The Weekly Dip 9/24

We hope everybody has been having a splash of a week, we surely have despite our silence throughout the week but fret not, we got the full scoop on all the latest & greatest in music so indulge us. There’s a lot here to appreciate & as always, we’re here to give you a little versatility other than the Hip Hop we usually focus on, which there’s some good in that genre here but we also like to showcase some other acts from other genres, just to offer a little something different so come on in, the water is fine over here.

JAH - PTSD

That’s right, we still mentioning JAH, today is her day as far as I’m concerned. If you’d been keeping up with her, you’ll know she dropped 3 excellent loosies leading up to her “ATOK” release & “PTSD” was the last to come out before that & it’s one of her rawest performances. While she may not have fallen down that trap that a lot of her loved ones fell into, she had to sit back & watch her people fall into it, due to circumstances, she would never judge her people for doing what they felt was necessary at the time, she only wishes they could’ve seen that there is always a different way out. She could’ve easily gotten sucked into these patterns being that she was surrounded by it for so long but instead, chose to show them that other way out, leading by example, something maybe these people never had. Shoutout Trent as well, you know when you see PSDNYM, you’re in for some beautiful visuals & he more than executed JAH’s vision. Be sure to also peep “Telephone” & “Am I Wrong” with King Khali if you enjoy this one, I promise you can never get enough JAH.

Shylio Graves - Devil In Disguise

Tell me this isn’t a hit Shylio Graves has on his hands with “Devil In Disguise”. Who knew self deprecation & toxicity within a relationship could sound this upbeat? I’m all here for it. Shylio has fully mastered this style of music, I’d say he’s far above a lot of acts within this genre of music. It’s damn near impossible to love another person if you don’t already love yourself but for whatever reason, we’d just rather make things harder on ourselves for some momentary pleasure. It’s unfortunate but they’re somehow perfect for one another so it’s like, let’s hate ourselves together, it’s an interesting sort of love language but he’s speaking it, they’re madly in love & they’ll fall madly out of it just to fall madly back in.

Maez301 feat Tech N9ne - Let Up

Maez301 has been on a tear since signing to the number one independent label with Strange Music, a perfect fit for an artist as versatile as label leader Tech N9ne, who delivers another excellent verse, but it’s Maez who brought this out of the head honcho with his undeniable swagger as an MC. I find it amazing that Tech is able to keep his pen sharper than ever because Maez is always on point with his style. If any technicians had a problem with Maez, I’m sure they’ll think before they speak Ill of him again when they hear what he’s done with this subtle banger. I assume this is his producer EP behind the boards & on the hook & it just adds this extra layer of groovy texture to it & I can see rhythmic radio eating this record up. Catch both of these artists on tour right now, Sunday to be exact at the Aztec, hopefully they perform this!

help feat Chloe Jobin & Vii Gold - Medusa

I see Chloe Jobin, I automatically click. She’s become one of my favorite artists this year alone, everything she touches just adds this layer of grace to it & that’s the case on help’s latest single “Medusa”, alongside Vii Gold as well. Here, they all confront the reflections they’re seeing beyond the smoke & mirrors, there’s too much deception to this relationship of theirs & they’re just so high above such mortal minded people. If there’s no honesty in this relationship then what’s the point in continuing on as they have been, they’ve given too many chances that they may not even have one left to give, it’s just time to exit cause staying would only be detrimental to both parties. It’s a very smooth & concise record that manages to pack a whole lot in such short notice but just enough for you to really heed, especially if these lyrics directly apply to your situation.

Ada Lea - one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden (Album)

Alexandra Levy or Ada Lea for short is a Montreal based artist who is so serenely introspective in her lyrics & that is showcased beautifully on her latest album, which has a long title, something I very much admire. She has “one hand on the steering wheel, the other sewing a garden”, kind of a metaphor for this double life she’s leading, moving fast or taking things slow whenever she sees fit. Opening up with the previously released “damn”, we find her struggling with finding the meaning to all of life’s ills & her own personal woes, sometimes it seems perishing may be easier & nothing can stop her from dying as much as she may be inside having to witness all these unfortunate things. She’s peeling back layers of herself on tracks like “oranges”, hoping to find an eventual “partner” to navigate this tricky life of ours. There’s a lot of poignancy throughout this record that I’m sure will tug on the heartstrings of many, if not all.

