J Cru - Man Cake (feat. Fresh Micks)

Man Cake - J Cru (ft Fresh Micks) (Rap) We really love it when a song is so f***ing clever that we can’t choose our best lyric. Hands down, the track is hilarious as two presumably hetereosexual men sing about their delicious fat asses that the ladies love. The comedic comradery between J Cru and Fresh Micks is very natural, with the two bouncing off of each other from one jaw-dropping lyric to the next. But that’s not to say the song isn’t a serious bop—it belongs right up there with any of 20 Fingers’ tracks (Short Dick Man, Boom I***ed your Boyfrend, etc)—and one you’re not only going to learn the lyrics to, but also groove to on the dance floor. The overall vibe of the track is giving us LMFAO, which we think is a lane in pop music currently wide open for occupying.

Best Lyric: “Suns out, buns out, gotta stay lubed up. This ain’t Photoshop, I ain’t using no computer.”

Jonathan Shapiro - My Dawgs

My Dawgs - Jonathan Shapiro (Rap) Looking at Jonathan’s picture, we’re afraid he may be too young to know the reference we’re about to make, but in his chill midtempo flow My Dawgs, he’s bringing us back to the days of Bone Thugs ‘N Harmony. His rhymes flow easily, riding the crisp production almost melodically, giving the track a very “sing-along-able” quality. The lofi percussion with swirling rhodes are punctuated nicely by the occasional audio effect and background chant, and marries nicely with his lead vocal production. His lyrics are quite clever, which made choosing our best one difficult, and while the song feels like an introduction to who Jonathan is, his playful wittiness in his word choice and phrasing tell us even more about him than the lines themselves. But at the end of the day, My Dawgs is a drink and a two step kinda jam, and we’re here for it.

Best Lyric: “Can’t keep me in a box, too fidgety. Can’t keep me in a roof, too chim-i-ny”

Beth Macari - Feel The Same

Feel The Same - Beth Macari (Pop) Beth Macari delivers a genre defying in Feel The Same, giving us mainstream pop perfection infused with elements of retro R&B that used to be the bread and butter for nearly all of the pop divas. Beth’s voice is powerful—putting her in the Christina/Pink pop lane—and boasts raw sexuality in both tonality and in the lyrics themselves. There’s also a touch of funk to this track in the punctuated “like like” hitting in each of her super catchy choruses. While Feel The Same is probably best categorized as a midtempo, it boasts plenty of energy to translate to the dancefloor. And if you want a real treat, don’t miss the music video in which, like Kelis before her, Beth’s milkshake brings all the boys to the yard.

Best Lyric: “I don’t mean to hurry things, so it’s gonna be last call.”

Aruna - Confessions

Confessions - Aruna (Pop) Aruna delivers a 00s singer/songwriter vibe with Confessions, which we could confidently imagine appearing on Top 40 radio. Lyrically, the song is a unique take on lovelorn, describing a situation where Aruna’s been friendzoned and has to hear about the lovelife of a friend she has feelings for, who she fears in the end she must say goodbye to. We really appreciate a song with a strong narrative, and Aruna’s heartfelt delivery of an engaging melody gives the track all the punch it needs and highlights her strengths as a storyteller. We recommend this song highly if you’re into the likes of Vanessa Carlton, Michelle Branch and even Sheryl Crow, if you want to take it back further. There’s also a Taylor Swift esque quality to it—not to the sound, but to the message, and so we also recommend this one for your next karaoke night.

Best Lyric: “Jealousy’s my best friend now, I know her well she’s always been around.”

Savoy Ellis - Don't Break My Heart/The One (Sped Up)

Don’t Break My Heart/The One (Sped Up) - Savoy Ellis (R&B)  There’s a Jackson-esque quality to this R&B vibe, particularly in the engaging melody which shows Savoy’s musicality and understanding of motown chord progression. A bit of Human Nature and the Janet B-Side This Can’t Be Good, the song is delivering some delectable retro. However, the tight percussion production keeps the song firmly grounded in the present, which helps give the track a timeless quality and avoids chasing current R&B trends. The uncredited singer on the track is given the 00s Kanye “sped up vocal” treatment which Savoy Ellis restrains from getting into chipmunk territory. Get this track on your retro R&B playlist ASAP.

Best Lyric: “She seems too good to be true, let me know is this the real thing or fool’s gold?”

