By Thomas Panagopoulos and Ilias Kratsanis

Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly is more than just an album; it’s a cultural manifesto, a personal transformation. Released in 2015, it is widely regarded as a landmark in modern hip-hop and a profound artistic statement that transcends genre boundaries .Rated as the best album of all time.

Themes and Lyrics
Thematically, the album dives into complex and often painful realities, narrating about race, power, self-worth, and redemption. Tracks like «Alright» give hope through struggle, while songs like «The Blacker the Berry» confront issues of hypocrisy, systemic racism, and internalized self-hatred. Kendrick’s lyrics are filled with metaphor and historical references, demanding multiple listens to fully appreciate the depth of his storytelling.

A key feature of the album is a recurring poem that changes throughout the songs, ending with a hypothetical «interview» with Tupac Shakur on the final track, «Mortal Man.» This poem ties the album together, creating a united story about Kendrick’s struggles with fame and his role as a voice for his community. «How Much a Dollar Cost», also known as a magical track , tells the story of Kendrick Lamar’s encounter with a homeless man asking for a dollar. Kendrick refuses, thinking the man unworthy. Later, the man reveals himself as God, teaching Kendrick a lesson about humility, compassion, and spiritual wealth. The track explores themes of ego, morality, and the value of selflessness.
Production
Musically, To Pimp A Butterfly doesn’t have a standard genre. Its production draws heavily from jazz, funk, soul, and spoken word traditions, featuring contributions from firms like Thundercat, Kamasi Washington, and George Clinton. The «raw» instrumentation and dynamic arrangements evoke the sounds of the 1970s while , crafting an atmosphere that is both raw and cinematic. Tracks like «Wesley’s Theory» and «King Kunta» bristle with funk energy, while «How Much a Dollar Cost» is introspective and haunting, underscored by minimalist piano and jazzy undertones.

Cultural Impact
The album’s impact extends beyond its music. To Pimp A Butterfly became a key influence during the social activism of the mid-2010s, with «Alright» serving as an unofficial anthem for the Black Lives Matter movement. Its themes reflect the struggles and resilience of powerless communities.
Final Thoughts
To Pimp A Butterfly is a masterpiece of storytelling and musical innovation. It challenges the listener intellectually and emotionally, offering no easy answers but complex questions about humanity, race, and personal accountability. Kendrick Lamar titles his place as a once-in-a-generation artist with this work, proving that hip-hop can be as introspective, experimental, and impactful as any other art form.

This album isn’t just a listening experience—it’s a transformative journey. Whether you’re analyzing its lyrics, marveling at its production, or reflecting on its messages, To Pimp A Butterfly offers something profound at every turn.

Rating: ★★★★★ / 5

By: Julia – Paraskevi Gkolfinopoulou

 Grigoris Kolliopoulos,

 Nick Ntouros

Blonde is Frank Ocean’s (Edwin Breaux) critically acclaimed sophomore studio album, released on August 20, 2016 is a deeply introspective and genre-defying work that blends elements of R&B, soul, avant-garde pop, and indie music.

The album explores themes such as love, heartbreak, identity, self-discovery, and the passage of time. Lyrically poetic and musically minimalist, Blonde is marked by its experimental production, strange arrangements, and Ocean’s ethereal voice, often enhanced with pitch modulation for emotional depth.

Some of the most well-known tracks include «Nikes», «Nights», «White Ferrari» and «Pink + White».

Blonde has had an enormous cultural impact not only for its musical innovation but also for its cultural resonance. Ocean’s vulnerability is explored through the album, as it aims to discuss about a wide variety of themes, such as emotional complexity, self-consciousness, identity doubts and bisexuality.

Blonde is a genre-blurring masterpiece, primarily rooted in alternative R&B but pulling heavily from soul, pop, and ambient influences. It challenges conventional song structures and emphasizes emotional storytelling through atmospheric production and raw lyricism.

