Kendrick Lamar – HighClouds

Listen to Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s collaboration “All The Stars”

Arnaud Marty — Thu, 04 Jan 2018 17:48:42 +0000

Ryan Coogler-directed movie “Black Panther” will hit theaters on February 16 and Kendrick Lamar has curated its soundtrack. Listen to the lead single “All The Stars” which features the rapper himself and SZA.

Top Dawg Entertainment‘s artists Kendrick Lamar and SZA respectively had a busy and acclaimed year in 2017 and it’s a good surprise to see them collaborating on “All The Stars”. The single is taken from Ryan Coogler-directed Marvel superhero movie “Black Panther”. We also know that Kendrick Lamar has executive produced and curated the soundtrack “Black Panther: The Album” and that TDE‘s boss, Anthony Tiffithand, has produced it.

Vince Staples could also be featured on it as his “Big Fish Theory“‘s single “BagBak” was used in the movie’s trailer. We should know more in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, listen to Kendrick Lamar and SZA‘s collaboration “All The Stars” below.

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HighClouds: 100 Tracks of 2017

Arnaud Marty — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 08:16:45 +0000

We can undoubtedly write that 2017 was a great year for music. We know it because our staff almost had to fight to agree on the final choice below and we’re proud of presenting a list which features a lot of up and coming artists and songs in 7 languages. Scroll down through our countdown and find the whole charts as well via Spotify and Deezer below.

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100. CITY FATHER – “Coquette”

99. BILLIE EILISH – “Bellyache”

98. SABRINA CLAUDIO – “Belong To You”

97. PETRA GLYNT – “Fell In A Hole”

96. HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR + SHARON VAN ETTEN – “Omnion”

95. GIRLI – “Hot Mess”

94. THE SOFT MOON – “Burn”

93. J.I.D – “Never”

92. ACE TEE + KWAM.E – “Bist Du Down?”

91. CRALIAS – “Hope You Are”

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90. CHROMATICS – “Shadow”

89. RUN THE JEWELS – “Legend Has It”

88. CARDI B – “Bodak Yellow”

87. YELLOW DAYS – “Hurt In Love”

86. JFDR – “Airbone”

85. SUSANNE SUNDFØR – “Undercover”

84. TOM TRIPP – “Aurelia”

83. SUPERORGANISM – “Something For Your M.I.N.D.”

82. KAN WAKAN – “Still Feather”

81. NILÜFER YANYA – “Baby Luv”

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80. WAKE CHILD – “In The End”

79. JAJA BU – “Sweetness”

78. ALVVAYS – “Dreams Tonite”

77. KIDÄ – “Bone Mother”

76. HÅN – “The Children”

75. ULYSSE – “Mañana”

74. SHY GIRLS – “You Like The Pain Too”

73. GOURMET – “Delicious”

72. SORCHA RICHARDSON – “4AM”

71. MILLIE TURNER – “Underwater”

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70. NABIHAH IQBAL – “Something More”

69. KEDR LIVANSKIY – “Your Name (имя твоё)”

68. MORGXN – “xx”

67. GRIZZLY BEAR – “Mourning Sound”

66. DANIEL CAESAR + KALI UCHIS – “Get You”

65. DILLON – “2.KIND”

64. COUCOU CHLOE + SEGA BODEGA – “Flip U”

63. THE TRP – “Soda”

62. JAY SOM – “The Bus Song”

61. GFOTY – “Tongue”

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60. SELENA GOMEZ -“Bad Liar”

59. ELA MINUS – “Juan Sant”

58. EMPRESS OF – “Go To Hell”

57. SHE Major – “Please Don’t”

56. VAGABON – “Cold Appartment”

55. NADINE – “Ultra Pink”

54. SONDER – “Feel”

53. RINA SAWAYAMA – “Alterlife”

52. SEGA BODEGA + SHYGIRL – “CC”

51. GOLDLINK + BRENT FAIYAZ – “Crew”

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50. CRATER – “Unearth”

