Jeeni Blog

Helping the next generation of talent to build a global fanbase

Prettyboyface – ‘HighSkool’ Single Review

/ By Doug Phillips
Prettyboyface – ‘HighSkool’ Single Review

With a throwback boom bap beat and laid-back hooks, London’s Prettyboyface makes a splash with his first 2022 single, ‘HighSkool’. 

Prettyboyface is a rising power in London’s underground rap scene and is brand new to Jeeni’s mission. He has so far contributed eight tracks to Jeeni’s hip-hop and rap channels, including three music videos, ‘Goddess’, ‘Escargot’ and the single in discussion, ‘HighSkool’. Seeing that Face is yet another Jeeni artist that is at the very early stages of their discography, Jeeni can’t wait to see what other projects Face releases in the future. 

HighSkool’ opens with a sparkling sample that lays down the main foundation of the instrumental before the beat enters and completes it. When the percussion does enter, the composition falls into place in a satisfying and impactful fashion, ready for Face to contribute his formidable vocal talent. He opens with a title-based wordplay for the repeating, “you man went to high school, I went school, high’ hook.  

Face’s rapping delivery is quickly becoming a recognisable and unique hallmark of his. His voice is recorded very close to the microphone, resulting in intense, clear and intentional performances. His voice is heard well over all other parts of the track, especially when he double-tracks his rapping when the hook re-enters. His delivery is unquestionable, commanding and confident which is refreshing when compared to other rappers who opt to slur and mumble their rapping, which although certainly has its place in corners of rap music, hasn’t got a patch on lucid and accessible alternatives, heard here in full-force from Prettyboyface. 

This being the first single from Face certainly makes certain promises for the near-future of his craft and has no-doubt inspired hope in his growing fanbase. Check out Prettyboyface’s showcase on Jeeni here: https://jeeni.com/showcase/prettyboyface/

How can Jeeni support artists like Prettyboyface? 

album review album review album review 

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. 

12
Mar

Patti Smith - Piccadilly Circus Takeover

To celebrate 50 years since Patti Smith's first poetry performance at St Mark’s Church, New York in 1971, January 2021 sees Smith taking over all the light screens at London’s Piccadilly Circus. Being brought to the venue by Circa, curated by the digital artist Josef O’Connor and designed specifically to adhere to social distancing and lockdown restrictions, the installation and Piccadilly Circus takeover, will combine art, music, poetry and prose, and include two recorded performances – one scheduled for midnight on New Year’s Eve and another on the day of the US presidential inauguration on 20 January. Patti Smith in Piccadilly Circus - Photograph Circa Talking to Fiona Sturges from The Guardian, Smith explains, “Some of the work I did in my bedroom, some in a recording studio and some at my desk,” says Smith, 74 this week. “I had to teach myself how to use Photo Booth on my computer and film myself reading a poem. I’m sure there are 14-year-olds who can do this in five minutes but it took me quite a while. But I got there and I’m so proud of myself.” Her favourite piece is a reworked version of Peaceable Kingdom. Written in the aftermath of 9/11, it is a song of solace and hope in the face of catastrophe and, in performing it, Smith will be commemorating 100 NHS workers who have died from Covid. “It’s just so sad when we lose people who work so hard to rebuild our world,” she reflects. She will also read a new poem dedicated to the environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg, who will be 18 in January and who, Smith says, “pretty much sacrificed her childhood for all of us”. Four years under Trump has also taken its toll. “It’s been a terrible atmosphere to live in,” she says. “You try to do your work and not let [politics] permeate your consciousness daily but it does. It’s very insidious.” She notes that she and the outgoing president are about the same age. “I have encountered him in New York through the years and found him a horrible, narcissistic person and just a bad businessman. I’ve seen the debris of his deals. I think the damage he has done is going to be felt for a long time. It’s not going to be so easily healed because globally he has empowered people of a like mind.” Nonetheless she will take “huge psychological relief in the new administration. I’m a natural optimist so I’m not without hope or inspiration. What matters is trying to clean up some of his mess and get some order. I’m doing that in my house. I’m a messy person, and I know that before I can do something creative or exciting I’ve first got to clear everything away.” Circa presents Patti Smith throughout January at 20:21 GMT at Piccadilly Lights, London. A limited-edition print by Smith will be available to buy for £100 from 1 January. Viewers can watch the installation on YouTube from 23:45 GMT on 31 December. Words - Fiona Sturges at The Guardian