The album’s title appears as both Blonde and Blond in various places, reflecting Ocean’s fluid and non-binary approach to art and identity.

Despite its massive success, Blonde didn’t rely on traditional singles or radio hits, thriving through word of mouth and critical acclaim.

Frank Ocean often shifts his vocal pitch throughout the album to embody different perspectives and emotions, such as the distorted vocals in «Nikes.»

Blonde was released independently through Ocean’s own label, due to disputes between the artist and Def Jam Records. From an artistic and musical perspective, the album has inspired plenty of artists to create art while taking bold decisions and creative risks. The album lasts a full hour and a change in theme is noticed on the exact 30th minute mark that is included inside «Nights». A plethora of featured artists assisted in the making of the record with notable names like André 3000, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, Beyoncé and James Blake.

This particular LP is generally listed on top of ratings of the best albums of the last two decades, as it has collected the public acknowledgement and respect for its contribution to music and its huge cultural impact.

By: Daminidi Sofia, Koutra Maria

The bouzouki is a musical instrument that is loved by the Greek nation. Many songs and musical pieces created by Greek artists involve this instrument. So what is it like and why is it so popular in Greece?

Firstly let’s analyse it’s structure. Bouzouki is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat and long neck with a fretted fingerboard. It also has steel strings and is played with a plectrum producing a sharp metallic sound. It is similar to the mandolin but it produces lower pitched sounds. In Greece, there can be found two different types of bouzouki in Greece. The first one has three pairs of strings, also known as courses and is called trichordo, which in Greek translates as ‘’three strings’’. The other one has four pairs and is called tetrachordo, which in Greek means ‘’four strings’’.

But where does the name bouzouki come from? If someone tries to track the etymology of this musical instrument they will find out that the name bouzouki comes from the Turkish language. In Turkish ‘’bozuk’’ means broken or modified. The bouzouki belongs in the same instrumental family as the lute and the mandolin. It originally used to be made out of carved wood but was modified when it first arrived in Greece.

The history of bouzouki is really interesting. First of all, in ancient Greece, an instrument related to bouzouki, “tambouras” existed. Tambouras can be found in a variety of shapes and sizes. In the war of south Asia, bouzouki arrived in Greece. It was brought in the country in the early 1900 by the refugees that the war caused. The refugees were Greeks that lived in the Asian city of Anatolia. Firstly, the bouzouki had three courses, but after some years the four-coursed bouzouki started to gain popularity. This specific type of this instrument was made by a popular man, Manolis Chiotis, who also made the bouzouki a well known instrument in Greece. There is also the Irish bouzouki, which has different structure and produces different sound  than the Greek. It was recently adapted by some Irish musicians.

When it firstly arrived in Greece, this instrument became important to a music genre called rebetiko. Today, it is still used in modern Greek music genres known in Greece as ‘’laika’’ and other pop Greek songs

There are many instruments that are related to the bouzouki. Some of them are the following: The tzouras, the Irish bouzouki, the Balkan tambura, the lute, the mandolin, the pandura and the baglama.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouzouki

https://www.britannica.com/art/bouzouki

By Joanna Polydoropoulou

Helena Paparizou is one of the most popular Greek singers. She was born in Boros, a city in Sweden, on 31^st January 1982. Her parents were immigrants from Greece. She has also two younger siblings, a sister and a brother. From a young age, music was her passion and she created a small band with some of her friends at the age of 13. The band was called “SOUL FUNKOMATIC”, but it disbanded when Helena was 16.`

CAREER

Her career began at the age of 17. With her friend, Nickos Panagiotidi, created the famous group “Antique” in 1990. It crossed over to audience and after their first single “Opa-Opa”, they became popular with Europeans. They came from Sweden to Greece and they decided to participate in Eurovision in 2001. Their song “Die for you” took the third place in the competition, the better place that had won the country until then. Despite their big success, the band decided to have a break. So, in 2003, the band disbanded.

