Y’all need to peep the Broods album that drops 10/7 called Evergreen. Very dope music. If you’re sleeping, here’s a taste with their breakup themed video for “Never Gonna Change.”
These are the kinds of songs that simply put Shad on a level that few other artists can touch. Truly next level in his message and his delivery. Wow.
Words from the director, Justin Broadbent:
“The death of music is similar to the death of visual art. The online, numb, browsing experience has (naturally) started to effect the current state of art. We’ve become a Tumblr’d culture, over Googled, educated and bored in 4 seconds or shorter.
“I made a non-music video for Shad’s “Progressâ€. It’s a website. It’s a comment on the state of art and also maybe the only video that could attach to such an intensely accurate and poignant song for our generation. It is like the movie credits to now. Tumblr on.”
MNEK (and the UK) wins again. This kid is super talented.
UK R&B is killing ours right now. Here’s a new one from Sinead Harnett, who you may have heard on Disclosure’s album, produced by Snakehips, who are murking everything they touch right now. Fire.
Souled Out drops Tuesday and I’m really interested to see how it performs. I’d love to see an artist like Jhene breakthrough on the mainstream level and with the success of “The Worst,” a lot of folks are checking for her right now. This album will likely determine if she can get up to that star level, but either way, the music continues to be dope…and that’s the most important thing.
I mentioned this on Twitter when Mac Miller’s last mixtape, Faces, dropped, but I’m kinda worried for dude. He’s really talented (people sleep on the production skills too), but he seems to be in a pretty dark place. You can’t go more than a few bars on the tape without hearing a drug reference and while he’s always been on that vibe, it seems excessive…and dangerous…lately.
That said, the music is still quality, as evidenced by “Diablo.” Truthfully, I’m all in on any beat that samples “In A Sentimental Mood,” but Mac’s rhymes are on point here too. This one line seems to sum up what may have brought Mac to this dark place though: “the industry a lie, all the promises were hollow.”
Think a female version of The Weeknd, minus the drugs and with a stronger voice. No idea how she became involved with Tyga’s label (seems random), but I really like what I’ve heard from Esty so far. Be sure to cop her EP here if you haven’t already.
British dance music or alt-R&B is probably the most enjoyable stuff coming out these days. MNEK is killing just about everything he touches.
Very 80’s…from the visuals to the Prince-esque sounds. The UK wins again.
Majid Jordan, the duo best known for their work on Drake’s “Hold On We’re Going Home,” are prepping their new EP and “A Place Like This” acts as the lead single and title track for the project. As an added bonus, we get visuals at the same [damn] time the song is released, which almost always works as a smart marketing move (you never get a 2nd chance at a 1st impression). It plays well here (that drop and laser effect at 2:53 is doooooope), and the visuals provide an interesting contrast to the images/messages that we’ve seen from another Toronto alt-R&B artist affiliated with Drake. As much as people would like to think of that party scene as being all fun and games, it can quickly drag you under if you aren’t careful.
“It’s hard to teach a child when it gets like this //
What they offering you in a place like this //
What they promising you when it gets like this?”
If you’re late to the Majid Jordan bandwagon, be sure you track down their Afterhours EP they released before signing to Drizzy’s OVO Sound label. Some of my favorite music of the past few years and the new project will surely pick up where that left off. It drops July 22nd.