SEARCH FOR: SONGS

With the exception of a handful of well-known names in the music industry, it’s not a very big surprise that hip-hop is a young person’s sport, and it has always been for the most part of its history. While young to some people used to be like 21 to 25, or something in that range, ever since the digital age has emerged, that number has gone down as low as ever, sometimes even including preteens who have bigger followings than seasoned vets. Well, one gripe I have with these youngsters is the fact that they don’t seem to put quite enough effort into the smaller, less fun things that make a song truly ready to be released because they’re often too focused on their next move. That’s why BabySantana has stood out to me from the moment I heard his music, and nothing has changed ever since. He just seems to try and make an effort to make sure songs are fully complete before he drops them, and I just think that his quality, especially for a kid his age, is leaps and bounds better than most other emcees in his class. I mean, if you don’t believe this statement, …

Michigan is a place where literally anything in rap is possible if you work hard enough and prove your worth, and if anyone understands that, it’s Bfb Da Packman. He hit the scene like a meteor a year or two ago with some insanely creative hits, and although it might be difficult for some emcees to stand out in a region as unique as Flint and Detroit, Bfb seemed to have no problem whatsoever. Obviously, one of, if not his most famous songs is “Free Joe Exotic” which features Sada Baby, and when that song dropped, Sada was definitely in a league of his own. I’m still a massive fan of his without a doubt, but I think it’s not crazy to say that the playing field has been evened a bit and he is now one of the many incredibly dexterous emcees in the city. Regardless, I love hearing these two rappers spit alongside one another on a song because they never disappoint, so when I heard their latest song “Perkyyyyyyyyy”, I wasn’t going to let it go by the wayside whatsoever. Also, yes, I counted out all of the Y’s in the name, and I’m still not 1000% …

Kaytranada has long been one of my all-time favorite producers ever because of the groovy, easygoing nature that he is able to bring to every piece of music that he’s involved in. While I admittedly slept on IDK for brief stints throughout my writing career, when I found out that this duo was teaming up for their project Simple., I realized that this was the wake-up call that I needed in order to fully engulf myself in the world of IDK knowing that I wasn’t venturing too far outside of my preferred comfort zone because regardless of how he sounded, I knew Kaytra would kill it. Well, within seconds I was rapidly proven wrong because IDK showed exactly how insanely adaptable and skilled he is no matter what kind of instrumental is thrown his way, and all 8 songs on this 18-minute-long project were nothing short of magnificent. Luckily, we haven’t had to wait long for a few music videos to come out in support of this effort, and his latest flick is for his record “Breathe”. Directed by Remi Besse, we are transported to Paris where IDK sits on top of a skyscraper overlooking the city. After this cinematic …

ITSOKTOCRY is one of the most unique and innovative emcees in the entire industry, and if that’s something you disagree with, then you clearly have some catching up to do in terms of educating yourself on his career. While he has long been one of my favorite artists out, he never fails to impress me when he drops something new, and even though we haven’t received nearly as much of an overflow of music as we have from him in previous years, that just makes his drops that much more special. GWEN STACY 4EVER was an absolutely outstanding project, and while I tended to lean towards certain tracks over others at times, I was blown away with the deluxe version CRY dropped a few days ago which added 7 new songs to the instant classic. While these new tracks were amazing, I was thrilled to see him drop an animated visual for his cvtus-produced song “F.A.O” with Surf, because for me, this has been played on repeat for literally weeks on end. In the BADPITBOI-directed motion picture, there is this extremely enthralling style of animation that basically opens up in a city that is being tormented by a creature that …

At this point in the anthology of drill music it is pretty common knowledge that our brothers across the Atlantic in the UK first birthed this ominous style with sliding 808’s and gruff deliveries, but it was the scene in New York City that truly innovated this now indispensable sound, introducing new flows and melodies that made the style a great deal more compelling than its original British ideation. Songs like Brooklyn artist Corey St.Rose’s “MMM” show just how far drill music has progressed from the industrial roots of the London sound. St.Rose introduces a spellbinding flute melody that accents the off-kilter and danceable drums that sets an ideal backdrop for him to float over the instrumental with his signature melodic yet confrontational flow that St.Rose is perfecting. He is joined on the “MMM” remix by fellow NYC hitmaker Flipp Dinero who complements Corey beautifully, utilizing his tenor and falsetto to offset St.Rose’s more grumbling delivery. Corey St.Rose’s consistency and willingness to evolve as a creative is what has brought him to this point on the brink of stardom within one of music’s most publicized scenes and his new “MMM” remix is just the track to fully grab the attention …

