The New Hotness Vol. 12

1. Ari Lennox - "Night Drive" 2017  Ari has been touring the globe as part of J. Cole's Dreamville Records crew and collecting new fans every step of the way; myself included. This song went straight to the New Hotness Spotify playlist.




2. L'Orange feat. Del The Funky Homosapien - "Blame The Author" 2017  L'Orange is that dude 100%. One of the reasons I'm so all about his production is that he is smart enough to use samples with women's voices in them.  L'Orange's new album, The Ordinary Man, is due out October 27.




3. Falon Sierra - "Sprained Ankles" 2017  SEATTLE MUSIC   Love the effort that went into the video for this song, keep it up Falon! KEXP did a great interview with Falon around EMP Sound Off... peep it.




4.  J'Von - "Grey Beanie" 2017 SEATTLE MUSIC  I'll be a J'Von fan for life; I can't wait to see where his journey takes him. His animation always take his projects to the next level.



J'Von's latest EP was released on October 20.




5. Last Word - "Andrew" 2017  Can't say enough good things about Last Word and this mix hosted by Brother Ali. Last Word is Brother Ali's DJ/Tour Manager/Super Homie and is currently driving the van I'm writing this in... until it's my turn to drive again. He's giving this mix away for free.99 via the Fifth Element website.




6. Jessie Reyez - "Fuck It (Stripped)" 2017  I have yet to find a Jessie Reyez song I didn't like.




7. Wu-Tang Clan feat. Redman - "People Say" 2017  Wu-Tang Clan recently released an album many of us are afraid to listen to in fear it won't live up to our expectations. I will face my fears later today and get back to you...




8. WESTSIDEDOOM - "2STINGS" 2017 (Produced by Alchemist)  Alchemist = Beat Nasty Face every single time.




9. Akua Naru - "My Mother's Daughter" 2017  Akua Naru's Mother must be so proud and honored to be featured in her daughter's music in such a way. It's beautiful to see women pay tribute to each other with their art.




10. ODESZA feat. Leon Bridges - "Across The Room" 2017  Leon Bridges is just so damn classy.




11. ill Camille feat. Damani Nkosi - "Home" 2017 (produced by Georgia Anne Muldrow)  Still hoping to find a rabbit hole of dope producers that just happen to be women. For now, Georgia Anne Muldrow is the Queen.




12. LayFullStop - "YinYang" 2016  I discovered LayFullStop via the UK magazine/website Bonafide's 5 Essential New Voices In Rap. She's in a crew called Cul De Sac, a group whose video will appear on the next installment of bicycle videos (you should watch their 2016 video for "Know We Now" asap though, it's that awesome).



Her latest, released back in September...




13. Bomba Estéreo - "Internacionales" 2017  You best believe I just added this to the Roller Skating Music Videos YouTube playlist. Bomba Estéreo makes the most fuego videos of them all.




14. Tierra Whack - "MUMBO JUMBO" 2017  Bless you Tierra Whack for embracing the weirdness and making such a rad video.




15. Prince Paul - "REDUX ALBUM 2018" 2017  Prince Paul will always be in my Top 5 Producers. Here's hoping when I eventually meet him that I'll be smoother than when I met Dan The Automator. Prince Paul is giving this album away for free cuz he's that dude.




16.  ¿Téo? feat. Jaden Smith - "Uno Dos" 2017  At the age of 19, Jaden Smith has already surpassed most of us on his journey of self growth. I'm 100% on board.




17. Guayaba - "Live On KEXP" 2017  SEATTLE MUSIC  Guayaba is a Queen on this Earth with infinite potential. I love her.




18. Lute - "Morning Shift" 2017  From the Dreamville crew...




19. hERON - "hERON" 2017 SEATTLE/SAN ANTONIO MUSIC   In the words of the artists themselves...

hERON is a long-distance, Seattle-slash-San Antonio collaboration between Progeny of Chisme/Ghost Palace (MPC) and Rob Castro of Grayskul/Ghost Palace (bass). Instrumental trip-hop infused with a gloomy dreamlike melancholy, hERON’s cinematic sad bangers draw as much from psych rock, 70’s pop and Twin Peaks as they do from Seattle’s chief exports of hiphop and grunge.

In my words...

This is dope, I love it.




20. John Legend feat. Chance The Rapper - "Penthouse Floor" 2017  The mainstream still has some cuts...




21. Nick Hakim - "Cuffed" 2017  My intro to Nick Hakim was his animated video for "Roller Skates" and I was hooked immediately; peep the video on 10 Animated Music Videos Part VI. If you're itching to learn more about him, check out his interviews with FADER and Pitchfork.




22.   Little Dragon feat. Faith Evans - "Peace Of Mind" 2017  This jam is almost too smooth... wouldn't mind if it hit a little harder but I felt the same way about Little Dragon's last release as well. I much prefer Faith Evans on this track to her "new" album with Biggie.