Immediately, Helena signed a contract with SONY BMG Greece and she started her solo career. In the same year , she brought out her first single called “Anapanthtes klhseis”. In 2004, she took part in the first Mad Video Music Awards and she won the price for the best video clip dance for her single. Moreover, she released her first album called “Proteraiothta”, which became platinum twice in Greece and once in Cyprus.

In 2005, she decided to participate again in the Eurovision Song Contest. The audience loved both Helena and her song “My number one”. It was on the 21^st of May when the golden page of the Greek music history was written and Helena had the main role. She won and that was the one and the only win of our country in the competition until now.

After Eurovision, she became very popular. She released another single called “Mambo!” which was first presented in the Eurovision song contest in 2006 and became one of the greatest hits of the year all around Europe. She also opened the Mad Video Music Awards with her song “My number one” and she won two prices. In 2006, she also created her second album “Iparhi logos”. The album became platinum not only in Greece, but also in Cyprus. Moreover, she won another three Mad Awards and a European Border Breaker Award in Cannes.

She continued her big success. From 2007 to 2011 she released three albums “The game of love”, “Vrisko ton logo na zo”, “Giro apo to oneiro” which were on the top of the charts in Greece and in Cyprus. She won nine Mad video music awards. Moreover she participated in MTV Europe awards and she took the title of Best Greek Act in Eurovision song contest. She also went on two big tours in Greece (the first alone and the second with Onirama).

From 2011 to 2013 she participated in Madwalk and she won seven Mad video music awards. In 2011 she became one of the three judges in a TV show called “Dancing on ice”. In 2012 she went on her third big summer tour with a band called “Melisses” and in 2013 the fourth, but alone that time. Also, in 2012 she changed record company and she joined Minos EMI Universal. A year later she released the album “Ti ora tha vgoume?” and she went to Hollywood to sing for a night dedicated to Melina Merkouri.

In 2014 she decided to participate to the “Melodyfestivalen” to represent Sweden in Eurovision, but finally she didn’t go again to the contest. Then, she released an album called “One life” and she went on a summer tour in Sweden. A year later she participated to the musical “NINE” and she won a Mad video music award. From 2016 to 2022 she was one of the four coaches in “The voice of Greece”. In 2017 she released another album, the “Rainbow” which became platinum in Greece. In 2019 she joined Antique again. The group went on a tour in Sweden and it recorded a new song called “Ti Ti”. It also participated in the Het Grote Festival in Amsterdam. From 2018 to 2023 Helena had won nine Mad video music awards and she went on a lot of summer tour. In addition to this, she made another album in 2019, the “Apochrosis”.

During all these years Helena Paparizou has recorded 78 singles, 63 music videos and she released 10 studio albums. She also went 22 summer tours and 31 collaborations with other singers.

Some of her most popular singles are:

• Anapantites kliseis

• My number one

• Katse kala

• Crazy Hurt

• The light in our soul

• Iparhi logos

• Mambo

• To fili tis zois

• Baby it’s over

• Fiesta

• Haide

• An me deis na klaio

• Déjà vu

• De mou ta leei kala

SOURCES

• TEXT:

• https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%88%CE%BB%CE%B5%CE%BD%CE%B1_%CE%A0%CE%B1%CF%80%CE%B1%CF%81%CE%AF%CE%B6%CE%BF%CF%85

• PHOTOS:

https://www.offsite.com.cy/offsite-archive/tha-ekprosopisei-telika-i-paparizoy-tin-kypro-stin-eurovision

