a sped-up sample of “On The Level” by Mac Demarco in the first piece but then expands on its own with a snare drum, trickled piano chords and low guitar riff at hand.

In this track Anderson .Paak speaks about finding a girl who loves him for him instead of his fame.

“Who gon’ love me and touch me the right way/Need me a lil’ baby/Who gon’ run up and jump in the fight with me/Need me a lil’ lady/Who gon’ keep it buck like Milwaukee/Need me a lil’ lady.”

He adds some spice to the sugar talk is Sonyaè Elise, who uses a bit of sex appeal in her vocal play to accredit her loyalty.

https://tidal.com/track/107325502

We still want the funk and Anderson .Paak provides it (still) by track nine — “Jet Black” featuring Brandy. More refined with some R&B-ish crooning from Brandy, the song gives you that “good lovin’” feeling.

To put it in words, Anderson .Paak and Brandy sing about how great their love is.

“We peakin’ hands above us/Feels like someone lifted me/We peakin’/Arms like lovers/Feels like someone sent for me (Sent for me, yeah)/We peakin’.”

https://tidal.com/track/107325503

It’s hard to zone out by Ventura’s tenth track, “Twilight” because of everything you hear. In midst of the bouncy bass line — you start to believe your ears are playing tricks because Paak starts to sound like Isaac Hayes but in reality, it’s still the multiverse artist.

Merely an ode to his love, he expresses how grateful he is to have her in his life.

“You’re my twilight when it’s awfully dark and I lost my way/ ‘Cause when my life feels off the mark, you put me back in place.”

https://tidal.com/track/107325504

Last but not least, Ventura‘s last track “What Can We Do?” features savored, archived vocals from Nate Dogg.

The album doesn’t contain more tracks so…what can we do? All jokes aside — in this song Paak is trying to figure out what to do next after the end of his relationship. But so far he’s got nothing.

“Cause my love went wrong/Yeah, another bag and she’ll love me in the morn’/While the bubble over stove/As I was dreaming of a bag, then I woke/You were starting to snore, wake your ass up/Layin’ in a bed full of cash/You slowly rolled over and whispered back to me/ “That’s just the way things have to be.”

https://tidal.com/track/107325505

The production resembles G-Funk. Despite what Paak’s going through in this song, he’s still illmatic and funkadelic. On the real, like its name, Ventura gives off feel-good vibes.

At best it’s an eccentric mix that hones in on Anderson .Paak’s skill. He’s come a long way from those open mics at Leimert and he’s on the point of no return. Slowly but surely, Ventura will continue making its mark.

Peep the entire album for yourself below. Ventura is a great listen.

https://tidal.com/album/107325494