31
Jul

NEW OPERA ACHIEVES ROCK STAR STATUS

It's the sort of statistic that music promoters dream of. An audience of ten thousand in less than one hour, and for a first-time performance. But this massive audience didn't turn up to watch a new boy band or the latest rap sensation, they came to the opera! A brand new opera called Spring Street is set in Manhattan, and it mixes classical arias, string quartets, jazz, blues and even acid rock. The opera was streamed on Jeeni, the self-styled "ethical alternative" to the big streaming giants, and opera composer Pete Wyer is ecstatic about Jeeni’s methodology and success. “I’m really thrilled. My expectation was we’d get to the magic 10,000 mark in a month, but this is quite incredible - especially when I compare it to operas I’ve had performed on stage! Without Jeeni’s help my piece might be languishing with a few hundred hits.” Wyer is being modest. An award-winning composer for the English National Ballet and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, his biggest audience before the Jeeni event was when 60,000 people enjoyed his celebration Liverpool waterfront concert, and the performance and publicity costs for that were considerable. By contrast, the Jeeni audience for his new event has already topped 66,000 and the costs have been zero. Everything has been achieved by the publicity and marketing systems built in to the Jeeni platform, which makes it unique when compared with the likes of Spotify or Netflix. Pete Wyer continues, "I looked at the Jeeni platform doing really good work for independent artists, and the more I learned the more I liked. It's been a very happy experience." The opera stars the soprano and triple-GRAMMY award-winner Maren Montalbano, who says, "Power is shifting from large organisations to the individual, and platforms like Jeeni are on the rise because they give artists the opportunity to lift themselves up and lift each other up." Her co-star, the bass-baritone and Netflix superhero Heday Inoue adds, "Jeeni is allowing us to have more exposure. I think it's amazing, and I'm really, really happy to be part of it." What is even more amazing is the fact that the cast and musicians have never actually met except on the Jeeni platform. Everything was composed, rehearsed and performed remotely in lockdown. Jeeni founder Shena Mitchell says, “When we first launched Jeeni a few months ago, it took days to hit audience figures of ten thousand for an online concert or festival, and I was delighted with that. But here we are, achieving the same thing in under an hour, and for an unknown opera. Imagine what we can do next. We already have more than two thousand artist showcases and an audience outreach of over two million." Now Jeeni.com needs to scale up to meet the technical demands for handling more artists and bigger audiences, so they have turned to crowdfunding. Shena Mitchell says, "Everybody knows that the big streaming companies rip artists off. We don't do that. Our artists keep 100% of everything they earn with us. Now we are allowing the public to invest as little as £10 to buy a part of us, and own a stake in what could be the ethical future of entertainment.”  More information: shena@jeeni.comjeeni.com/investjeeni.com/springstreet *Capital at Risk

06
Jun

DO YOU WANT TO DANCE?

 By Sammy Venn, Jeeni's Official Writer Columnist and Blogger. Click HERE to visit or return to jeeni.com Come and join in... Plato said that music and rhythm find a way into your soul; that’s so true! I love music and have an eclectic taste that I think most can’t comprehend. The plethora of suggestions I get is wonderful, so it works for me, as my knowledge of music becomes far more expansive that way. I discovered Fip radio about a couple of months ago. It’s a French radio station; genius in that I can listen to a myriad of tunes and not turn it off or down because of adverts or news that makes me feel sad - it’s all in French! So not only am I picking up a language I adore, my collection of music is expanding. Music really feeds my soul, I thought it might be a fun idea to create a “Musicians and Performers Group" playlist I can create on Jenni for us all to listen too. So please, please add your favourite songs below so we can all share in the delight that music brings to our mind, body and spirit...Many people don’t know this but listening to music is not just something that brings joy, it can also improve your health in a variety of ways and scientists have proven that through many researches. Read on to find how music can make your life more awesome. By Eevee G 1. Helps you sleep better Music contributes for a healthy sleep. Researchers have found that classical music can help us deal with Insomnia, especially college students. This is definitely a healthier and much cheaper fix for your sleeping disorder than taking pills. 2. Fights stress It is no surprise that listening to music helps relieve stress off your shoulders. Studies have found that music stimulates biochemical stress reducers which helps us feel more relaxed. 3. Helps you get in touch with yourself As it puts us in a better mood, music helps us get in touch with our emotions, a 2013 study suggests. The participants marked “self-awareness” as one of the most important advantages of music. 4. It relieves pain Music has the ability to decrease the intensity of the pain. It activates sensory pathways that fight pain pathways and takes a person’s attention away from the pain. 5. Fights anxiety When we are feeling anxious, listening to music can help us fight it as it has the same effect on the brain as a massage has on the body. 6. Acts as a motivator for bikers and runners. College students conducted a research and proved that the people who rode stationary bicycles were able to work harder while they were listening to fast music compared to those who weren’t listening to any music during the experiment. If you are like me and prefer running, listening to your favorite songs can help you beat your personal records and even strengthen your endurance. Long story short, music helps you perform better during your workouts and also makes them a lot more enjoyable. 7. Helps you recover faster after a workout. It’s proven that your body recovers faster after a hard workout when you are listening to your favorite music 8. Fights sadness Researchers have found that music can successfully fight symptoms of depression but the genre is very important. Classical and meditation music can boost your mood when you are feeling down,  but listening to heavy metal or techno music won’t help that much with chasing away the bad thoughts. 9. Helps the function of the blood vessels Science has proven that the emotions that people have while listening to music contribute to healthier functions of blood vessels. As music makes you feel happier, it boosts the blood flow in your blood vessels. 10. Helps with stroke recovery A Finnish study found that if stroke patients listened to music for 2 hours a day, they recover faster. Not only their moods improve, but also their verbal abilities and attention span, too. 11. Improves performance in high-pressure experiences Fast music can help you fight stress before a high-pressure experience- an important game, for example. Researches have proven that listening to fast music just before a basketball game helped player relieve the stress and perform better. 12. Makes you mindful while you eat Playing some music in the background is proven to help people slow down and enjoy their feeding process. This makes them more aware of what they are consuming and really tasting the food rather than eating quickly which leaves them feeling hungry and dissatisfied with the meal. 13. Improves cognitive functions Playing background music while working on tasks that need your mental focus can boost your performance. A research has found that music can boost one’s cognitive abilities, but only if it has the same effect on the emotional state. 14. Music can get you into a state similar to meditation Slow music can have effect on the speed of your brainwaves which makes them similar to someone who is in a meditative or hypnotic state. This can have a healing effect as it eases the symptoms of PMS and behavioral issues. 15. Eases patients going through a surgery A research discovered that when patients are played music just before a cardiovascular surgery, they start feeling less worried. Moreover, music reduces the stress after the surgery if it is played while the patients are resting in their beds. It doesn’t matter what the music of your choice is. Click HERE to visit or return to jeeni.com