Over the past eighteen months, it seems like Johan Lenox has done two things: drop bangers and delay his album – but this week fans are treated to the musical mastermind’s long-awaited debut record, What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up (or WDYWTBWYGU for short). Whether you know Johan from his work with artists like Kanye West and Travis Scott, or the numerous high-caliber tracks he dropped the past year like “Phases” with Cousin Stizz or “You Up?” with Ant Clemons – fans old and new are sure to rejoice with 15 new tracks of perfectly-polished mayhem from one of music’s most talented upcoming stars. Exploring the relationship between the expectations and reality of growing up, Johan Lenox’s debut LP sees the man behind today’s hits at his most concentrated and fine-tuned.  In addition to all the songs featuring live strings and woodwind arrangements from the man himself, the record also sports a hefty roster of guests like 070 Shake, RMR, Lancey Foux, Thouxanbanfauni, KayCyy, and more. Since WDYWTBWYGU has a special focus on growing up and existential disillusionment – it felt only right that I sit down with Johan and ask him to rate some of …

There is no denying the all-around influence and dominance that Grey 59 has had on the underground music scene over the last half-decade or so. While $uicideboy$ have been pretty much the face of the collective ever since they took off, I feel like one person who has paved the way for many others is Ramirez. He just brings such a different style and energy to the party, mixing in a variety of ruthless, hard-nosed songs alongside more airy, soulful tracks that seem to both exploit his various strengths just as well. Back in 2020, he released his album The Playa$ Manual, a 15-song effort that had features from friends and frequent collaborators like Shakewell, Pouya, Rocci, and Night Lovell. Since this project came out at the height of the pandemic, it made things a lot more difficult to execute, so while I was hoping to receive some more content in support of it, we had to wait until just a few days ago to get a music video for the album’s cut “Lane Switching”, but believe me when I say it was more than worth the wait! This one is absolutely perfect for this easygoing song that totally rides …

Although she is so different, unique, and out of the realm of most of the music I personally tend to listen to, Remi Wolf is seriously one of my favorite musicians in the current generation of music. In fact, I think that what I like so much about her is the very fact that she is so unapologetically herself, and this keeps me beyond enthralled with her incredible talents and inventive approaches to the music-making process. When she released her debut album Juno not too long ago, she further cemented herself into the spotlight, but I think that this was already pretty obvious due to a North American headlining tour, more than one billion global streams, and plenty of other incredibly applaudable achievements. Well, the fun has just begun because she announced the deluxe version of Juno is set to release on June 3rd, celebrating this with a much slower, more grungy single called “Michael”, and although it’s a much different vibe from the rest of her album, this one is still just as addicting and enthralling as the rest of the already existing records on her debut effort. In a press release with this announcement and track, Remi shared …

In all honesty, there are certain songs I write about that are performed by artists that I don’t really listen very heavily to, but I hear something and I just can’t resist. Mark Ronson is someone who definitely has a very storied, notable career, but he just typically doesn’t make a style of music that I often listen to. That’s not to undercut his talent or musical genius but considering he doesn’t really experiment with the world of rap or hip-hop very often at all, he doesn’t come across my radar as frequently as others. Well, I saw that he had a song with Lucky Daye called “Too Much”, and thanks to the fact that Lucky has become one of my absolute favorite R&B artists ever after working with producers like Kaytranada, I knew this wasn’t going to be something that I’d want to pass up. This song actually even came in partnership with Audemars Piguet, as they debuted a music program in 2019, and while I’m not entirely positive about what the overall goal of the program is, I’m at least grateful that they clearly put time and effort into working with some of the best talents out. As …

Out of all of the tastemakers and trendsetters in the newer generation of music, I think it is pretty safe to say that aldn is an absolute visionary. Considering he handles pretty much everything from vocals to production and almost everything else in between, he has his hands on everything in the trenches, and I think this is a major reason why he has been able to create such unique yet completely compelling sounds over the years. He is one of my personal favorites, and that comes without any sort of bias considering I don’t actually know him personally, but I just love to support great music and incredible talents, and I think he is the epitome of these things, which is definitely clear on his latest project good grief which just dropped yesterday. It seems as if aldn spoils us with so many different songs that seem to only get more creative and entertaining as time goes on, and whether he is showcasing a softer, more introspective sound or a much more grand, epic movement with pulsating drums and electric synths, he is in the driver’s seat and I’m just grateful to be a passenger in his car. This …