23. Zensofly - "Getting Started" 2017  I was blessed to meet Zensofly briefly at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, North Carolina. She was headlining a show in the smaller room of the venue The #OwnLightTour was also performing in. Didn't get to catch her set cuz I was posted up at the merch booth but I loved discovering an artist in this way.




24. Method Man + Black Thought Cypher On Sway In The Morning 2017  Everything about this is whoa.




25. pinkcaravan! - "A LLAMA BROKE INTO MY HOUSE AGAIN" 2017  If I tried to find ten llama music videos, I may never get a chance to share her sad happy rap.




26. Everything Is Recorded feat. Syd + Sampha - "Show Love" 2017  A lyric video for people who aren't into lyric videos.





27. Bahamadia - "Dialed Up" 2017  Bahamadia recorded this entire EP in her car on her phone. Amazing what we can accomplish if we make the most of what we have!

Ten Artsy Weirdos You Should Know

All 10 artists ready to #YouTubeNchill in playlist form.

1.  Blossom  - "Black Magic Woman" 2016  (Prod. by Fountaine)  Another gem from Portland's EYRST crew; the label founded by NBA player and musician, Martell Webster. I love that they make videos like "Signing-Blossom" to help us get to know what they're all about. Blossom and the many other ladies that are coming out of their shells show more originality and innovation than most of the males that are dominating the industry (in their minds anyway).




2. SassyBlack - "New Boo" 2016  SEATTLE MUSIC  SassyBlack is one of my favorite people to follow on ALL social media because she has such a positive outlook on life AND she meets all kinds of interesting people. Formerly of THEESatisfaction, she's been efficiently grinding as a solo artist and even appeared on HBO's Vinyl as one of the Queens of R+B, Ruth Brown.




3. Lizzo - "Good As Hell" 2016  This is an awesome song with great visuals and a damn good message for EVERYONE; Lizzo's doing everything right (further proof in this NPR interview). The Minneapolis artist released her "Coconut Oil" EP on her new label, Atlantic Records, last October and is currently taking the show on the road (see you at The Crocodile on January 28).




4. Kari Faux - "Fantasy" 2016  This video gets a Lizzy Award (impetus of yet another idea) for Most Creative Music Video. I love how the visuals perfectly complement the song and show you what is likely a very raw look into the artist's soul. Kari Faux released her debut mixtape, Laugh Now, Die Later, in 2014 and moved from her hometown of Little Rock, AR to LA soon after. The release caught the attention of Pitchfork, and Childish Gambino which helped launch her into a world with stellar music video budgets.




5. Joyce Wrice - "Do You Love Me?" 2016 (Prod. by Mndsgn)  Joyce Wrice and Stone Throw's Mndsgn know the secret formula to authentically creating the eighties vibe. I learned the most about the artist from this LA Weekly article and will happily follow her on all her social media sites to see when I'll be able to see her live for the first time.




6. The Last Artful, Dodgr - "Squadron" 2016 PORTLAND MUSIC  The Last Artful, Dodgr has been grinding hard enough to appear on Sway's Universe. Thanks to the help of Portland's EYRST  crew and many years of steady grind, @TheLastArtful has captured the attention of those who can help multiply YouTube views and beyond.




7. DoNormaal - "Dime" 2016  (Prod. by Brakebill)  SEATTLE MUSIC  The rise of DoNormaal is a beautiful thing to witness and Seattle has been infinitely blessed by her presence. Those who've met Christy are instantly captivated by her spirit and become devoted fans from that moment on. Visuals for her work are coming our way at a steadier pace as she gears up to show us how far ahead of the game she truly is. At this pace, it's inevitable that DoNormaal will continue to be a driving force for positive change in this universe.

DoNormaal – Dime (prod. Brakebill) from Leena Joshi on Vimeo.


8. Guayaba - "Black Trash/White House" 2016  SEATTLE MUSIC  (Prod. by Luna God) Guayaba's Black Trash/White House EP is so rad that I don't even care that there aren't any music videos yet. Shoutout Guayaba for her continued evolution and to Luna God for being one of the most active producers in Seattle. I learned a lot about Guayaba from this writeup from Jetspace Magazine  and this animated interview with Seattle Weekly.




9.  Sa-Roc - "I Come In Peace" 2016  Sa-Roc is one of the latest additions to the Rhymesayers crew, which is a damn good crew to roll with. She's new to me but has an impressive thirteen albums under her belt already (according to the label's bio). Her recent Metamorpheus EP is her first release with the Rhymesayers team which I hope will get her added to the lineup for Soundset 2017.




10. Erykah Badu Performs For The New York Times + Answers Questions" 2016  The YouTube title needs some work but Badu is so far ahead of the rest of us with her self love, she already has a "gold floss" tooth chain. I felt the need to include her on this list because neither my Dad or my Stepmom have ever heard of her; Badu's music can fill the gaps in your soul so I'd hate for anyone (paying attention or not) to miss out on the healing.