By Anastasia Sgoura and Aggeliki Stamatopoulou

Stray kids is a South Korean boy group under JYP Entertainment. The group consists of 8 members: Bang Chan, the leader and the oldest of the group, his nicknames given by his members are kangaroo and koala, because of his origin, which is Australia, he is part of pre-debut group called 3RACHA, his stage name in 3RACHA is CB97. Lee Know, formerly known as Minho. Changbin, his specialties are writing lyrics and rap, he is in pre-debut group called 3RACHA, his stage name in 3RACHA is SPEARB. Hyunjin, his nicknames by the group are Jinnie or “The Prince” and he is also good at drawing. Jisung, formerly known as Han, he is in pre-debut froup called 3RACHA with Chan and Changbin, his stage name in 3RACHA is J.ONE. Felix, his parents are Korean but he was born in Australia and he thinks his charming point is his freckles. Seungmin, he is the vocalist of the group and Jeong-in, formerly known as I.N, he is the maknae of the group, which means he is the youngest, he is also can play piano. Originally, Stray Kids is a nine-member group, Woojin who has been a member of Stray Kids, has left the team and terminated his contract due to personal circumstances.

Stray Kids was created through the survival program with the same name, Stray Kids. Stray Kids debuted on March 25, 2018.

By Theodore Papoutsis

It is mostly known as the best album of all times and is the third album created by the artist playboy Carti.

With a number of 24 songs, this heavenly tracklist produces various emotions that can elevate everyone.

The tracklist is given below

• Rockstar Made

• Go2DaMoon (Ft. Kanye West)

• Stop Breathing 

• Beno!

• JumpOutTheHouse

• M3tamorphosis (Ft. Kid Cudi)

• Slay3r

• No Sl33p

•  New Tank

• Teen X (Ft. Future)

• Meh

• Vamp Anthem

• New N3on

• Control

• Punk Monk

•  On That Time

• King Vamp

• Place

• Sky

• Over

•  ILoveUIHateU

• Die4Guy

•  Not PLaying 
•  F33l Lik3 Dyin  

Jordan Terrell Carter, born on September 13, 1996 and known professionally as Playboi Carti, is an American rapper. He is recognized for his experimental musical style, gothic fashion and mysterious public persona. His other creations are equally good (Self titled, Die lit) but can’t reach the levels that the “Red” album has touched.

                                                                                                                                         Die lit

                                                                                                                                      Self titled

He mostly goes by his stage name only because he wanted Michael Jordan to make a name rather than take his spotlight.

What is more, this artist with his artistic visions chose to feature some small artists on his album (kid cudi, future, Kanye west) to give them a chance blow up.

By George Panovrakos

As we all know, it’s this time of the year, when everyone gets to pick their Album of the Year. My Album of the Year belongs to the rap category of music. Of course, there are nominations, such as Donda (Kanye West), Call Me If You Get Lost (Tyler the Creator), The Off-Season ( J. Cole), The Voice of the Heroes( Lil Durk & Lil Baby), Trip at Knight( Trippie Redd), Certified Lover Boy ( Drake). Out of these, my top 3 were: Donda, Call Me If You Get Lost and The Off-Season. In my honest opinion, the best one is by far Donda by Kanye West.

Firstly, a few words about Kanye West. Kanye Omari West, born in 1977, is an American rapper, producer and fasion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, he was at first recognised only as a producer by Roc-A-Fella-Records, producing singles for several artists, while also developing and promoting the ‘chipmunk soul’ style. However, he wanted to pursue a career as a rapper and as of now, he has put out 10 studio albums, Donda being his last so far.

The album has been a long time coming, initially scheduled to drop last summer the album was subsequently scrapped until this July. After what feels like an eternity, Donda has finally arrived, and the verdict? Kanye has perfected his new gospel sound with his signature hip-hop to create an album full of reflection and forgiveness. It’s important to mention that the album was inspired by the death of Kanye’s mother ‘Donda C. West’. I truly believe that this album is this year’s best, as production on every single song is remarkable and unique. Kanye’s lyricism is also quite good, but nothing outsanding. What I admire the most is his his ability to get the best out of the other rappers that he worked with in this album, like Playboi Carti, Fivio Foreign, The Weeknd, Vory and Travis Scott. It is an album that I absolutely recommend not only to fans of rap, but also to musci fans in general.

