The Melodic Magic: How Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar Enhance Photoshoots

In the realm of photography, capturing the perfect shot often involves more than just technical prowess, the right lighting, or an ideal location.

One often overlooked yet profoundly impactful element is music. As photographers sketch images with light, music can amplify emotions, set the mood, and elevate the overall experience for both the photographer and the subject. Here’s why integrating music into photoshoots can be a game-changer.

Crafting the Atmosphere Imagine walking into a photoshoot set and being greeted by silence or random ambient noise versus stepping into a space filled with carefully curated tunes. Music breathes life into the environment. Whether it’s an upbeat pop song, a soothing instrumental, or edgy rock, the soundtrack sets the tone.

High-Energy Vibes: Upbeat music boosts the atmosphere, encouraging fun and energetic photos. Fast-paced tracks make models feel lively and adventurous, leading to more dynamic and expressive shots.

I’m not typically considered a “high-energy" person, so it’s SUPER important for me to listen to music with high BPM, so I can bring the energy necessary for a good, efficient photoshoot.

Elegance and Poise: On the flip side, classical music or slow jazz can bring an air of sophistication and serenity, encouraging graceful poses and calm expressions. For those striving to capture the elegance of bridal shoots or high-fashion editorials, music can be an essential tool to foster the right mood.

Enhancing Emotional Connection: Music has the power to evoke deep emotions and transport people to different states of mind. When a subject connects emotionally with the music being played, this connection often translates into more authentic and emotive portraits. A song that resonates with the subject can help them open up, be more vulnerable, and express a wider range of emotions naturally. Whether it be the Reputation album by Taylor Swift or “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar, if theres’s an emotional connection to the music, the person’s mood will shift.

Reputation by Taylor Swift (personally, my favorite album of hers)

I used to play “Godspeed” by Frank Ocean whenever parents were in the studio for their child’s senior pictures right after spending some time talking about how “next year’s going to be so different now that you’re going to have a high school graduate and how they’re going to be growing up SO fast!”

Easing Nerves and Building Rapport: A photoshoot can be a nerve-wracking experience, especially for those not used to being in front of the camera. Music acts as a comfort blanket, easing initial jitters and helping subjects feel more at ease. When people are more relaxed, it’s easier for photographers to build rapport and trust, resulting in more cooperative and enjoyable sessions.

Breaking the Ice: Soft background music can help break the ice, creating an informal, relaxed environment where subjects can be themselves.

Focus and Distraction: Background music can provide a subtle distraction, helping subjects focus less on the camera’s intimidating lens and more on the feeling the music evokes.

Creative Inspiration Music can serve as a muse for photographers as well. Just as a director uses a film score to enhance storytelling, photographers can use music to inspire creativity and guide the thematic direction of a shoot. A particular song or genre might spark ideas for poses, locations, and even post-production edits.

Synchronizing Movements: Shooting with a rhythm can build a harmonious sync between the photographer and the subject. Music can act as a metronome, facilitating smoother movements and transitions. This rhythmic flow is especially beneficial during fashion and dance photography where capturing fluid motion is crucial.

Personal Touch: Allowing subjects to contribute to the playlist can add a personal touch, making the session more tailored and enjoyable. When individuals hear their favorite songs, they are likely to feel more connected to the moment, bringing out their best selves.

The marriage of music and photography makes for an immersive artistic experience. Music has the unique ability to shape the atmosphere, influence emotions, and enhance both the subjects' and the photographer’s creativity. As we explore new ways to innovate in the world of visual arts, the role of music during photoshoots is undeniably one of the melodious secrets to achieving captivating and emotionally resonant photographs. So next time you prepare for a shoot, don’t forget to pack your playlist along with your lens kit. You may find that the perfect soundtrack is the missing piece to creating visual magic.

Scientists have found that songs with BPM rates between 115-140 have been proven to boost creativity, heighten concentration, and get your brain to its "eureka moment". If you’re a fan of hip-hop, and don’t mind some swear words, then feel free to save this Spotify playlist that I created to ensure that you’re listening to music that optimizes your creative flow.

Lastly, if you’re looking for some equipment that’s going to change your next photoshoot, then I recommend getting the Ultimate Ear Boom 4! This waterproof speaker has some of the best & clearest sound that I’ve heard from a Bluetooth speaker! Not just that but since it’s waterproof, I don’t have to worry about it getting damaged if left out in the rain or when I’m out on-location with places with bodies of water. One charge and the battery last so long too!

