Heating up the summer to a boiling point already, Future unveils the music video for “PUFFIN ON ZOOTIEZ.” Watch it HERE. Directed by Nick Walker [Billie Eilish, Playboi Carti], the visual showcases a slick, stylized, and stunning performance vignette of the GRAMMY® Award-winning Atlanta hip-hop titan. It exudes otherworldly energy on another level—just like everything he does.
“PUFFIN ON ZOOTIEZ” has already amassed over 40 million Spotify streams and notably peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Of the track, Pitchfork noted, “his downbeat yet rapid delivery and the ornate instrumental carry the song.” It also stands out as a fan favorite track that took on a life of its own from his massive new album, I Never Liked You.
I Never Liked You crashed the charts as the biggest debut of the rapper’s career, landing at #1 on the Billboard 200 and moving a staggering 221,512 units first-week in the US alone. This notably marks Future as the 5th artist in history to debut at #1 on Billboards Hot 100 and Billboard 200 in the same week and marks his 8th #1 album on the Billboard 200 with the most seven-day sales of his illustrious career so far.
Gearing up for the R&B event of the year, GRAMMY-nominated multi-platinum R&B star GIVĒON will unveil his anxiously awaited full-length debut album, Give Or Take, on June 24, 2022 via Not So Fast/Epic Records. It is available for pre-order/pre-save HERE.
Setting the stage for the record, the Long Beach singer just shared a cinematic and stylish trailer for the album. Watch it HERE. In the clip, he sits in a condo engrossed in conversation with his mom as he scans the Los Angeles cityscape below him and sets the stage for what fans can expect on this project. Scenes of live footage and memories intercut with these pensive moments, conveying tension and emotion all at once.
He recently heralded Give Or Take with the ballad “Lie Again.” It has already amassed over 8.9 million Spotify streams and 4.4 million YouTube views on the music video. Right out of the gate, [rollingstone.com/music/music-news/giveon-lie-again-song-video-1344670/]Rolling Stone hailed it as “beautifully painful,” and Complex proclaimed, “He shows his strength in vocals as he asks his partner to lie to him about past indiscretions.”
Known for her sincere songwriting and her proficiency at creating sonically safe spaces for listeners to be vulnerable, Brooklyn-based artist Jasmine Jordan will release her new single “name a better duo” on Friday, May 20th. Teaming up with upcoming rapper A-Game, the songstress expresses bliss and excitement about her newfound love in this intimate R&B track.
This hip hop-infused R&B track reevaluates the outdated notion of settling for less when it comes to matters of the heart. The songwriter The soulful songwriter shares “it’s a relationship flex song. I’m sharing how lost in love I am now but in a way that I don’t want to be found.”
Caroline Romano returns with her 3-track ‘Hollister’ EP, a re-release of her single “Hollister,” from her debut album, Oddities and Prodigies, alongside two new renditions of the track.
With the ‘Hollister’ EP, Caroline is able to showcase the versatility of the single. “Hollister – Nightcore Version” amps up the pop-punk energy of the track, while the slowed down version, “Hollister (I Want To Be Her Version),” allows the emotion of the lyrics to take centerstage.
She elaborates on the inspiration behind “Hollister” and why the single means so much to her: “We all have our own ideal standards of beauty, charm and what it looks like to be wanter. Growing up, that girl to me looked like the opposite of who I was. She was the girl who wore Hollister skinny jeans and had a great smile.She stood out in those subtle, graceful ways I don’t naturally possess. I always felt like I was too much, too tall, too loud. ‘Hollister’ is just me reiterating those thoughts I think many of us had in middle school, and even still have to this day.”
Nigerian-born, New York based singer and Grammy-nominated artist Kah-Lo today releases a brand new remix of her night-out anthem ‘Drag Me Out’ by Billen Ted, out now via Epic Records.
