Earlier last week, Consequence unveiled his second single “Disappointed” (his first being the Ye-produced banger “Blood Stain”). I was really feeling this one and can’t wait until it is available for download/streaming on all platforms. The production this time is self-produced by Consequence. It absolutely smacks and has that type of gritty/gruff soulfulness that feels like it could belong in the “GOOD Friday / My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”-era Ye sound. Cons has always been an awfully underrated MC and he really makes it look easy gliding on “Disappointed”. Look out for his upcoming LP “Nice Doing Business With You” this April.

This is a rare posting of an older release. Diana Gordon’s EP, “Wasted Youth” came out in 2020, but I recently heard her music for the first time on Lil Yachty’s “Let’s Start Here.”. Her vocals got my attention on “drive ME crazy” and “IVE OFFICIALLY LOST ViSiON”. That prompted me to look into more about her. I was surprised but simultaneously not surprised that she co-wrote Steve Lacey’s banger/jam of the year “Bad Habit”.

Above is a fantastic cut off of “Wasted Youth”, “Rollin (Acoustic)”. She’s like this crazy blend of Joni Mitchell mixed with Alanis Morissette mixed with Shawn Colvin. It’s rare you come across vocals and songwriting so captivating, so I’m breaking form here posting an older track. Hope you enjoy as much as I did!

Unknown Mortal Orchestra announced his upcoming album “V” today. Along with that came an incredible new single titled “Layla”. I love the interplay on the hook with “lay low Lay-la”. The song itself is very funky and hypnotic— great to throw on and unwind to after a long day at work (which is how I’m utilizing it right now).

Enjoy the track above and look out for the release of “V” on March 17th!

Suep caught my attention with their oddball, off-kilter take on pop and almost punk-like expression in their lyrics. In part inspired by groups and artists like the B-52s, the Talking Heads, and David Bowie and in part by groups like The Hollies, Fifth Dimension, and the Supremes; you get something incredibly original and resonant/relatable. My favorite cut off of the project is “Just A Job”. Give it a listen above.

AND speaking of Daniel Caesar, guess who dropped a new single today? “Do You Like Me?” is a wobbly/strummy, reflective, ballad that is easy listening for a Friday afternoon but also has a lot of ear candy going on with the arrangements (both instrumental and vocal).

Between this, the new Lil Yachty, Vic Mensa, the Mac Demarco album and the ASAP Rocky/Thundercat/Miguel from last week, I hear a playlist potentially forming.

One word: IMPRESSED. Hip-hop artists dabbling in psych seems to be the flavor of the day today and I’m definitely not mad at it. Lil Yachty has never been on my radar, but the collaborators he brought in for his new album, “Let’s Start Here.” got my attention. Yachty brought in a superstar lineup that includes Benjamin Goldwasser of MGMT, Mac Demarco, Nick Hakim, Daniel Caesar, Alex G, frequent Ye collaborator Ant Clemons, Tory Lanez, and perhaps Ariel Pink (in some capacity). Yachty’s unique vocals work extremely well in a lot of cases which I was pleasantly surprised with. The vocalists he brings in add significantly to the tracks as well. Above is my favorite from the album, “drive ME crazy!”.

If you haven’t been able to tell yet, Thundercat is a favorite around here. Vic Mensa returns with a psychedelic, lo-fi production backing that beckons overall to a direction I wish Vic was more consistent in: his Innanet tape days—experimental yet rooted in neo-soul and pop sensibility. That is what “Strawberry Louis Vuitton” is, and if this is what his next album is going to sound like, count me in. Poetic, soulful, and dynamic lyricism matched with an iconic hook that Vic croons first and Thundercat gives a go at in the finale of the song.

Mac Demarco’s latest “Five Easy Hot Dogs”, is an instrumental, acoustical excursion across North America. It was interesting reading Mac’s description of where he was at when he was recording these tracks and what he was feeling at the time via the Apple Music description of the album.

As I was listening, I was certainly getting this balance of optimism, mournfulness, and reflection on many of the tracks. “Crescent City” is my favorite cut and best exemplifies that balance of emotions I described. Each track says a lot, I encourage all to give a full listen-through and enjoy the ride.

Mindblowing new single by ASAP Rocky here. When I first tuned in, I was almost positive it was Thundercat providing the ethereal backdrop. I was correct. Apart from that, we also have backing vocals from Lil Yachty and Miguel. The track is a hypnotic mix of Houston by way of Harlem chopped and screwed hip-hop, 1960s psychedelia, and a bit of grungy-alt bassline work from Thundercat. Extremely innovative work. This one will be on repeat for awhile!