The Geography of Hip-Hop

“Rap has different feels and different vibes in different parts of the country. For example, people in New York city don’t drive very often, so New York used to be about walking around with your radio. But that doesn’t really exist anymore. It became unfashionable because some people were losing their lives over them, and also people don’t want to carry them, so now it’s more like “Hey, I’ve got my Walkman.” For that reason, there’s a treble type of thing going on; they’re not getting much of the bass. So rap music in New York City is a headphone type of thing, whereas in Long Island or Philadelphia... it’s more of a bass type thing.” - Chuck D

Hip-hop according to the Oxford Language is “a style of popular music of United States Black and Hispanic origin, featuring rap with an electronic backing” but it is so much more than that. Hip-hop is not just a musical genre, but a way of life, a vibe - an essence. Though this culture was pioneered in the South Bronx, New York, it wasn’t until 6 years later with the release of “Rapper’s Delight” that the culture ventured beyond the five burrows of New York. As the musical style moved across the country, many cities started to develop their own way.

The East Coast

The pioneering sound, that eventually becomes what we know as hip-hop, came from the quick-mixing style found in Jamaican dancehall music. This technique allowed disc jockeys to isolate & prolong the break section of a track between two record players, as they spoke rhymes over the track. The earliest form of East Coast rap could be considered somewhat of a disco-hip hop fusion. This can be heard best in the song “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugar Hill Gang. There is just something about that alternating bass and snare that just makes you move and groove. Throughout the years, hip-hop has grown and aged, just like its listeners, allowing for more artists to develop their own interpretations and styles of the legendary genre.

When it comes to East Coast Rap these are the key elements:

• The Rhyme

• The Sample

The greatest thing to consider that make up the East Coast and every other region’s sound, whether Old School or New school is the environment these artists grow in. For example, many New York rappers aren’t making songs to bump while you’re driving in your car because that wasn’t their experience growing up. Some of the best backpack rap* artists come from the East Coast like Black Moon and Mos Def.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are many examples of East Coast rappers moving to other rap regions, and gaining a huge following (2Pac being a great example), but just like the ink on your birth certificate - you can’t change where you were born. If you were to look at the 325 songs (not including remixes) released by Tupac Shakur, you would see that 2Pac sampled 518 songs. Although, he’s credited heavily as a West Coast rapper, in an interview with Sway he credits not just the West Coast but also the East Coast for shaping and molding him into the person he grew to be.

(Also, I know I’ve not mentioned other East Coast hip-hop fusions (like A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul), Latin Rap and Trap artists (like Bad Bunny or even Cardi B), and even the Rock Rappers (like the Beastie Boys), but for this intro we’re going to be focused mostly on boom bap*.)

The West Coast

The fastest growing style of hip-hop to branch off the originators was the West Coast style of rap, pioneered by Alonzo Williams. Unlike its East Coast counterpart, early West Coast hip-hop focused more on the DJ than the rhyme. In the 80’s this changed with the introduction of harmonized rap (later to be defined as gangsta rap) by such artists like Mixmaster Spade. For those that thought the musicians of the East Coast held back, then the early West Coast musicians were right up their alley. Alonzo “Lonzo” Williams was once quoted saying, “The lyrics came from the heart and from the streets. That is why “PARENTAL ADVISORY” had to be put on albums and CDs. Then came the beat. The West Coast had beats that were crazy , but people were loving it !”

When it comes to West Coast Rap these are the key elements:

• The “Gangsta”

• The “Flow”

When I use the word flow in regards to West Coast Rap I don’t mean the rhyme, as most people would think. I’m talking about the actual wave like pattern of each cadence. Similar to the way that a person’s voice pitches upwards when asking a question and resolves downwards when responding; West Coast Rap has a similar internal question and answer. A really great example of this can be found in the song “Streiht Up Menace” by Compton’s Most Wanted.

Similarly to East Coast Rap, the means of transportation can be heard in West Coast Rap music. In the song “Boyz-N-The-Hood” by Eazy-E, there’s a major key in the first line, “Cruisin’ down the street in my ‘64…” That key being the word cruisin’. The act of cruising is one major experience that distinguishes an East Coast rapper from a West Coast rapper. Whether you’re driving down the street in a coupe or a single-speed Schwinn, the one thing for sure is that you’re cruising - or at least thinking about it.

The Midwest

As broad as the accents are amongst the people of the Midwest, so are the influences of rap. Taking a look at 4 different cities that some of the most popular Midwest rappers have come out of (Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, and Cleveland), each of these have a very distinct sound to them, even though they are all from the same region. Though hip-hop didn’t originate in the Midwest, rappers from the Midwest have definitely become the favored region amongst The Recording Academy. Since 1996, the year the first Grammy for Best Rap Album was rewarded, the recipient has been a Midwestern rapper 12 times of the 25 (50% of that being Eminem alone).