Following the release of her official ‘Drag Me Out’ music video, Kah-Lo has tapped the rising UK duo to remix the track. Taking the party up a notch, Billen Ted have brought a darker edge to ‘Drag Me Out’. Flooded with ominous basslines and rhythmic four-on-the-floor percussion, the remix is a playful contrast to Kah-Lo’s original. Destined for the dancefloor, Billen Ted’s tech-house rendition amplifies the essence of Kah-Lo’s club-ready mentality.
Regarding the remix, Kah-Lo says “I love that Billen Ted put their spin on it with the dirtiest bass line. If the original is for the party, their remix is for the after party you find your way to when your night is going a little too good. Hydration required.”
Brooklyn-bred drill star Rowdy Rebel crash lands into summer with the release of his new single and video, “Woo Nina.” The video, directed by G-Train (French Montana, Matt Ox) is set in Brooklyn and available now.
[Get “Woo Nina” HERE]
[Watch “Woo Nina” HERE]
“Woo Nina” is an energetic drill rap anthem from Rowdy, an arbiter of the subgenre and one of its most tenured and prolific ambassadors. His jovial, rambunctious energy—which he’s previously attributed to his Caribbean upbringing—is evident from the onset of the track, as he belts “Wooooo Ninnnaaa” to signify his bouncy entrance. What follows is a masterclass in Rebelnomics: brash declarations of loyalty (“I’ll never cross my n****s for no bread!”), subtle-but-sharp wit (“Do you see any purple in my head?”) and love for GS9 (“Shoutout Bobby [Shmurda]… he did that damn time”).
The summer season is almost here — but that wouldn’t be complete without some sun-drenched Afropop. Fear not, Damola Davis has the remedy. The Nigerian-born UK-based musician is back with his latest single, ‘Gbese’.
With over a decades-worth of mileage in the Afrobeat/Afropop ecosystem, Davis’ music trickles out the speaker like it’s the by-product of a well-oiled machine. The three-minute heater boasts a choppy, rumbling undercurrent as Davis croons with impassioned, emotive lyrics. The nimble and delicate guitar licks melt into the track’s cavalcade of travelled instruments, making for a one-of-a-kind listening experience.
Speaking on ‘Gbese’, Davis said: “I really enjoyed recording this song as I channelled my chilled vibes on ‘Gbese’. I created this song as a quirky and fun way to appreciate all types of women and their curves, and how it is such a worthy investment to break the bank for”.
22 year old New Zealand native FERBY makes her stunning debut in the razor sharp ‘Bad Vibes Stuck In My Teeth. A skittering juggernaut showcasing FERBY”s characterful flow over rolling beats, ‘Bad Vibes Stuck In My Teeth’ is the point where FERBY meets the world. A mini-manifesto for this rule-shattering talent, it’s a debut to remember. Speaking on the track, FERBY states:
“I just wanted to make this gross, disgusting song – it’s like a cartoon version of me. It’s a much more confident version of who I am – and that’s what I love about rap music, I can invent this character.”
Guitar-slinging indie kids Tribe Friday today unleash their debut album bubblegum emo. The much-anticipated release arrives on the back of a stacked few years that have seen the young band graduate high school, develop their sound through a series of EPs, gain international tastemaker hype and, most recently, be invited to vie to represent Sweden at Eurovision.
With bubblegum emo, the band undertakes their most ambitious and emotionally-invested work yet. Singer Noah Deutschmann describes why the album holds a special place in the group’s development, saying “this is our debut record, but it feels weird to call it that. It’s not like it’s the first time we’re putting out music. But it definitely is the first time we’ve written something with the intent of making a larger piece of art.” By embracing the longform format that an album offers over an EP, Tribe Friday take the opportunity to deeply examine their past few years. Ultimately, the result is something that Deutschmann refers to as a “growing pains record”. bubblegum emo is a piece of work that harnesses guitar, bass, vocals, and drums, to navigate self-detriment, crumbling relationships, and adolescent regret. This is an album that embraces the emotional duality of life with total abandon; from its bright pop hooks to the darkest melancholy lyrical corners.
