Welcome back to my chronically late coverage of the best songs of each month (note: this list includes two songs from June I am so sorry)! Please enjoy my taste-making and share with friends that want more music in their lives. As always, here is a Spotify playlist of the tracks to listen to as you read:
Milionària / Dio$ No$ Libre Del Dinero – Rosalía
I’ve never included two songs from the same artist on this list before, but the Fucking Money Man EP practically demands it.
“Milionària” is a gleeful celebration of excess. Rosalía opens the track proclaiming that she was born to be a millionaire, then lists her extravagant desires: a white AND a green Bentley, a Hublot Black Caviar Bang watch (~$12k), and to celebrate everyday like it’s her birthday.
This is Rosalía’s first major song in Catalan and also her first to draw explicitly from rumba catalana, a variation of flamenco developed by Barcelona’s Romani community with a heavy dose of Afro-Cuban rhythms. An ambitious blend of genres, the bouncy beat amps up the track’s jubilant mood.
“Dio$ No$ Libre Del Dinero,” which translates to god liberate us from money, is a significant departure from the EP’s first track both thematically and sonically.
The track is centered on a prayer to a higher power for freedom from money and its influence on society. Rosalía describes money as a venom she wants taken away from her and laments how much time and attention money demands.
The instrumentation here is just as dark as the lyricism, a sound reminiscent of her sophomore album El Mal Querer. Frequent collaborator El Guincho helped produce both tracks.
Taken together, two songs reveal a complicated personal relationship with money and a broader expression of frustration with capitalism.
“One day you want to be a millionaire and the next day you want to burn all of it,” Rosalía said in a statement.
"Really, how much does money matter? It seems to me just as pure to seek it out as to reject it and I think we’ve all had a love-hate feeling toward money at some point.”
I find myself repeating this every time a she drops a video, but Rosalía is seriously so ahead of the game with visuals right now. The music video, reminiscent of a The Price Is Right style game show, is a must watch.
Frontal Lobe Muzik – Daniel Caesar & Pharrell
A few songs into an otherwise underwhelming Daniel Caesar project, my ears pricked up when I heard Pharrell’s signature four count intro.
The legendary producer brings the best out of Caesar, whose follow up to his excellent project Freudian dropped this month, on “Frontal Lobe Muzik.”
On this track, Caesar explores the contradiction in searching for both love and solitude. “Wanted to know what it felt like for them to like me / Now I know, I gotta say, it's mighty frightening,” he softly sings, sounding like he might drift away at any moment. Despite his verses being relatively short, they effectively tap into universal sentiments.
Quick shout out to the Rolling Stones’ Danny Schwartz for pointing out that Caesar is horny as hell all over this project, with some really sexually charged lyrics on this track as well.
Pharrell handles the chorus in which he discusses the pain inherent in love, but also how that pain can be a positive force: “It helps, but it kills / Your lovin', your lovin' / It hurts, it heals.” He closes out the track urging listeners to be open and honest with both love and pain to be able to connect with others more authentically, a nice message in my opinion.
The Virginia Beach legend’s production is undoubtedly the star of “Front Lobe Muzik.” The lush atmospheric synths pair delightfully with the vocal samples, while the plodding drum/piano hit combo holds everything together.
Gold Teeth – Blood Orange, Project Pat, Gangsta Boo, Tinashe
Blood Orange’s ability to blend genres never ceases to amaze me. The English singer-songwriter and producer pulled off one of his most surprising cross-overs on Angel’s Pulse: marrying lofi and Southern hip hop.
“Gold Teeth” doesn’t seem like it should work in 2019. Memphis legends Project Pat and Gangsta Boo, of Three Six Mafia fame, now in their 40s, riding over hazy, stripped back production is not something I expected to hear.
Pat handles the intro/outro and the second verse. In the intro/outro he flexes his permanent gold grill, the track’s namesake. His verse is super tight, highlighted by rhyming esophagus with tonsils, which only seems possible with some kind of wizardry.
Boo drops a few bars about getting, and staying, rich. “I don't be smoking the dank,” she raps, “Feeling so high at the bank.”
Tinashe’s spacey vocals are peppered throughout the track, contributing to “Gold Teeth’s” futuristic atmosphere. She’s joined on the hooks by Orange, AKA Dev Hynes, whose production plays a big part in getting that feel as well.
