Considering how many different styles of music I like I can only listen to certain types in the office. This selection gets even more fine tuned on Mondays where I need to block out the everything around me without having something heavy blaring in my headphones.
Soulection radio is the perfect fit. Listen to this past weekend's episode featuring special guest Kehlani.
ODESZA shared a new mix with us in their NO.SLEEP mix series. I actually discovered this one in the Connect section of Apple Music. I'm glad I never decided to remove the connect tab for the playlist tab otherwise I would have never discovered this.
Stream the mix below and check out the tracklisting.
pools – coffee in the morning
swim good x Merival – since u asked
KAN-G – Weak
Zuper – Glide
Mura Masa – Lovesick Fuck
Scavenger Hunt – Wildfire (Bee’s Knees Remix)
Nick Benet – Foolture
Saje – Who I Am (feat. Sabina)
Jungle – Time (Darius Remix)
Flight Facilities – Heart Attack (feat. Owl Eyes) (Snakehips Remix)
Esta – U Know I Need Ya
Sango – Pôr Do Sol Parte 2
RÜFÜS – You Were Right
Jamie XX – Loud Places (John Talabot Remix)
Lehvi – Pineapple Pool Party (Sango Taught Me)
Nora En Pure – Come With Me (Radio Edit)
Sam Gellaitry – Waiting So Long (CRNKN Remix)
stolensnares – Solace
Snoop Dogg – Drop It Like Its Hot (Fiinesse Edit)
James Blake – Limit To Your Love (Cazzette Bootleg)
San Holo – Victory
TRACE – Heavy Shoulders
Hundred Waters – Show Me Love (Big Wild Remix) (unreleased)
Lana Del Rey – High By The Beach (Katuchat Remix)
Really cool discovery I made when looking for playlist aggregators. Playlist Hunt helps you discover the best Apple Music and Spotify playlists. You can submit your own playlists or browse the database of available lists.
The purpose of the site is to build a platform where everyone can share their playlists and will be grouped by date and upvotes. I've already discovered a handful of lists which I added to my Apple Music account. Hit the source link below to check it out.
Other than the song "Squeeze Me" which N.E.R.D. released last year for the Spongebob Squarepants movie we haven't heard much out of the supergroup. This is a damn shame. OTHERtone is one of my favorite shows on Beats 1 at the moment which features Pharrell and guests going through a variety of genres and topics.
Over the weekend Tyler the Creator joined Pharrell and Scott Vener to discuss an assortment of weird crap. The most important highlight of this show was Pharrell liberating an unreleased track called Locked Away. Locked Away is a funky track with killer synths. Hopefully we get more unreleased N.E.R.D. material via OTHERtone. Check out the track below.
"Uh oh, looks like someone's got a case of the Mondays!"
To start off your week enjoy some smooth funky vibes from Thundercat, performing live on Why? With Hannibal Buress. Check out his EP The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam which I rated as one of my top albums of 2015 so far.
The more music associated with Jack White that I can get into my life the better. The Dead Weather finally announced a new LP that will see a release on September 25th, the first album since 2010's Sea of Cowards. For anyone not familiar with The Dead Weather the band consists of Jack White (The White Stripes), Alison Mosshart (The Kills), Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age) and Jack Lawrence (The Raconteurs).
Check out the album sampler below which you can find on Third Man Records Soundcloud page.
P.S. - I miss The White Stripes.
Image via ST-Math!eu
One of my favorite musicians/DJ's of all time is DJ Shadow. I'm ashamed being such a huge fan that I have never had the opportunity to see him live. There was always a running joke amongst my friends that South Floridian's always had to travel to Georgia in order to see a quality show. I'm guessing the lack of South Florida exposure for DJ Shadow is two-fold. His live shows require a massive amount of gear and the travel costs/coordination of doing a show in South Florida must be a strain. I guess it doesn't help when you get kicked off the decks at Club Mansion for not "playing enough commercial hip hop". That would certainly put a foul taste in your mouth.
DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist went on tour last year (Renegades of Rhythm) and if you were lucky to catch them you were able to witness some hip hop history. Both DJ's pulled records directly from Afrika Bambaataa's personal collection to recreate a 100 minute set which took you through a lesson in turntablism and breakbeats.
