The Music Cypher

Here are the top 10 songs I listened to the most for the week starting on the 23rd November to the 29th  November, 2025. 1. Ain't Nobody by Rufus and Chaka Khan 2. Baby Love by Mother's Finest 3. The Harder They Come by Jimmy Cliff 4. Green Light by Beyoncé 5. Vivrant Thing by Q-Tip 6. Shake Ya Body by Tyra Banks Lemonade by Danity Kane 7. Amateur At Love by Karl Wolf featuring Kardinal Offishall 8. Who by Lady X featuring Afrikan Roots 9. Frontin' by Pharrell featuring Jay-Z Pimpin' All Over The World (Golden Palace Version) by Ludacris featuring Bobby V 10. Drag Queens by Hazel aka Monique Samuels Don't Go Yet by Camila Cabello What have you been listening to this week?  Let me know in the comments!

The 21st of April 2026 will mark the ten (10) year anniversary of the untimely death of The Purple One . Who is The Purple One who may ask? It is none other than Prince Rogers Nelson known mononymously as Prince . He earned this nickname because of his strong association with the color purple, primarily established by his highly successful 1984 album and film, Purple Rain. He died at the age of 57. He was found dead at his home, Paisley Park Studios, in Chanhassen, Minnesota following an accidental fentanyl overdose. That's enough sad stuff! This post is a celebration of his life and time as a legendary musical artist. Prince was a pioneer as he is often credited as having a monumental influence on modern music and being a trailblazer who established the Minneapolis sound and just being the greatest musicians of his generation and among the greatest of all time.  Many artists have cited Prince as an influence and inspiration, including Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Bru...

 "Give Me All Your Love" by Don West album cover Here is another album review brought to you via an interesting album cover.  By now avid readers of this blog know the script. I was scrolling through my favourite album news site to see what albums has been released and stumbled upon an artist I knew nothing about that had a captivating album cover. So, as you know by now I had to give the album a listen which leads to a review on the blog. The new artist whose album cover art piqued my interest is Don West .  Don West is a Sydney-born soul singer-songwriter who blends vintage Motown and Marvin Gaye–inspired vocals with breezy “coastal soul” vibes. He’s known for recording with real instruments on analogue tape and has built a following through sold‑out Australian tours and upcoming international show. Exercpt taken from a comment from a contributor named  notaskunk from  https://genius.com/artists/Don-west So with that in mind let us see what Don West has in sto...

Here is another album review brought to you via an interesting album cover. By now avid readers of this blog know the script. I was scrolling through my favourite album news site to see what albums has been released and stumbled upon an artist I knew nothing about that had a captivating album cover. So, as you know by now I had to give the album a listen which leads to a review on the blog. The new artist whose album cover art piqued my interest is Gyakie . Jackline Acheampong (born 16 December 1999), known professionally as Gyakie, aka Song Bird, is a Ghanaian R&B and afro-fusion singer. In 2019, Gyakie released her first single titled "Love is Pretty", which paved the way for another single, "Never Like This". In August 2020, the "Forever" song from her five-track EP Seed enjoyed airplay and led the charts in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria. Gyakie's father is Nana Acheampong. Excerpt taken from  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyakie So with that in mind...

"I’m Only F**king Myself" by Lola Young album cover Lola Young may have had to cancel her tour and take a step back from the public eye due to personal reasons but at least she can celebrate the news that she is a Grammy nominated artist. The British singer-songwriter received her first two Grammy nominations for the 2026 Grammy Awards: Best New Artist and Best Pop Solo Performance for her song "Messy" highlighting her breakthrough success in the music industry. However what really intrigued me to listen to her music was not only her interesting album cover but also her unconventional album name. I’m Only F**king Myself is such a conversation starter and avid readers of this blog knows that it became a requirement to listen to this album just off the strength off the spicy album name and cover. Surprisingly, I have not listen to her breakout hit so I am going into this album a Lola Young virgin. That fact kind of fits into the cover, name and overall concept of the ...