Gunnlib – Westside Gunn & Madlib
We might have to start calling 2019 Griselda year pretty soon. Following albums from Conway the Machine and Benny the Butcher, Westside Gunn’s Flygod Is An Awesome God completes an impressive trio of projects from the New York rap collective.
The whole project is worth a listen, but if you know me you know I needed to talk about the Madlib track.
The legendary producer sticks to his guns on this cut: a chopped up soul sample and simple drum loop give “Gunnlib” the nostalgic yet clearly modern sound he’s known for.
Gunn’s two verses are grimy as hell. His coke bars (Cooked the brick with no stove / pushed the gold Demon) are as cold anyone’s. There’s something so different about his voice and delivery style which I can’t quite put my figure on – give it a listen for yourself I’d say.
This track was devastatingly short, but I’m hopeful Gunn and Madlib will be linking up again soon.
Phone Numbers – Dominic Fike & Kenny Beats
It took a Kenny Beats cosign for me to finally give ascendant Florida singer/rapper Dominic Fike a listen, and I’m a little disappointed with myself for taking this long to.
On “Phone Numbers,” his third single of the year, Fike displays his impressive range with both a catchy pop chorus and some impressively technical rapping.
Fike talks about shaking off people trying to latch onto his rise to stardom on the track. He parrots questions he’s constantly asked like “Why you not here with me? Can you break bread with me? Why you switch phone numbers like clothes?” and then responds simply: “’Cause I got more coming.”
Kenny deserves some credit for the supremely laid-back, summery mood of “Phone Numbers” as well. The prolific multi-genre producer brings one of his bounciest beats yet to table, highlighted by a soulful guitar loop and some nice vocal accents.
Power – Curren$y, Trademark Da Skydiver & Young Roddy
One of my first introductions to rap came in the form of a LimeWire file of “underground” songs from the early 2010s. Among the most heavily represented artists in that file was Curren$y, whose Pilot Talk –> Pilot Talk II –> The Stoned Immaculate run of albums has been one my favorites since.
Curen$y’s Jet Life labelmates Trademark Da Skydiver and Young Roddy have been fixtures on his projects since forever, and now the three are releasing a joint album this fall. “Power,” their third single for that project, has me really excited for what the New Orleans trio have in store.
Guala Beatz’s jazzy trap production drives the cut which features the three rappers effortlessly trading bars. Their chemistry, forged by working together closely for years, is on full display.
The content of the track might be your standard fare bars about coming up in the rap game, but the delivery, word play, and technique all three display make it stand it out.
religion (u can lay your hands on me) – Shura
Free hack for finding good indie-pop music (apart from subscribing to this newsletter): listen to whoever Secretly Canadian signs. British synth-pop artist Shura’s sophomore album, forevher, is due out from the label in August, and based on this single will be a must listen.
“religion (u can lay your hands on me)” fits cleanly into the upcoming project’s theme of Shura’s long distance (London – Brooklyn) relationship with her girlfriend. Here, Shura laments their lack of physical connection and how flirting over the phone just isn’t enough for her.
The track’s queering of religious imagery and concepts with lyrics like “I wanna consecrate your body, turn the water to wine” is pretty swell too.
The flirtatious lyrics ride over some seriously groovy disco production. Shura’s whispery delivery is bolstered by the heavily layered synth instrumentation and vocal riffs for well-rounded track.
Waterboy – tobi lou
A member of Chicago’s loaded hip hop scene, tobi lou’s playful lyricism and colorful music help him stand out.
On “Waterboy” the emcee delivers a deluge of clever references and flexes about his drip. At times he almost seems to be parodying to how rappers talk about their swag, saying that he wants to drip “like a cloud” or that “i am so wet, I need a bucket.”
lou’s whimsical references manage to stand out without sound unnatural:
- “I'm wetter than Aquafina”
- “Shout out to Justin, I'm a Belieber”
- “I'm up 40 - love, bitch I feel like Serena”
- “I'm a bad bitch, Luke, I am your father”
Seamlessly incorporating an all-time great Vine also deserves props.
The glitzy synths riding over the fairly traditional rap beat keep the track feeling fresh and bright, a mood the meme samples compliment.
The track’s outro is rare case of a fadeout working perfectly.