The Weekly Dip 9/16/22
We hope everybody who’s riding the waves we consistently crash onto the sandy terrain with has been just absolute surfing through yet another beautiful week & of course, as always, we got some more waters looking to crash the beach today so shall we?
Lexa Gates - What Will I Have (Video)
At the finish line of the day, I saw that one of my newest favorite artists, Lexa Gates, had just dropped a visual treatment for her song “What Will I Have” off her latest album “Universe Wrapped In Flesh,” which was an hour ago and I wouldn’t feel right to start my weekend without making sure to feature it on our weekly dip series. For the remainder of my day at work, I put numerous calls on hold to make time to write about her recent release, which, if I remember, was one of the stand out records for me on her project. She begins her tale with a melancholy census of her just being able to show emotion since she feels like she’s been drained of it, gloomy yet dead inside, which is all relatable feelings I’m sure we’ve been through, the world against us and the weight of it coming down on us. She feels like she’s stuck in stimulation with no sign of stopping soon, Lexa is feeling breakable by all the reactions of those around her, yet she still harnesses the ability to get through the day. The video now makes a lot of sense since, leading up to the release, Lexa had been sharing photos which we thought that’s all it was, but it looks like it was all behind the scene flicks of her video. She’s full of mystery and talent, and it’s bewildering to see an artist with so much artistry not be noticed by more people. We recommend if you’re not familiar with Lexa Gates, then you change that today, starting with this release and following it up with her album. - Frank Campos
Peachy B - The D (Single)
Earlier in the day, I came across this video, which appeared on the timeline from Colorado native Peachy B titled “The D.” In the single, she sings an ethereal tune with such an infectiously harmony about having a stressful day and wanting to wine down with some excitement in the bedroom. From the brief clip, Peachy B is seen laced up in lingerie with her man, feening for some loving to wash away the blues from her days. The feeling of fulfilling her needs with her special someone brings out the sunshine and rainbows on the cloudy day she’s been having. The production & the strings of the guitar set the mood right out the gate while Peachy B is seeking the love that will wipe away the gloom the days bring and offset the thoughts in her mind. It’s a beautiful single, accompanied by so many other outstanding records from her, that I’m sure will help our viewership kickstart an introduction to her prominent sound. - Frank Campos
Tash Hollins - Star Sixty Seven (Single)
Another win for Instagram advertising as during the weekend, we saw a single by Tash Hollins titled “Star Six Seven” come across our timeline, which intrigued us off the rip. The post shared a visualizer with a soft ballad playing in the background, which didn’t take long for us to check out the rest of the record to begin pulling on our heartstrings. The feverish single with a harmonious chorus will draw you in with Tash singing about her dilemma with someone not keeping it real with her. She’s stepping out of her comfort zone, and doing things that are not common for her; the emotional tug of war she’s in right now got her feeling out of place. Tash feels disconnected from the person she felt so close to, and not getting a reply from them is lying heavy on her mind, so it’s probably in her best interest to move on and begin seeing each other as strangers again. I love how she uses telephone jargon to describe her relationship in the single, especially with the title name; it shows how fascinating her mind runs deep with artistry. I’ve become a fan of Tash Hollins from the record alone, and I can’t wait to see what she has set for the future. - Frank Campos
Mila - Homesick (Single)
Yesterday evening while finishing up some reviews for the site, I saw an ad promoting a single titled “Homesick” by artist Mila. She had caught my attention with her ethereal vocals igniting my soul to feel the passion in her tone at the moment I had with the single. The rest of the record is beautifully sung about her time away from home with the emotions of feeling lost, almost like her journey to another place might have been effortless. Yet, she remains hopeful for the future that something will change that thought. LA may not be the place for her, and she’s contemplating finding somewhere new to try again, but right now, Mila needs peace to deal with the many things that lie ahead of her; but for now, she’ll ride till she feels the need to stop for her next destination. I love the mix of Spanish she throws in the record; it showcases her versatility and range with doing giving enough dosage of talent and showing it off in a remarkable way. I’m glad to have come across this single and excited to see what more she has in store for the future. - Frank Campos
Alondra Marie - How Does It Feel (Acoustic) (Video)
I absolutely adore whenever an artist takes an already perfect song & turns back around with a rendition that not only makes the original that much more poignant but honestly blows the studio version out the water. I don’t know, it’s something so much more intimate about an acoustic set, I mean she’s literally intentionally pulling on your heartstrings with this one. My personal favorite off her magnum opus of an EP “Things Are Different Now”, which obviously you have to hear, some of the most fervorous R&B you’ll hear all year. We’re glad to see she’s still pushing this project cause it requires incessant promoting & reminding of just how great it is. It’s the versatility for me as well, with being still relatively fresh off the “You Belong to Me” visuals, Alondra is someone you don’t wanna divert your attention away from anytime soon, she’s only getting started & at a level like this at that.
Reverie & Sick Jacken - Los Angeles (Video)
It’s been impeccable to say the least watching Reverie grow over all these years & still dropping some of her best work to date. With her latest Louden produced album, Rev keeps the visuals coming with her latest ode to her hometown of “Los Angeles”. The record itself is hard hitting & finds Danny Trejo bringing Reverie face to face with her younger self. Reverie has experienced a lot of ills coming up in LA, as represented by the evil souls all throughout the video, witnessing such evil growing up made her sterner than most. With a legendary feature from Sick Jacken of the Psycho Realm, Reverie remains spitting in the faces of those who ever doubted her, never taking her heel off their necks!
BLACKSTARKIDS - SEX APPEAL (Video)
You don’t see many all black pop groups anymore so to have been witness to BLACKSTARKIDS come up has been wonderful, they kinda remind me of Blaque, they were around when *NSYNC was still a global phenomenon. Consisting of Deiondre, tyfaizon & TheBabeGabe, all three of this exuberant souls bounce off one another in bubbly, buoyant fashion! It’s a Hip Hop record more than anything or Hip Pop if you’re fancy, a beautiful genre bender that toys around with the idea of having a sex appeal without having to be too revealing. BSK have only ever stuck to their guns & done what they wanna do, without confirming their sound or aesthetic & we’re all here for it!
KXNG Crooked & Joell Ortiz - HEATWAVE (Video)
As much as I personally hate the rift between our Slaughterhouse brothers, it’s nice to see Crook & Joell hit it off as much as they have since the dissimulation but even before the group officially disbanding, these two have been killing their collabs together. I felt that way when I heard them sound so damn good off one another on “On The House”, the title track off arguably the best Slaughterhouse project period, next to the self titled for me personally. On “HEATWAVE”, we finally see Brooklyn & Cali come together to bring us that heat, the Statue of Liberty meets palm trees, you feel! Crook & Joell don’t know nor care about what anybody else is on, they here for one thing & one thing only, to rap they fucking asses off! Make sure y’all peep their latest album “Harbor City: Season One” & look out for season 2 cause something tells me it’s dropping sooner than we think, considering the rate these two have been dropping heatwaves!
Fatlip & Sccit - Energy (Video)
First off, I had no idea the iconic Fatlip was around still puffening up those puckers lyrically but I’m elated to see yet another legend reminding listeners that he hasn’t lost a step! Taken from his upcoming album “Sccit & Siavash The Grouch Present… Torpor”, “Energy” is everything you’d expect it to be, just high energy music with even more energetic bars, these brothers are just hungry & ready n’ willing to eat anybody & anything that may be standing in their way. Supposedly there’s to be the long awaited Pharcyde reunion on this album so if this single ain’t enough to get you hype then that should do the trick & I’m surprised there’s not a lot of energy surrounding that fact, Hip Hop heads worldwide should be rejoicing!