Monday Mixtape, Vol. 63

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Welcome to 2017! I'm clearly a few weeks late, and I took a sabbatical from the blog. I was also trying to get over my anger at Spotify for not releasing how many minutes of music I listened to this year. I don't think I could have beaten last year's 100,000 minute mark, but it's always cool to know. Ridiculous how much info Spotify has on our listening habits and such but doesn't tell us shit. Very annoying. 

Not a whole lot usually gets released right before the new year, but Run the Jewels is nothing usual.

Their new album, Run The Jewels 3, is a phenomenal album, spitting fire at the establishment and the state of the union. Not only does it feel like a revolutionary album in an unordinary time, but it's lyrically fed up and a calling to arms to "kill your masters."

I'll let Killer Mike (maybe the second best lyricist around right now next to Kendrick) take it from here:

Choose the lesser of the evil people, and the devil still gon' win
It could all be over tomorrow, kill our masters and start again
But we know we all afraid, so we just simply cry and march again
At the Dem Conven my heart broke apart when I seen them march mommas in
As I rap this verse right now, got tears flowing down my chocolate chin
Told the truth and I've been punished for it, must be a masochist 'cause I done it again
"Ooh, Mike said 'uterus'"
They acting like Mike said, "You a bitch"
To every writer who wrote it, misquoted it
Mike says, "You a bitch, you a bitch, you a bitch"
Add a "nigga" for the black writer that started that sewer shit
I maneuver through manure like a slumdog millionaire
El-P told me, "Fuck them devils, Mike, we gon' be millionaires"
I respond with a heavy "Yeah"
Big bruh says "Fuck that, toughen up
Stay ready, write raw raps, shit rugged rough"
The devil don't sleep, us either
El spits fire, I spit ether
We the gladiators that oppose all Caesars
Coming soon on a new world tour
Probably play the score for the World War
At the apocalypse, play the encore
Turn around, see El, and I smile
Hell coming, and we got about a mile
Until it's over I remain hostile

Killer Mike really entered the political fray this year with his endorsement of Bernie Sanders, and he is a voice that speaks to a lot of people. From the front to back of this album, Killer Mike and El-P continue to rise on a platform with more people listening and more people acting. I saw them at Coachella a couple years ago, and the crowd was NUTS, feeding off every syllable and sweat of the two. They're becoming the modern day "Run DMC." 

The xx also released an album this year, and I like much more than their last album which just felt like a regurgitation of their first album. Definitely check it out. 

How can I not start this mixtape with “Redbone,” easily the biggest miss on my Top 100 Songs of 2016. I actually listened to Gambino’s album from start to finish a couple times, and for some crazy reason, this song didn’t sing out to me. But after Glover’s speeches at the Golden Globe (winning for his amazing new show “Atlanta” and best actor in a musical or comedy), I had to come back to his album and rediscovered “Redbone.” This song is like Prince and Outkast making love, it’s just beautiful. 

If you didn’t see Glover’s speech, he also gave a shout out to Migos, the Atlanta rap trio who had a guest appearance on one of the best episodes of the season, though he wasn’t shouting them out for being on “Atlanta,” but instead for writing the greatest rap song ever (his words), “Bad and Boujee.” I hadn’t heard of that song either, so I went to play it and was immediately hooked. 

I’ve always been one of the many to make fun of Big Sean because I’ve always thought his flows were awful and his lyrics were terrible. He has a new album coming out, and if “Moves” is any indication, it might be worth listening to. 

If you haven’t heard Milo on some of my previous mixtapes, Scallops Hotel is another one of his projects. It’s weird with strange beats and weirder cadences. “Lavender Chunk” is probably the most accessible track on the album, but if you’re into some weirder rap, check this album and Milo’s latest album out as well. 

Hope to see you next week!

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 8

Good Morning! Hope the weekend treated you well. It's especially a good Monday because The Maccabees are back on Spotify! For some reason (due to their record label I imagine), their amazing album, Given To The Wild, written up and loved by yours truly, is not on Spotify, but their new album is set to release sometime in 2015, and their first single, "Marks To Prove It," IS on Spotify, so hopefully the album will be as well. The single is an in-your-face rock song that I've been listening to incessantly for a few weeks. Their sound changes constantly from song to song, so I still have no idea what the new album may sound like, but needless to say, I'm pretty excited.

Halsey, a 20 year old American, just released this track that should instantly remind you of another talented young singer, Lorde. This song is pure pop. It's catchy as hell, and I love the disdainful lyrics about the music industry complex, again like Lorde. 

Although I wasn't overly impressed with Strange Names' debut album, "Ricochet" is a great track!

For the hip-hop heads out there, "Countdown" has to be right down your alley. Great beat, great hook, and Consequence and Lupe Fiasco together on a track?? Yes please.

Jamie xx's (member of The xx) debut album, In Colour, has been getting a ton of love from critics all over. I've been enjoying the album as there are so many different types of music packed into the album which really showcase the true ability of a DJ - to understand and appreciate the multitudes of elements and genres of music yet make them intertwine seamlessly to the listener. It's a hell of an accomplishment of an album to veer so heavily in different directions yet still be listenable from front to back. Jamie xx's track on this mix, "I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times)," starts will some old soul sample then veers into a reggae-ish beat with "it" rapper Young Thug giving his off-kilter signature delivery. Yeah, it's a bit weird, but we all need to keep it weird (right, Austin?). 

Finally, Moses Sumney is a singer/songwriter I just stumbled upon because Pitchfork named one of his tracks Best New Track. This track, "Plastic," is just a simple ballad that spoke to me. Simplicity at its best.