jj make their triumphant return with the release of “Beautiful Life”, yet another beautifully composed song from the Swedish duo. And the first line? It goes something like this: “I’m so in this b*tch, see me glow in this b*tch, blowing dro in this b*tch, doing blow in this b*tch.” Classic.
This new song will appear on their forthcoming single jj n° 4 alongside another new song entitled “Burn”. Starting May 8th, you’ll be able to purchase the single from Secretly Canadian and Sincerely Yours either as a 7″ record or as a digital recording. Check it out below.
Bam! Just about two hours ago, Funkmaster Flex premiered Kanye West‘s new song “Theraflu” on Hot 97. A collaboration with DJ Khaled, “Theraflu” has a bouncy vibe (produced by Hit Boy) that is extremely similar to Watch The Throne standout “N***as in Paris”. Bringing back his old school flow, Yeezy drops bars mentioning Amber Rose, Kim Kardashian (“And I’ll admit, I fell in love with Kim/ ‘Round the same time she fell in love with him”), and Kris Humphries (“Lucky I ain’t have Jay drop him off the team”). You can check out the song below.
“No one above the age of 21 was involved in the making of this album. This album was recorded in one 10 hour session. Thanks to our friends, family, loved ones and anyone who fucks with us.”
Avant-garde jazz trio BADBADNOTGOOD make their return today with the release of BBNG2, an eleven-song record composed of hip hop covers as well as original songs. This time around, the ridiculously talented Toronto group tackles the music of James Blake, Kanye West, and even Odd Future, but also contribute five new songs of original material that are even more appealing than their covers.
If you aren’t yet familiar with BADBADNOTGOOD, you can preview the entire album below through their Bandcamp. Once you’re satisfied, you can head over to their website for a free download of the album in multiple file formats.
Later this year, Phil Elverum (better known as Mount Eerie) will release two brand new albums through his own P.W. Elverum and Sun label. The first, set for a May 22nd release, is entitled Clear Moon, which will then be followed by its companion album Ocean Roar.
Before all of that comes out though, Elverum will be treating fans to a two-song EP entitled To The Ground, set for release next week on April 10th through Atelier Ciseaux. The title track, which you can listen to below, features haunting vocals over a warm, rhythmic keyboard/drum soundscape. It’s the perfect blend of melancholy and trance to help welcome in the springtime. You can check it out for yourself below and be sure to pick up your copy of the new 7-inch next week.
For his next studio record, Curren$y has enlisted the help of D.C. emcee Wale, who joins the laid-back rapper on what may be one of this year’s smoothest tracks. On “What It Look Like”, Spitta contributes his traditional hazy stoner rap and Wale brings back his energetic go-go flow to give us a hearty dose of the Jet Life.
Curren$y’s forthcoming record is entitled The Stoned Immaculate and will hit stores on June 5th. In the meantime, he’ll be embarking on the “Jet Life: The Stoned Immaculate” tour later this month, as well as releasing the video for “What It Look Like” on April 8th.
I haven’t heard from Hoodie Allen in a while, so it was to my surprise that I came across a new email from him today. And Hoodie was full of surprises: since the end of summer, he has been hard at work creating his first ever retail record, a brand new EP titled All American that will appear for sale on iTunes. All American will also be completely original with no samples appearing on the record, a huge change in style for a rapper that blew up the blogosphere with his catchy indie samples.
Hoodie writes, “So this is something completely new for me. I’ve built most of my following online based around 2 ideas –1. free mixtapes and 2. creative use of sampling. With this new project, I’ve worked really hard to expand upon the sound that my fans love while actually creating all the songs from scratch.”
For a quick preview of what’s to come, Hoodie released a video and a stream of his RJF-produced lead single “No Interruption”, which you can check out below. If it’s any indication of what’s to come, All American will continue with the traditional fun, laid-back sound, while allowing Hoodie a bit more artistic freedom and development. All American will be available on April 10th.
For Record Store Day this year, the Flaming Lips will be releasing a new record entitled The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, which houses a number of collaborations between the Lips and Tame Impala, Yoko Ono, Chris Martin of Coldplay, and even Ke$ha. Today, we get to hear the highly-anticipated collaboration track with Bon Iver. “Ashes In The Air” features the classic psychedelic Flaming Lips sound, which is then complemented by the lush falsetto of Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, who contributes some peculiar lines about racing robot dogs. Despite that, Vernon sounds completely at home in the woozy electronic soundscape, which results in a great piece of work between two of the biggest acts in the indie rock world.
The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends Tracklist:
Side 1:
01. 2012 (feat. Ke$ha and Biz Markie)
02. Ashes In The Air (feat. Bon Iver)
03. Helping The Retarded To Know God (feat. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros)
Side 2:
04. Supermoon Made Me Want To Pee (feat. Prefuse 73)
05. Children Of The Moon (feat. Tame Impala)
06. That Ain’t My Trip (feat. Jim James of My Morning Jacket)
07. You, Man? Human? (feat. Nick Cave)
Side 3:
08. I’m Working At NASA On Acid (feat. Lightning Bolt)
09. Do It! (feat. Yoko Ono)
10. Is David Bowie Dying? (feat. Neon Indian)
Side 4:
11. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (feat. Erykah Badu)
12. Thunder Drops (feat. New Fumes)
13. I Don’t Want You To Die (feat. Chris Martin of Coldplay)
A few days back, the producer-rapper duo of King I Divine and ScienZedropped off their collaborative mixtape Divine ScienZe for free download over at 2DopeBoyz. All the tracks are produced by Queens native King I Divine, who gives the entire project a unique boom-bap sound that meshes really well with ScienZe’s sharp rhymes and smooth flow. To top it all off, the duo enlisted the help of a hard-hitting supporting cast that includes features from rising artist Sene, West Coast legend Blu, and more. If you’re a fan of old school hip hop, then these two will definitely find a regular spot in your headphones. You can download the mixtape for free below and if you’re not already convinced, you can also preview two songs, one of which includes guest verses from Sene, Blu, and Britain Parker.
As The Dean’s List previously mentioned in our interview, the second single from their upcoming album Generation X is “Hollywood (feat. Dani Ummel)”. In contrast with the rebellious first single “Youth”, “Hollywood” opens with a mellow-sounding intro that builds into a high-energy frenzy of drums, horns, and synths. Once again, Sonny kills his verses and Dani Ummel’s chorus meshes quite nicely in between, resulting in one of my favorite songs from the group thus far.
We’ve been blessed with the opportunity to offer “Hollywood” for free download/listen below, but if you want to support the trio, be sure to purchase the song over at iTunes, as well as their album once it drops on April 3rd.
s / s / s is the name that Sufjan Stevens, Son Lux, and rapper Serengeti have chosen to use for their new supergroup and on March 20th, the trio will release their first project, an EP entitled Beak & Claw, via Anticon. Our first preview of the EP comes in the form of opening track “Museum Day”, a masterful blend of genres that features an auto-tuned Sufjan (very much in the vein of his newest album The Age of Adz) alongside somber rhymes from Serengeti. It’s pretty interesting to hear everything blend together so effortlessly and if this track is any indication, Beak & Claw will be in heavy rotation throughout the rest of the year. You can give “Museum Day” a listen below.
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