  "Everybody Scream" by Florence + The Machine album cover The dog days are over The dog days are done The horses are coming So you better run The dog days are over The dog days are done Can you hear the horses? 'Cause here they come Lyrics taken from  https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/florencethemachine/dogdaysareover.html Well I guess my dog days are over! What am I referring to? I have never listened to an entire album by Florence + The Machine. Over the years, I can say I have been a casual fan of the English band loving popular singles such as the aforementioned "Dog Days Are Over" and "Shake It Off" but I have never sat with an entire body of their work. However that changed in 2025, when they released the lead single "Everybody Scream" which has been a fixture on my playlist and then announced their sixth studio album by the same name. So with that in mind, let us finally see what the band has in store for us! Here's my review of eac...

"Heat The Streets"/"Heat The Streets Some Mo'" by Elmiene mixtape cover I discovered Elmiene through Twitter (I will not call it by its new name cause his momma named him Twitter). His song "Crystal Tears" went mega viral on the social media site so it came naturally across my timeline. Wanting to discover newer artist I listened to the song and instantly feel in love. Who does not love a man who can SANG his tail off? The music industry is truly is missing and in dire need of male artist who can sing the under garments off the girls and the gurls (no judgement). Anyway, back to the point of this post, after wearing out "Crystal Tears" I had not follow up with anything else from Elmiene. This is where my favourite music site comes into play. By now, you know the script which is that I was scrolling through my favourite music site to see what albums had been released and discovered that he had released his debut mixtape. So in an effort to fol...

Here are the top 10 songs I listened to the most for the week starting on the 16th November to the 22nd  November, 2025. 1. Who Knew by P!nk 2. Because I Love You by Halle 3. Everybody Scream by Florence + The Machine 4. highway robbery by DE'WAYNE 5. Girls Just Wanna Be Famous by Meg Smith 6. Everlasting Love/ Ain't Nobody (2013 BET Honours Tribute to Chaka Khan) by Ledisi 7. Total Eclipse of the Heart (Turn Around) by Bonnie Tyler 8. Deliver Me (This Is My Exodus) by Donald Lawrence and The Tri-City Singers with Le'Andria Johnson 9. I Want You by Domani featuring K Camp 10. Hear My Prayer (Cover) by Callie Day What have you been listening to this week?  Let me know in the comments!

Reggae icon as passed away at the age of 81. His wife shared in a statement via his official Instagram, "It’s with profound sadness that I share that my husband, Jimmy Cliff, has crossed over due to a seizure followed by pneumonia. I am thankful for his family, friends, fellow artists and coworkers who have shared his journey with him. To all his fans around the world, please know that your support was his strength throughout his whole career. He really appreciated each and every fan for their love. I also wanted to thank Dr. Couceyro and the whole medical staff, as they have been extremely supportive and helpful during this difficult process. Jimmy, my darling, may you rest in peace. I will follow your wishes. I hope you all can respect our privacy during these hard times. Further information will be provided at a later date. See you and we see you Legend." Latifa , Lilty and Aken Excerpt taken from  https://www.instagram.com/p/DRb4cExDAa5/?hl=en Jimmy Cliff was born James C...

Halloween seemed like it was decades ago and this post seems a little late but we are still gonna discuss the season. Halloween refers to the night of 31st October, which marks the eve of All Saints' Day which is often celebrated by children dressing up in frightening masks and costumes. Halloween is thought to be associated with the Celtic festival Samhain, when ghosts and spirits were believed to be abroad. Children are not the only ones who have fun during this celebration! Adults get to nurture their inner child by dressing up as well and a favourite costume of the grown ups are music artist. Therefore, I have decided to highlight in alphabetical order twenty (20) of my favourite Halloween costumes from 2025 were celebs dressed up as different music artist across the musical spectrum. Here we go! 1. 2BYG as Boyz II Men 2BYG Boyz II Men     2. Alton Mason as Grace Jones Alton Mason Grace Jones 3. Ayra Starr as Rema Ayra Starr Rema 4. Charli D'Amelio as Cher for Halloween ...