When it comes to Midwestern Rap these are the key elements:

• Coded Language

• More White Artists

Though rap is mostly spoken in the African-American Vernacular, each region uses coded language* Similarly to how in the East Coast and Southwest region you’ll find more Latin Rap, in the Midwestern region you’ll find more white rappers. With that though, you’ll also find more rappers that go against the “traditional” ideas of what hip-hop/ rap culture means. On one side of the spectrum you’ll find rappers like Eminem whom challenge the bounds of rap and rhyme, and on the other end you’ll find rappers like Lil Dicky whom equally challenge bounds of rap, but through the lens of a white male acknowledging their white privilege.

The South

I was born in the South but raised in the Midwest, so I’m not as hip to Southern rappers, but there’s a reason for that! Prior to the 90’s, most Southern rap stayed popular in the South and didn’t move to these other regions. It wasn’t until the late 90’s that Southern rap become a mainstream sound and that is greatly due to Master P. He was the first Southern rap artists to really gain national recognition with No Limit label that extended beyond music and ventured into merchandise. I speak heavily of New Orleans’s influence in Southern rap, but don’t get it twisted Atlanta definitely developed and popularized the genre of *trap music with artists like Outkast and T.I. which allowed for New School artists like Waka Flocka Flame and The Migos to develop the Southern Trap sound that we know so well now. (so many triplets…)

When it comes to Southern Rap these are the key elements:

• The Twang

• [Either] The Bounce or The Groove

As Lil Troy said, "It’s a laid-back vibe that we like down here. That way you can understand what people sayin’ real slow and stuff. When you’re smoking that weed everyday and drinking that codeine syrup, your brain is slow already so you on time with it.” Similar to the West Coast flow, some Southern rappers have a laid-back groove in their rap style. You can hear an example of this in the song “Wanna Be A Baller” by Lil Troy. The extended synth notes at a fairly slow 92 beats per minute, help keep the energy in this song at a casual walking pace. If the groove is the head’s side of the coin, then the bounce is definitely the tail. Southern bounce music just sounds hot & sweaty (temperature-wise). To quote Big Freedia, “If ya booty ain’t movin’, you ain’t doin’ it right. The more twerkin’ the betta.” A popular Bounce example comes from New Orleans-native Choppa with the song “Choppa Style”.

Dictionary

*Backpack rap refers to music that is listened to by backpackers. Backpackers: People who only listen to underground or conscious rap"

*Boom bap is an onomatopoeia that represents the sounds used for the bass (kick) drum and snare drum, respectively.

*Coded language describes phrases that are targeted so often at a specific group of people or idea that eventually the circumstances of a phrase's use are blended into the phrase's meaning.

*Trap music is a subgenre of hip hop music that originated in the Southern United States during the early 1990s. The genre gets its name from the Atlanta slang word "trap," which refers to a place in which drugs are sold illegally.

Here are all the songs mentioned for your listening pleasure

I would like to thank Katya Deve for providing me with a collection of literature by hip-hop scholars. You were a tremendous help.

Detroit Hustles Harder (Newly Centered)

Yo!! Detroit is KILLING the underground game!

Last Saturday I made plans with my buddy Edgar, but I’m not really familiar with Detroit, so I told him to find something happening and I’ll be there. When he sent me this poster, honestly, I got hype! It was like all my favorite things came together and made a baby: music, art, food, and off-kilter individuals.

Less than 30 seconds of walking into the venue I see a fully-stocked bar and a vendor selling vegan/vegetarian nachos & burritos (shoutout to Monster Foods for providing those bomb ass Seitan burritos - I’ll come back to those). So Edgar and I go down into the crowd, and I kid you not the first person that we run into - quite literally - happened to be the cousin of my friend & colleague, Natalie. If that ain’t kismet…yup; this was where I was meant to be. Unfortunately, we arrived while racehorses are resources JUST got done with their set we weren’t able to hear any of it which was a bummer because I heard that they were really good.

James with Dave

Light Scene Factory

Justin Reed

Bassist of Tears of a Martian

Arianna Bardoni

Lead guitarist & vocalist of Tears of a Martian

Todd Watts

Drummer of Tears of a Martian

Jams with Dave killed it, for real. When the main vocalist came out with that furry coat on, I got a little skeptical because although we were in the D, it was pretty warm in the building. I was pleasantly surprised though.

Light Scene Factory was cool to watch, but I just couldn’t get behind the vocals for some reason. The musicians as instrumentalist are PHENOMENAL, but for some reason the vocals were just way too distracting to me to get down to it.