Alec Rose - Underwater

Underwater - Alec Rose (Pop/Folk)  The song hooks you the moment it starts, with a lilting guitar arpeggio pulling you immediately into this dreamy, ephemeral ballad, and keeps you engaged as the production incorporates an unexpected distressed percussion and a subtle driving bass. Alec’s vocal delivery is intimate and vulnerable, finding increased strength in the bridge, where he takes a surprising octave shift that beautifully highlights his range as a singer. We can see this song placed in an indie flick—someone looking out the car window as they reminisce about a lover. Or a montage just before the final act showing intimate moments of a love lost—wrapped in bedsheets, kissing in the rain…a soundtrack for every melancholy heartstring pulling trope we love so much. We also deeply appreciate the lyrical prowess of this track with parallelism in the verses giving way to beautiful simplicity in the choruses mostly driven by the instrumental. Sparkling with its beauty and well crafted in its structure, this is one you put on repeat.

Best Lyric: “If I could dream underwater, would you keep me awake if I sink?”

Ellakate - I Wanna Fall in Love for the Night

I Wanna Fall in Love for the Night - Ellakate (Pop)  Well isn’t this an Adele worthy ballad? Vocally, the song is gorgeous—Ellakate’s delivery is focused, deliberate and restrained, with a true understanding of “build.” Her tonality reminds us a lot of Norah Jones, and we could hear this track sitting comfortably on a playlist with Come Away With Me in particular. While the song might be about temporary love, the vision this song conjures for us is that of a bride and groom dancing at their wedding. The production takes a backseat to the vocals, a gorgeous piano accompaniment that shares Ellakate’s deliberate and restrained performance. But that’s not to say there isn’t a healthy dose of earcandy as well, with heavily verbed background harmonies being a treat every time they appear. So light some candles, get cozy on the couch, and lose yourself in what is best described as a timeless love song.

Best Lyric: “Tell me that you wanna stay, that this doesn’t have to end with day.”

Jean~Baptiste - PART2

PART2- JeanBaptiste (HipHop/Rap)  OMFG the lyrics to this song. Before you think what we’re about to say is a bad thing, let us explain—we laughed several times listening to this song. Not in a mocking way, but in the same way we guffaw when we hear a Cardi track—the aggressive “go F**K yourself” lyrics slapped us in the face so many times and all we could do was smile widely and eat each one up. The production is crisp, and we particularly love this little synth effect buried in the background which immediately brought Aaliyah’s “Four Page Letter” to mind. In fact, the production feels very 90s/00s Timbaland/Missy and we couldn’t be happier about that. Jean Baptiste’s talking their shit, and they love it—and so do we.

Best Lyric: “B***h you need to mind your business, one day I’m gonna buy your business.”

Wowashwow - Class Enrollment

Class Enrollment - Wowashwow (HipHop/Rap)  The first thing you notice on this track are the beautiful warbling keys that pull you into the vibe of the song. But trust that this track has a real build and goes a lot of different places, switching up the percussion in verse 2 that defies you to stop paying attention to the expertly crafted lyrics layered into them. Wowashwow is giving us a real Kelis vibe on the airy vocals which seam to float throughout the track, which ultimately is drive by our artist’s expert flow. In that respect, the rap lines have a centered/grounded delivery in a register similar to Latto, which pairs really nicely with the contrasting sung lines. It’s certainly a bop.

Best Lyric: “Flowin’ like water, n***a drinkin’ up the lyrical.”

Red Skies Mourning - A Beautiful Mess

A Beautiful Mess - Red Skies Mourning (Pop)  What a beautiful song. Red Skies Mourning gives a swirling soundscape in A Beautiful Mess which gives us heavy alternative 90s vibes despite also sitting comfortably in hiphop. Chock full of memorable lyrics, the track’s chorus is an earworm and the overall production does a great job of setting the melancholy vibe. Closing our eyes, we envision a music video where our lead singer is walking backwards while singing to camera, as dark clouds roll in on the sky. This broody number belongs on your rainy day playlist, paired with a big glass of wine and an evening of reminiscing on loves left behind.

Best Lyric: “You help me walk when I can’t move.”