There’s a lot of cool, subtle stuff going on here in this new James Ivy single, “Under Tongues”. Via James Ivy’s Bandcamp, it states his music is inspired by PC Music, which is a record label founded by A.G. Cook in 2013. This label is known for blowing up and exaggerating as well as bringing new context to different pop tropes from the mid-90s to early 2000s (aka hyperpop). In “Under Tongues”, we get a lot of different texture that recall some of these eras. One thing that stuck out to me right away were the trip-hop sounding drum breaks that come in with the DJ scratch, glitch and vocal hit looping, which is a super cool touch. The other cool facet I like is the shoegaze-like guitar haze layered in on the hook of the song, adding some emotional depth. Give this one a listen above!

I was really impressed by Shana Cleveland’s first single off of her upcoming album, “Manzanita”. “Faces in the Fireflight” is incredibly lush and airy, lofting the listener up to angelic heights with both the string arrangements, soft vocals, and subdued drums. Everything is used sparingly and only used to hit emotional resonance when needed. The strings will all the sudden leap up at you and wash you away inside the song. “Faces in the Fireflight” sounds like an innovative, avant-garde track made circa, say, 1966. It takes you to a place that seems like the past but a place completely new at the same time. Something familiar but foreign—otherworldly almost. In other words, it’s fresh! Give it a listen above.

Wow, I was immediately struck by this single. First of all, the production by El Michels Affair is absolutely insane here. Hard hitting psychedelic-rock meets woozy flute-led jazz fusion with dusty, lo-fi drum fills, ready for Black Thought to paint a picture. Paint a picture he does, and on the level of a Scorsese gangster film at that. A painting from the gutter, where ambition and talent meets a ruthless environment. I could try to describe it all I want, but you might as well listen. Black Thought does it better.

Definitely a little late on this one, but felt it significant enough to do a quick write-up on. If not familiar already, DOMi and JD BECK (both multi-instrumentalists) are a dynamic jazz duo recently signed to Anderson .Paak’s Apeshit imprint. This record flew a little under the radar, but the two Thundercat features caught my attention. “NOT TiGHT” is an absolutely apeshit (haha get it?) jazz number with DOMi, JD BECK, and Thundercat all respectively going off. I love all incarnations of Thundercat, however “jazz solo Thundercat” just may be my favorite.

LA producer/beat smith J.Rocc returns with a new single “The Best” on his forthcoming LP, “Beatitudes”. In a Biblical context, the Beatitudes were eight blessings recounted by Jesus on the Sermon on the Mount. The double entendre of “beat” in Beatitudes is very clever, and here, we get the overarching theme. On first play of “The Best”, we are led by shimmering keys followed by a thick sounding Gospel choir before crisp drum breaks snap in. From what I can glean from the title/album artwork, plus the influences in the initial sample, it looks like we are in for an inspired and uplifting work. I look forward to hearing the rest.

Life on Venus’s newest release “Homewards” is pure triumph. Those triumphant feelings and chords sink into the gauzy, shoegaze atmosphere of the guitar and vocals. It makes for a very hopeful but “human” record. Listen to my favorite, “Forever Young”.

A little late on writing about this, but had this just pop up again and had to post a bit on it. Yasiin Bey, formerly Mos Def, is a Top 5 MC of all time. I constantly go back to his solo work and wish he would release some additional solo albums. His work on features in the past years has been top tier—thinking of just the verses he had with the likes of ASAP Rocky and Freddie Gibbs alone.

On “My Favorite Band”, a selection off of Black Star’s “No Fear of Time”, Bey has the spotlight. He offers probably the most worthwhile, uplifting, and poetic rap verse in recent memory. As solid as the album is as a whole, “My Favorite Band” makes me wish we were able to get a Yasiin and Madlib solo effort.

Played through this record rather recently and the track “You Do Your Best To Hide the Good Parts of Yourself” really stood out. The drums have a very “deep” and almost primal feel to them. The backdrop feels like something as giddy and joyous as a Passion Pit track or something off of The Avalanches “Wildflower” album. It makes for a song that feels very euphoric and engrossing. I’ll have to keep an eye on Laurence Guy releases going forward as this recent EP really grabbed my attention.