Of all the bands that performed though, the one that stood out the most for me was Tears of a Martian. Rarely do I get blown away, but this band FLOORED me! The bassist Justin Reed held it down. His stage presence was captivating and the amount of visible chemistry amongst his bandmates was intoxicating. The guitarist and lead vocalist Arianna Bardoni did a fantastic job engaging the crowd and displaying nuanced ability by incorporating unique meter and genre changes turning what started off as an alt. rock guitar solo to one with a latin/jazz feel to a bachata back to rock flawlessly. Now…let me take a second to catch my breath because Todd Watt’s skill and technique on the drums changed my life. So I went to school for music as a vocalist, and I’ve always had high respect for anybody that can even figure out how to work a drum set, but Todd Watt’s has done way more than just figure out how to work a drum set he has tamed and MASTER the instrument. In a conversation with him after his set, I come to find out that Todd was a member of Eastside Fury, a WGI (Winter Guard International - pretty much the major leagues for marching musicians) team.

So back to the food.

Monster Foods, man…*muah*. When I asked what was in the burrito, Jamie had me at Seitan. I don’t know what it is about a solid vegetarian meal that just makes you want to keep coming back, and that’s exactly what I did. I’m not even somebody that eats that much! I don’t know if it was the generous Jameson & gingers the bartender was serving me, or the smell of that cilantro but I couldn’t resist but look ravenous as I scarfed down that delicious burrito. I didn’t even think to take a picture of the meal, and y’all wouldn’t have wanted to see the monster I became when she handed me that burrito. Looking back, it makes me laugh because I had so much salsa in my beard but I didn’t even care.

A Bazaar Universe gave me that feeling of walking into your favorite vintage/thrift store and getting frustrated because there are way too many things that you want. So you end up spending way more than you should, and then in 2 weeks you’re back to see if you can find more goodies for the house.

Unknown Titled Piece

This is a piece that I bought by Christine Monley for $1. This piece spoke so loudly to me, and I cant’t put my finger on why yet still. There’s just so much in the expression.

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Kathleen Stellar

She was painting this piece during the whole event and I kid you not, I spent over 20 minutes just watching her add details. The level of symmetry and the use of colors hooked me.

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Hey, Ohio! We NEED this!

Toledo peeps, where you at?

When I asked around, I learned that only about 4 people were needed to really put the whole event together. That’s insane to me! The community amongst artists and creatives is so beautiful to me; almost got me questioning why I’m not living there. Don’t get me wrong my city isn’t bad, but we don’t do it like Detroit does. This event was definitely what I needed to feel a creative spark coming into this new year. There’s really a spirit amongst that city amongst artists that is inspiring. Detroit, thank you so much for having me! Until next time.

B. Piri (out)

The Origin of Hip-Hop: A Cultural Revolution

The Origin of Hip-Hop: A Cultural Revolution

Hip-hop is a genre of music and cultural movement that has significantly shaped the artistic landscape of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Emerging from the streets of New York City in the 1970s, hip-hop quickly evolved into a global phenomenon with a powerful impact on music, fashion, language, and social activism. The roots of hip-hop can be traced back to the Bronx, a borough in New York City, where African-American and Latino communities faced economic hardship, social inequality, and urban decay. It was in this environment that young people began to express their frustrations and aspirations through art forms such as graffiti, breakdancing, and rap music.

One of the key figures in the early development of hip-hop was DJ Kool Herc, a Jamaican immigrant who is often credited as the "founder" of hip-hop. In the early 1970s, Kool Herc began hosting parties in the Bronx where he would play funk and disco records, mixing in elements of Jamaican sound system culture such as "toasting" and "dub" techniques.

These parties soon became known for their energetic and innovative music and dance styles, drawing crowds of young people from across the city. As hip-hop continued to grow, other DJs and MCs (masters of ceremonies) began to emerge, including Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, and the Sugarhill Gang, who popularized rap music with their hit single "Rapper's Delight" in 1979.

The 1980s saw the rise of hip-hop as a mainstream cultural force, with artists like Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, and Salt-N-Pepa breaking into the music industry and achieving commercial success. Hip-hop also became a platform for social commentary and political activism, with artists like Public Enemy and N.W.A. addressing issues such as racism, police brutality, and economic inequality.

In the decades since its inception, hip-hop has continued to evolve and diversify, branching out into subgenres such as gangsta rap, conscious rap, and trap music. It has also become a global phenomenon, with artists from around the world incorporating hip-hop into their music and cultural expressions.

Today, hip-hop remains a powerful force for cultural expression, social justice, and artistic innovation. Whether through its infectious beats, thought-provoking lyrics, or distinctive fashion sense, hip-hop continues to influence and inspire generations of artists and fans, reaffirming its status as a cultural revolution that originated on the streets of New York City and spread across the globe.