Haven’t posted anything in the last couple days because it was fall break and I treasure my time off. Anyway Snoh Aalegra is super talented, like just wow. Even though Tyler is on this track (and we all know how much I love him) she absolutely carries this song with her warm vocals it’s like sunshine through a bottle of honey. Aalegra released her first album in 2016 and since then she has been working incredibly hard to reach the top. She is super talented but still only has 3 mil monthly listens (go listen to her!!). Despite this she released a banger of an album just this year and wow. I would say her music is like R&B but for when you are in your feels just some sad girl stuff. Overall she is just insanely good at what she does and I highly recommend you check out all her other stuff.
Apollo XXI Is Steve lacys first and best album. For a artist that releases mainly singles this whole tape is absolutely amazing and basement jack has to be my favorite song on the track. The whole song is about lacy exploring his sexuality and coming out of the “basement”. The lyrics, beats, and bass really meld together in a strong and subtle way. There is so much this whole album offers but if you only have the time to listen to one Basement jack is the way to go.
Daisy has got to be one of the most talented alt rock esk bands on the scene right now. They fit a niche genre that could be more described as R&B jazz Punk then anything. This group of 5 exploded onto the stage in 2016 with their EP “smoke about it” and since then have gotten lots of looks from the Alt-Rock scene. They have clear inspiration from various different artists like Prince all the way to Smino or Brazilian rock band O Terno. This blend makes Daisy the love child of these respective genres leading to a beautiful sound that more people should listen to. Follow them on Spotify so you don’t miss their new album Kissin. I’m also going to shill for a sec but I feel like I should get sponsors with how much I write about bands and music but you should also follow my stuff on here or my linked insta or Spotify.
I’m going to preface this one by saying I am full blooded hispanish, my first language is Spanish, and my parents are immigrants. Despite my looks I promise I am not appropriating Hispanic culture as it is my culture. Los Cafres are a Latin American reggae band which isn’t a rare thing. They are pretty popular in the scene coming in at almost 2 million monthly listeners. For Spanish heritage month I will probably be covering some of my favorite hispanish artist and these guys are definitely up there. The horns, synths, and vocals all add up to a beautiful chemistry of sound from this group and all their songs are very relaxing lake trip kinda vibes. If you like reggae and want to listen to reggae this is definitely where you should start. These guys have been making music since 1994 and definitely know what they are doing so make sure you check them out on Spotify.
Goldlink has been making music (really just remixes of songs) since 2015 but only recentlyish really broke into the scene with his 3rd (first album with his music) album “At what cost” in 2017. His most recent album “HARAM!” Released this year is a album filled with bangers. Then we get to “Diaspora” his 2017 album that sits between the other two and wow. This album is much less known then the other two but it still has great tracks littered throughout it. It has deep influences from Latin American, reggae, rap, and R&B creating a flavorful and funky easy listing experience that invites the ears. USay is my favorite track on the album and that maybe because I’m such a Tyler fan and his feature on here does so much but it’s a lot more then that. As a artist GoldLink really know what he’s doing his structure is unparalleled being developed from his remix days and his styling is very uniquely him. It is sad that not as many people know about him and I try to share his music whenever I can
Wow just wow. Kali Uchis is one of the most talented concurrent Hispanic artist. Her vocal versatility, music composition, technical ability, and so many more things separate her as one of the biggest musicians of our generation. Her first release was a single in 2014 followed by her first album “Por vida” in 2015. It wasn’t until her 2018 album “Isolation” where she really blew up in colaba with Gorillaz, Tyler, and legendary bassist Steve lacy. She can play piano and saxophone and because of that jazz is a huge influence on her music. A deeply talented singer, songwriter, director, actress, designer, and producer it seems there isn’t much Uchis can’t do.
Φως or Lumen is the Ancient Greek word for light. Sometimes when I see someone or talk to somebody there presence and words illuminate my life even if for a simple second you light up my life to
This one is kinda cheating since João Gilberto is a Brazilian musician but I frankly don’t care at the very least he’s Latin American. He is a legendary bossa nova musician redefining the genre early on. All of his songs having this softness about them. He started making music in the late 50s when the bossa nova sound was just coming around because of Antônio Carlos Jobim (another great artist). Gilberto has also branched heavily into jazz working with people like Stan Getz and Frank Sinatra leaving his mark and soothing voice on many genres. In terms of instruments he isn’t exactly the most unique but that doesn’t matter as much because his uniqueness stems from his voice and stylings. He is not only a talented musician but he can also speak English and sings many songs in English which has vastly expanded his reach. Always a cool jazzy and relaxing tone about him João has had a massively successful career and still garners plenty of listens from Bossa nova and Jazz people.
Pobre de ti is a jazzy punk rock song that moves into strike your brain as soon as the vocals start and wow I love this song. Tijuana no! Is an amazing ska band that my mom grew up listening to in the early 1990’s. Ska is the music of rebelution and rebellion and Latin America has been a war zone because of capitalistic actions of their neighbors to the north (US and Canada specifically). Because of this that fight has been distilled into so many facets of the society especially the music. Overall I think Tijuana No! Is based as hell most of their music talks about the defense of indigenous people, the downfall of capitalism, or a combination of the 2. The tones of traditional Mexican and rock were the foundations for this era of music and they hit that mark perfectly.
It is so incredibly rare for a rapper to be this skillful and lyrically confident this early into their career but on his second album (realsed 10 years ago!) Kendrick demonstrates his raw talent and hard work attitude with one of the the most dense songs I have ever heard. Lyrically this song calls back to legends like MF DOOM and Ghostface killah with its pinash and style but it still manages to carve itself out as uniquely Kendrick. Before the release of his most recent single “Familly ties” he had not released anything for 3 years but now it seems like he is back and I know many other rap enthusiasts will be listening closely to what he will be releasing.
