Young Thug was one of the last artists I discovered in 2015, making a huge impression as this year began, on constant rotation in my car on slow, snowy drives to work. His off-kilter brand of hypnagogic hip-hop clashed in an exquisitely weird manner with the frigid surroundings and I couldn’t get enough.
Now that summer’s ending and a chill threatens every night, he’s back with his best material yet. This time I was ready.
This one hit me at the perfect moment. A confluence of events created an opening for this slim, untitled 12″ release, allowing it to sail right into my heart of hearts.
This week seemed to rush by, with the dying embers of summer swirling all around me. It’s been flush with great music, lots of bicycling, and a really fantastic sandwich.
A pair of short hip-hop albums defined my listening, along with a darkly mysterious little techno release that I’ll share. But most of all, I watched the Netflix show Stranger Things in its entirety. I was utterly floored.
My favorite musical discoveries often appear on the most unexpected detours. As I leapt from one Twitter feed to another last week, I was surprised to learn that Robert Glasper recently crafted an entire album of reinvented Miles Davis tunes.
Even better, there was a music video for his take on eternal jam Maiysha, with new vocals courtesy of Erykah Badu.
Subways is the jam of the summer, if not all of 2016. It’s one of those eternal grooves that will echo in your mind forever, whether you like it or not. It’s a key piece of The Avalanches‘ 15-years-in-the-making masterpiece Wildflower, and I’ve mentioned it before.
But this video is a whole new adventure. Holy shit, it sure is.
This week brought some genuine surprise to the music world. Frank Ocean finally crashed the hype train into public view, dropping his long-awaited sophomore album on a weekend night. After four years, nobody expected it to appear so randomly, but here we are.
This is the state of music in 2016. The pendulum of control is truly swinging back in favor of the artists. Everything else I discovered this week was courtesy of the artists themselves, broadcasting personally on Twitter, Bandcamp, and other open platforms.
Did you know DJ Shadow released a new album this year, and that it’s pretty good?
Nobody Speak is of the unquestionable highlights, a team-up with hip-hop superheroes Run The Jewels. Now there’s a hilarious, action packed video to go along with it.
Optimistic Underground 