I am still not sure if I am invading on CocoRosie’s recording session in her bedroom by listening to this or not, but it sure does have an intimiate sound with the comfort of D.I.Y. ethics (none of that mainstream recording equipment here, man). “After the Afterlife” appears to be coming out on their next full length CD which is slated for May 27th, and entitled Tales of a Grass Widow. If the rest of the CD is anything like this track, then you can definitely count me in. Check out “After the Afterlife” below!
SZA’s “Aftermath” is what you get when you blend a cup of smoky haze, an ounce fresh lyrics, and a dash of rainbow sprinkles. This creamy goodness is exactly what you need after a huge meal, and just want to drift off to sleep. A head-nodding, lo-fi, soulful song about how “livin as a unicorn gets so lonely”, “Aftermath” is a hip-twistin’ slow ass jam.
But, before you listen to the song, I would like to leave you with the opening verse that SZA drops on you: “I apologize for waiting to tell you for so long that I am not human … / I am made of bacon, Fairy tales / pixie dust I don’t feel / I hung myself and didnt die i am omnipotent / I’m alive I’m not real I’m alive”. If that’s not next level, then I really am not sure what is.
Check out SZA’s “Aftermath” below, and get ready for her full length, S, in exactly one week from now.
Charli XCX, an English singer, is jumping on that 80s/90s lo-fi music video style that Sky Ferreira and Casket Girls have done with their own previous music videos. The difference is, where Ferreira’s video was more on another drugged out level, and Casket Girls’ video was more of a parody of the Internet’s existence, Charli XCX’s video makes pains to be the most hip thing you have ever seen. And even though that should make me hate it, I really cannot bring myself to crinkling my nose and closing the YouTube tab I have open. Maybe it is that spiked collar, maybe it is just that she is soooo Internet right now or maybe I just really should accept that even though I write for a music blog does not mean I have to hate everything (Editor’s note: this is debatable).
True Romance, her upcoming full length, is scheduled to drop of April 18th, so keep an eye out for that if you want some more auto-tuned songs about puppy love. Check out her video for “What I Like” below and get ready for a really meta slumber party with lyrics about smoking and “husband and wife shit” while being shown girls jumping around with a dog and blowing bubbles.
I had a hard time attempting to classify The Casket Girls, so I resorted to see what they called themselves on Facebook and was met with “eerie-pop”. I really have nothing else to say about this video, because that pretty much nails it.
Okay, I lied, there are some other things I want to say about it. First of which is check out those nails at :48!! Also, this video ironically has the option of viewing it in HD but still has 90s-esque video quality (and outfits). In a word, this entire video is a flashback. Check out The Casket Girls’ “Heartless” video below, which is off of their full length, Sleepwalking.
KiD CuDi is back!! After announcing that he is leaving the G.O.O.D. Music family, he dropped “Girls”, his newest song featuring Too $hort which is to be coming off of his upcoming full length, INDICUD. Pretty sure this song will go straight to the pop charts because of the radio-friendly vibe it gives off, but either way I am still a pretty big fan. Although no song can ever live up to the original “Girls“, CuDi’s newest song is pretty solid. Watch the video below to get a sneak peak, or go to the download link right here.
Damn. It’s been a minute since we have seen something dark from Drake, but I think this video has filled that hole. Without any featuring of central lighting, the video for “5AM in Toronto” relies heavily on the creeped out beat and Drake’s lyrics more than anything else. With a bunch of smoking, slo-mo and girls, “5AM in Toronto” is here for you to get weird to. Check it out below:
Every thug has to have a soft side, and I guess that is why I am so into this song. Also, Mac Miller is in it so it is kind of an obvious winner in my book because I have a weird obsession with him (yes, I even like “Turkey Love“, the 21 minute song he released about a month ago. Die hard fans put cha hands up!). The song is a pretty solid pop song, after you get over the fact that the song is probably 60% chorus. Ariana Grande’s voice reminds me of a young Mariah Carey, especially at the end when she is hittin’ them high notes.
I have been blasting this song for a minute now, and the video is just the next step for my obsession. Basically it is just Mac and Ariana being cute and taking pictures of each other or playing with balloons (and a make out session at the end. Hot). I feel like this is the type of thing that pop songs should have more of, aka solid beats, good voices (sans auto-tune s’il vous plaît…) and some cheesy but cute rap verses.
If you are ready to have some fun, check out the video below. If you don’t like fun, love or pop, don’t worry, I’ll be returning with some more hard core rap beats soon. But until then, check out Ariana Grande’s debut into the music scene below:
Brothers Jonas & Micki Borneland pump out monthly hour-long mixtapes. They started out as graphic designers, work as sound producers, and just three years ago got into DJing, not too bad! Listen & download April’s mixtape, it’s groovy.
This version of “We Up” by 50 Cent and Kendrick Lamar is just what I needed right before I go to sleep tonight. Low-key, smooth and sans an overbearing drum beat, “We Up” is relaxing and a refreshing reminder that rap is not about to be going anywhere with collaborations with legends and up-and-comers like these two.
This song used to have a verse from Kidd Kidd, another G-Unit member, but thanks to a great deal of backlash on Twitter about his verse, 50 Cent made the executive decision to quietly cut Kidd’s verse out and add in another one of his own. “We Up” will be on 50 Cent’s upcoming Street King Immortal which currently does not have a release date.
Now excuse me as I fall asleep to this on a loop. Take a listen to “We Up” below and enjoy.
I did an ode to “Swimming Pools” remixes about two months ago on What’s Good With It (peep that here), and questioned then how many more of these remixes of Kendrick Lamar’s “Swimming Pools” we really needed. Well…apparently a huge amount more, judging from how many have come out since then. And like all remixes, there have been stellar, not so stellar and just god-awful versions. Every so often there is that one remix that gives one faith that maybe, just maybe, everyone should keep remixing “Swimming Pools” and this is that remix.
Blood Diamonds is a great dude, and WGWI has been a fan for a minute, and he has a great way of transforming the original track into something completely different while still being able to make sure that the purists of the original will enjoy his rendition. Blood Diamonds’ remix of “Swimming Pools” is dark, eerie and memorable. Check it out below:
