Blood Orange & Yves Tumor – Smoke (feat. Ian Isiah) (Remix)
Dev Hynes has returned to Negro Swan – the latest album under his Blood Orange moniker, released back in August — for a remix of “Smoke,” the project’s closing track. The new single is dedicated to the late Mac Miller, who was a close friend of Hynes. In the new version track, Hynes raps about the loss of his friend including the line “I couldn’t even prepare for the loss/What could I do but cry,” as well as “RIP my boy Mac.”
The remix also features guest appearances from regular collaborators Yves Tumor (who recently toured with Blood Orange) and regular collaborator Ian Isiah. Prior to releasing the remix, Hynes explained that he would “be dropping new tracks on the regular,” so keep an eye out for more releases from the artist.
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XXXTENTACION – One Minute (feat Kanye West)
XXXTentacion just came through with the posthumous new album Skins. Kanye West is the only feature on the album, and he goes in over the rock instrumental on “One Minute.” This song is more Kanye’s than it is X’s. West spits a lengthy verse on the track, taking about 80% of the single to himself. X delivers the chorus and hook, but allows Mr. West to own the song for his own narrative.
Kanye sounds revitalized over the harsh guitar licks. His voice is run through a soft distorted filter that aligns well with the beat. After the elongated verse, X comes through will screamo sounding vocals that bring the song from hip-hop back to metal. His rockstar screams will influence headbanging from his fans, and a moshpit almost appeared in my living room while playing the track. Although “One Minute” is a banger, a verse from X would have elevated it even further.
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Lunice – Partout
It’s the most wonderful time of the year – LuckyMe have launched their Advent calendar.
The label’s annual tradition of rewarding fans with free music pays off if you’ve been well behaved or a little sod, and it always delivers some intriguing new tracks.
From today – December 13th – to The Big Day itself, LuckyMe will share bundles of new music, featuring remixes, unheard tracks, and a whole bunch more.
Opening with new tracks from Baauer, Lunice, and Littlebabyangel, it’s a broad-ranging trio of new tracks, featuring three very distinct artists.
Read the rest of this article at Clash
Earl Sweatshirt – The Mint [ft. Navy Blue]
After three years spent out of the spotlight and fostering new creative alliances, Earl Sweatshirt has returned with the music he was always meant to make. It furthers his progress from foul-mouthed prodigy to steady and confident auteur, a journey he began with the fittingly insular I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside. The loss of his father in January of this year—shortly before they planned to reunite and have a “long-anticipated conversation”—has added a sense of gravity to his work. “Not getting to have that moment left me to figure out a lot with my damn self,” Earl said in a press release.
“The Mint,” the latest single from his third record Some Rap Songs, offers an experienced perspective of life, love, and death. Featuring ambling, understated production by Black Noi$e and a verse from New York rapper Navy Blue, “The Mint” contains ups and downs and observational asides. It is descriptive, not prescriptive—and it’s only obliquely about Earl. One moment Earl shouts his friend, Bronx rapper MIKE; the next he is decrying gentrification (“Crackers pilin’ in to rape the land”) and spitting the funniest and most concise summary of hip-hop I’ve ever heard: “Say I’m ballin’ out the hourglass/Grand total, it’s a whole lotta raps.” It’s the sort of reflection that can be achieved, it seems, only after realizing that tragedy is indifferent to your creative achievements. He’s not necessarily figured out himself, but on “The Mint,” Earl Sweatshirt takes in the world around him to find that it’s your surroundings that matter most.
Read the rest of this article at Pitchfork
Kllo – Candid
Since their first foray into the world of empathic electronic music a few years ago, Melbourne duo Kllo has long-since established themselves as masters at instilling every one of their songs with a profound sense on sentimentality. Their latest is no different. Marking the Melbourne’s duo first release since their phenomenal debut album, 2017’s Backwater, “Candid” is a UK garage-scored mediation on the intrinsic power of words.
One of Kllo’s strongest features is the way in which cousins Chloe Kaul and Simon Lam play off one another to build something that truly feels dynamic alive. “Candid” is a fusion of sounds emotions thanks to a chopped vocal sample one would expect to find on an XL Recordings deep-cut, a danceable UK garage-style beat, and Kaul’s wistful R&B-style vocals. The hybrid vision results in a meditative dancefloor hit that underscores very real emotional depth. As vocalist Kaul explained to Paper on the underlying meaning of “Candid,”
“It’s about understanding the power of my words, which is something new to me and the fundamental key to my happiness. Being as candid as I can and deserve to be.”
The downtempo sentiment is exuded simply yet beautifully in an equally candid accompanying video comprised of grainy intimate footage captured while on tour. The camera reticles that appear over Kaul and Lam’s faces throughout the video also speak to the other meaning imbued in “Candid” of attempting to capture an honest moment in time. And that is exactly what the Melbourne duo has done with “Candid.” Kllo has presented us with a sincerely honest sonic sentiment and made it danceable as well.
Read the rest of this article at Ones To Watch