49. QUAY DASH – “Decline Him”

48. YELLE – “Romeo”

47. GABRIEL GARZÓN-MONTANO – “Fruitflies”

46. WESLEE – “Bathwater”

45. FOREST SWORDS – “The Highest Flood”

44. KENDRICK LAMAR + ZACARI – “LOVE.”

43. ALEX CAMERON + ANGEL OLSEN – “Stranger’s Kiss”

42. SMERZ – “Oh My My”

41. SASSY 009 – “Are You Leaving”

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40. CHARLI XCX – “Roll With Me”

39. TESSA DIXSON – “Prayer”

38. TOMMY GENESIS – “Tommy”

37. SSION – “Comeback”

36. PIXX – “Romance”

35. DANNY L HARLE – “1UL”

34. LCD SOUNDSYSTEM – “american dream”

33. LANA DEL REY – “Love”

32. KING KRULE – “Dum Surfer”

31. SAMPHA – “(No One Knows Me) Like The Piano”

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30. MAKTHAVERSKAN – “Vienna”

29. CCFX – “The One To Wait”

28. KLLO – “Downfall”

27. KELLY LEE OWENS + JENNY HVAL – “Anxi.”

26. BLUE HAWAII – “No One Like You”

25. FEVER RAY – “Wanna Sip”

24. JULIEN BAKER – “Turn Out The Lights”

23. LIL PEEP + LIL TRACY – “witchblades”

22. FAKA – “Uyang’khumbula”

21. TR/ST – “Bicep”

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20. SARO – “Eyelids”

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19. BROCKHAMPTON – “Summer”

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18. TYLER, THE CREATOR + KALI UCHIS – “See You Again”

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17. O-SHiN – “A Revelation”

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16. ionnalee – “SAMARITAN”

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15. Vince Staples – “Crabs In A Bucket”

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14. WWWATER – “My Hands”

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13. Björk – “Blissing Me”

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12. Carly Rae Jepsen – “Cut To The Feeling”

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11. Big Thief – “Mythological Beauty”

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10. SZA – “Drew Barrymore”

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9. Frank Ocean – “Chanel”

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8. Wy – “Bathrooms”

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7. SOPHIE – “It’s Okay To Cry”

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6. Moses Sumney – “Doomed”

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5. Kelela – “Onanon”

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4. Arca – “Desafío”

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3. Lorde – “The Louvre”

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2. Perfume Genius – “Slip Away”

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1. Yaeji – “Raingurl”

Listen to the 100 tracks of 2017 according to the HighClouds‘ staff via Spotify, Youtube and Deezer.

Highclouds: 20 albums of 2017

Matias Calderon — Wed, 20 Dec 2017 16:36:53 +0000

Considering the constant decay of album sales in the past decade, it has become a challenge for artists to release more than a few tracks at the same time. While some come back from the ashes and release an album after years of silence, others handle to release more than one a year. Here is a list of the albums that blew our minds in 2017.

20) Gabriel Garzón-Montano – Jardin

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19) Pixx – The Age of Anxiety

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18) Kendrick Lamar – DAMN.

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17) Makthaverskan – III

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16) Fever Ray – Plunge

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15) Vagabon – Infinite Worlds

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14) SZA – Ctrl

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13) Big Thief – Capacity

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12) BROCKHAMPTON – Saturation II

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11) Kelly Lee Owens – Kelly Lee Owens

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10) Vince Staples – Big Fish Theory

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9) Björk – Utopia

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8) wy – Okay

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7) Moses Sumney – Aromanticism

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6) Julien Baker – Turn Out The Light

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5) Kelela – Take Me Apart

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4) Arca – Arca

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3) Perfume Genius – No Shape

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2) BROCKHAMPTON – Saturation

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1) Lorde – Melodrama

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Interview: Belgian duo BEFFROI return with flawless electro-pop on “Jade”

Max Keijzer — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 16:34:27 +0000

Storming onto the scene with their smashing debut “Swim” two years ago, BEFFROI are finally back. While they haven’t released new music in over a year, it seems that Rori (vocals) & Valentin (production) have put their time off to good use, sharpening their sound and crafting their very first EP.

