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Gonjasufi- “The Blame”

Gonjasufi drops a video for one of his latest tracks, “the Blame.” The song comes from his new mini-album, MU.ZZ.LE. It’s out now on Warp Records, and you can find a review of it here.

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Gang Colours- “Fancy Restaurant”

A touch of electronic soul coming through on this new Gang Colours track, “Fancy Restaurant.” Though it’s not exactly dubstep, future garage, post-dubstep, or whatever you wanna call it, the vocals and chilly synths remind me quite a bit of James Blake. I suppose there’s something for Beach House here as well, considering the beat feels like it’s getting produced by a quirky, vintage drum machine. The vocals have a nice atmosphere on them, too. Very calming, pretty.

You can grab a copy of this “Fancy Restaurant” single right here, right now. The single even features a Machinedrum remix.

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Serengeti- “Shazam”

Not only is “Shazam” a fantastic track, showcasing a colorful beat and witty rhymes, but it also doubles as a Shaq diss track. If you don’t remember, Shaquille O’Neal actually used to have a rap career going. Don’t believe me?

The song here weaves as tangled web, so I’m gonna parse these points out to avoid confusion:

1. The track is credited to Chicago rapper Serengeti, but is actually fronted by his alter-ego, Kenny Dennis.
2. Back in the 90s, Kenny was a member of the hip hop group Tha Grimm Teachaz.
3. Tha Grimm Teachaz were signed to Jive, which was the same label Shaq was on in the midst of his rap career.
4. One night, at a Jive showcase in ’93, Shaq-Fu made some comments about Dennis’ mustache, which he’s been upset about to this very day. The lyrics in this track are rife with vengeance, dissing Shaq’s acting career and calling him out as a “jolly green giant.”

It’s a lotta background for a single track, but it is a diss track. But One doesn’t really need to know the background to enjoy what’s going on here. A Jel & Odd Nosdam put an ominous keyboard sample into the instrumental. There’s a light, eerie drone that helps set the track’s threatening tone, too. Countless samples buzz by, creating a cacophony of different voices and sounds–it reminds of Paul’s Boutique in a way, actually. As far as Kenny goes, he’s furious. Never get between a man and his ‘stache.

This track is off the forthcoming Kennny Dennis EP, which is set for an April 3rd release via Anticon. Download the full song here.

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Rhye- “Open”

An official and very NSFW video for the Rhye track “Open.” Focus on the song.

Grab the EP for this track on iTunes.

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Ifan Dafydd- “Treehouse”

Welsh producer Ifan Dafydd has released a video to accompany his first official release on Push & Run. This song should sound pretty familiar to fans of James Blake as he has a very similar producing style. The track features a lot of rain drop-esque synthesizers accompanied by heavy vocal distortion and cutting.

This is one of those songs that is greatly helped by the addition of a music video. It follows Dafydd moving from a graveyard to a party while progressively putting on a panda suit. That may sound a bit ridiculous, but the grey colors of the city and the manner of which Dafydd moves and behaves in this suit makes the tone feel dark and gloomy. These feelings are furthered by Dafydds haunting vocals echoing throughout the song. The video presents a visual narrative to accompany and make the song much more impacting.

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St. Vincent- “Cheerleader”

A track for the song “Cheerleader,” which comes off the latest St. Vincent album, Strange Mercy. The album made it onto my list of favorite albums from 2011, and you can check our review of it here. Look for this album now on 4AD.

A lot like the video for “Cruel,” this song’s video deals with being singled out, critiqued, controlled. The ending is just as depressing, too.

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Exile- “Klepto”

A hilarious music video from one of the better hip hop producers out there right now. I’ll admit I slept on his last album a bit, 4TRK MIND. Not gonna lie about that, but Exile’s mic skills just don’t hit me with the same power his production does.

Still, this track, and the music video pared with it, are one of the brighter moments in Exile’s discography. Stellar beat, playful attitude, and catchy hook.

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Mont Brown- “Hi Top Fade”

Featuring Pace-O Beats, Chill Moody, and Theodore Grams, here’s new video from hip hop outfit Mount Brown. Great beat, witty rhymes, and a memorable hook coming through on this one. Who is that bumping on your boombox, seriously?

It’s a bit of a Cool Kids rip, which they even acknowledge in the lyrics a bit, but I’m still diggin’ it a lot. Tight tune.

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Rhye- “Open” (Live in a living room…)

For a project that wants to remain anonymous, Rhye sure is trying to make waves with its music. So, in support of the fantastically beautiful song “Open,” the project has seen fit to release a video performing the song. A video, yes, but it doesn’t exactly feature the identities of those involved in Rhye. Rather, it seems to be shot from behind the musicians as an audience of one quietly listens with great intent.

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BJ the Chicago Kid- “#IMJUSSAYIN”

A new video from R&B underdog BJ the Chicago Kid, teasing toward his forthcoming release, Pineapple Now-Laters. The Davy Greenberg-directed video matches BJ’s down-to-earth sensibilities. The music, on the other hand, is where the real ambition lies. Between a smooth beat and killer vocals, I can’t say much negative about this track other than that it’s criminally short.

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