Well it’s 6:30AM PST. With that said, it’s never too early for some rap music. Especially some rap music featuring Kendrick Lamar.
I am L O V I N G this remix. I mean, when you hear the “DJ Esco” mention on one of Future’s songs, you know it’s probably going to be a solid track.
And the length of the verse is substantial too! I think Kendrick will help keep this track relevant and help push it even more up the charts.
Listen here, and let me know what you think.
Happy Tuesday!
Can someone please let me know if he’s out of jail? He’s been Tweeting so please LMK.
Until then, Travi$ Scott gave us all more life last night with three new tracks. I cannot tell you how much I love his music and his vibe as an artist overall. His look, energy, passion… thriving.
Okay, let’s jump into these songs on SoundCloud below.
“Butterfly Effect”
Produced by Murda Beatz, “Butterfly Effect” will definitely be thrown into my summer vibes rotation. This song could have easily been on Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight. It resembles “Through the Late Night” when it comes to the vocals.
“A Man”
“A Man” starts with a long instrumental intro then cutting straight into some good late night party vibes. Lyric call-out: “You need to say grace before you say thanks.” This is also the type of song I’d listen to in order to get ish done. And although for only a short time, I love when his verse speeds up at the end.
“Green & Purple ft. Playboi Carti”
All I’m going to say about this one is…. “Magnolia” vibes.
Will these tracks be on Astroworld? Guess we’ll just have to wait and see. TBH, I sort of hope not. I want that NEW NEW.
Calvin Harris is living his best life right now. Last night he gave us another track off of his upcoming album, Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1. 
Titled “Rollin,” it features two of my favorites – Khalid and Future. I never thought I wanted a song with Khalid and Future, but after hearing this…. YASSS.
When that electronic beat came in around 22 seconds, I knew this song was going to be complete summer vibes.
Also important to note that Khalid is on the come-up, and for those who disagree, shame on you. He’s young and about to be thriving. He’s already on a song with Calvin Harris and Future. COME ON, BRO.
But yeah, listen to the song here, and keep living your best life.
Can’t forget about the other epic song that dropped today – this morning to be exact. I was getting ready for work and got the notification that a new song featuring Travi$ Scott released.
*Pause everything*
Definitely had to stop what I was doing to listen. Well, not only did we get a new song from SZA (pronounced SIZ-UH), we received the visuals to the track as well. Love when that happens. Directed by Nabil and part of the Top Dawg Entertainment family (Kendrick’s squad), the visuals are sensual, sexy, and a little chilling.
Initially I first heard the audio, but after watching the video and listening, I’m thinking of the song in a completely different way. What I was picturing in my head during that first listen was definitely not what was being portrayed in the video.
And OMG, the ending… like what?! Was NOT expecting that.
SZA is a SZAVAGE for this one.
Watch above!
What a nice surprise! Well, a surprise to me at least.
As I was casually scrolling through Twitter, I stumbled across a new track from one of my favorite duos – Majid Jordan. I saw them in concert last fall for the first time, and they were so good live. Definitely recommend seeing them.
Okay, so “Phases” starts out really slow on the piano. Right as those opening vocals hit though… YASSS.
“I keep going through different phases, stay going through different phases”
Then slowly but surely, you start to hear the song pick up. At about one minute in, the tempo quickens but in a very subtle way.
Then when the real deal beat picks up…
“omg. this is a new sound for majid! it sounds a little more techno but I AM HERE FOR IT. I LOVE THIS.”
The quote above was my actual real-time reaction to listening to that part of the song for the first time, so I decided to leave it. Clearly, I’m v excited.
But yes, listen to the song here on Apple Music!
PS – I think Majid Jordan makes the best late night driving music. And this song in particular is perfect for those late night summertime drives.
Anyway, I’m really digging “Phases,” and I’m hoping that the release of this song means a new project is on the way! Or at least one sometime this year 🙂
Hope yinz had an epic Thursday!
“I got two versions.” -Frank Ocean
And that he does.
Last night (Saturday, April 22) Frank Ocean released a new song titled “Lens” on another surprise episode of blonded RADIO on Apple Music. Funny how Frank disappeared for four years before giving us Blonde, and now he’s dropping surprise radio station episodes AND new tracks. Any who. One version is with Frank solo dolo, but the other features one of my absolute favorites – Travi$ Scott.
The version with just Frank is around four minutes long, and the one with Travi$ is a little over six, and it is everything.
p u r e v i b e s
“Lens” has a god-like sound and exudes some MAJOR Kanye “808s & Heartbreak” vibes. The Auto-Tune. Wow. I’m listening now as I’m writing this, and I’m so obsessed. This song should honestly be called “Vibes” instead of “Lens.” Imagine listening to this while floating in the ocean, riding a bike along the beach, exploring your city, driving down the freeway in the rain – it fits so many scenarios. Here for it.
