June Announcements: Album & Film of the Month, Content Updates, & More

 

This video is unrelated to today's post! I just wanted to share a Thinkpiece Tribe video; I love their content lol. 

    First of all, I want to start off by saying HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!! I encourage you all to be safe this year if you plan on attending Pride parades and going out. As much as I want you guys to have fun, we also need to look out for each other, especially during times like these. May we all have the best time of our lives and celebrate ourselves lol! In the meantime, I have a few announcements relating to the blog! 

1. For the album of the month, I'm happy to showcase Ego Death by The Internet (2015). Even though I intend to showcase LGBTQ+ artists throughout the year, I wanted to put an emphasis on queer art for the month of June. Gayness aside, there are so many good songs on this project, and I wanted to encourage others to listen to it. I love this album, along with the sounds that were composed for this project. 
2.  Now for the Black Short Film of the month, I decided to go with Rainbow Girls by Nana Duffuor (2026)! I'll explain how I found the film in the BSF Monthly tab, but I genuinely love this film. It's a mixture of comedy and adventure that involves people in the LGBTQ+ community, and it's a very nice watch. I will say the themes of both the album and film are not related to each other this month. Actually, there's no specific theme for this month; I just wanted to show off the projects that I enjoyed, and I hope you all enjoy them as well. :)) 
3. I am happy to announce that I'm officially a gaming YouTuber! I mean...you guys already knew that, LMAO. I mean, I'm slowly becoming consistent. I noticed that I'm successfully able to do at least one video a month. Should I do more? Absolutely! CAN I do more? See...I don't know about that; I'll work on it though! I slowly want to build up a schedule for YouTube. Maybe two videos a month. Plus, I still want to work on my podcast. I don't know; I'll give more updates related to that another time. 
4. I finally took the time to make a Ko-fi! I have made the decision not to have ads on my blog. Personally, I don't like the idea of big companies being advertised on my blog. Additionally, I feel the millisecond I start having ads on the blog will be the millisecond my project is no longer authentic. Considering CD THE NET ★ started as a passion project, I do not see myself wanting to profit from it. If anything, I wish to profit from other things (YouTube, donations from Ko-fi, TikTok, etc.). If - for whatever reason - I change my mind and want ads on my blog, I will let all of you know. In the meantime, I would like to say that any donations given to my Ko-fi will be deeply appreciated. Also, obviously, you do not have to donate to my Ko-fi. You guys reading my blog and staying up to date is enough. Regardless, I appreciate all of the support I've gotten from this project, whether it's monetized or not! 
5. I'll probably be less active on the blog for two separate reasons: One, I want to take the time to come up with some more ideas. Two, I want to put more effort into my other projects. I have not made any posts on my TikTok in a long time and want to bring more eyes to the blog. So, a little time will be taken off for that. Thank you for understanding. 

    Okay, that was all of the announcements for this month! I hope you all enjoy the projects I picked, and I will talk to you guys later!  (* ^ ω ^)

• Ko-fi! (link) ☆ 

I'm Every N*gga: a journal entry (2)

 

Not gonna lie...this video is completely unrelated to the post. I just liked it and wanted to share it today. I hope you guys enjoy it! :))

You know, ever since I became an adult, I’ve realized a good chunk of adulthood is self-discovery. A lot of us are still learning who we are, what our style is, what we like, etc. What I’m learning now is that there is no end to self-discovery. Actually, I think as we grow, we keep changing and learning new things about ourselves. Hell, there’s probably people in their 40s and 50s, still learning new things about themselves. Anyway, I’m writing this because I realized my style has changed a bit. I’ve been thinking about my fashion sense, and it’s still streetwear (for the most part), but I’m finding myself gravitating towards more feminine styles. 

At first, I felt kinda bad? Guilty maybe…because I thought I finally found my thing, like how Aliyah’s Interlude has ‘Aliyahcore.’ Y’all know what I mean? I kinda realized I’m not supposed to have everything together at 20. Also, I don’t have to stick to a specific style either. If I want to put on streetwear, I can. If I want to put on some earthy shit, I can. If I want to have a masculine, feminine, or androgynous style, I can. The last thing I want to do is place these weird-ass rules on myself. I’ve done that before, and it’s done nothing but hold me back. So, I’m just going to start doing shit for the sake of doing it. I don’t care anymore. 

- CD ★

Give Artists Their Flowers While They Still Have a Garden: A Commentary on D'Angelo (mostly)

 

This video is heavily related to today's discussion. It's a nice watch, and I hope you guys enjoy it! :))

• Word Count: 733

    I recently listened to the album Voodoo by D’Angelo, and to be honest, I fell in love with the album. I admired his vocals and his music composition, as it was something I’ve never heard before. The album was so alluring and new, I couldn’t help but appreciate it. Even though D’Angelo only has three albums, you can hear a clear evolution in his work. You can hear how his art progressively got louder, more confident, and more prideful. Listening to his albums in chronological order is heavily rewarding, to say the least. Now, I don’t know about y’all, but every time I consume something I like, I go out of my way to learn as much as I can about it. This goes for video games, TV shows, movies, and most recently, albums. After listening to his first album, Brown Sugar, I watched a small video essay about D’Angelo’s life and influences. Overall, that video made me appreciate his art more. Actually, I wish I could give D’Angelo his flowers…but he’s no longer alive, and honestly, that’s the problem. 

