What’s up, fellow inhabitants of Earth! Y’all are now on the Skinner Music Blog train! It’s not really healthy to keep secrets from people. No matter what it is you need to let out, there’s always an outlet through which you can do that, such as music. Artists who have been vulnerable in their music lately include Allen W Brown, Hillsong United, Jorja Smith, and London Grammar.

Allen W Brown

Allen W Brown is a Christian rapper out of Amherst, Virginia. He has been dedicated to living as a servant to God and glorifying Him through rapping since the age of 20. His biggest musical influences are Bizzle and 116 Clique, which consists of Lecrae, Andy Mineo, Trip Lee, KB, Tedashii, and Gawvi. Now 30, Brown just released an EP titled “The Transformation of Allen Brown.” As the name suggests, this EP emphasizes the struggles that he had and how he overcame them and transformed by the glory of God after reevaluating his life. Highlighted by his single, “Hands Up”, this EP depicts Brown’s struggles with sex, weed, and pornography. He’ll be the first to tell you that it wasn’t easy to quit that stuff, but it is still possible as long as you surround yourself with good people and keep fighting. You can tell by his straight-forward lyrics that he really wanted to give his testimony, especially in “My Story”, the first track on the EP. This song has such lyrics as “I was glorifying evil”, “I was living a lie”, and “if it wasn’t weed, it was pornography”. Brown says that it’s very important to serve God and the community by being vulnerable because you could relate to your audience and help them change their lives as well. He really couldn’t have said it better.

Hillsong United

Hillsong United is a contemporary Christian worship band that originated from the Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia. They have been making and releasing worship music in God’s name since 1998, and they aren’t slowing down. Earlier this month, they dropped their fifth studio album, entitled “Wonder”. The band is mostly open throughout this album about emotional struggles, such as feeling overwhelmed, fear, and confusion. For example, their song, “Splinters and Stones”, has such lyrics as “you saw the crushing weight my flesh deserved”, “you saw my heavy heart”, and “your beauty staring down my brokenness”. They also echo the fact that they can overcome all of that by putting their faith in God because God loves us. A good example of how they glorify God’s love is in “Glimmer In the Dust”, which has such lyrics as “your love never fails”, “lost in your awesome wonder”, “I know that you love me”, and “let your love take over”. It is really great that they still have the ability to reach out to audiences through their music. I definitely recommend this album to anyone who may not be having the best time emotionally right now.

Jorja Smith

This is only the second artist that I’ve blogged about that’s younger than me! What?! Jorja Smith is a 20-year-old British singer who’s main genres are soul, neo soul, R & B, and jazz. In her new single, “Teenage Fantasy”, she sings about relationship troubles she had when she was a young teenager. The lyrics describe how her brothers and parents warned her about boys that she was attracted to and how she struggled internally with not wanting what she can have and vice-versa (not being able to have what she wants). I really feel like Smith can especially reach out to teenage girls with this song because there are a lot of teenage girls out there that face the same problems. It definitely helps to listen to a singer that’s a little bit older and wiser from going through these issues herself. In general, teenagers seem to be in a rush to be in a romantic relationship, but as some of the lyrics of “Teenage Fantasy” say, there’s no need to rush.

London Grammar

London Grammar is a British indie pop trio formed by Hannah Reid, Dominic ‘Dot’ Major, and Dan Rothman. Ever since 2013, they have gone platinum and sold thousands of album copies in Australia and the UK. They recently dropped their second studio album, “Truth Is A Beautiful Thing.” They are so right. The truth is a beautiful thing! Telling the truth does wonders not only for you but also for others around you. On this album, London Grammar is open and honest about struggles such as depression, anxiety, fear, loneliness, and rejection. For example, “Oh Woman Oh Man” is about Reid being rejected and giving up. However, the song that I feel would give y’all the most chills is the title track, “Truth Is A Beautiful Thing” because you can hear the emotion in the minor key out of both the vocals and piano. This song also talks about trading lives with somebody and being under heavy weight. For example, this song has lyrics like “Could you take my place and stand here?” and “you’d be on knees and struggle under the weight”. I haven’t heard an album this emotional in a while. It’s beautiful and powerful that London Grammar is letting out this emotion through their music.

I applaud all these artists for using music as an outlet to let out their emotions and personal stories. As mentioned earlier, there has to be some way to be vulnerable because you can’t have these struggles and the emotions associated with them bottled up inside you forever. I hope y’all think about that and keep an eye out for the next Skinner Music Blog Post!