Watch Taylor Bennett's New Visual
Ahead of the release of his up coming EP Be Yourself (July 12th) Taylor Bennett has released the visual for "Rock 'N' Roll" produced by Naked Gallery. The colors in this video are the first thing that catch your eye, everything is soft and warm, and each different scene . There are a ton of quick cuts in beginning of the video, but as it goes on the scenes get longer, and the plot reveals itself. The non-sequential reveals in the video make it feel like it was directed by Quentin Tarantino. The song is an up beat summer joint produced by CEO BEATZ and features vocals from Zxxk. If the album is anything like the singles, Be Yourself is going to be an anthemic, vibey testament to Taylor's creativity.
This video shows a summertime Chicago story, ivy on bricks, bubblegum on your shoes and of course a finesse.
https://youtu.be/OjdQjWFbFGE
Be Yourself comes out in two days on all streaming platforms.
Kweku Collins Perfectly Captures The Summer Fling With "Sisko and Kasidy"
Kweku Collins' newest track "Sisko and Kasidy" is a summer love anthem. Linking up for another collaboration with fellow Closed Sessions artist Ajani Jones, this is his first release of 2018 and it perfectly captures the heat of the summer and the uncertainty that comes with a fling. In the chorus Kweku sings "It's been hot, it's the summer, what you expect?" in a thickly layered, Dan Deacon-esque, harmony that adds to the disorienting effect that makes the song feel like the subject.
There's a heat that's captured within the production and combined with the lyrics it creates a summer-in-a-bottle effect that will definitely have you coming back in the middle of the winter. Just like with a fling there is a melancholy underneath the surface, Kweku even asks “What if the sun doesn’t come out tomorrow?”.
"Sisko and Kasidy" is a reference to the two black commanders in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
You can see Kweku and Ajani perform together at their Pitchfork after party at Schubas on July 21st.
https://open.spotify.com/track/1DXlJYboCnmNC35GcLyYtm?si=3EIaZxmFRYOc0B3eLq47DQ
Sebastian Kamae's Makes "Waves" Around The World
Dutch producer, audio engeineer, and composer, Sebastian Kamae released his debut album last week. As a whole the album is a trip around the globe, showcasing the community that rap has build around the world. With features from artists from Toronto, Chicago and the Netherlands the album is also inadvertently auto-biographical. Last year Sebastian Kamae was an intern at SoundScape Studios in Chicago. "Everything that I learned in the past years are coming together on this album. I was already making lo-fi beats for a while, but was still searching for artists to lay vocals on my beats. During my internship at SoundScape Studios and Closed Sessions in Chicago, I got to meet a lot of new people. I finally found talented artists that fit perfectly on my beats. Delivery, lyrics and sound-wise."
The 10 track album consists of 3 instrumentals and 7 tracks with vocals from Femdot, Ajani Jones, Jack Red and more talent from around the world. The 3 singles off of the album that were pre-released have already ammased more than 120,000 aggregated streams. This is a personal project for Sebastian with every single sound created and controlled by him, "After my intership, I finished the album back home in the netherlands. I mixed, mastered, produced, recorded and composed everything myself."
Stream it here.
https://soundcloud.com/sebastiankamae/sets/waves
Akonixx - Broken [Directed by Abiola Are]
It seems like more and more these days rappers are opening up about their mental health. What was once a taboo subject has become a go to topic for the newest generation of MCs. In the video for "Broken", the lead single from South Side rapper Akonixx's latest project Torn, Akonixx brings us into his head to examine what's going on.
The opening is set in a therapist's office and in the very begining he offhandedly admits to suicidal thoughts. His casual approach to his mental health is a signature thoughout Torn. The video has some serious Get Out vibes with Akonixx running away from a masked figure but theres a twist...
https://youtu.be/plq-9F0EIgs
Jamila Woods, Tasha & Kevin Coval Team Up With Vinyl For A Cause
Jamila Woods has teamed up with Louder Than A Bomb cofounder Kevin Coval and singer/songwriter Tasha to release a 7" record to benefit Young Chicago Authors via Vinyl For A Cause. When she's not making music Jamila Woods is the associate artistic director for YCA. Young Chicago Authors is arguably the organization that has influenced Chicago's music scene the most. For the past 28 years YCA has mentored and cultivated an impressive number of kids, including Chance The Rapper, Saba, No Name, Mick Jenkins, Jamila Woods and on and on. Nearly every one of todays most successful artists that have been instrumental in the cultural renaissance that has taken place in Chicago has a tie to YCA in some capacity.