Marc Rangel - Song Cry

Song Cry - Marc Rangel (R&B)  Like Jay-Z before them, Marc Rangel is making the song cry, but also the person it’s directed at by telling them that they can basically f**k all the way off. Let’s start with the best part—this song’s lyrics are G R E A T. It was so difficult to choose a best lyric because so many of them made us smile. The smart thing about carefully crafting these lines is that it begs the listener to put the track on repeat until you memorize every single one—that’s certainly what we’re doing over here. The song is also well produced—particularly loving the buzzy bass lead that chimes in right where you want it—and the vocal line is given the intentional heavy hand of autotune that fits perfectly with this song’s vibe. Hey Marc, this blog can really only say one thing— GO OFF! :)

Best Lyric: “Won’t let no loser get me in my feelings.” [it was so hard to pick just one]

Antony Alexander - I Ain't Coming Back

I Ain’t Coming Back - Antony Alexander (EDM)  Antony Alexander’s latest track is an incredible feat of production—a well crafted EDM song geared not just for the club, but also for radio. From the sidechained pulse of the synths to the sparkling vocal delivery and well placed EQ fades, this track will certainly leave you spinning in circles and yearning for summertime, an outdoor happy hour and a vodka soda. The crystal clear vocals are giving us the lovechild of classic Robyn and Kylie Minogue, adding an appreciated retro feel to a very modern soundscape. And like all good pop/dance records, it’s telling a former love interest to get lost, which is a great way to connect to a very particular audience member who will put this jam on repeat and among their post-relationship playlist.

Best Lyric: “I ain’t coming back, there’s nothing left to say, we will never learn to work it out anyway.”

Nekter Gun - Don't Wanna See You Leave

PHOTO: Sean Ward (IG - @seanwardphotog)

Don’t Wanna See You Leave - Nekter Gun (EDM)  We challenge you not to dance around the room to this infectious track from Nekter Gun. The perfect pop-EDM record, with stellar production, is aimed straight at the dance floor. The song takes a page from the likes of Robyn in terms of it’s lyrics—the song is pleading and yearning, but tied to a high octane dance track. The tried and true conflict of ballad-ready lyrics and EDM is fantastic. What makes the song stand out for us is the anthemic melody and thoughtful lyrics—a lot of the time in EDM you can pretty much sense where it is going musically, and this defies normal logic with a few well chosen melodic roads that kept us engaged through the whole listen. This is a top 40 jam in the making, and belongs as a staple on your cardio playlist.

Best Lyric: “Taking up my time, blowing up my mind.”

Amya-Ray - Never Meant To Be

Never Meant To Be - Amya-Ray (Folk Pop)  Amya-Ray’s new track, Never Meant To Be, lives and dies by the vocal performance—which is stellar. Amya-Ray’s voice is like a bell—a lilting soprano with a natural intimacy that draws the listener into the track. Production tricks are light touch on this guitar-driven ballad, used best in a swirling bridge/outro which puts Amya-Ray’s beautiful breathy vocal in a haunting reverb. The lyrics are simple and straight to the point, relying on Amya-Ray’s expert delivery to imbue each word with the pain and melancholy the song successfully conveys. All in all, Never Meant To Be is meant to be on any playlist you’ve made to craft a chill, contemplative vibe.

Best Lyric: “In the end, it’s just not right.”

Zenodro - Unstoppable

PHOTO: Ryan

Unstoppable - Zenodro (Rap/HipHop)  Zenodro’s chorus proclaims that the music is timeless, and we couldn’t agree more. With the warbly keys and vinyl fuzz, the song immediately tells you exactly what it’s going to be—a chill throwback with a vibe that will remind you of 90s/00s Outcast, maybe even a little bit of Snoop, which is exactly the kind of hiphop this blog misses. Zenodro, Samuel Vincent and Sir Nicholas are all equally matched as their distinct flows—one of which is giving us straight Nas—cohesively collaborate on this “I defy you not to two-step to this” track. Unstoppable flow? Check. Immovable rhymers? Yup. Put this track on your throwback playlist immediately.

Best Lyric: “I’m sick, my bars are straight up medicine.”

DJ H Chimist - Run Away

Run Away - DJ H Chimist (Pop)  This is a big song. DJ H Chimist gives the audience an anthem with Run Away, leaning heavy on a vocal modulator to give a distinct vocal reminiscent of 00s electronic pop. The buzzy synth, which feels heavily inspired by the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams”, is complemented by a soaring choral arrangement, which is left swirling in a cavernous reverb. The lead vocal has the range, flying up into the rafters during each chorus, beckoning the listener to let go, be in the present, follow their heart and run away. It’s a simple message and a catchy hook, brought alive by an eclectic instrumental production not tied to current modern day trends.

Best Lyric: “Look me in my eyes, tell me you don’t believe me.”