You're probably already taken a fair share of laps around Diplo and MØ's recent banger Get It Right. But you may not have realized that it still hadn't reached its potential as a track. The playful, Future Bass vibe is addicting, but this new Goldlink verse on the remix took it up a few more levels. Leaning heavy on the Gospel-style piano beat that would even make Macklemore slow clap, Goldlink's verse fit in seamlessly with the soulful vibrance of the original. Goldie has a hardcore following at his shows, but the mainstream still hasn't caught on en masse to his ability as a lyricist. Hopefully this 🔥🔥🔥 remix changes that so he can grow that following to what it should be...#GetItRight
About a year back, Lido released a track that got a lot of attention in Only One. The track features vocals from Jaden Smith and is as soulful as it is poetic. There are jazzy undertones sprinkled throughout and the stream of consciousness style vocals impart an authenticity that's hard to pull off. Check it out for a refresher...
Fast forward to five days ago when Goldlink chipped in a verse over the original beat. The level of storytelling got ratcheted up about ten levels with Goldlink on the mic. His back and forth, pitter-patter diction adds a level of intrigue that the original didn't have. It may only be two and a half minutes long, but it succeeded in resurrecting the soul of the original while delivering a modern-day lyrical poet effort from one of the best in the game right now...#OnlyOne
This week's top five starts and ends with Eminem's fierce lyrical attack on Donald Trump via his BET AwardsFreestyle Cypher. The amount of energy it generated throughout music and politics speaks to the time we're currently living in. As more and more of pop culture, entertainment, and professional athletes draw lines in the sand with their stance on our president, it'll be interesting to see who ends up "winning" the social media war in the end.
Aside from super-caustic freestyles, Odesza and Leon Bridges jumped in to remind us that music is as soulful and pure as ever. There's such a warmth surrounding the vibe of Across the Room and the video did a good job of capturing that feel-goodness. Speaking of feel-goodness, nothing butters my bread like some good ol' instrumental experimentation. Hard to imagine someone being more equipped to do that than Mura Masa and we were lucky enough to have the curtain peeled back a bit to see his creative process. If you're in the need of some hype to finish out the week, look no further than Goldlink's performance of Crew at one of his recent shows. You can always tell if an artist is hype but how the crowd reacts to his music. Watch that performance and tell me he doesn't have a hardcore following. Rounding out the top five is some Country music. Not just any Country music though, it's Kendrick Lamar's hits being flipped into Country. Fyütch took a page out of South Park's book with this one, but it wasn't any less entertaining...#CountryKendrick
Eminem Goes IN on Donald Trump via BET Awards Freestyle
Odesza feat Leon Bridges - Across the Room (Video)
There are few things in music right now that get me as pumped as the rolling basslines of Kaytranada. This time he laid an exquisite foundation for GoldLink to rattle off his pitter-patter flow on Meditation. Don't get me wrong, I get why GoldLink is as hot as he is right now, he's got mad skills on the mic. But my goodness, I could vibe out to the instrumental on this track all night.
Can't forget to give some love to Jazmine Sullivan on the hook too. Her contribution gave the listener a quick break from the non-stop intensity of GoldLink's verses. It's the second track he's put out this week following on the coat tails of Crew. Two very different tracks, but both fire in their own right. Whatever you do this Spring, stay on the look out because GoldLink is probably coming to a city near you...#Meditation
Admittedly, I've been down on Hip Hop for a while now. For about a decade, the genre was lit, evolving daily and fueled by rampant creativity and one-upping. For about the past five years Hip Hop has more or less coasted without getting that much needed re-up. During that time EDM stole the flame and has enjoyed a similar one-upping from countless artists, which has resulted in the genre being pushed and pulled a million different ways.
Lately, it feels like Hip Hop is starting to branch out more with artists like Anderson .Paak and GoldLink being more live instrumentation and jazzy sounds back into the fold. I've posted countless Anderson .Paak tracks, but nipping at his heels is his fellow freshman. There's a unique, formulaic diction that GoldLink brings to the mic that is just plain different. I dig, but more so because anytime he gets on the mic I immediately know its him. Like for example his new one Rough Soul featuring the vocals of April George. It's more smooth than attention grabbing, but that seems to be the MO of these new jazzy Hip Hop tracks. If you dig the track, go ahead and cop it free joining GoldLink's mailing list...#RoughSoul
GoldLink feat April George - Rough Soul (prod by Kintaro)
Evidently the GoldLink and KAYTRANADA connection runs much deeper than we imagined. You want to talk about a funky way to start a week, the conversation starts with Fall in Love. That rolling baseline and spitfire flow from GoldLink is not to be trifled with. Add in some vocals from Ciscero and a production assist from BADBADNOTGOOD and you've got yourself a throwback sounding, new school funk anthem.
Songs like this make me feel remorse for being so checked out on the evolution of Hip Hop. If artists like GoldLink are going to bring funk back into the equation of Hip Hop, you might see this durable, one-song a day ship that is the GWDJ blog switch it's course back toward the island of beats and rhymes. Such a fun tracks, give it some Spotify or iTunes love if you feel so inclined...#FallInLove
GoldLink feat Ciscero - Fall in Love (prod by KAYTRANADA & BADBADNOTGOOD)
As the anticipation for a full length debut album from ZHU continues to build, I continue to wonder exactly what we're going to get. I say that not because of the mystique surrounding ZHU's identity, but because I am genuinely interested in the direction he's is capable of expanding EDM. Clearly, he's got a lot of Hip Hop influence and that was further confirmed by the recently released remix of his own track Paradise Awaits. Check the original below for reference...
Where the original is bubbly and upbeat, led by ZHU's falsetto vocals, the remix takes on a completely different stance. The verse by DC's own Goldlink sets the tone on the noticeably deeper, funk filled Part 2. The song as a whole is a harbinger of great things to come in my eyes. All these 20-30 somethings who grew up with Hip Hop in the 90s need a grown and sexy segue to something more easy listening and funky. When I think of what that means, I envision something like what you hear below. I know one thing is for sure, I will be a happy camper if ZHU is able to put together an entire album of stuff sounding just like this...#ParadiseAwaits