Sources: Wikipedia and Billboard

By Elias Tzivieris

Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is a highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies music from a historical point of view. In theory, «music history» could refer to the study of the history of any type or genre of music.

In 800 BCE the first recovered piece of recorded music was found. It was written in cuneiform and was a religious hymn. It should be noted that cuneiform is not a type of musical notation. By 700 BC there are records of songs that include vocals with instrumentals.

THE FIRST PERSON OF THAT INVENTED MUSIC

They usually put forward several answers, including crediting a character from the Book of Genesis named Jubal, who was said to have played the flute, or Amphion, a son of Zeus, who was given the lyre. One popular story from the Middle Ages credits the Greek philosopher Pythagoras as the inventor of music.

THE 6 PERIODS OF MUSIC HISTORY

The 6 musical periods are classified as:

• Medieval

• Renaissance

• Baroque

• Classical

• Romantic

• 20th/21st Century

      (Rock,Metal,Blues,Funk,Jazz)

 By Panagiotis Tzanatos, Panagiotis Paplas & Anastasis Tzefrios

The history of the Eurovision Song Contest began with an idea by Sergio Pugliese, of the Italian television, in the channel RAI, and then was approved by Marcel Bezencon of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The contest was based on the Italian Sanremo Music Festival and was designed to test the limits of live television broadcast technology.

The first contest took place on 24 May 1956, where seven countries participated. As the Contest progressed, the rules grew increasingly complex and participation augmented to forty countries at the end of the 20th century. As more countries came on board over subsequent decades and technology advanced, the EBU attempted to keep up with national and international trends.

The first winner was Switzerland in 1956 in Lugano. The country with the most wins is Ireland, with 7 wins. After, is Switzerland with 6 wins and Luxembourg, France and the United Kingdom with 5 wins. The latest winner is The Netherlands with the song “Arcade” which touched many people with its sad message.

  Greece  first entered the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 but the country won in 2005, it had only finished in the top five on four occasions. Greece hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006 and has never finished last in the competition.

 ABBA is the most successful Eurovision Song Contest winner. The Swedish pop band won the contest in 1974 and has enjoyed phenomenal success ever since, despite officially splitting up in 1983.

The most covered Eurovision Song Contest song is Domenico Mudugno‘s Nel Blu Di Pinto Di Blu, also known as Volare. The song has been covered by famous stars such as Dean Martin, Cliff Richard, David Bowie and many more.

Johnny Logan won the Eurovision Song Contest 3 times. In 1980 and 1987 he represented Ireland as performer and won both times, with Hold Me Now and What’s Another Year, in 1992 he wrote Linda Martin’s winning entry Why Me?

  In 2014, Valentina Monetta took part for San Marino for the third time in a row and… qualified for the Grand Final! She participated in the 2017 contest for the fourth time!

In 2011, Lena, the winner of the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, decided to defend her title on home ground – something only 2 people have done in the history of the contest.

Until 1998, each act was supported by a live orchestra and every country brought its own conductor. Noel Kelehan conducted the orchestra of 5 winners, in 1980, 1987, 1992, 1993 and 1996. Dutch conductor Dolf van der Linde conducting for a record 7 countries; Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland.

Only 3 women conducted the orchestra at the Eurovision Song Contest. Nurit Nirsch conducted the Israeli entries of 1973 and 1978, Monica Dominique conducted the Swedish 1973 entry and Anita Kerr appeared in front of the orchestra for Switzerland in 1985.

German songwriter and composer Ralph Siegel is a true Eurovision addict. He took part a whopping 21 times. He did so most recently in 2014, granting San Marino their first qualification to the Grand Final. His 22nd participation was in 2017, having written the song for San Marino. He won once, in 1982, with the famous Ein Bißchen Frieden.

Πηγές:

https://eurovision.tv/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest