Day 49: Till The World Falls by Nile Rodgers & CHIC ft. Mura Masa, Cosha and Vic Mensa

Tagging the artists on my Instagram story was a hassle today! After 49 days we have a song with a whopping FIVE artists on the roster. Nile Rodgers & CHIC are the revamped version of the disco powerhouse CHIC, founded by Nile Rodgers back in 1976. Under this new moniker, they have released the 2018 album It’s About Time, performed on the BBC to bring in the New Year, are embarking on a 2019 tour and are even up for a Brit this week for Best International Group.

Having made some of the most iconic disco and funk music of all-time, the release of their first album since 1992 was premiered with this single, Till The World Falls. They clearly mean business, bringing in some very talented new-age musicians in Mura Masa, Cosha and Vic Mensa. Mura Masa is a British DJ and producer hailing from the Channel Island of Guernsey and, even at a young age, has a strong lineup of collaborations, including Nao, Jay Prince, Charli XCX, Christine and the Queens and even A$AP Rocky on his smash hit Love$ick (which itself was an already-released beat from Mura Masa entitled Lovesick Fuck which was released as part of his 2015 EP, Someday Somewhere).

Vic Mensa is a Chicago rapper who helped found hip-hop collective SAVEMONEY, alongside Chance The Rapper and previously featured Joey Purp, amongst others. He signed to Roc Nation in 2017 after some high profile features, including working with Kanye and Sia on his The Life Of Pablo track, Wolves. Kanye also featured on Mensa’s own U Mad, whilst a lot of crossover work with Chance The Rapper bolstered the rapper’s profile, with his projects Innanetape (2013), There’s Alot Going On (2016) and Manuscript (2017) all receiving positive feedback from critics and consumers.

Cosha is arguably the least well-known artist on here, but she has a history with fellow featured artist Mura Masa. She is a 22-year-old Irish vocalist who, under the pseudonym Bonzai, was Mura Masa’s live singer for all of his shows between 2015 and 2017, the period where he really exploded and started getting radio plays. Having previously sung back up vocals for Nao in 2014, she is now releasing music as Cosha, with her cleverly named debut album R.I.P Bonzai releasing last year.

All of these artists come together to revitalise the disco genre and repackage all that was good about it for a modern listener. There is still a deep love for disco and wider 80s music, with dedicated club nights and radio stations aplenty, but it is a genre and style that has found it hard to adjust to the rise of electronic and hip-hop music. Nile Rodgers and CHIC’s decision to bring in a hattrick of young artists with core, dedicated fan bases that are at the cusp of the shifting culture of popular music is genius. The song has the obvious stamps of disco, with the song opening with Nile Rodgers and CHIC to bring in hardcore disco-heads, whilst the song progresses into Vic Mensa’s verse to show young music fans who aren’t used to an 80’s sound that it is a versatile and upbeat style.

You might think that the song’s impressive lineup stops at the featured artists. As well as featuring Vic Mensa and Cosha on vocals and Mura Masa and Nile Rodgers on production, Anderson .Paak helped to write it and when it premiered on Later… With Jools Holland, Nile Rodgers brought out Mura Masa and Nao to perform the track. It is a great record and is a sign that Nile Rodgers, as he has done his whole career, is willing and incredibly able to bring his sound to whatever is trending in music on a global scale.

Spotify Playlist Link: https://spoti.fi/2CKuVex

Day 48: Friend Zone by Thundercat

No that’s not your alarm going off, that is the opening beats of Thundercat’s Friend Zone. It has a very instrument heavy instrumental (if you know what I mean), with the bass and keyboard being supplemented with the hip-hop staple that is the synth. It reminds me quite a bit of yesterday’s lead artist, Anderson .Paak and the beat certainly sounds akin to To Pimp A Butterfly era Kendrick (on which he was a collaborator, as well as Lamar’s following project, untitled unmastered.).

Thundercat’s real name is Stephen Bruner and his first craft was playing the bass. He was very involved in the LA-based, pioneering movement of black music subverting and cross-pollinating music genres. He worked with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Erykah Badu, and Sa-Ra. His work with Flying Lotus led to his debut of the moniker Thundercat in 2011 on his project The Golden Age of Apocalypse. After the death of his close friend led to a more raw, darker album in Apocalypse in 2013, he worked on the aforementioned Kendrick Lamar projects and some of the late Mac Miller’s last work.

The song is a revenge song, focusing on the titular friend zone that unreciprocated love or romantic feelings can get you in. It’s notoriously difficult to escape this zone, and Thundercat makes light of this hugely relatable pit with clever lyrics and a jazzy outlook on heartbreak.

Thoughtfully released in time for Valentine’s Day 2017, it appeared on his album Drink. If you are looking for some imaginative, colourful and fresh artist and you enjoy hip-hop, then Thundercat and his impressive back catalogue is for you. If dance music is more your thing, Ross From Friends is an incredible DJ that has released a bouncy remix of this song and was featured on the collaborative album Brainfeeder X. All worth checking out if there’s nothing on the telly tonight or you’ve got a long journey ahead of you to get your teeth into some exciting music.

Spotify Playlist Link: https://spoti.fi/2CKuVex

Day 47: The Waters by Anderson .Paak ft. BJ The Chicago Kid

This album is an unbelievable masterpiece, and I am so happy that Anderson .Paak is now getting the recognition he deserves after his joint win for Best Rap Performance for his track Bubblin at last weekend’s Grammys ceremony.

The Waters comes from Paak’s 2016 album Malibu and is the third song from what is a brilliantly composed body of work. He is from Oxnard, California and is a funky and soulful singer/rapper that has taken influence from the likes of fellow Californians Dr. Dre and Kendrick Lamar as well as The Free Nationals and KAYTRANADA. This album, Malibu, was the second album Paak released under that moniker, having previously released an album, O.B.E. Vol. 1, in 2012 as Breezy Lovejoy. It’s a great name in my opinion, alas he moved to his current pseudonym and has released some truly genre-bending hip-hop and funk music.

On The Waters, Paak recruits BJ The Chicago Kid for this wavy track. The Chicago native (no points for guessing that) has frequented songs with Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul, and it is a testament to Paak’s rising profile that he is collaborating with such a high profile star on just his sophomore project.

The verses have more of a rap flow to them, with the chorus reverting back to a more soulful sound that feels more true to the typical Paak instrumental. BJ’s feature is subtle and is a typical Paak use of a supplementary artist, seamlessly threading their vocals into the track to create a more emotive, funky sound. They work together rather than having distinct separation across verses.

It is this thinking and this approach to creating music that makes Anderson .Paak a truly unique musician that will continue to grab headlines, awards and even chart spots as the years roll on. This album was just the start for him and already he has gone on to release two more incredible projects in Yes Lawd! and Oxnard. Who knows where Paak can go from here.

Spotify Playlist Link: https://spoti.fi/2CKuVex