Play/Listed Weekly, Oct 30th

I can’t believe another month of 2020 is over! And that month is October, which means that today there is new Christmas music being released left, right, and centre! Come on people, at least wait until Halloween is over! Anyway, even though there are a couple interesting holiday tracks, I will not be including them, because nothing messes up a regular playlist like a explicitly seasonally specific addition. As usual, you can access older highlights on my Spotify page. Unlike usual, I’ve decided to add one track from each highlighted album to the playlist! Yet another way to discover the great music I’m jabbering on about! Now let’s get to it!

To Be Real - Tank and the Bangas, HaSizzle, Keedy Black, Big Choo
I am getting more and more excited for this upcoming Tank and the Bangas EP. I can’t help but talk about every song that comes out, and this awesome combination of bounce-infused R&B (that sounds like acoustic Lauryn Hill and a Big Freedia track all at once) is obviously no exception. Keep ‘em coming, Tank!
Look Over Your Shoulder - Busta Rhymes featuring Kendrick Lamar
Yes you read that correctly. Busta Rhymes has a new album out today and this track features Kendrick Lamar right out of the gate, while chopping up a Jackson 5 sample. This song is going to need several listens to fully appreciate these two heavy-hitter rapper’s verses. Also, I doubt I need to tell any rap fans to go listen to the whole 22-song album, Extinction Level Event Vol 2: The Wrath of God.
Dora - Tierra Whack
The first Tierra Whack song of the year and it’s bizarre and fun and absolutely what I want from Tierra!
You’ve Got To Feel - Empress Of, Amber Mark
This is a catchy track just in time for The Big Election, pointing out the importance of human feeling and emotion in revolution. If I wasn’t hooked by the sounds of Empress Of and Amber Mark already, something was bound to lead me to this great song.
Interstellar Love - The Avalanches, Leon Bridges
This song is really just a vibe, and that vibe is fully optimistic. And I feel like we need all the optimism we can get right now.
Dance (Til You Love Someone else) - Sam Smith
Sam Smith released their long awaited album Love Goes today, and most of the highlights have already been released as singles, so I’m not super excited about it. This track is the exception.

Bonus Video Drop: I don’t feature a music video every week, but I’m going to have to plug 2020’s BET Lyricist of the Year, Rapsody, and her video for 12 Problems. This is a song I featured back on Sept 18th when it was first released as a single, and I’m pretty sure this powerful anthem against police brutality is going to be one of my songs of the year.

In part thanks to The Lion King: The Gift, Afrobeats are making a huge international splash like never before, and Wizkid’s fourth LP, Made in Lagos, is continuing the trend of Nigerian superstars making a name for themselves in the West. To be fair, Wizkid is hardly new to many of us; most have already heard either his feature verse on Drake’s “One Dance,” or more recently, on Beyoncé’s “Brown Skin Girl”.

I’ve only listened to Made in Lagos once through so far, but I can already tell it’s going to be on regular rotation, especially in the kitchen. There are some fantastic features here that prove Wizkid is taking it to the next level, working with artists from all over the planet. Nigerian friends show up (Burna Boy on “Ginger,” or Terri on “Roma”), along with Damian Marley from Jamaica on “Blessed.” Skepta and Ella Mai rep London, England, while H.E.R. is the sole American collaborator, showing up on the groovy, wholesome single, “Smile”.

Speaking of guest verses, I’m unsurprisingly loving “Piece of Me” which features Ella Mai’s vocals, of which I can never get enough.

Consisten throughout this album are the hip rolling beats, Wizkid’s smooth vocals over thick bass, and a sprinkling of some sugary saxophone, which is especially appropriate (and appreciated) at the end of “Sweet One”.

One of my other big standouts from this record is “Essence,” which features another amazing Nigerian artist, Tema, who is not listed in the credits (and took a bit of digging for me to find her name). I’m excited to check her out, as she has this laid-back, low and almost gravelly voice that reminds me of Jorja Smith.

Anyway, this whole record is a vibe perfect for cooking or eating or cleaning or walking (if you don’t mind a bit of dancing down the street).

I’ll admit that I do have a soft spot for Ariana, but part of my motivation for featuring this album was knowing I have some gay friends who would give me some shit if I didn’t. ;) Still, Positions, which was just announced with the single of the same name two weeks ago, is full of catchy af tunes married to some of the slickest productions you’ve heard this side of Taylor Swift’s 1989, but instead of TayTay’s Swedish pop team, this album sticks with Ariana’s R&B flavours.

The album kicks off with two Tayla Parx penned songs that are highlights; “shut up” and “34+35,” a slightly classier and educated way of saying 69. Now that I’m looking through the credits, I’m not exactly shocked to learn that the majority of my album highlights have Tayla Parx on the writing team.

“my hair” has this grounding double bass and features a bit of trumpet, some light steel drums, and these very Mariah-inspired, dog-whistle-register moments. My other favourite Parx assisted track is “Love Language,” which hooks me with these perfectly punctuated strings over the chorus.

As for the titular song, “positions,” it wasn’t enough to make my highlights on the week it came out, and it still isn’t much of a stand out, but the Dave Meyers’ directed video is a fun look at Ariana in the White House, multitasking in a way none of us would expect of 45 (or any other male POTUS for that matter). She even walks her own dogs!

The best surprise of this album is the sweet ballad that closes it out. “Pov” feels like an honest take on new love, and takes a break from the album’s hyper focus on sex. And yep, again this has Tayla’s fingerprints all over it. Although I’ve changed my mind a few times already, this is definitely going to be the track I add to the playlist, so maybe even if you don’t read all the way to this point, you’ll still check it out. ;)