One of the performances was recently posted to YouTube. You can view the set in its entirety below. Enjoy.
We're more than half way through 2015 and I've accumulated some great music so far. From hiphop to electronica to funk there have been a bevy of album of the year candidates. I've been keeping an inventory of what's at the top of my list up to this point.
Disclaimer: I'm not a music expert nor a professional critic. This list is not going to include any sophisticated critiquing but simply my opinions on what I've enjoyed so far this year.
Here they are in no particular order.
I'm pretty sure anytime Kendrick Lamar releases a new album it's going to immediately skyrocket to the top of my Album of the Year list. To Pimp a Butterfly has a funky, jazzy feel and is honest and unapologetic. Just like good kid, m.A.A.d city the storytelling in To Pimp a Butterfly is enjoyable and eclectic.
Essential Tracks: Wesley's Theory (feat George Clinton and Thundercat), Institutionalized (feat Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat)
Purchase on iTunes
Listen on Apple Music
I really love this genre "future pop" that as far as I know got extremely popular a few years ago. I prefer to just refer to it as "electronic hop". The downtempo vibe of Another Eternity mixed with the hard trap beats and ethereal sound they are known for make this one of my favorites for 2015. Whether at the gym or in the office there are plenty of anthem style tracks which make this album perfect for anytime of the day.
Essential Tracks: Begin Again, Push Pull
Purchase on iTunes
Listen on Apple Music
My familiarity with Thundercat comes from his work he's done with Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar, most notably his production on Wesley's Theory off To Pimp a Butterfly. The Beyond/Where the Giants Roam is a six track EP that spouts a funky and airy vibe. The standout track is Them Changes which is co-produced with Flying Lotus and lays down a funky bassline with a fantastic Isley Brothers sample.
Essential Tracks: Them Changes, Lone Wolf and Cub
Purchase on iTunes
Listen on Apple Music
I'm a newbie Tame Impala fan. I first heard them on the single Elephant which had some killer blues riffs. I immediately checked out Lonerism and became a fan. The interesting thing is Elephant stood out on it's own as the rest of the album did not have that same blues feel to it. I had not been following Tame Impala so Currents was a surprise to me when it appeared on Apple Music. I immediately dove in and experienced a sound much different from Lonersim. Perhaps it's a natural progression but Currents provides deep and heavy basslines and amazing synths. Put on a pair of quality noise canceling headphone and enjoy this one.
Essential Tracks: Eventually, 'Cause I'm a Man
Purchase on iTunes
Listen on Apple Music
When A$AP Rocky released his debut album Long.Live.A$AP I was in the camp of people who was extremely disappointed with the long awaited LP. Other than a few of the radio singles (Goldie, F!@#$* Problems) I felt the rest of the album was filler and didn't live up to my lofty expectations that were set by Rocky's amazing and quite frankly one of the best mix tapes of all time Live.Love.A$AP. He totally redeemed himself with At.Long.Last.A$AP. A.L.L.A is a much more expansive and experimental change from his previous two albums. The album flows quite well from track to track and features a handful of standout tracks and much less filler than the previous effort. This album has been in constant rotation since its release.
Essential Tracks: Electric Body (feat. Schoolboy Q), Everyday (feat. Rod Stewart, Miguel, and Mark Ronson), M'$ (feat. Lil Wayne)
Purchase on iTunes
Listen on Apple Music
Jamie XX caught my attention when I first heard his non In Colour single All Under One Roof Raving. It had a nostalgic UK breakbeat vibe to it that was hard not to rock out too. Lots of heavy bass, spaced out instrumentals and chopped up samples make this album great. One of the standout tracks, I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times), was my runner up to track of the year.
Essential Tracks: I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times)(feat. Young Thug and Popcaan), Sleep Sound
Purchase on iTunes
Listen on Apple Music
The more I listen to Summertime 06 the more it moves up closer to the top of my AOTY list. I'm typically skeptical about double disc albums (see Wu-Tang Clan) but Summertime 06 is a well balanced album that has great transition throughout with very minimal need for skipping tracks. I was impatiently waiting for this release after thoroughly enjoying Staples' debut EP Hell Can Wait. I think it's a pretty incredible debut that tops any of his previous work. Staples' lyrics are pretty ingenious and continuously amusing. Staples recently sat down with NPR's Microphone Check podcast and provided some great behind the scenes of his life and the making of his album.
