New music radar: Jon Bellion

By Ryan Brong
February 17, 2017

A mixture of hip-hop and R&B, with blends of pop and indie rock, Jon Bellion is an artist who can no longer be ignored by the music world.

With beats that groove and great storytelling within his songs, Bellion’s style is an unfamiliar one to pop music, which truly sets him apart.

Bellion was born and raised in Long Island, New York. A music product from Long Island’s Five Towns College.

Bellion’s name made some waves in 2013 by writing the hit song for rapper Eminem, “The Monster,” a duet with Rhianna. Bellion was also featured on EDM artist Zedd’s, single, “Beautiful Now,” as a vocalist for the chorus.

Bellion’s solo success began in 2013 through releasing music for free. His mixtapes were put out on the internet for any listeners to enjoy and download.

In late 2013 Bellion released his mixtape, “The Seperation” which has almost 15,000 likes on Soundcloud. The mixtape features songs like “Eyes to the Sky,” “Jim Morrison,” “When the Lions Come,” and “Kingdom Come.” All boasting more than one million plays on Soundcloud.

Bellion is under the management of Visionary Music Group, along with young rapper Logic, another artist beginning to find immense success in the music community. Bellion was an early feature on Logic’s most successful mixtape, “Welcome to Forever” providing the chorus for the title track.

Then in 2014, Bellion released his next mixtape, “The Definition.” The mixtape features songs that had success on social media, such as “Human,” and “Luxury.” This mixtape became the successful stepping stone for Bellion’s next project.

After the release of very successful singles, “All Time Low,” which reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and “Guillotine”, Bellion released his debut album, “The Human Condition”.

Released on July 10, 2016, the album reached number three on the Billboard Digital albums chart.

My interest in Bellion stems from his very real lifestyle of music. Instead of writing about partying and living a lavish lifestyle, Bellion writes stories about his life and his journey to where he is today.

Warning: The following tracks and comments use explicit language.

In the song “Eyes to the Sky”, the song talks about working on the mixtape, “The Separation.” He talks about dealing with the anxiety of his choice to pursue music, as well has his dedication to producing this music to its highest potential. The title of the song means that he’s keeping his eyes up and always looking to the future.

“Munny Right,” is a song that tells his story through flashbacks of various. The hook of the song is a line taken from a popular Kanye West song “Can’t Tell Me Nothing.” Bellion’s story of struggle to achieve something he wants is very easily relatable, attracting listeners who the message of the song relates to.

My personal favorite song, “Guillotine,” talks about trust and unconditional love for someone. The song also displays Bellion’s incredible talent as a producer. A song that has a good message with a soundtrack to dance to is something not commonly found in today’s music.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ryan Brong

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Perspectives

Special Project

Title IX Redefined Website

Produced by Cabrini Communication
Class of 2024

Listen Up

Season 2, Episode 3: Celebrating Cabrini and Digging into its Past

watch

Scroll to Top
Share via
Copy link
Powered by Social Snap