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.