As people, I notice a lot of us do not give artists the recognition they deserve until they are no longer here. Not saying this is the case for D’Angelo, but it is definitely the case for Aaliyah. Like D’Angelo, Aaliyah released three albums before passing away. You could also hear her evolution and growth in her art, even though she didn’t have a lot of projects. Aaliyah was already famous prior to her death, but when she passed, her fame skyrocketed. She is not the first artist this has happened to, nor will she be the last. For a lot of people, it seems like death gives their fame a boost. Don’t get me wrong, this alone is not an issue. People talking about artists after they die is a weird - but effective - way to keep their legacy alive. Teaching others about the impact these artists had on our culture? It memorializes them. It’s the reason people still find out about some of these artists, even years after they passed. So, I see exactly why artists get more fame after passing. My thing is, why do some of us wait to give an artist their flowers when we can give them now, while they’re still here with us? 

Whether you want to admit it or not, there are some insanely talented people out in the world. There are artists with insane vocals, incredibly skilled wordplay, and there are people who can compose the fuck out of a song. However, they are likely to receive the most recognition when they are no longer here to create. That is something I want to change. Also, don’t mistake this as me blaming others, because I am not. I wasn’t even alive when Aaliyah released her music; I was born in 2006. Additionally, I had just launched my blog around the same time D’Angelo passed. I was not around to appreciate Aaliyah and D’Angelo’s artistry like I should’ve, but I’m here now. You are here now. What I’m trying to say is there are artists - people - out there who deserve more recognition; let’s not wait to give it to them. Support those you can while you still can. In my opinion, someone shouldn’t have to die to know they are appreciated, loved, and cared for. You find someone cool as shit? Let the whole world know. Listen to all of their projects. Support them; whether that means going to a performance or just streaming their work (and of course, this doesn’t apply to just artists). There’s more than one way to do it. I truly wish I had listened to D’Angelo’s projects earlier, but I know I can’t reverse time. Actually, I think we all know someone - both famous and personal - whom we wish we had supported them sooner or found out about them earlier in our lives. I feel in order to prevent things like that, we have to give people their flowers while they still have a garden. Thank you. 

- CD ★

Actually, I’ll share an artist I think deserves more recognition; his name is Jakob (formerly Jakob Ogawa). He makes this indie bedroom and pop type of music, and I love it. Personally, I hope he actually makes an album. My life would literally be complete/hj. Anyway, these are my favorite tracks from him: 

Okay, that was it. Thanks for listening! <3

Voodoo by D'Angelo: Album Review

 

Voodoo by D'Angelo (2000)

Rating: 10/10

Look, I’m going to be honest, my album reviews are not going to be long ones. When it comes to things that make me feel good, I’m not good with my words. Yes, I know I’m technically a writer…leave me alone, bro. Plus, I’m sure I’ll get better. Anyway, let’s talk about Voodoo by D’Angelo (2000). 

First of all, I hope I’m making sense when I say this; this album made me feel like I was fucking floating. I’m talking as high as the fucking sky. The vocals he had, the sounds/instruments he picked, it felt like everything was reeling me in…like a damn siren. Honestly, if D’Angelo were a siren, I would probably be dead, like I’m being so for real. Also, this could be me, but you can almost tell he was raised in the church from the way he sings. I can’t really give evidence on this claim, but former gospel singers have a certain sound in their singing styles. It’s like the way you can tell Durand Bernarr and Doechii were raised in the church (I’m sure there are more artists, but they aren’t at the top of my head right now). There’s a type of soul intertwined in the music they make, and I love it. Although I’m not religious, I can still appreciate the essence of soul music. I’m not about to miss out on some good shit; I am not stupid! LMAO

Anyway, I guess I interpret music differently because I don’t think I’ve ever cried during a song. Not because I think it’s corny, but because I never heard something that brought tears to my eyes…until today. I have to be honest, during the middle of this album? I felt my eyes get a little watery. Not because I was sad, absolutely not, but because of how beautiful it was. The way he sang/his vocals, his music composition, it became overwhelming in the best way possible. Like I said, I could feel myself floating. My arms and legs felt like putty. Dude, I was working on other things for my blog, and I genuinely had to stop what I was doing and just…listen to the project. That is the main thing I like about D’Angelo’s art; it forces you to listen. It’s so alluring that ignoring it feels so wrong, like a crime. Y’all get what I mean, right? When I said music felt like a drug, this is exactly what the fuck I meant. I never wanted to replay an album so fast in my life. Usually, I would take some time to myself to process it, but no; I wanted to hear this shit again, and again, and again. I wish I was kidding. When this album ended, I genuinely felt disappointed. Not to mention, I really liked his first album, Brown Sugar. So, hearing this evolution in his art was rewarding for lack of better words. I can’t wait to listen to his last album, and may he rest in peace. <3

- CD ★

FAVORITE TRACKS: 

What, you thought I was gonna leave y’all hanging? Hell no! 

May Announcements? Not really.

     Hey everyone! I wanted to share a small message for today. I decided to extend the album and film of the month into May, since I did not alert everyone for April's announcements. I wanted to apologize for that. There will not be a new album or film in the month until June. However, I do want to share that I have been feeling creative again and will be working on pieces for you to read in the future. I feel I am finally letting myself be a nerd again, and I will start talking about nerdy shit LMAO. I hope you guys are ready. I won't give hints on what I'll be talking about, as I do not want it to interrupt my creative process, but I do think you guys will enjoy it. I'll talk to you guys another time! Bye! (´｡• ω •｡`)