Essential Tracks: Norf Norf, Lift Me Up
Purchase on iTunes
Listen on Apple Music
Ratatat's Magnifique is a fresh take on an old sound. It's tough to figure out what genre to put Ratatat into as they pretty much created their own over time. This album took a few listens to grow on me but is now part of my daily rotation. What I like about this new album is it reminds me of their first album the self-titled Ratatat. As an added bonus, Ratatat provided the production for Despot's recent single release, House of Bricks which was a finalist in my track of the year category.
Essential Tracks: Rome, Cream on Chrome
Purchase on iTunes
Listen on Apple Music
Every year there is that one song that I just cannot stop playing on repeat. More importantly this track NEVER gets old. Last year it was Arctic Monkeys - Arabella. I discovered GRMM's remix of Another Way on SiriusXM Chill and it immediately had me bobbing my head in the car. The track has a great summertime, tropical vibe to it with an irresistible vocal track. Can't forget the sick bass drop. Keep your eye on GRMM. His Soundcloud has some pretty fantastic remixes and original material.
Runners Up: Despot - House of Bricks, David Zowie - House Every Weekend, Vince Staples - Norf Norf, Alabama Shakes - Don't Wanna Fight, Beck - Dreams, ODESZA - Bloom
Purchase on iTunes
Listen on Apple Music
There are plenty of albums that didn't make the cut but were still quality listens such as Action Bronson's - Mr. Wonderful, Lupe Fiasco's - Tetsuo & Youth and Joey Bada$$'s - B4.DA.$$.
I'm curious what you've been enjoying. Leave it in the comments.
It looks like I can finally stop holding my breath for Detox to be released. Discussing the long rumored album on his Beats 1 radio show The Pharmacy, Dr. Dre confirmed Detox is dead. It's not that he never worked on it, he just wasn't happy with it. Being the perfectionist that he is...
I didn't like it. It wasn't good. The record, it just wasn't good. … I worked my ass off on it, and I don't think I did a good enough job.
That being said Dre did confirm that he is releasing a new album on Friday, August 7th titled Compton - A Soundtrack by Dr. Dre in support for the upcoming N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton. The album is 16 tracks loaded with features ranging from Kendrick Lamar to Jill Scott.
01 - Intro
02 - Talk About It [ft. King Mez & Justus]
03 - Genocide [ft. Kendrick Lamar, Marsha Ambrosius & Candice Pillay]
04 - It's All on Me [ft. Justus & BJ the Chicago Kid]
05 - All in a Day's Work [ft. Anderson Paak & Marsha Ambrosius]
06 - Darkside/Gone [ft. King Mez, Marsha Ambrosius & Kendrick Lamar]
07 - Loose Cannons [ft. Xzibit & COLD 187um]
08 - Issues [ft. Ice Cube & Anderson Paak]
09 - Deep Water [ft. Kendrick Lamar & Justus]
10 - One Shot One Kill [ft. Snoop Dogg]
11 - Just Another Day [ft. Asia Bryant]
12 - For the Love of Money [ft. Jill Scott & Jon Connor]
13 - Satisfaction [ft. Snoop Dogg, Marsha Ambrosius & King Mez]
14 - Animals [ft. Anderson Paak]
15 - Medicine Mane [ft. Eminem, Candice Pillay & Anderson Paak]
16 - Talking to My Diary
Compton A Soundtrack is available for pre-order on iTunes and will be available on Apple Music August 7th.
Listen to The Pharmacy from this past Saturday below in which Dre discusses the album along with details on the scrapped Detox project. Oh yeah, he plays some pretty great tunes as well.
Image Credit: Kickstarter
Anyone that has been following rap duo Run the Jewels is probably aware of the Kickstarter campaign that began after the release of Run the Jewels 2 which will bring fans a remixed copy of the album all done with cat sounds. The duo got a group of top notch producers on board and the first few tracks are starting to trickle out. No word on the release date for Meow the Jewels but the first freely available to download track is now online. Stream below and hit the link for a download.
Direct Download via RunTheJewels.net