Topping razor-sharp beats over softer pop textures, BEFFROI portray stories about people, their flaws, weaknesses & addictions. There is a heavy emphasis on creating an atmosphere that blends in perfectly with Rori’s voice, shifting from hauntingly somber to remarkably overt, with ease. Her powerful, yet sensual voice will instantly stick with you. Recently, we caught up with Rori to ask her a few questions about BEFFROI’s brand new single: “Jade”.

Highclouds: In 2015, your debut track “Swim” has been widely received: what were some of the opportunities you got from it?

We had a few offers from record labels & publishers when we released “Swim” but we didn’t want to rush things. We’ve been waiting a little then the opportunity to sign with PIAS came up and we felt like it was the perfect family to grow with as artists.

You just released your third ever track and single “Jade” after a very quiet year, what kept you busy?

We took our time because everything went too fast after the “Swim” release. We had to build the live set, the whole image and visual identity around the project but the main thing was that we wanted to sharpen our sound even more.

There clearly is an evolution with slightly more organic colours on “Jade”, yet, retaining the characteristic hazy atmosphere of your previous, electronic-led singles: “Swim” and “Faint”. Would you agree?

Indeed! The atmosphere is quite similar – I guess it comes from the texts and stories we’re telling, it’s often dark & moody – which is a big characteristic of Beffroi. Regarding the production we wanted to bring the exact emotions through the music too. “Swim” and “Faint” were released quickly and we still had a lot of things to learn before sounding exactly like we wanted – we’re still learning but we’re slowly getting there.

“If someone relates to the lyrics of our songs I hope he’ll get better soon because they are quite sad!” – Rori of Beffroi

Can you walk us through some of the vision that led to “Jade”? Darkness seems prevalent…Is there a certain vibe you hope every listener gets or relates to when listening to your songs?

I came up with “Jade”’s lyrics while driving by one of those red-light districts in Belgium is famous for – I was listening to Val’s beat while driving and watching all those guys walking, in hopes of finding instant satisfaction really inspired me. A single man on the edge, feeling numb & empty; desperately seeking answers about love & feeling mechanisms spending money on those girls to have a little taste of what love feels like. The only time he finds closure is when he enters the “Jade”, but it never lasts long. With each song, we’re trying to immerse listeners into a different universe & story but if someone relates to the lyrics of our songs I hope he’ll get better soon because they are quite sad!

Out of curiosity, what was your path to taking up music professionally?

We didn’t mean to reach a professional level with our music at first, you know we’re just doing the music we love and feel incredibly lucky to see people reacting positively!

Who are your biggest, respective influences shaping your musical sound?

It goes from Hip hop to Techno through Indie – we have so many influences… We love Kendrick Lamar, Four Tet, Jamie XX, Aminé, SZA, Nick Murphy, Kllo and many more!

What’s coming up next for Beffroi? Are you sitting on many tracks?

Yep, our first EP is actually ready. We also have a few more on the way but let’s get those out first – we’re actually looking forward to see those out! So new songs, new gigs and a few other things we can’t talk about at the minute…

Connect with BEFFROI via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

⚡ The Code and Kaleem Taylor’s flip of Kendrick’s ‘LOVE.’ is a real feat

Arnaud Marty — Thu, 15 Jun 2017 16:11:05 +0000

For so many reasons, we all know that it is never easy to cover a great track. Since Kendrick Lamar sits comfortably on his well-deserved throne, we can hear here and there so many covers yet. Rarely they compete with what the Compton rapper is able to deliver and often we don’t even consider them without laughing. In this ocean of mediocrity, here comes The Code‘s Kaleem Taylor-assisted flip of ‘LOVE.’ which is just a real production feat.