And as if the song can’t get any vibey-er (obviously not a word), Frank calls on La Flame to take “Lens” to the next level. Now, I heard “Lens” last night but didn’t hear the T. Scott version until I was driving home from a friend’s house this AM. And fam am I glad I didn’t hear it until then. Driving up the 405 with the windows down and sun shining – w o a h. I definitely had a moment. A moment of inspiration and just thinking how epic the hip-hop community is and all these amazing collabs we continue to get. Our favorite artists hopping on tracks with one another that we wouldn’t expect. Hearing familiar sounds of other artists on certain songs and albums.
m a g i c
Got a little sidetracked there, but I think it’s important for us as fans to really appreciate not just a new song but the artist(s) behind those songs and the magic that went down to get us that new song. Now I’m sure most tracks don’t come together in one singular moment, but I would love to be in a recording studio for when that happens. Or just in general. I think it would be very motivational. Bucket list item for sure.
Okay, enough of me rambling. Listen to the two versions below, and let me know if you catch the same vibe I did.
Hope yinz are having the most epic Sunday!
So while everyone was watching the March Madness Championship Finals, I was scrolling through my Twitter feed and noticed Desiigner dropped three new tracks. We haven’t really received any new songs from him recently so for him to drop three in a row on a random Monday night – I’ll take it.
tracks below
I’m about to go listen. I’ll be back with my thoughts!
UDPATE 10:01AM PST: Just watched the video, and it is nothing short of epic and uniquely trippy. I’d expect nothing less from Travi$ Scott! And I really like Kendrick’s placement in the video as well. Travi$ continues to kill the game.
It’s here! Travi$ Tweeted last week he would be dropping this video, and I’m glad he has blessed us with these visuals on a Monday. What a good start to the week. Watch here!
I’m about to watch for the first time myself. Too pumped for this. Let me know what you think!
Happy Monday, yinz!
You guys. Stop what you are doing and watch these new visuals from Kendrick right now. And they are new visuals for a NEW song.
This beat is all the fire emojis. I love More Life, but fam, this beat is the sickest. And I am in love with the creativity of the video. On a scale of one to five fire emojis, this gets all five.
Watch now and see for yourself!
Last Friday, Big Sean stopped in Los Angeles for his I Decided Tour and his third stop on the West Coast. He performed at the Hollywood Palladium which is now a venue I’ve been to a handful of times. It’s intimate vibe is great, but I do wish the stage was a little more elevated. It’s hard for us short people to see! I digress.
There were four of us who went and before posting up in the GA section, we obviously had to buy some beverages and cop some merch. I held us down in the merch line while the others secured the drinks. Teamwork makes the dream work.
After successfully buying the exclusive I Decided California t-shirt (see below) and the official I Decided Tour sweatshirt, it was time to go find our place in the crowd.
We knew we’d be in the back when we first arrived at the Palladium. The line was wrapped (and I mean wrapped) down and around the block.
The night started with an opening set from Big Sean’s DJ, DJ Mo Beatz. He’s extremely talented and was spinning all the right songs to get us to the appropriate energy level. Next up…
Now while I don’t listen to MadeinTYO on the reg (I really should though – he’s underrated), he has quite a few bangers and performed them all – “I Want,” “Uber Everywhere,” and “Skateboard P” to name a few. He was the perfect opener for Big Sean, and he definitely kept the momentum going.
Okay, now for the real deal…
I’ve seen Big Sean perform multiple times now, and he has yet to disappoint. His energy, positive vibes, love for the crowd, and just overall passion he has for performing makes him an incredible artist to watch live. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s easy on the eye. Anyways.
His setlist included most of the tracks from I Decided and a handful of other fire emoji worthy songs like “Champions,” “I Don’t F*ck With You,” “Don’t Like,” “Paradise,” “Blessings,” and more. While I had hoped for a Migos or Jeremih surprise appearance, he did bring out his boo Jhene Aiko. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen her live before this, so it was great to not only add her to my concert resume (yes, I have one of those), but it was awesome seeing the two perform together and witnessing their chemistry IRL. MadeinTYO also came back out during Sean’s set so they could perform the “Skateboard P Remix.” YAS. Seriously one of my favorite songs out right now.
Okay, now this is sort of embarrassing, but I don’t even care. Towards the end of Big Sean’s set, he began to talk about positivity, surrounding yourself with a solid group of people, and that it’s never too late to make your dreams a reality. Well, I started crying. I sort of wish I was joking. This is the second time I’ve cried at a concert. The first was during the On The Run Tour (Beyonce and Jay Z). v. emotional. But yeah. I’ve always been a fan of Big Sean not only because of his music but also because of his positive nature and vibes he exudes.
Overall, this was one of the better Big Sean performances I’ve seen. If you’ve listened to I Decided, you can tell this project means A LOT to him and is full of inspiration which all came to life on that stage. He’s a real one.
Why did I cry though? I believe I’m at a really good place in my life right now. Weeding out the negativity, surrounding myself with great people and influences, and just doing epic shit. I’m really the only person who can control all of this for myself, so yeah… I’m pretty pumped.
The night ended with me going to In N Out, ordering a grilled cheese and fries via drive-thru, and sitting in my car to indulge before heading home. All in all, it was a solid night.
Next concert… Sampha at the El Rey Theatre. I’ve never seen Sampha perform nor have I been to that venue so I’m pretty amped!
Thanks for reading, yinz!
Californyinz 