New Music Friday 3.20.20

Here's what's new and what you've been meaning to listen to...

March 20, 2020

We will never forget COVID19.

Right now the market’s continue to tumble to their worst week since 2008. The music biz is not immune to a looming recession, yet there are still new records to celebrate and listen to.

Let’s not forget about all the new music being released during these tumultuous times. You can listen to the music in my newsletter and bounce out to the Spotify web or mobile app or by tapping the Spotify logo.

Lil Uzi Vert’s sophomore album Eternal Atake released earlier this month and is officially the top Hip Hop release of 2020 to date. After years of back and forth with his label and multiple missed release dates, the 34-song project was released by surprise on March 6th and continues to dominate streaming charts.

“An album is a false concept anyway. An album is something that was created by corporations as a product to make money. People have been making music, doing plays, and telling stories around fires for trillions of years. I like albums but I’m not too really handcuffed to the concept of that.” - Jay Electronica to Billboard

Jay Electronica’s A Written Testimony is another long-awaited release. Prior to this project which released last week, he dismissed albums and never saw himself making one. His relationship with Jay Z changed that.

“Hov hit me up like, ‘What, you scared of heights? Know your sister tired of working, gotta do her something nice.'”

The album released from Roc Nation with Jay Z appearing on almost every track.

The Weeknd’s new full-length album After Hours broke records yesterday for pre-adds Apple Music, which is the Apple version of a pre-order. The album reached 1 million pre-orders. It’s the Canadian singer’s first full-length album since the 2016 release Starboy.

The songs above, Heartless and Blinding Lights, both hit #1 on the Billboard hot 100 before the album’s release today.

Below are a few singles I’ve been digging this week.

HEARTBREAK ANNIVERSARY has been out for about a month now, released by Epic Records. It’s such an emotive song from a distinct, new voice. Giveon, a UK singer, was recently featured on a leaked track from Drake, Chicago Freestyle.

Check out three more songs from Giveon here.

Speaking with Billboard, vocalist Daniel Daley explained his new project with the producer Nineteen85,

"The whole idea behind Dvsn is, we're going to give you the unexpected. We are going to go against the grain—be divided from the bunch and separated from the past."

It’s great seeing new music from Snoh after her tour was recently postponed, among others. Speaking of Snohhere’s is her new playlist from yesterday.

This is a collaboration between UK-based artist Shura featuring Ivy Sole from Philadelphia, released this week. Shura had this to say about the song in a press release:

“Elevator Girl” is partly inspired by the time I had to get an elevator to my hotel room on the 22nd floor with a first date who I’d only just met in the lobby. When we entered, there were other people already in the elevator, so we stayed silent because it felt weird to address the awkwardness in front of strangers. But it’s also about the elation of a first date — the fact that it can make you feel kind of high without drugs. I’m stoked to have Ivy Sole contribute a verse because I’ve been a big fan ever since I first heard “Dream Girl”. I reached out over Instagram, we linked up in Brooklyn over coffee at The Lot Radio, and decided it would be fun to work on this together.

“Tadow, they be like Tadow

Got a 100 million people screamin Tadow”

That’s a great way to open a new single for Masego. Tadow is his single in collaboration with FKJ. It’s a Redbull Studios live recording with two multi-hyphenate instrumentalists looping and layering their way to an 8-minute track. If you look closely, Masego opens the song by clapping his passport into the mic to set the tempo. I remember watching the video for Tadow the exact day it dropped on YouTube on May 24th, 2017. Watching these two was quite literally life-changing for me. I went on to drop out of school and return to study media and audio production a year later.

Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear your questions, thoughts, and comments on IG or Twitter.

Be safe & be well!

- Jimmy Seykot