Artist Focus: Baby Panna

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Artist Focus: Baby Panna

The Portsmouth Rapper’s raw, tongue skipping, quick style of rapping is very unique. His raps are a breath of fresh air due to the spoken word, poetry style.

Depth and meaning in lyrics are Baby Panna’s forte, you can’t help but digest, despite the pace at which he spits. He keeps up a consistent, fast pace in most of his music, yet it’s still remarkably easy to follow and understand which is rare. He has an alikeness to names such as Hopsin, Immortal Technique, Akala, Capital Steez and Wretch 32 in his lyricism, while his voice has similarity to President T or a British Famous Dex.

Baby Panna addresses a lot of current issues we encounter today, such as the ‘Instagram’ popularity/filter façade, love, his demons, materialism and those against him. These hot topics make for some very interesting listening, he is clearly very clued up on for example spirituality, politics, class systems and relationships, which he heavily delves into in each of his tracks.

His track ‘T1GR355’ particularly grabbed my attention, the lo-fi style of cut up samples communicates a brilliantly romantic energy while he professes his adoration for a ‘Golden Tigress’ he cannot commit to. The chopped-up guitar and low frequency, oscillating bass adds a lot of emotion and finesse to the track, reminding me of certain romantic Slowthai songs such as ‘Feel Away’. The track ends with an emotional call from who I assume is the aforementioned ‘Golden Tigress’.

‘Grinding’ is a soulful, happy, lighthearted hip hop track, as Baby Panna speaks well of his will to work, progress, and that of his friends. The strings make a great backing for a song of such a topic, you can tell he really enjoyed writing this as it’s got a real bounce to it. That and the positive energy of the song make it truly catchy. The hook is also very catchy, reminding me of ‘New Freezer’ by Rich the Kid and Kendrick Lamar.

There’s also a certain Eminem quality to his speed and rhyming patterns, particularly in ‘Murder She Wrote’. The upbeat, fast moving, start-stop nature of the tune is really interesting. While the detuned sounding, almost creepy beat is very unique and hard hitting. Baby Panna does incredibly well to keep up with the beat, that is around 87bpm but in double time.

Baby Panna has made his own sound which is brilliant, the alternative rap enthusiast would love his music and the topics he covers. The production in itself is also very different and fresh, we love artists like Baby Panna.

Check out Baby Panna on Jeeni here: https://jeeni.com/?s=baby+panna

How can Jeeni support artists like Baby Panna?

JEENI is a multi-channel platform for original entertainment on demand. We’re a direct service between creatives and the global audience.

• We give creatives, independent artists and performers a showcase for their talent and services. And they keep 100% of everything they make.
• We empower our audience and reward them every step of the way.
• We promise to treat our members ethically, fairly, honestly and with respect.
• Access to artist liaison and a supportive marketing team.

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07
Dec

Streaming Revenues - a tipping point?