Krizz Kaliko & T-Pain - BB (Birthday Bitch)

Since starting his own label with Earhouse, the most electrifying man in the universe only continues to captivate, proving to any naysayers who still may be hung up over him leaving Strange Music after 20 plus years, that he hasn’t lost a step nor his sense of musicality. I knew when I saw him on T-Pain’s podcast that we may wound up with another collab from the two, they have a few together but this might just be their best, I’d say it’s a hit that may make Kali a TikTok sensation. Let me just say that if these two don’t just say fuck it & drop a collaborative album, I may lose it, tell me they don’t sound perfect together, the respect is there so therefore the chemistry is as well, they just work so well of one another & hopefully the fact that Pain backs him will bring much more of that deserved attention to Krizz, being that he’s still so criminally underrated.

Doeman - Brown Soul (Album)

It’s Hispanic Heritage Month so it’s only right we get the latest opus from one of the top lyricists in Doeman with “Brown Soul” & you know if you have your child on the cover art, meditating up to the most high it seems, you’re in for some spiritual awakenings with these records. The tracks are concise but do an excellent job at blending both his soul as a man & the soulfulness of the production, which these samples are everything, it almost reminds me of how people like Lil Rob would flip those oldies into his own. On the title track, he lets you know just why & who he does this for, la familia es todo & even credits his family for infecting his mind with all their beautiful music, it’s what lead him to this point of being able to create music that they can be proud of. Whether he’s talking his shit on “Atl Freestyle”, standing tall in his pride on “Ungrateful”, expressing his love in metaphors on “Love You Like” or steadily moving up the inclination on “Higher”, there’s alot to appreciate let alone unpack with this album, he’s just a different soul, quite like his brother Southside Hoodlum, who makes an excellent appearance on here as well & what a way to celebrate our people with this album, bravo Doeman!

Third Eye Blind - Our Bande Apart (Album)

I’ve been listening to a lot of Third Eye Blind this year & had no idea they were working on a new album so you know how excited I was upon seeing the release of “Our Bande Apart”, which is honestly their best record since their self titled debut, not to say that anything in between faltered in any way but something about this album just feels full circle. Be it the poignancy of the long titled intro or the previously released “Box Of Bones” or the summery vibes of “Again”, the band hasn’t lost that sound we’ve come to love from them & Stephan Jenkins has aged so gracefully, being that he still sounds as youthful as he always has. It’s just over 30 minutes of why this band is still as impeccable as they were the day they burst onto the scene with that one major hit of theirs. Standouts include all of them to be quite honest with you, this is definitely an album I’ll personally have on loop for months to come.

Fast Money Devo - Baby Spyro

Keeping his foot on y’all’s neck, Fast Money Devo is back with another visual but this time; he links again with DavieeDavee to deliver a sensational viewing into the prominent lifestyle of Dev since his return back home. Parked out front of the entrance at Fred’s Fish Fry and you can see Dev counting cash, flexing out his diamonds while a baddie twerks in the passenger seats of a slick blue C8 corvette. Other shots are seen in the front & inventory back room of Most Doubted Kicks, where Dev is seen in pristine fashion flexing for the lens. Baby Spyro, cause you know he spits that flame, Dev is out here stomping heads like Caine in Menace, and you can bet he’s flooding out the wrist in VVS while you broke boys stay hating. Running up the bag with expensive taste in his raps, Dev is speaking money talk when dishing out the lavish lifestyle he’s been living. His bounce-back only took a month, and since then, he’s made an enormous splash that has artists hurting over the numbers he’s been getting in views. Cash stacking while he’s seen with a hottie that looks like Kylie, the back shot will have her singing just like Miley. Luxurious rapping is what Dev is on currently & we like the new sound that’s flooding the scene, and no list is necessary to show you that he’s building his reputation back up to be one of the hardest working artists in the city on the come up.