Jay-Z’s The Volume series, Kanye’s College series and Lil Wayne’s The Carter series. Some of the most iconic album series in hip-hop history and today’s song comes from the latter. Lil Wayne has dropped some huge tunes in his five albums under the Carter moniker, including A Milli, 6 Foot 7 Foot and Go DJ, but today’s comes from Wayne’s latest release in the series, 2018s The Carter V.
Last New Music Friday of March, which I think means it’s basically summer right? Right??? Either way, a third of the way through the year and we’ve had some amazing new music. New Tame Impala for the first time since 2015, J. Cole, Ariana and Khalid all teasing new projects since January 1st, and of course the utterly insane debut album by Billie Eilish that dropped today. I’ve already covered Billie on New Music Friday with her February single bury a friend, so didn’t want to revisit her work so soon. But please, for the love of god, listen to her album, when we all fall asleep, where do we go?. It is emotive in ways I didn’t think music could be and will solidify her as a global megastar. At 17 years old.
Today’s song is a different flavour altogether. Col3trane is a half American half Egyptian RnB/soul artist from North London (I know, great combination), and he has joined forces with GoldLink for Superpowers. A simple guitar riff, that sounds weirdly like TLC’s No Scrubs, leads into some catchy, modern rapping from Col3trane, with trap drums taking over and adding the spark. I actually think it would make for an amazing acoustic version, but I don’t think that’s what rappers do nowadays.
GoldLink delivers a short but sweet verse that switches vibe completely, but in a good way. The original sound is doused in a trap beat that washes off when Col3trane comes back and battles with his relationship with women.
A good, good day for new music. Get listening folks, there’s a world of tracks waiting for you out there.
Spotify Playlist Link: https://spoti.fi/2CKuVex
An absolute classic on the cards for you today, with arguably Basement Jaxx’s best song. Romeo is a funky blend of sirens and carnival vocals, provided by Kele Le Roc, that swirls into a pop elixir that stans the test of time. Personally, I’d erupt in a club if this came on.
Basement Jaxx consist of South Londoners Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton. They met in the 90s, on a riverboat party on the Thames hosted by the latter, and blended their influences from Latin funk and Chicago house to create a truly unique sound that helped drive the growing UK house sound throughout the 90s. After enjoying a great deal of success throughout the 90s, releasing EPs and albums, and enjoying radio plays both sides of the Atlantic, 2001 saw the duo release Rooty, their second studio album. It released on XL Recordings in the UK and on Astralwerks in the USA. Track number one? Romeo.
Basement Jaxx are sonically pioneering, exquisite producers of music, yet their work often gets criticised for its lack of vision. Pitchfork, in particular, had scathing reviews of this album and this song, but I disagree. It’s fun and upbeat, and may also act as an easy segway for young fans to discover electronic music and UK house. The lyrics aren’t groundbreaking, but what house song lyrics are? If it gets you dancing then it’s heading in the right direction, and the blend of carnival soul into their signature house production was a fresh take back in 2001.
Personally, I think music can sometimes be over-analysed. In fact, it is the same for all art forms. If you enjoy something, be that a song, album, painting, building, film or even a cupboard, then that’s all that matters. In the case of Basement Jaxx’s Romeo, the funky sound washes me with nostalgia and I for one am here for some old school UK house. Bring on the weekend
It’s been a long day today, but I’m pleased to end it with yet another banger, as April and 100 days of the blog approaches. “Matrix & Futurebound” is not just a funky name for a solo DJ, they are two juggernauts of the UK drum and bass scene in the 90’s with a rich tapestry of rave culture behind them. The two veterans combined forces in 2005 and they released a full-length project, Universal Truth, two years later. With hints of pop-centric production and songwriting, the collaborative duo decided to lean into a bit more and give the charts an injection of the drum and bass sound that defined an era.
Control came along in late 2013, and it brought with it a wave of credits for the pair. BBC Radio 1 loved it, and it got as high as seven in the UK Top 40. Max Marshall is on vocals duty, and it is quite a task as the track is vocal heavy, especially for two stalwarts of the underground dance club culture. It is anthemic in its grandeur, with an immense drop that seems most at home in a club. However it is more subtle than more pure forms of drum and bass, feeling quite melodic and something that, maybe, even your parents wouldn’t mind if they ventured out of a weekend.
That sounds like I’m diminishing the track, but actually, I am impressed by the fine tuning on the production end that has transformed this record into a delicate balancing act between affording the respect and acknowledgment of the roots of drum and bass whilst pioneering its movement towards the masses. I’m fairly sure no one has ever referred to this song, or in fact any drum and bass, as delicate. First time for anything.
Spotify Playlist Link: https://spoti.fi/2CKuVex
Previously featured Vic Mensa collides with Pusha T on OMG, a song erected purely to flaunt lyrical prowess. I’d argue that this song tops, Camilla Cabello & Quavo’s, Usher & will.i.am’s, Little Mix’s and The Streets previous attempts at a song titled OMG, and I think most people would agree (ok The Streets song slaps, and Little Mix have never released a bad song. You get my point).
Coming from the very end of Vic Mensa’s 2017 album, The Autobiography, the song kicks off with an infectious hook. Pitchfork‘s review said it all, “Some rap songs exist solely to showcase a rapper’s skill in space—how well they construct verses; how easy they can make the process seem” and OMG is a prime example. The production is good, the hook is catchy, but the verses are a lyrical bicep flex that tick all the rap boxes; bitches, pop culture references and, when Pusha T takes the mic, drugs. Specifically cocaine. Never has a rapper made such a colourful career on dealing crack.
Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole are experts at making clever hip-hop. Drake knows how to make a hit. But sometimes you need a song that just has you pulling a stank face from start to finish. A song that has you shaking your head on the bus and periodically shouting “JHEEEEEEEZ” and regretting it immediately. A song that you want to work out to. OMG is that, something that has very little substance or story. This is far from a bad thing, as it never pretends to be more than it claims to be. It knows it’s lane and does it really well. A bit like Pusha T. And exclusively rapping about crack.
Spotify Playlist Link: https://spoti.fi/2CKuVex
London singer-songwriter with an above average voice, to put it extremely mildly, is the subject of today’s blog. Nao takes centre stage with the stand-out single from her sophomore studio project, Curiosity.
Having worked with the likes of previously featured 6LACK and Nile Rodgers & Chic, she is a truly unique vocalist, blending jazz elements from her days in education with her personal penchant for soul and RnB. Her days of Soundcloud uploading led to her boldly rejecting label advances to establish Little Tokyo, her own label. On Little Tokyo, she dropped her first EP, So Good EP, and if we fast forward to 2018, she has garnered critical acclaim for her debut album, For All We Know, and there is huge delirium for her second project.
Drive And Disconnect was a huge single, followed closely by Curiosity. Both were exquisite depictions of Nao’s extraordinary voice. RnB heavy and more restrained than some of the more prominent songs on the album, Curiosity starts with Nao’s warbling vocals delicately dancing around the subject of intimacy and passion. It is a raw, unfiltered love song that has lustful passion burning through it’s very fabric. This is balanced perfectly with production from GRADES and LOXE, the former of which collaborated with Nao on her previous smash hit, Bad Blood. Twinkling pianos blend into an upbeat cacophony of synths that breathe life into the sexual intimacy that Nao paints with her vocal chords.
One of my favourite singers of recent times, Nao astounds me every time I hear her voice on a new record. For someone like myself, who can’t sing for toffee, her talents blow me away and surround me in a blissful cocoon of harmonies. There are certainly worse places to be.
Spotify Playlist Link: https://spoti.fi/2CKuVex
A Song A Day 