Weekly Gems 2/20
If nobody got me, at least I know Spotify got me.
1. God Loves You by JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown
⅗ weekdays this month, the electricity-infused heavy bass permeating this song has been zapping me to life in the mornings before class like a possessed animatronic. February 14th marked the start of the lenten season and Valentines’ Day, making it somehow the horniest and holiest day of the year. Accordingly, on this track, Danny Brown immediately slaps the listener with comically vulgar bars full of impressively creative religious innuendos over a pompous gospel-sampling beat. It’s been almost a year since release, but I still cannot get enough of this album.
Wake up! Everybody needs to stop sleeping on the new Mk.gee album Two Star & the Dream Police. Via a touching cocktail of the sound palettes of Prince, Jai Paul, and Dijon, this nocturnal jam complements that sensitive indie ‘sunflower’ aesthetic. This intimate project came out only a couple weeks ago, and I already feel nostalgic for it.
3. Mother Nature’s Bitch by Okay Kaya
I have to share this sonic sugarcube of a song that uses retro disco aesthetics to synthesize new joy. Okay Kaya delivers such a fun bedroom pop tune here that’s so overwhelmingly alluring -- like a nature spirit that would easily ensnare me if this was her siren song.
4. dancinwithsomebawdy by ericdoa
Dancing with somebody? More like dancing by myself in the shower every morning this week. With the release of his new EP, the line between antipop/pop rap, hyperpop, rage, and cloud rap only continues to (low) taper fade like Ninja’s hair.
5. Oba, Lá Vem Ela By Jorge Ben Jor
Can you even call yourself a music nerd if you haven’t had a MPB (música popular brasileira) phase? Here is a beautiful little samba diddy I have been enjoying ever since we were graced with the sun’s warmth again. This song gave me the buoyancy to float back to school after being sick for a week; it’s one of the only reasons I’m not drowning right now.
6. Big Bank by Kenny Mason & Paris Texas
Straight off of Pigeons and Planes’ compilation platform See You Next Year, “Big Bank” is a tacit ode to the minorities that grew up in the suburbs and alt kids who spend too much time on the internet. The three emcees drop off-kilter, eyebrow-raising bars like “I bet she likes 100 Gecs -- He wants to talk red pills -- I know you're never having sex” or “My Glock a emo, yeah, it's black -- My Glock a negro, yeah, it's black.” However, I argue it’s the same brand of corny as 2012 Childish Gambino where it’s overwhelmingly so, but aesthetically pleasing and endearing enough to earn a safe place in the daily mix.
7. STARBURST by evilgiane, 454, N.A.O. Quelly
Coming straight out the underground (or as underground as you can be with production credits for Kendrick and A$AP Rocky or cosigns from Denzel Curry and Frank Ocean under your belt), burst 454 and Surf Gang producer evilgiane for this euphoric confection of earcandy. Despite it getting outshined in streams by the xaviersobased and nettspend collab, I’d recommend this cut from the producer’s new album.
…Valentine’s Day was rough, okay? Leave me alone.