New Music Tuesday #81

Slick Rick, Ludacris & China Moses

Was this a slow week for music or just a REALLY fucking hectic week for the actual news?

Maybe it was both. Or maybe I’ve just been tending to personal matters so hard that I lost track of keeping track of new music. Usually that’s what keeps me sane because it gives me something to look at that isn’t the actual news.

SHOWS

6/19 - 6/21 - I’ll be in Vermont at the Burlington Comedy Club with Michelle Buteau. If you’re in the area get some tickets and come through!

NEWS

Kendrick Lamar’s tour stopped in Toronto where he performed Not Like Us and they loved it. They sang it at the top of their lungs and asked for him to play it again. No wonder Drake moved to Texas

Speaking of Drake, he’s allegedly naming his upcoming album ICEMAN which is probably the most tone deaf thing he could possibly do. ICE anything is not the thing to be! This is exactly what Kendrick was talking about.

The BET Awards happened and I literally had no idea they were happening until I saw videos of them happening. They looked pretty good though!

VIDEOS

On June 20

china moses

is dropping her her single from the album It’s Complicated. Hit this pre-save link to make sure that the song gets delivered to you on release day!

SIDEBAR: I want to interview Kevin Hart but as Chocolate Droppa. I feel like Kevin just foisted this character on us with no backstory and I just need to know more about his origin story.

Ludacris popped up at the BET awards and it reminded me that he hasn’t put out music in a very long time. His back catalog still goes insanely hard tho and he’s had enough radio hits that he can live inside of DJ sets.

His last album was Ludaversal in 2015 and to be completely honest I don’t remember it at all. I can almost guarantee that there are some bars on there tho cus he be RAPPING.

SIDEBAR: Did you know that Destroy Lonely is 1-20’s son? Do you know who Destroy Lonely is? If so that’s crazy right? If not don’t worry about it. Shout out to Big Tigger for never trying to drop an album.

For a while he was putting up freestyles on IG and I really miss seeing those.

He's an artist who is largely inactive and seems very cautious about releasing new material. Aside from being wealthy and not really needing music as an outlet anymore I think this comes from being the type of artist that makes albums that appeal to everyone and not dialing into a niche.

There are a lot of artists from his era that do it and it kinda makes me sad but one example of someone who tapped into the niche thing is 2 Chainz. The joint he did with Larry June and The Alchemist is meant to serve a specific audience instead of trying to appeal to a wide range of folk all once.

I feel like another part of it is achieving a level of sales success that just simply doesn’t exist anymore thanks to streaming. Going from platinum sales to a million streams has got to be an underwhelming feeling.

I would love to hear Ludacris just do a quick lil tape with Conductor Williams or Dibia$e. Just him going crazy over a batch of beats but I’m pretty sure that will never happen.

ALBUMS

Slick Rick dropped his first album in 16 years? I haven’t gotten to listen to it yet but I am ready to blame anything I don’t like on Idris Elba in honor of Jean Grae. (that’s an inside joke for anyone who has read her book)

Juicy J and Logic have teamed up for an album and It appears to be Juicy J rapping over boom bap? I am very intrigued to say the least. How did this even happen?

Joe Armon-Jones is always good for a few jams.

New Theo Croker dropped! I didn’t get to hear this yet and I am hype to press play.

And speaking of legends dropping new albums Dee Dee Bridgewater just dropped one too!

SONGS

New Young Dro? Maaaaaan… HELL. YES.

This is pretty cool

LOONY did supreme justice to this cover of Bill Withers

BONUS

I stumbled across this old commercial while googling Ludacris and I wonder if anyone ever won this contest. Do you think they get that executive producer credit?