It’s been a long time. Months. It’s felt like years. I’ve been through some crazy shit. It’s been a journey I will never forget, and I have the scars to prove it. But I made it, and I’m so happy to be back, writing, listening, and loving life.
There’s so much new music, new artists, new playlists, and more to share. I can’t wait to get back into it, refreshed and ready to rock.
Thanks for staying with me!
It’s taking a bit of time for 2022 to ramped up with new music. This past week might have been the biggest release date so far with Spoon, Animal Collective, Big Thief, alt-J, and Cousin Stizz releasing new albums. I can’t wait to dig into Spoon’s new album. They might be the most underrated band in the indie/rock genre. They’ve been rocking out with quality albums since 1996! I’ll get to them on next' week’s mixtape.
So this week’s starts with a couple my favorite newbies, BENEE (who had my #2 Album of 2020) and Mallrat. BENEE’s new track is typical for her: catchy and bouncy as hell, makes you happy. Mallrat’s track develops and vibes for most of the song, but the best part is the last minute sample of Memphis’ Gangsta Pat. LOVE That ending.
I read Pitchfork’s 5.0 review of Cordae’s new album From a Birds Eye View. Needless to say, the critic was not too pleased. But I’m not a critic, I’m a lover, and I enjoyed the album. One of my favorite’s, “Jean-Michel,” shows his lyrical chops:
I been having vivid dreams, them shits is more than scary
Graveyards or mortuaries
Haunted by these goals that I'm tryna accomplish
Underrated, over-hated, I'm tired of the nonsense
Things I've could've done better, it lies in my conscience
And I'll never forget it, I'm my worst critic
Such a overthinker, I'm so self-reflective
God willing, these parables go and sell some records
Politicians out here lying, tryna sell a message
Ten thousand hours, penmanship is well-perfected
Not bad for a young guy. We’ll see where he goes from here.
Another couple rappers grace the mixtape, the unknown Young Truth and the very well known Lupe Fiasco. A couple bands I recently discovered. Spaceface bring some interesting vibes of sunny psychedelia, I can’t quite explain what Bad Suns is, but I enjoy the song!
And I hope you enjoy the week.
After listening to 62,510 minutes of music, 1,377 Artists, and 149 genres, I’ve digested a lot of tunes in 2021! There are so many different sounds and styles to this year’s playlist, it may be the most eclectic mix yet! We have a West African artist (Falle Nioke), a Turkish band with all sorts of influences (Altin Gun), a rock band in Niger (Mdou Moctar), a rapper from Chattanooga, Tennessee (Isaiah Rashad), an indie band from Minneapolis (Hippo Campus), masters in electronic music from across the pond in England (Disclosure), one of the more consistent electro-pop bands out there from Scotland (Chvrches), the best rock band I’ve heard in years, hailing from Baltimore (Turnstile), and so many more!
There’s rap, rock, soul, ballads, electro-pop, electronic, spoken word, funk, and who knows what other “genres” Spotify might class these songs as.
Nonetheless, there’s something for everybody, and hopefully a ton of new music* to discover.
*If you really like a song, check to see if that artist’s album is on my Top 25 Albums of 2021, and that’s a good indicator it’s a great album :)
Happy Monday! I first heard about Mallrat by listening to BENEE who I first heard about by listening to Joji, all new artists I’ve discovered in the past handful of months. Seeing who artists choose to feature on their tracks is a great way to find new music ;)
Speaking of new music, check out King Green’s new album if you like the track on this mixtape.
Also, Benny the Butcher’s recent mixtape, The Plugs I Met 2, is really good. It’s dark as hell coke rap, a brutal honesty of a life before rapping:
This supposed to be success / then why the fuck I feel stressed out and guilty? / Cuz I’m paid and all my niggas in the Feds or the grave / that shit kill me / That coulda been me / I think about it every day / That coulda been me / I answer every call from jail cuz that coulda been me.
Go find some new music and go down the rabbit hole of sounds :)