Album Review: Stars Dance

Credit: Hollywood Records

When I heard about Selena’s announcement of a new album a few months back, I sort of got excited. I was hoping that she would create a new sound for herself, and grow away from the good-girl Disney Channel persona.

On June 3rd, Gomez released her second single from the album, “Slow Down” (single one being “Come and Get It”), and now I knew she was creating something new for herself. “Slow Down”, to me, is even catchier then the Eastern-style “Come and Get It”. It is just one of the songs that you roll the windows down on a nice day and bump.

Now, come mid-July, I had the chance to preview Selena’s new album “Stars Dance” in its entirety. It looks like my hopes came true, it sounds completely new. She sounds so much more mature in this new endeavor, and we at Roman’s Rap-Up love it. Here is a run down of some of the tracks on the album.

The first track on the album, “Birthday”, shows Gomez’s sassy side, with her singing “Tellem’ that it’s my birthday”. It actually sounds like Selena might have been having a legit party while recording the song. Definitely not my favorite song of the album, but still really good.

Title track “Stars Dance” has Selena singing about how she would “make the stars dance”, definitely referring about her unconditional love for somebody-perhaps it’s Bieber?

Selena Gomez at 103.3 Amp Radio's Birthday Bash 2013

This next one, “Like A Champion” is my favorite song off of the album, . It has a catchy rhythm, and almost sounds like Rihanna’s single “Man Down” (especially the chorus). Selena sounds like she has a great sense of pride in the song singing, “It's in the way you hold yourself/ You gotta know you're something else/ It's sure that you've never felt so sexy sexy”. That last part is even more interesting-never before has a Disney star said the word “Sexy” in a song. Even more proof she is growing away from Disney!

The next track, “Come and Get It”, is, well, different. Just from reading the title, you know it has something to do with sex. Thats what makes it interesting- Radio Disney invited her to perform this song at their Music Awards back in April! Did they even know what the song was about? Anyways, it sounds cool. The Indian/Bhangra instrumentals really work for the song.

“Forget Forever” is a really happy-sounding track. Yet, it is a song about breakups. Selena sings, “Our love was made to rule the world/ You came and broke the perfect girl”. It sounds like she is liberating herself from whatever man she is talking about. Especially in the end when she says “Forget you ever knew my name”.

“Save the Day” is a song about Gomez spending the night with a mystery man and never wanting it to be over. She talks about how this man keeps her going, singing “Put your lips on mine/ In the burning sunlight, I/ I cant believe that my body is still moving/ It makes me feel like we're doing something right.”

A few tracks later, “Love Will Remember”, talks about how love is permanent, and how you will never forget it. But, she sings it in such a nice, sweet way. The bridge of the song brings a bit of hope, with Selena singing “Let heaven in, Somewhere in forever/ We'll dance again”. It’s almost refreshing to hear this song after listening to the EDM heavy rest of the album.

The last song I want to talk about is “Nobody Does it Like You”, yet another song about sex. The entire song she is describing how much she loves this man, and what he “does”. The pop-star sings “You're my bad boy fairytale/ Since jamming with the dark side/ I wanna be your bad girl/ You bring out my wild side/ Your eyes your lips your touch/ His talk, sadistic rush, your sexy kinda swag/ The best I've ever had”. In this track, it’s quite obvious that Selena is breaking away from her old good-girl self.

The Verdict: To be honest, I was not disappointed with the album. I liked it more than any other album any Disney star has ever come out with, and I am proud of her that she is able to make music that she really wants. The thing I didn’t like about the album was that the majority of the songs sounds very similar. Not that it’s a horrible thing, I was just hoping for a little more diversity. However, overall it is pretty good, and I highly recommend you go buy yourself a copy next Tuesday, July 23rd when it is released to the public.

Roman's Rap-Up Rating: 7.5/10

Selena will be embarking on a world tour late summer/fall of this year to promote the album. Find out if she is coming to a city near you, and buy tickets here.

Album Review: The Gifted

The morning of June 24th brought a new day, along with a brand new album from DC rapper Wale. This is his 3rd studio album, following "Attention Deficit" and "Ambition". Personally, I feel like this time Wale has done it right (not that he hadn’t with the others). This one just feels fresh, and I truly can feel Wale’s emotion behind his rap. Let me break down some of the most memorable songs/parts from "The Gifted."

The first track of the album, "The Curse of the Gifted" really opens the mind of the person listening to let them experience what Wale is feeling. Lines like “I should be loving my accomplishments/But a brand new Maserati got me plotting on another hit/Success is like a never ending battle” really proves that in the game, people are always looking for more, thinking of the future, and never enjoying the moment. Hence the name, The Curse of the Gifted.

Wale then teams up with R&B artist Sam Dew to create one of the most catchy songs of the album, "LoveHate Thing". It is just one of those feel-good songs. Sam Dew provides the smooth chorus, while Wale gives it his all with his killer rap, earning it the title of my favorite song of the album. 

The next memorable track from “The Gifted”, has Wale teaming up with two of the rap industry’s greatest, Juicy J. and Nicki Minaj for “Clappers”. First time hearing this blew my mind. It’s the type of track that has that strip club feel, and definitely deserves to be on the playlist at your next party. See the Behind the Scenes video Nicki released for the song below.

The last song from the album I want to talk about goes by the name of “Bad” and features RnB singer Tiara Thomas. This track basically, well, describes how hard it is for Wale to find the right girl. I can assure you that you will walk away from listening still singing it in your head. Wale also provides a remixed version with Rihanna, respectively.

The Verdict: I really like Wale’s "The Gifted". I feel like he has gotten to the point in his career where he can really rap about whatever he wants, and not have to worry about what the critics say. Some of the songs on the album really describe his life and his struggles, while others seem like they are meant mostly for the club, like Clappers (not that it’s necessarily a bad thing). Although, when it comes to that, its like everyone else in the rap game. It seems that it is almost impossible to write a club song with a meaning other than sex. The only thing is that, while I do like the message behind some of the songs, I feel like some of them try to get pity for himself for having a rough life.

In my opinion, this album deserves 8 out of 10 stars.

Overall, I say go out and buy it. You won’t regret it.