Om and the 808 Kick Drum

This post might be a giant stretch for some (possibly all) of you, but it's something I've always legitimately believed to be true so I thought I'd share - bear with me and hear me out. If you're Indian (dots, not feathers - to quote Professor Lambeau from Good Will Hunting), you know what Om, or Aum, is. If you're not Indian, you might recognize this symbol at least - which is the glyph form:

The symbol form of Om.

Without diving too deep into details, Om is also known as the Primordial Vibration (primordial meaning beginning - I had to look it up so I figured I might not be alone lol). The idea is that everything in the universe originated from this first vibration of energy, and all things and thoughts existing today are different states of this energy vibration. It's almost sort of like the Big Bang Theory - very similar actually.

The reason I'm writing about this is because throughout the years, I've been told to take up Yoga by friends and family (but haven't) and the most important mantra in Yoga is Om. The idea is that when you meditate and say Om, you are creating these powerful vibrations in your head which ultimately tune your mind, soul, and body and therefore calming and deeply relaxing yourself and achieving an inner silence. I've done it a few times and I mean it works, it's actually legitimately very relaxing and refreshing.

But what's interesting though - and I mean this sincerely - is that I've gotten a similar feeling after listening to music that's loaded with bass. Again, just hear me out. I'll admit of course it's not as intense as sitting down in a quiet area, closing your eyes, meditating, letting go and saying Om. But listen to an instrumental like this using good headphones that really do the lows and the 808 justice for awhile:

^Possibly the hardest kick I've ever heard btw. If you know a better one, I'd love to hear.

A note about this to work is that you have to be using good headphones or speakers that properly deliver the bass to your ears. If you listen to albums like Yelawolf's Trunk Muzik which are loaded with ridiculous bass in every track or just any of the plenty of today's songs that are dominated by the 808, there is a unique feeling of refreshment there if you listen to those songs for awhile.

Some of you music lovers may recollect a time when this happened to you and be able to relate, and most of you are probably giving me the -_- face but will be surprised if and when this happens to you in the future. It makes logical sense in my opinion - instead of saying Om, you partially tune your mind using vibrations from powerful drums. I feel like this is a important aspect of music and low percussive instruments in general in their ability to make us feel a certain way.

I've used this as a viable alternative to staying on top of my Yoga at the least, but I digress.

GOOD Music - Cruel Summer

Wow it's been over a year since my last post - so I thought I'd try and revive this dead effort hah. With super groups now seemingly becoming a trend with Young Money's success, I thought I'd talk about what I think is going to be an awesome collaboration this year in Kanye West's upcoming GOOD Music album titled Cruel Summer and give a short and sweet run down on who they are and what you can expect from them.

First, the basics:
- GOOD Music stands for Getting Out Our Dreams
- Founded in 2004 by Kanye West
- Big names include: John Legend, Common, Kid Cudi, Big Sean, Mr. Hudson, Cyhi the Prynce, Mos Def, Pusha T, and of course Kanye West
- Big name producers: Kanye West, No I.D., Mannie Fresh, and Hit Boy

The label's been around for awhile and has been successful with 7 Grammy nominations between Common and John Legend. But it's only recently come more into the spotlight as a unit with singles like Mercy and New God Flow being released this year.

Cruel Summer is going to be released in four days on September 18, and I personally think this is going to be one of the best hip-hop albums of the year. It's not going to be an album with pop songs or tracks that you might necessarily play at a party, I don't think that's what Kanye West intends. I think the sound he's going for stems really from his last album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - especially from tracks like So Apalled. I think the album will be full of beats that are unique in their sound as far as instruments, operas, choirs, cellos...and hit hard, but at the same time stay in their essence of rap and give room for each artist's voice to come out and be heard. I also don't think Big Sean and Cyhi the Prynce were picked up by Kanye just for their lyrics...those two guys have voices that really can cut through a beat - something I feel is pretty rare and really important as far as the persona/sound these guys try to go for.

The album's stacked with really creative artists and will feature guys like Jay-Z and Mase too. I'm looking forward to it.

Singles already released:
- Mercy
- New God Flow
- Don't Like
- Clique (my personal favorite)
- Cold