Side A of the record is a new track from Jamila Woods called "Muddy" in reference to a Kevin Coval poem entitled "Muddy Waters Goes Electric". The beat is dominated by a sizzling guitar, with Jamila's cool voice creating a sense of harmony. The contrast is heightened by Jamila's lyrics repeating "We can shake the fire off". The B side features Kevin Coval and upcoming R&B singer Tasha in a duet between poem and song.
80% of the proceeds from the record will go directly to YCA. You can buy it here. Check out Jamila's track below.
https://youtu.be/xEzMPwAPVJ4
WebsterX Starts His Restless Summer With "Feels"
WebsterX just dropped the first song of his Restless Summer titled "Feels". This summer the Milwaukee MC will release a new single every other week along with a slew of performances.
"Feels" is a three part criticism of the state of the world, the first verse is a general approach starting with the line, "everything feels so basic, everything feels so racist, everything feels so vacant, everything feels so makeshift, everything feels complacent". He continues to talk about the surface level, coming after social media and article culture. On the second verse WebsterX wonders why people can't form their own opinions before an abrupt stop in the song leading to the bridge/third verse. On the third verse he offers a different perspective, a more positive or hopeful view that he juxtaposes to the first two verses, making the "all my dogs move in stealth" line in the chorus mean even more, the stealth comes from a different world view that they are able to keep, even in a tumultuous world.
Stream "Feels" below and stay on the look out for more releases through out the summer.
https://soundcloud.com/websterx/feels
Tyler, The Creator Remixes The Prophet
Tyler, The Creator has been releasing a ton of loose singles recently. Today he added a remix to Prophet's "I Wanna Be Your Man" called "Peach Fuzz". Tyler kicks things off by singing the hook before getting into a verse where he shouts out Prophet and Stones Throw. "Peach Fuzz" is a quick one off song like the other singles he's released this summer. The original song came out in 1984 but was re-issued by Stones Throw Records this year. Listen below.
https://youtu.be/dlG-1sQfEyE
SoloSam Releases "ITIS"
With the first line of his latest EP ITIS, rapper/producer SoloSam ask "what is you plottin, what is you schemin?", a question that anyone who has been following his rise has wondered for the last few months. It turns out that what he was plotting was a 7 track EP that shows off his versatility as both a rapper and a producer. Each track attacks a different idea with a surgical precision, bouncing from his personal story to larger social commentary.
ITIS was written, produced and composed by SoloSam. With ITIS, Solo delivers a body of work that exudes confidence, self-awareness, and gratitude from the MC. The project is based on the concept of escaping excessive consumerism and the feeling that comes with it once you give in. For those who are unaware, "itis" is the lethargy that comes after overeating, yet ironically, there is a sense of urgency to ITIS.
SoloSam uses his powerful baritone to show the ills of a society based on overconsumption, and to motivate listeners to think about what they are taking in, and what they are accepting because of their apathy. The instrumentals vary in style, but have an underlying cohesiveness that brings the whole project together. ITIS was engineered by long-time collaborator, Rob Mefford b.k.a. BanksTheGenius and features singles ‘Fast’ and ‘The Come Up’. ITIS feels like an instant classic and like most classic projectsthe more you listen to it, the more you find.
Give it a listen below.
https://open.spotify.com/album/65xazlxGRXVrdwqyiSTDGl?si=XZkt9s5HRkqgKCZyocpJ8Q
A few months ago SoloSam released the video to the single "Fast"
https://youtu.be/6YifjGKauKM
SoloSam entered the Chicago local scene after deciding to leave college as a psychology and communications double major and Division I football player to pursue music full-time. SoloSam has captured the attention of the local scene and more through his captivating performances and invigorating records. It will be interesting to see where he goes from here.