The dream is real! A Justice League of West Coast underground rap MED, BLU and MADLIB connect on the A+ “Finer Things”. Featuring the ultramelodic vocal stylings of Phonte (the Little Brother/Foreign Exchange rapper to home Drake owes a good chunk of his rap palette), “Finer Things” picks excellently right up in the heyday of this crew of artists. WE NEED MORE. Look for Bad Neighbor on October 30th.
Dutch veteran producer and singer Benny Sings (who had a memorable standout album in 2011 called ART) makes a slick serendipitous comeback after a long absence from the limelight with his new rhythmic-melodic hip-hop-inspired r&b-lustered smash hit single “You and Me” from his upcoming new Step Kids-mixed album called STUDIO that is out on November 27th via German label Jakarta Records and Dox Records in the Netherlands. New track “You and Me” (which we like for its stylish mesh of subtle-sensuous mellow-sublime beats, slick out-of-this-world vocals and cheery-guitar-groove-fed instrumentals) features the versatile vocal style and current-trend-bent flow of Soulection-artist VA-based emcee/vocalist Goldlink (who we recently covered for his Missy-sampling And After That, We Didn’t Talk LP knockout single “Spectrum”). We love the incredibly charming cohesive mesh of vocals on “You and Me” and look forward to hearing the lot of STUDIO which apparently only features one other track with a guest vocalist. We think Benny Sings made a wise choice to include Goldlink! Amazing collaboration. Reviewed by Erin Shay.
GoldLink Tour Dates:
Oct 15 @ Marathon Music Works – Nashville, TN
Oct 17 @ Orpheum Theatre – Madison, WI
Oct 21 @ Egyptian Room at Old National Centre – Indianapolis, IN
Oct 24 @ Mercury Ballroom – Louisville, KY
Oct 26 @ The Lyric Oxford – Oxford, MS
Oct 30 @ TOYOTA PARK – Bridgeview, IL
Oct 31 @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO
Oct 31 @ TOYOTA PARK – Bridgeview, IL
Nov 01 @ TOYOTA PARK – Bridgeview, IL
Nov 06 @ McDonald Theatre – Eugene, OR
Nov 07 @ Knitting Factory Concert House – Spokane, WA
Nov 09 @ Showbox Sodo – Seattle, WA
Nov 12 @ Knitting Factory Concert House – Reno, NV
Dec 10 @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium – San Francisco, CA
Dec 14 @ Shrine Expo Hall – Los Angeles, CA
Benny Sings (Soundcloud)
The Game released his latest album Documentary 2 recently and it’s a star-studded, featuring the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, and Ice Cube among tons of others. The track featured, “El Chapo”, is a joint venture with Skrillex alongside Bangladesh for the production. It’s the perfect balance between a hard-hitting hip-hop track and a classic Skrillex music festival-ready banger. Reviewed by Jake Goldstein.
The Game (Official)
Skizzy season is upon us in what looks like a single from his upcoming album. “Chemistry”, the strings-driven featured track, has a laid back feel complete with chill vibes. Blackbear knocks out the smooth vocals while Skizzy always brings the bars. Reviewed by Jake Goldstein.
Skizzy Mars 
(Soundcloud)
GoldLink previews the Missy-sampling “Spectrum”, a stream from his forthcoming And After That, We Didn’t Talk LP. Stylistically marrying up modern indie dance/house music in the instrumental with GoldLink’s trend-friendly flow, “Spectrum” tags the requisite boxes of current-ness on its way to being a knockout of a track.
GoldLink (Soundcloud)
English shadowy-r&b-centered psychedelic-pop-leaning muted-atmospheric electronic indie rock four-piece band Glass Animals (who have also previously teamed up with the likes of other odd match hip-hop recording artists Rome Fortune and Chester Watson) joins forces with B3 fave Brooklyn-based hip-hop street-flow-dynamo Joey Bada$$ on the excellent new Yellowman-sampling stunner called “Lose Control” which we highly recommend for its artful brew of colorful dramatically-slow-going electro effects and phenomenally dynamic Joey Bada$$ dominated vocal musings. Great collaboration. Reviewed by Erin Shay.
Glass Animals 
(Facebook)
I first discovered Raury when he was on the 2015 XXL freshman class cover. He’s a young kid out of Stone Mountain, Georgia with a unique flair and style of music. His debut album All We Need is about to drop on October 15 and so far it’s going to be dope. Another song from the album dropped today entitled “Forbidden Knowledge” featuring Big K.R.I.T.; on the track, Raury proves his wisdom is beyond his 19 years as he unravels the forbidden memories of his past while trying to find himself in the present. Reviewed by Jake Goldstein.
Raury 
(YouTube)
B3 favorite Hatian-Canadian producer/mentor/industry-connector Kaytranada wows us yet again with classics on his top-notch club edit of Busta Rhymes featured Tribe Called Quest track “Oh My God”. Kaytranada creates a beautifully translated impeccable meld of dramatic piano chords, catchy well-timed vocal infusions and a vivaciously slick and stylized bass-line that we are caught up on. Great track. Reviewed by Erin Shay.
Kaytranada
: (Facebook)
With the announcement of his next album, Black Market, Rick Ross releases his first single off the project entitled “Sorry” featuring Chris Brown. It’s a deep track that delves into Rick Ross’s past mistakes and romances. If you have not already, take a listen to Rozay’s latest project Black Dollar he dropped recently. Reviewed by Jake Goldstein.
Rick Ross 
(Facebook)
We’re listening to the superbly slow burning sensual-erotic muted-atmospheric beats and brightly-inspired street-sultry vocal elementals of producer Cam Osorno on his seductively loquacious new r&b-infused hip-hop jam “Jeep Radio” which features the super-sexy flow of hip-hop artist Vince. Reviewed by Erin Shay.
Camosorno (Soundcloud)
Kyle’s SMYLE album is due out today and it couldn’t be more highly anticipated. Kyle posted another single on Tuesday to his Soundcloud “Remember Me?” featuring Chance the Rapper. It’s a soft hitting piano beat that shows Kyle’s sensitive side, which I hope to find more of on the album’s other tracks. Reviewed by Jake Goldstein.
KYLE 
(Soundcloud)
The great Jakarta Records is releasing a joint LP with producer Fredfades and rhymer Ivan Ave in December and the jazz-tinged A+ “Reaping” is the first stream. Get into it.