Casey Moon is a genre-defying multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and half of the production duo Zookids. Having handled production for artists such as Young Thug, Gunna and A Boogie with the Hoodie, writing for independent artists in the indie-pop world, and having played in a slough of rock bands over the years his style has absorbed an eclectic array of influences.
Over the course of 2022, Casey plans to release his trilogy of EPs: Fountains, Mirrors and Ashes. Each project Varies in genre and draws thematic influence from a different film or TV series. Listened to sequentially, the projects tell a story about growing up, love and loss.
Boasting a strong voice with an ear for pop melody, modern production and a dazzling live show, Casey is a truly singular act.
BONES might not be the perfect candidate for the Song of the Summer title, but I’m currently waiting out a tropical storm in Miami and this dark, yet dreamy, new single “PackRippedOpen” is all I need. Produced by longtime TeamSESH artist Drew The Architect, “PackRippedOpen” is the gloomy love song that fans have come to adore from BONES. He just has a gift for melding the highs with the lows, no emotions are off limits. On “PackRippedOpen,” BONES is serving undying love, rapping, “How far I’ll really go, oh oh/Four you to feel safe and sound.” “PackRippedOpen” is the first collab from BONES and Drew the Architect since their 2020 DamagedGoods album.
German-Swedish Sisters Mimi (18) and Josy (16) together form the exciting new duo, HAVET,
who today launch their impressive, sleek debut song “Child” along with an official video.
Watch the video now via Youtube; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxRlZMsVZn0
Speaking about today’s release, the duo said “Child is an ode to your heritage. It’s about being proud of your past and your roots and trusting the future because of it.”
Speaking of heritages, HAVET was Born and raised in Bavaria, Germany, to their singer & multi-instrumentalist parents, so music has always been a part of their lives. Their sound draws upon influences in pop, R&B, folk, and indie styles along with their experiences playing in bands with their friends growing up. They cite Billie Eillish, Billie Marten, Daniel Caesar, Bruno Major and Tyler The Creator as artists they are inspired by.
Indie rock band, The Lighthouse And The Whaler, releases their deluxe album “Talk (Deluxe)” out now including demo and alternation versions. The deluxe album follows the studio album released in the Fall of 2022 and live album released April 2022, receiving accolades from outlets such as Flaunt, Earmilk, Wonderland, and Spin Magazine and placements on top streaming playlists.
The band says, “We spent a really long time demoing TALK and because of that we have a lot of different demos and alternate versions of the songs we worked on over all that time. We wanted to give you all a small look into the process some of the songs went through to get to their final version. It’s one of my favorite things to go back and look at what a song was and what it ended up becoming. Demos transport me back when I listen to them, especially early versions, and those individual demos really mark moments in time for me so they are little like these momentary time capsules for me letting me remember what was and inspiring me for what’s ahead.”
Lucy & La Mer’s new single “Don’t It Feel Good” embodies the artist’s message of self-acceptance and positivity.
Lucy LaForge, the artist behind the name “Lucy & La Mer”, is known for her upbeat and optimistic songs, as well as for her mental health advocacy within the LGBTQ community. Coming out in an interview in 2018, Billboard stated that the singer is “proud of who and what she is.”
Lucy’s music has been featured by The LA Times, Rolling Stone India, Huffington Post, EARMILK, Billboard Pride, Pride and many more publications. Her music is a blend of pop empowerment with lyrical stylings mirroring her storytelling folk music upbringing.
Often seen performing with a ukulele, Lucy was chosen to feature the new Billie Eilish Ukulele by Fender in Summer 2020, and presented the Dhani Harrison ukulele in 2021. The singer has also collaborated with major brands like IKEA, HP, Guitar Center, and Kala Ukuleles. Her music can be heard on international commercials, with companies such as Disney and Dove using her upbeat tunes in advertisements.
