Initially touted as a piano and songwriting prodigy, with pop impresario Clive Davis getting fully behind her when she was in her teenagers. Over the years, her voice only obtained stronger, and songs just like the head-over-heels “No One” and the plush but bruised “You Don’t Know My Name” were given further potency by the nuanced, but technically impressive vocal performances Keys supplied. The hovering chorus of “Empire State of Mind” wouldn’t be half as memorable with out Keys’ wide-eyed vocal, which captures the starry-eyed thrill of realizing New York’s limitless potential in a means that even Liza would envy. Songs of the 1970s and 1980s are sprawling orchestral instrumentals, an innovative swirl of African highlife, American soul, and jazz.
After a messy cooking class, she stunned fans with a Drake cameo as her Young Money ally gleefully receives a lap dance from Minaj. A power move in more ways than can be counted, the “Anaconda” video has racked up a billion views, which made Minaj the first female rapper to do so. See, there was a South Korean singer-rapper who released a manic, whirlwind video with explosions, goofy-yet-contagious choreography, and horses. The complete world embraced this clip that transcended “video” into “global phenomenon,” with seemingly each TV present and business either sneak a peek at these guys emulating or parodying its equus-themed strutting. For a minute, Billy, the dying monoculture was revived to celebrate the shlubby man in the cheesy suit — so much so, actually, that the video turned the first video to hit 1 billion views on YouTube. Miller Puckette developed graphic signal-processing software program for 4X called Max and later ported it to Macintosh for real-time MIDI control, bringing algorithmic composition availability to most composers with modest pc programming background.