Black | 5ive Songs

1. Anthony Hamilton, “Love is the New Black”

 💿 Love is the New Black • 🏷 My Music Box / BMG Rights Management • 📅 2021

After a five-year hiatus, 🏆 Grammy-winning R&B singer/songwriter 🎙 Anthony Hamilton is finally back! The neo-soul star dropped 💿 Love is the New Black at the end of September 2021.  On the third single, 🎵 “Love is the New Black”, Hamilton maintains utmost consistency and relentless soulfulness.

“Love is the New Black” serves as the opener, setting the tone.  Being true to Hamilton artistically, it features old-school production, in a retro-/neo-soul style (🎛 Cardiak and 🎛 WU10).  As far as the sounds, I love the keys, dramatic, lush strings, and the percussion-fueled groove –DECADENT! Furthermore, I love the fact that the instrumental intro percolates for a good 30+ seconds.  Of course, Anthony does his thing as always, delivering expressive, soulful vocals and romance-driven songwriting/theme.  Furthermore, he delivers utterly sublime ad-libs. While the aesthetic is familiar, with Hamilton in his niche, there’s contrast too.  Worth noting, “Love is the New Black” features only one section, the chorus:

“I know where I'm goin’
You know where it’s at
One thing that's for sure
Love is the new Black.” 

Once again, Mr. Hamilton comes through.

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2. Jack Harlow & Pooh Shiesty, “SUVs (Black on Black)”

🎵 “SUVs (Black on Black)” • 🏷 Generation Now / Atlantic • 🗓 2021

“All my brags turn to facts, all my hundreds turn to racks / All my ladies turn to snacks, SUVs, black on black.” Wow, that’s surefire confidence there 🎙 Jack Harlow.  The Louisville, Kentucky-bred rapper joins forces with Memphis, Tennessee standout, 🎙 Pooh Shiesty on 🎵 “SUVs (Black on Black)”.  Harlow and Shiesty keep things short but engaging, entertaining, and enjoyable.

“SUVs (Black on Black)” offers nothing transcendent, but it bangs.  I love the Spanish cues that appear within the production on the intro.  Furthermore, that trap beat goes rock hard.  Producers 🎛 Go Grizzly and 🎛 Smash David fuel Harlow and Shiesty’s fire for sure.  Harlow shines with his confident, cocky rhymes on the first verse (“Now I call shots like I’m John Wooden (John Wooden)”). On the second verse, Shiesty compels with that Memphis accent and street-driven bars (“It’s sixty rounds under my chop, all my guns got extended mags”). All and all, they make a formidable team.  There’s nothing transcendent or brand-new, but the results are successful.

3. Beyoncé, “Black Parade”

💿 The Lion King: The Gift [Deluxe] • 🏷 Sony • 🗓 2020 

Juneteenth received more attention in 2020 than it had ever previously earned.  The amplification of the celebration was propelled by protests, fighting for racial equality and justice.  🎙 Beyoncé, woke like so many black musicians during an incredibly tense time, released a song celebrating blackness, 🎵 “Black Parade”, appearing on 💿 The Lion King: The Gift (Deluxe Edition).

“Black Parade” blends African and international music with R&B, hip-hop, and pop.  Also, there’s a clearly a socially conscious sentiment. It also successfully establishes a vibe. There’s lots of gimmickry and repetition, but not only is it embracing the minimalist elements of modern, mainstream music, it also revisits the minimalist elements of world music, which makes it so influential on today’s music. Despite its more simplistic elements, “Black Parade” is deeper and more transcendent. It’s polarizing, but art nonetheless – a great conversation piece.

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4. Niall Horan, “Black and White”

💿 Heartbreak Weather • 🏷 Capitol • 📅 2020

“Yeah, I see us in black and white,” 🎙 Niall Horan sings on the chorus of 🎵 “Black and White,” the second track from his sophomore album, 💿 Heartbreak Weather.  He later adds, “I promise that I’ll love you for the rest of my life / See you standing in your dress.” Wow, it’s serious in Horan’s mind – like, matrimony serious!

Horan recounts a relationship, which at one time, was committed and lit AF.  His feelings towards his girlfriend were certainly legit – quite deep. Niall describes this as a wedding song with, say, the first person you date.  The bridge is a prime example of his dedication and infatuation. Singing with great expressiveness, he asserts, “And I want the world to witness when we finally say ‘I do’ / It’s the way you love, I gotta give it back to you.” Oh those wedding bells!

5. Black Pumas, “Black Moon Rising”

💿 Black Pumas • 🏷 ATO • 📅 2019

“Shoot me down and break my heart / It’s the black moon rising / You brave the sight, I paint the picture / And you want to do it…” 🏆 Grammy-nominated duo 🎙 Black Pumas – singer 🎙 Eric Burton and guitarist/producer 🎙 Adriana Quesada – kept the soul and funk alive on their self-titled debut album.  💿 Black Pumas commences with a moon song, the terrific 🎵 “Black Moon Rising.”

One of the things that makes Black Pumas’ music cool in general is the ambience – the V-I-B-E!  The backdrop is retro to the core, with electrifying soulful guitars (Quesada), keyboards, and strings.  The harmonic progression is more adventurous than most contemporary pop or urban contemporary progressions, stretching the ear more without being incredibly ‘left of center.’ Burton sounds incredible, showcasing both a nuanced, full-voiced approach, as well as some decadent, colorful falsetto.

Beyond all the music elements that makes this psych-soul record awesome, there’s also the lyrics. Besides the excerpted chorus, Burton sings about his desire for his “sunshine,” a woman he’s infatuated with, to return. At the end of the first verse, he sings:

“Every time you get dressed in black
You give a grown man a heart attack
I pray that good Lord will bring you back
You’re my sunshine.”

Of course, it is the numerous references to the titular lyric that help solidify the greatness of “Black Moon Rising.”

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