Rye Rye – Sunshine (ft. M.I.A.)

Throwback song released October 2010.

Irish rapper Rejjie Snow moved to Georgia, USA as a 17 year old on a football scholarship before focusing his time on his music. And oh man, we’re glad he did. The young emcee won critical acclaim across the globe with over 6.4 million plays on his debut mixtape and support slots with some of the biggest in the game: Kendrick Lamar, Flying Lotus and MF Doom.

Two years later, Rejjie continues to win plaudits for his impressive brand of hip-hop and this was exemplified through the huge success of his debut single. His new track ‘Blakkst Skn’ features the beautiful vocals of Rae Morris breaking up Rejjie’s witty, infectious rhymes and confident flow. Keep an eye on this guy – big things will undoubtedly come.

Read the rest of this article at TMRW

Steven A. Clark – “Can’t Have”

If videos work as a mission statement, few come more all-encompassing than ‘Can’t Have’, a clip packing drama, love stories and enough emotion to set out Steven A. Clark as a true star.

Possessing the thick plot of a three-hour cinematic epic, it sees the Miami-based newcomer pacing streets and past lives in a pursuit of redemption. Director Chris Black calls the song itself a “proper track to introduce Steven to the world.”

“Listening to Steven’s music, and even when we were shooting with him, you can feel that he’s emotionally invested in his music which makes it easy when shooting videos. We felt we had a responsibility to create a video that does justice to the emotions and feelings that Steven is drawing from,” he says.

Clark is a new singing to Secretly Canadian. Initially based in North Carolina, he recorded new album ‘The Lonely Roller’ (out 18th September) while seeking inspiration from Kanye West and Fleetwood Mac in equal measure. The end result is a record that carries the same depth and emotional weight as ‘Can’t Have’’s ballistic video. “The video gives the song new meaning, it’s so accurate it hurts to watch,” says Clark, summing things up.

Read the rest of this article at DIY

It’s been a minute since we’ve heard new music from Breakbot (real name Thibaut Berland). The Ed Banger Records affiliate has just released a brand new song, “Back For More,” which reasserts the French DJ and producer as the prince of feel-good pop. The electro track has a disco and funk sound, supplemented by eccentric basslines and longtime collaborator Irfane‘s smooth and silky vocals. The track was mixed by Berland’s brother, and its accompanying artwork was created by French photographer Philippe Jarrigeon. Breakbot also recently announced that his new album Still Waters will be dropping sometime early 2016. The highly-anticipated album will carry a surf-rock and third wave ska sound from the ’70s and 80s California music scene.

Read the rest of this article at Hypebeast

Fresh off of the Beat Tape 2 LP, UK producer Tom Misch teases the extended edition of the release with “Before The Rising Sun.” Building around an expertly chopped and layered sample of one of The Carpenters‘ most well known tunes, Misch delivers a head-nodding groove that only reinforces his dominance as an emerging beast behind the boards. Check the track below to listen to “Before The Rising Sun. Purchase theBeat Tape 2 LP via iTunes. Stay tuned for more from Tom Misch.

Read the rest of this article at Okayplayer

The sorcerer and the Stones

Against the sedate pinstripes and pocket squares of the private members’ club George in Mayfair, William Gilchrist is a refreshing antidote as he weaves through the dining room like a particularly well­attired fox, with his vulpine features and lapis­blue eyes, a sweep of grey stubble, a narrow suit and trainers. He folds his elongated limbs – he’s 6ft tall and refers to himself as “a gangly bugger” – into an armchair, all angular elbows and knees, looking as far from the average club member as is possible in a jacket that, he reveals, he had his tailor create from a towelling material (“fantastic for travelling and I can just bung it in the washing machine”), a gauzy Sunspel T­shirt and nondescript trainers.

Gilchrist, 50, a stylist of more than three decades who has helped to cement the sartorial message of some of the world’s most famous men, and who previously worked at L’Uomo Vogue and Arena, is undoubtedly the best advertisement for his particular services. Relaxed yet impeccable, he is the right­hand man at the British brand Oliver Spencer, a long­term stylist to Jude Law and, perhaps most visibly, the man who dresses the Rolling Stones.

Read the rest of the story at The Telegraph

Understanding Miles Davis, in 9 Parts

When Miles Ahead, directed by and starring Don Cheadle, premieres at the New York Film Festival in October, it’ll mark the first time that the jazz genius Miles Davis has been the subject of a non-documentary film. It wasn’t a lack of interest that has kept Davis from movie theaters till now. Nor was it lack of material: Davis, who died in 1991, lived a dynamic and controversial life, both personally and musically. (Multiple biopics wound up in development hell.) Cheadle’s film focuses on a period when the trumpeter was living in seclusion, so here’s a broader overview of one of American music’s true giants.

1. What to Know About His Sound

Grammy-nominated trumpeter and jazz educator Jon Faddis explains:

“The thing that is special about his sound is economy when he was improvising. Before Miles, most people thought of the trumpet as a very extroverted instrument. Miles was more introverted in his approach. He used a Harmon mute — it wasn’t really popular before he started to use it — and it’s a very beautiful sound. I also think his minimal use of vibrato was a tremendous influence on instrumentalists. Recordings like ‘ ’Round Midnight,’ ‘Someday My Prince Will Come,’ ‘I Thought About You’ were ingenious. And one of the things that set Miles apart was his use of space, making the space a part of the music. Before Miles came on the scene in the 1940s, we had players who were more technically proficient, but he really didn’t have the technique at that time to play like a Dizzy Gillespie, so he wanted to go in a different direction. He developed in a way that suited his cool persona. When you listen to Miles, it feels like you get to know the person. You hear in the music: ‘This is who I am. Check it out.’ ”

Read the rest of the story at Vulture

Peak Drake

The summer of 2015 ended the moment Serena Williams lost in the semifinals of the U.S. Open, and in the stands, watching it happen, was Drake. He had come to cheer for Serena amid rumors that the two were dating, and he spent most of the match on his feet, clapping with vigor and making intense faces that were projected onto TV screens all over the world.

When the match ended, Drake became the receptacle for all the disbelief and disappointment that was provoked by Serena’s stunning defeat. Within minutes, Twitter alighted with jokes about the “Drake curse,” and soon the hashtag #BlameDrake was trending all over the United States.

Maybe it would have happened to whomever Serena Williams was supposedly dating at the time—with a historic Grand Slam on the line, the stakes were high, and the need for a scapegoat was profound. But something about the hostility Drake faced after the match felt tailor-made for Aubrey Graham, and not unrelated to the summer-long winning streak he had been enjoying at the time of Serena’s loss. The reaction confirmed what had already started to become obvious: that Drake, a rapper who was once best known for being a Canadian child star working in a genre where he didn’t quite fit in, was no longer any kind of underdog. Instead, he had become a target, the kind of cultural giant who inspires love and derision in equal measure.

Read the rest of the story at Fader