09/06/21 - New Music Monday

Happy Monday and Happy Labor Day!

Drake and Kanye both released their new albums Certified Lover Boy and Donda (respectively) within this last week and a half and I've spent a good portion of my long weekend immersed in the experience. Rap can be a lot to take in because it's always personal, you're acutely aware of the lyrics because it's spoken unlike other genres, and it's typically about challenges and the drive to overcome them.

Yebba is a Soul singer with Gospel roots and her new single “Boomerang” builds anticipation for her upcoming album Dawn. Hand drums provide unique percussion that gives the song forward motion. The song’s subject matter of a scorned lover and the echo in the vocals are haunting and gently sinister.

The hype surrounding Kayne West’s new album Donda has been entertaining to follow. From massive listening parties at football stadiums in Atlanta and Chicago that looked to some to be a publicity stunt and a money grab after merch sales soared above $7 million at just the first show to getting into tiffs with rappers featured from his album, causing West to edit Donda to remove them, it’s been a wild ride. Upon first listen (which is all I had time for because the track list is an impressive 27 songs long) it’s clear that West still has an incredible talent for rap and music production. There is still a religious element to many of his songs but the influence is not as heavy-handed as on his last album JESUS IS KING. We chose “Jail” and “Believe What I Say” from the album but it is worth a listen in it’s entirety.

Click here to listen on Spotify.

09/06/2021

Another Life - Surf Mesa, FLETCHER, Josh Golden

Boomerang - Yebba

Burning Bridges - Sigrid

Sunshine - Liam Payne

Thunderous - Stray Kids

Jail - Kanye West

Fair Trade - Drake, Travis Scott

Believe What I Say - Kanye West

Peach - Future Islands