#MUZEMONDAZE: WEEK 10

A NEW EXCLUSIVE WEEKLY COLUMN BY ITEM MAGAZINE.
By Contributor Tre Florez
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​1. Miguel feat. Travis Scott - “Sky Walker”
R&B singer, Miguel, is back with his newest single, “Sky Walker”. The sound is not the traditional Miguel (of the heavy soul vibe, we get from his past work), as you can really hear the beat influence, of featured artist Travis Scott’s signature off-beat style. The song casts a rather slowed down pace, with very few instrumental sounds. All the while,  referencing the great Star Wars films, he refers to himself as:

“Luke Sky Walkin’ on these haters
celebrate every day like a birthday”

The force is certainly with Miguel, in the first verse of the track. The fashion-forward star’s visuals (by industry heavyweight Director X) dropped shortly after the single was released and would serve up as a late-summer party anthem, for those hot August nights. The rest of the lyrics talk about putting in hard work and having no sleep for days. This is basically how you earn your party money; this is how you become Miguel.

“Good things come to those who wait up
But don’t wait to jump in too long
Don’t sleep you gotta stay up”

With that, he’s developed a smooth and sultry voice that somehow manages to be consistent in every one of his songs. Even when he rap-sings he stays woke, apparently. Travis Scott’s verse is set in the middle of the tune, as it is also about not sleeping and non-stop working:

“Ain’t no day, ain’t no night
Make no plans, and no sleep.”

We can’t wait to see what more this new Miguel era has to bring, but we are still hoping for a nice R&B love song-ballad type song soon. After his last album, “Wildheart” in 2015, and the accompanying tour, we haven't heard much from the star as of late, except waves back in early 2016, also featuring Travis Scott. Come back to us Miguel, come back! (*Miguel has released his next album, titled "War and Leisure, following this MUZEMONDAZE entry.)

2. Fifth Harmony - “He Like That”
FIfth Harmony’s thirst-single, from their very recently released self-titled album on August 25th, 2017, “He Like That,” brings forth a progressively more sexual visual than they have before; one that complements the dance movie, Honey. The video released in tandem with the album, showing the four remaining girls in their individually charged choreographed moments, with the muscled men. It is about a guy ‘liking’ the girl’s – and well – you can fill in the other blanks.

The group is embracing their newfound sexuality and are not scared to show it. This is one of the few songs not co-written by any of the girls in the group and has a more pop-influence than the previous single, “Angel”. In both videos, the girls have clearly grown (even in performance), as you can hear the confidence pouring out of both songs at every turn.

He Like That has a catchy chorus and an upbeat electric guitar strum, one that is easy to grind to. While they sing about the guy in question – being an attractive bad boy that loves their affection – the lyrics cast no doubt that the girls want some lovin’ too. 

“You put that bass in the beat, won’t you beat it up inside it?
I got that pumps in the bump and you know you wanna try it”

And later:

“He got a thing for them girls that make their money overnight’n”
I know he bad for my health, but I still wanna try it”

The sexual innuendos go all the way through, with “pumps in the bump..” For whatever that means, insert your choice of emjoi’s here. 

3. Galimatias “Let Me Know”
Electronic producer Galimatias (AKA Matias Saabye Køedt) hits EDM fans, with the catchy and slow “Let Me Know”; a summer-vibe about a possible blossoming relationship. The song is his first single since his outstanding project “Urban Flora”, which shot both he and soulful artist Alina Baraz to the top of the EDM spotlight. Remember the tracks such as “Fantasy” and “Pretty Thoughts”? With Let Me Know, we hear a more concise and executed beat, one with far less vocal focus and more of a composition focal point, than the rest of his past work. While Galimatias, typically lets other artists sing on his tracks, this time around he uses his own voice. 

Starting with the sound of a cell phone vibrating, the electric chorus provides ample EDM-ness swag to the song, while the lyrics are somewhat deep and honest within. He asks:

“Do you spare me a thought through the day
Let me know, let me know
If you want me to stay away
Let me know, let me know”

He is asking if he should continue pursuing the person in question, or move on to the next date. The vibrations of the sound, lets us assume this is happening over text; which makes the song more relatable to a generation where relationships are heavily reliant upon technology.

There was an initiative for this track to sound different than the one Urban Flora has. According to an interview with Complex Magazine, that was the plan: 

“I tuned out from social media for a year...and people started sending me messages asking if I was still alive. I'm definitely not dead, but I don't ever want to create the same sound twice, and it took a good while for me to figure out what I wanted to do after Urban Flora."

With this single being released back in June, Galimatias has released two additional singles, titled, Won’t Forget and Blowback. Both sound completely different from his past work, but still take on Galimatias’ laid-back, easy-going feel. 

4. Fergie feat. Nicki Minaj - “You Already Know” 
Steadily releasing catchy singles consistently since 2014, starting with L.A. Love (la la), Fergie recently announced that she is getting ready to release her new album, Double Duchess in September 2017. Fergie Ferg’s latest single, You Already Know, combines her own new-wave 90’s hip-hop funk with Nicki Minaj’s pop-off. And bam! A modern-classic is born. (Or so we hope!)

Having been basically off the top charts radar since her debut solo album, The Dutchess (2006), her new look and sound is much more modern and experimental than that before. Releasing "M.I.L.F.$" in 2016 and “Life Goes On" ​in 2017, You Already Know stands out as one of the better ones. 

The song samples Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock's, "It Takes Two," and is produced by Fergie’s Black Eyed Peas now previous bandmate, will.i.am; who is known for sampling classic hip-hop songs in his work. This is one of Fergie’s rapping songs and does not feature much singing from her nor Nicki. But something about her voice here seems very balanced and not overly edited. Fergie acknowledges that she has been gone for too long, with lyrics like,

“Gone for a minute and you missed me
Now Fergie back with a bag full of tricksies, what”

And also demands respect with these lines:

“Pose for the camera, daddy, I'm vogueing
Baby, I'm glamorous, and I'm folding
Grammys and AMAs, I'm holding
Amazing the way I keep shit frozen,”

Because, well, she’s Fergie.

The sound is classic will.i.am, and with the previous hitmaker Nicki Minaj, this surely set to be a hit. The track was released alongside another single, featuring rapper Rick Ross: Hungry. And is listed as number four in the list of singles from the latest album.