‘LOVE.’ which is originally taken from Kendrick‘s last album ‘DAMN.’ is one of the rare ballads from the artist and a highlight track of his 2017 project. In this new version, where London-based neo soul rising singer Kaleem Taylor is replacing Zacari on the vocals, the ambitious collective The Code manage to bring us further, higher, deeper than the original track without disrespecting its essence. In less than four minutes, the synths and vocal processing bring us to the top of the waves or in the darkness of the abysses. A metaphorical high-and-low trip to question the authenticity of a love relationship in case of harder times. Despite an obvious respect to the original track, The Code take more liberty at the end of the track with one of their usual outro sections: an instrumental part with low key vocals and irresistible soulful vibes.

Kaleem Taylor-assisted flip of Kendrick‘s ‘LOVE.’ is another fearless step of The Code into the future of hip-hop and RnB

Once again, it’s a hit from The Code who are definitely one of the acts that are changing the future of RnB and hip-hop scene. They fearlessly drive the whole genre into adventurous paths, like they successfully did it in the past with ‘Same People‘ and ‘F**K,’ and we are following them on blind faith. And so Warner music does now… It is not safe to cover Kendrick and certainly not HUMBLE. from them to write down that more than a band, they’re a language. So far, we did not find a single argument to contradict them.

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Thutmose impresses on his short but cool freestyle of Kendrick’s ‘Humble’

Arnaud Marty — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 12:16:29 +0000

Born in Nigeria, raised in Brooklyn young versatile rapper Thutmose is back after radio silence with a short but cool freestyle on Kendrick Lamar‘s ‘Humble’.

At 22, Thutmose is definitely a one to watch and his come back speaks for itself. His ‘humble’ freestyle got over a million views in only a week. The artist offered us this appetizer and told us to be ready for his new single dropping soon.

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Follow Thutmose on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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Don’t Do Drugs—Listen to JINCE’s [Devil’s Lettuce] Playlist instead

Jince — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 11:22:27 +0000

Kids, there’s a holiday coming up this week that’s touted around the world as some kind of counter-cultural celebration around cannabis legalization. I don’t know about you, but I fully intend to show my support from afar—Step 1, this playlist.

Every week, JINCE scours through hundreds of SoundCloud tracks to find the best new gems by breaking artists around the world.

Jince‘s playlists are rumored to cure the common cold. Anyways… check his top picks of the week below:

kiiara – “Whippin” ft. Felix Snow

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You should know who kiiara is by now. She came out of nowhere a couple years ago and flipped the entire bubblegum trap world on its sticky ass. She’s been keeping low for a few months since she released her debut album, “low kii savage“, but now she’s back with some more trap gold. She teams up with Felix Snow, the master genius behind the boards, on this staggered, distorted anthem for the fuccboi and fuccgirl in all of us.

Bishop Briggs – “Dead Man’s Arms”

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Bishop Briggs is going to take over the pop-soul world – you heard it here first. On “Dead Man’s Arm’s,” her voice bellows from a place so deep while her croons seem to rumble the speakers. It’s is a track from Bishop‘s newly released self-titled EP. Bishop Briggs‘s on a rocket and all we can do is try and catch a glimpse — lucky for me, I managed to snag a ticket to see her perform in Brooklyn next month.

A R I Z O N A – “Electric Touch”

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Speaking of performances, can I tell you how bad I feel about missing A R I Z O N A‘s show in NYC a few months ago? Gah, I’m still kicking myself and hearing “Electric Touch” is like pouring salt in the wound. This is the first track they’ve released to us from their debut album, “Gallery”, that’s dropping in about a month on 5/19. Stay tuned for more blissful tracks from them!

fly anakin. – “lunch money” prod. by Thelonious Martin

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ok, enough polished electronic sounds – time to bring in the boom bap hip hop. “lunch money” is a track which fly anakin. ducks and weaves around the nostalgic production by Thelonious Martin. It’s a short track at only a minute and a half, but it’s more than enough to give us the summertime cookout vibe. I’ve been watching fly anakin. for a while now and have been more and more impressed with every release. He’s got an ear for beats and a flow that’s precise and lackadaisical at the same time.

Benji Lewis – “For You”

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Last but not least, this serene new track by an artist on the rise from Australia, Benji Lewis. There’s this lush mix of folky vocals with downtempo electronic production with a slight dash of trap hi-hats. I really love where Benji is taking this track and his overall sound – hit play and let “For You” wash over you in a cloudy haze.