At Jeeni, this is a subject we are following closely, being a platform set up to address this very subject. The balance of revenue on most platforms, is tipped far too heavily away from the artists, performers and writers, in favour of the suits and pen-pushers. Quite frankly, it's a disgrace! Jeeni's ethos is to ensure any performing members receive 100% of the revenue they generate. Should all streaming services work the same way? Journalist Dylan Smith, from Digital Music News has written the article below, updating how far the DCMS Committee has got with their fact finding and the issues to be presented on 11 December. Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee Chair Julian Knight. Photo Credit: David Woolfall British lawmakers have stated that artists are hesitant to participate in the ongoing investigation into streaming royalties “because they fear action may be taken against them” if they do so. The House of Commons’ Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee (DCMS Committee) announced the high-profile probe of streaming royalties last month. The comprehensive analysis aims to identify streaming’s impact on all relevant stakeholders, including labels and artists, as well as its long-term effects concerning “the sustainability of the wider music industry.” Last week, singer-songwriter Nadine Shah, Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien, and Elbow frontman Guy Garvey spoke before the DCMS Committee to address the contemporary music landscape. Of particular note was Shah’s statement that she doesn’t “make enough money from streaming” to cover her rent, despite having north of 100,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Possibly in response to the abundance of information that the investigation has turned up thus far, the DCMS Committee also announced last week that it had extended the window for artists and others to submit written testimonials regarding royalties. From the original deadline of Monday, November 16th, members of the music industry now have until Friday, December 11th, to express their opinions. The probe’s upcoming oral testimony, for its part, is slated to take place next Tuesday, December 8th, with Maria Forte Music Services’ namesake owner, Ferocious Talent owner Kwame Kwaten, and José Luis Sevillano, director general at Spain’s AIE, set to participate via livestream. Ahead of the formal sitdown, DCMS Committee Chair Julian Knight has relayed that many would-be witnesses are opting not to come forward due to their fear of the potential professional consequences associated with speaking out against streaming royalties. “We have been told from many different sources that some of the people interested in speaking to us, in relation to this inquiry, have become reluctant to do so because they fear action may be taken against them if they speak in public,” said the Solihull MP, who became the DCMS Committee’s chair in January of this year. “I would like to say on behalf of the Committee that we would take a very dim view indeed if we had any evidence of anyone interfering with witnesses to one of our inquiries. … This Committee will brook no such interference and will not hesitate to name and shame anyone proven to be involved in such activity,” continued Knight. And in concluding his statement on the matter, the lawmaker emphasized that others who reach out to the DCMS Committee with information or insight pertaining to streaming royalties “will be treated in confidence.”

09
Feb

Nnaomi - ‘Hate Me’ Single Review

Nnaomi evokes even more emotion and sentiment with her swirling, impactful and atmospheric new single, ‘Hate Me’. This new single from Nnaomi should certainly be praised for its daring and experimental nature. Currently, RnB and neo-soul are genres that are often at risk of being represented in incredibly dull and uninspired forms. Dragging structures, tired performances and bland instrumentation plagues the style, especially in the mainstream. Which is why a progressive, texturally interesting and innovative RnB single like ‘Hate Me’ is so important for that corner of contemporary music; it displays that even a genre that has travelled as far as RnB still has room to change, adapt and evolve. The track begins with a lo-fi aesthetic due to the old home video tape that crackles over the opening piano. This nostalgic tone is then instantly contexualised with the opening lyrics, “Reminiscing on old days.” I think this clear emotive intention and focus from Nnaomi powers this single and is the main reason why the alternative creative choices work so well. The filtering bass synth introduced near the middle is used as an early hint that these retrospective thoughts could be too much to deal with and are at risk of overwhelming her. This is then interrupted by Nnaomi trying to explain herself. The moment she sings “explain”, the intense bass is silenced, as is the emotional use of reverb and echo on her voice. This is a fantastic example of a production technique being repurposed as a narrative device. At just over 2 minutes long, this track still manages to progress so organically and timely; it takes its time to set the pace and tone of the story told in the lyrics. At the climax of the track, it feels like Nnaomi’s painful memories begin to swirl more unstably around her head as samples and synths begin to distort, warp and spin around the stereo space. These flittering pieces of audio eventually start to drown out Nnaomi’s voice which paints a tragic image of her thoughts and guilt becoming overpowering and too much to process. The production prowess needed to craft such a powerful, yet carefully crafted wall of noise is impressive and brave, considering that Nnaomi’s voice is so delicate and vulnerable on this track. The dissonant and wild synths heard towards the end are kept in a cage just big enough to have a volatile effect but small enough as to not overpower too much in the mix. The direction Nnaomi decided to go with this track is obviously genius however, the only way I could imagine it becoming more impactful is if the crescendo of noise grew even more and briefly took over completely before clearing out and finally letting her breathe. Nnaomi has now contributed two tracks to Jeeni’s RnB channel and we look forward to expanding the channel with similarly brilliant tracks in the future. Nnaomi has been a keen member of Jeeni’s mission for several months now. She sat down for an ‘Inside Story’ interview last summer at Victorious Festival in which she mentions her influences and favourite artists which ranges from Tyler, The Creator to Whitney Houston. Jeeni would love to flood our RnB channel with more acts just like Nnaomi, so reach out to us on social media if you'd like to contribute your work to Jeeni's library of talent: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeenimusic/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeenimusic Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeenimusic Check out Nnaomi's showcase on Jeeni: https://jeeni.com/showcase/nnaomi/ How can Jeeni support artists like Nnaomi? JEENI is a multi-channel platform for original entertainment on demand. We’re a direct service between creatives and the global audience. • We give creatives, independent artists and performers a showcase for their talent and services. And they keep 100% of everything they make. • We empower our audience and reward them every step of the way. • We promise to treat our members ethically, fairly, honestly and with respect. • Access to artist liaison and a supportive marketing team.