In 2021, Lucy’s single “Ooh La La” inspired various TikTok influencers to get up and dance. With over 3 million TikTok views, Lucy’s Social Media has become a place of encouragement to many.
Her latest single “Don’t It Feel Good” is a shimmery, sun-drenched pop single all about pure joy after a time of turbulence. She confides, “After spending most of the last two years at home, I really started to feel my insecurities and self-doubts come back when I started to socialize again. But now, I finally feel ready to get back out there and explore and have FUN.”
Her authentic videos spread the message of inclusion and equality, and her catchy tunes continue to reach new listeners every day.
Just in time to kick off a Rock & Roll Summer, EDGEOUT Records and The Revelries share a new song “Phone Call,” marking the latest offering in a string of anthemic Pop-Rock guitar-driven song releases via EDGEOUT Records.
The Revelries began as the brainchild of the 24-year-old Monroe, Louisiana-bred vocalist/guitarist Beau Bailey in his dorm room during the fall of 2016 at Louisiana State University. They worked to transform their band into its own version of high-energy, U.K.-style Pop-Rock performing to audiences in local Baton Rouge dive bars to private events to venues across the Southeast.
In January 2020, The Revelries signed a development deal with EDGEOUT/UMG/UMe and entered into their program THE STUDIO where they recorded their first full length album with GRAMMY® Award-winning producer Matt Wallace (The Replacements, Faith No More, Maroon 5). The band’s major label debut is scheduled for release later this year.
EDGEOUT focuses on the development and curation of young mainstream ROCK bands and artists that will be the future rock movement in the music industry.
Just in time for summer, pop duo the Lockyer Boys are back with a brand new single and video ‘LATKD’ out today on all digital streaming platforms. Watch video here.
Written virtually during the COVID pandemic with Grammy-nominated producer Jeff Dawson and Alan Poettcker from These Kids Wear Crowns, ‘LATKD’ is a catchy and uplifting pop gem about being present and living in the moment, and trying to experience genuine happiness.
“Will and I try to make people happy with our music,” says Charlie Lockyer. “Teenagers and maybe even young adults are often ‘happy being sad’. Why can’t we be happy being happy? That’s the message of ‘LATKD.’”
Lockyer Boys (Will and Charlie Lockyer) are brothers born and raised in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The duo made their first steps as a cover band, quickly gaining recognition for great harmonies and multi-instrumental talent.
Entertaining crowds with stage presence far beyond their years made them an immediate showstopper as the opening act at many festivals and concerts. They have played alongside countless accomplished artists such as Juno-Award winning Eagle & Hawk, Coney Hatch, Chase The Bear, and more.
Lockyer Boys are currently completing their debut album, which features their poignant songwriting and songs co-written with Jeff Dawson, Shawn Hook, Scott Helman, Daniel Powter, Brian Howes, Alan Poettcker, and Akylla.
‘LATKD’ is available now on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services worldwide. For more info, please visit lockyerboys.com.
I’m excited to share with you my new pop single ‘Make Me Happy‘. Written by Erica Knox, and produced by Kadeema’s Tal Vaisman, it is now available on all streaming platforms!
This song came from looking to others to make me happy, and realizing that I am the only person who is capable of that. Whether it be in relationships, with friends, or family, I can’t rely on others to make me happy, I have to create a life doing things that I love, with the people I love, to achieve that.
Writing this song taught me that if things aren’t serving purpose in my life, I have to move on from them. It’s one thing to have standards, and certain expectations from partners, but to voice these expectations is another thing that I’ve had to learn to overcome. It’s not a sign of weakness or defeat, but a respect that I owe to myself.
‘Make Me Happy‘ is a reminder to love yourself first, and if others want to love you too, communication and openness will serve as a saviour.
Thanks so much for your time!
Erica Knox
neillfrazer@hotmail.com
