In this weeks episode, I am joined by Tia Lewis, a recent graduate who has embarked on a journey on the impact technology has had on the music industry. In the episode, we explore how music sharing, listening, and distribution have all been impacted by technology over the years. Find out what role social media influencers have on the industry.

The following article has been extracted from https://tweeterortalent.com/2018/08/08/lauryn-hill/

If you thought the “I keep letting you back in” part in ‘Nice For What’ by Drake was something new, then you obviously haven’t heard of the iconic Ms Lauryn Hill. My favourite songs: Lost Ones/To Zion/Nothing Even Matters

Is she a Talent?

Few artists’ debut solo album is as iconic as Ms Hill’s. Even before this album, Ms Hill was doing incredibly well with the Fugees. Said album – ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ (MOLH), features passion from Ms Hill’s raw voice (the type that gives you goose-bumps), cohesiveness (something I really enjoy – when an album feels like a complete package) with the instrumentals pleasing to the ear and complementing Ms Hill’s voice so well.

The success of MOLH is undisputed: achieving the #1 spot on the BillBoard 200 and breaking the first week sales record for a female artist (which Cardi B recently broke). In our culture of streams, likes & views, these numbers are important, but something I want to encourage is thinking beyond the numbers. Don’t just accept a #1 song as amazing, examine it and conclude for yourself whether it should be #1 and why, and if it shouldn’t be there, how do you think it got there? (If you are confused as to why else it could have got to #1, please click here)

To understand the legacy of MOLH, let’s examine three statements:

“the breakthrough recording that fuses soul, rhythm and blues, rap and reggae” (Library of Congress, 2015)

Ms Hill said that “music [was] about to change” and “people [could play] with the parameters” (Checkoway, 2008), and she was right. Maloney (2017) deemed the album “progressive” and it’s attributed to making hip-hop and neo-soul mainstream. Ms Hill took “artistic statements, musical elements and cultural messages” and “[melded]” them together (Blau, 2013) while critiquing contemporary hip-hop culture, creating an album which hasn’t “wavered in popularity in 20 years” (Maloney, 2017).

“one of the most incredible albums ever made” – Mary J Blige (Checkoway, 2008)

Technology is believed to have made everything ‘better’, so you might expect the above statement to be for an album that heavily incorporated technology. But, something I want to explore on this platform is whether our heavy technological use could impact music quality, like removing emotional connections (explored in more detail here). 

Ms Hill believed a “computer’s too perfect” but “human element[s]…make the hair on the back of [her] neck stand up” (Checkoway, 2008), so shares similar thoughts. The result of  her humanistic approach, for me, is feeling an emotional connection with MOLH, especially with raw themes like “spirituality” (Blau, 2013) and pregnancy (cue: To Zion). Maloney felt compelled to “buy…from real people in a real store” (2017), and the significance of doing this is something I discussed recently here.

By exploring other artists past and current, I want to build on this idea, and see whether technology could have removed our emotional connections with music.

“changing the role of women in the w

On this episode, we are joined by O J Harper (website/twitter), a London based designer with 8+ years experience who uses creativity to solve problems for brands.

With his expertise in branding, we felt it was only right to try and answer a challenging question – How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

Rarely do we ask ourselves this question, usually the only time we describe our attributes is in a job interview. “I am able to work pressurised environments and deliver results”

But what are our own individual characteristic, who are we really are? Interestingly on the discovery of your characteristic, it can aid you in leveling up and achieving your goals. The discovery brings a level of awareness; you are able to point out your weaknesses and think of how to improve and it also enables you to identify your strengths and how to use it to your advantage.

The word branding is usually mentioned in a business content, but branding isn’t just for businesses but for individuals. Build your personal brand, every individual is a walking brand so focus on it.

We will be the first to admit digging deep inside is not an easy thing to do; you could try the following:-

You are always evolving so remember that the person you may describe today may be completely different in 6 months and this is perfectly fine.

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A few months back I and Anton decided to really let everyone into our personal lives by sharing our innermost personal situations, worries, challenges – worts and all.

It definitely wasn’t an easy recording but it made for some of our most interactive material – in terms of feedback from listeners and likes.

Most people go through life experiencing some type of adversity. The vast majority of people around the world will go through some pretty tough times at some point in their lives. What a lot of people don’t go on to realize is that more importantly, they all have the potential to get even better at resilience.

Emotional, autobiographical storytelling can be a path to truly owning your entire story and truth. Even more powerful is that, by “giving it away,” people can use their own journeys as a means of helping others on theirs.

1) understanding that sharing your story can help other people

Stories are known to be very healing and many people benefit from getting the opportunity to pass on their wisdom to others. This can be especially powerful for people who do not always feel that they have the chance to help others. Resilience is strengthened by recognizing that we are all experts in our own lives and we all have something to share with others. Another piece of this is starting to understand that words can have power—positive power—on others. It took me a while and experience of sharing my personal story to realise this [Ola]

2) Finding your own voice

storytelling is also powerful because it helps you to find your own voice. Finding your voice simply means learning how to express yourself and learning how to think about what has happened in your life in a way that makes sense.

3) Re-affirming your values

Sometimes you learn things about yourself from the act of writing or storytelling. It can be a way to clarify what is important. Many of the people we have spoken to have mentioned that pausing to tell your story can be a good reminder of your priorities. It is so easy to get swept up in the day-to-day hustle and bustle. Taking some time to focus on values can be beneficial.

4) Finding peace, finding hope & showing gratitude

What’s the difference between someone who has achieved resilience and someone who has not? One important difference is a sense of well-being. People who have found their voice, shared their story, and reaffirmed their values often find a sense of peace and a hopefulness that they did not have before. As well as showing gratitude for all they have

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