21
Jan

Artist Focus: Maple Sky

Although this refreshing four-piece has its foundations firmly planted in modern jazz, Maple Sky harvests their inspirations from a rich and varied crop. Classic rock, 50s lounge jazz, RnB and gospel are all contributed from various members to result in the exciting final product that is Maple Sky. Maple Sky's origin began with keys player, Joel Bamigboye (far-left in pic above) in 2018 as he was compiling “a small archive of musical material, with the aim of forming a band” to translate his initial creative vision. Olivia McKeon (mid-left) entered the scene and brought a lyrical and vocal element to Joel’s work. From there, with the addition of two others, the Maple Sky prototype formed by the name of ‘NOVA’. Quickly becoming a theme of our Artist Focus blogs; the pandemic forced a change in the group and created a make-or-break scenario for the founding members. Luckily, after releasing their self-titled EP as a duo, the two adapted and survived the obstacle and re-emerged as ‘Maple Sky’ with a key change in personnel. Ed Jordan (mid-right) was introduced as both the drummer and in-house producer, and Christian Rivers-Martin (far-right) was welcomed to contribute his classically trained bass skills as the groove backbone of the group. Since then, the group has been hard at work, whether that’s creating new, sweet jazz tunes or performing their stellar collection of tracks live. Maple Sky specialise in a broad and flexible portrayal of jazz with influences from Esperanza Spalding, Yebba, and D’angelo. Their eponymous debut EP certainly showcases that range of their influences and inspirations, particularly that of jazz legend, Lester Young and current wunderkind, Arlo Parks. The group are currently excited for the upcoming single, ‘Vision’, set to be released on the 5th of February, which will join the romantic and heart-aching ‘Free Her’ as the teaser tracks for their future second EP, which will be released later this year. The group also plan to upload a roster of exciting live videos which were shot just before Christmas. Maple Sky promises more big things for those with their ears on the ground for more from the stellar jazz act, “We'd advise making sure you have us followed on all our social media to stay up-to-date with what we've got going on because there is a lot coming up!” Follow Maple Sky on socials: Twitter: https://twitter.com/mapleskyband Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MapleSkyBand/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapleskyband/ We've loved supporting and following Maple Sky and we're happy to say that the group have enjoyed being a part of Jeeni, too, "Jeeni have been amazing to work with and we have loved collaborating with them." If Jeeni's mission interests you as an artist or a viewer, sign up for free, today! Check out Maple Sky’s showcase on Jeeni here: https://jeeni.com/showcase/maple-sky/ How can Jeeni support artists like Maple Sky? JEENI is a multi-channel platform for original entertainment on demand. We’re a direct service between creatives and the global audience. • We give creatives, independent artists and performers a showcase for their talent and services. And they keep 100% of everything they make. • We empower our audience and reward them every step of the way. • We promise to treat our members ethically, fairly, honestly and with respect. • Access to artist liaison and a supportive marketing team.

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