Another week of fresh tracks by breaking artists around the world — brought to you by JINCE. Check the full playlist below!

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Check out JINCE‘s playlist every Monday on HighClouds and follow him on Soundcloud. Enjoy【ツ】

CLOUDSPOTTING #3: Feist, Blondie, Gorillaz & Popcaan, Kendrick Lamar

Highclouds — Mon, 03 Apr 2017 22:24:59 +0000

The members of the Highclouds team have a meeting and talk about some of the biggest releases of the week. Since everyone is tired, the discussion has absolutely no filter.

Feist – Pleasure

Canadian artist Feist announced “Pleasure”, her first album in 6 years and shared the title track.

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Matias Calderon: Oh god! She is finally back and we missed her! And this new track is a taste of heaven. Seriously.

Artur Correia: I love “Metals”, therefore, I was super happy to hear she was back. “Pleasure” is way above my expectations. Great song and great comeback. How I missed you, Leslie.

Blondie – Long Time

Deborah Harry’s iconic band Blondie unveiled a new single “Long Time” which will be featured on the upcoming LP “Pollinator”. It was co-written with Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes.

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Artur Correia:

Jon Vilardi:

Matias Calderon: Blondie + Blood Orange= powerhouse team! I think I was expecting more than a remake of “Heart of Glass” but this is still pretty good!

Gorillaz & Popcaan – Saturn Barz

After endless series, Damon Albarn’s virtual band Gorillaz finally announced a new album “Humanz” that is particularly impressive for its guest list. They also unveiled 4 tracks straight away, including this Popcaan-assisted track, “Saturn Barz”, that goes with a 360-degrees video.

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Jon Vilardi: When Gorillaz first made their mark on the world, I was still too young to appreciate the massive amount of creative genius and effort that went into this extensive Damon Albarn brainchild – short of enjoying the catchiness of “Feel Good Inc”. This time around though, I’m beyond excited to be witness to a wave of audiovisual art from Gorillaz, and “Saturn Barz” is an intriguing way to kick off the hype.

Artur Correia:

Matias Calderon: I’m a Gorillaz hater, I have to admit, even if I have so much love for Damon (I was even in love with him when I was 15 thanks to Blur) and sadly, this won’t change my mind. I got bored with the track as it doesn’t take me anywhere.

Kendrick Lamar – The Heart Part 4

After having deleted all his instagram and posted a hint to new music, Kendrick Lamar posted a new track “The Heart Part 4” where he claims to be the greatest rapper alive and attacks Trump. It is a new track for his “Heart” series that he started back in 2010. He also announced an album for early April at the end of the track.

Jon Vilardi: Normally, I’m the lame-ass to argue that the royal status bestowed upon Kendrick and “To Pimp a Butterfly” is largely a sham due mostly to hype and name recognition. However, this iteration of the “Heart” series of loosies has reinvigorated the excitement I felt about Kendrick back in the “Good Kid M.A.A.D. City” days, as he leaves his late-to-the-party appropriation of jazz rap in the past in lieu of some all around dynamic – and once again original – hip-hop.

Artur Correia:

Sree Kariyadan: I know how it can sound, but I really am a sucker for Kendrick Lamar. I have “m.A.A.d” (hehehe, get it) respect for him and his sharp tongue and flow, championing a voice for Black Americans who are put down systemically by society and have to survive in the streets. He takes shots at several people in this several in this track (Big Sean, Drake, and the orange cheeto who runs the free world), and let you know he’s the GOAT.

My favorite track of the week:

Arnaud Marty: There’s no word for me to describe the effect of Perfume Genius solar new track “Slip Away” on me.

Matias Calderon: I’m truly in love with newcomer Semi-Attractive Boy. He might be my new Damon Albarn. Really.

Artur Correia: Clearly “Saunter”. I am in love with ARCA. I am obsessed, actually. I have no words to describe how “Saunter” makes me feel. It is beyond words.

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