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Week Ending May 17th

After more than 20 years, Apple is discontinuing the iPod.

Young Thug, Gunna, and more than a dozen other artists from Atlanta hip hop label YSL are being held without bail on 50+ charges of participation in street gang activity and conspiring to violate the RICO Act. To make matters worse, the label’s up-and-coming rapper Lil Keed died on Saturday at the age of 24.

Click here for a Spotify playlist with the songs mentioned in this email.

BIGGEST Songs of the Week 📈

“It’s not a phase, mom!” Emo royalty My Chemical Romance have returned, and it’s a big deal, like a really big deal. According to all accounts, MCR had died and gone to emo heaven. After a poorly received album in 2010, the band called it quits, citing the “forced darkness” was restricting their artistry. But, with absolutely no warning, the pop punk legends dropped The Foundations of Decay last Thursday, their first new music in eight years. This was the only thing that could take our attention away from the new Kendrick Lamar album.

With noughties emo back in fashion and Machine Gun Kelly declaring himself the crown prince of pop punk, MCR had no choice but to return. MCR had to remind everyone that they ran so that all the revival acts could walk. The Foundations of Decay is a slowburning, six-minute epic that showcases a mature side of MCR. Rather than play into nostalgia, the band chose to age with their fanbase who were mostly teenagers when Welcome to the Black Parade came out in 2006.

It’s ironic that “forced darkness” led to the band’s downfall because The Foundations of Decay is easily their darkest work yet. With blaring feedback, venomous vocals, ominous production, and a soaring guitar breakdown, the single is more doom metal than pop punk. It features none of the band’s characteristic theatrics but all of their nihilistic lyricism. A modern emo opus, the track doesn’t feel long enough, even at six minutes. The only thing holding The Foundations of Decay back from a fourth thumb is the mixing. Compressed and muffled, the track sounds like it’s being player under water. However, if you can look past the mixing, everything buried beneath is gold.

1. My Chemical Romance, The Foundations of Decay (Post Hardcore) 👍👍👍

2. Kendrick Lamar, N95 (Trap) 👍👍👍

3. Post Malone, Roddy Ricch, Cooped Up (Pop Rap) 😑

4. The Chainsmokers, I Love U (Electropop) 😑

5. Burna Boy, Last Last (Afrobeats) 😑

6. OneRepublic, I Ain’t Worried (Pop Rock) 😑

7. Morgan Wallen, You Proof (Country Pop) 😑

8. DaBaby, Moneybagg Yo, WIG (Trap) 🗑️

9. Becky G, BAILÉ CON MI EX (Nu Disco) 😑

10. 5 Seconds of Summer, Me Myself & I (Pop Rock) 😑

Noteworthy 📰

  • On Saturday, Ukrainian folk-rap collective Kalush Orchestra were named winners of Eurovision 2022, the famed song contest which launched ABBA to stardom nearly 50 years ago. Following their victory, the group shared an official video for their winning song Stefania, which was shot in cities bombed during Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

  • Renowned indie pop band Death Cab for Cutie previewed their 10th album, Asphalt Meadows, with the noisy lead single Roman Candles. The LP will be released this September and will be the group’s first album in over four years.

  • Longtime friends Chance the Rapper and Vic Mensa reunited for Wraith. Last year the duo teamed up with Wycleaf Jean on the outstanding single Shelter.

  • DaniLeigh, best known for her 2018 hit Easy, addressed her tumultuous relationship with ex-boyfriend DaBaby on Dead to Me.

  • Powerhouse producer Mark Ronson teamed up with R&B star Lucky Daye for the nu disco jam Too Much.

  • Nigerian singer Davido tapped Kanye West’s Sunday Service Choir for his afrobeats single Stand Strong.

  • Remi Wolf dropped Michael, a new track from the deluxe version of her debut album Juno, one of our favorite records of 2021.

  • Jewel paid homage to her home state with a cover of Maggie Rogers’ breakthrough single Alaska.

  • WATCH: In his first televised appearance since the Astroworld tragedy, Travis Scott performed Mafia during the Billboard Music Awards. The best performance of the night was Silk Sonic’s cover of Con Funk Shun’s Love’s Train.

  • WATCH: Noah “40” Shebib is the mastermind behind almost all of Drake’s music. In the 15-min documentary Toronto Rising, the OVO producer discusses his beginnings.

BEST Songs of the Week 🔥

Last year, when UK art-prog outfit black midi released their sophomore album Cavalcade, we wrote, “Is this the album of the year? The jazz fusion meets art rock album features screaming saxophones, elaborate chord changes, and dazzling drums. The record is heavy, but also pretty. It’s noisy. It’s psychedelic. It’s not easily digestible. It’s glorious.”

black midi is not everyone’s cup of tea. The group’s harsh mixture of sonics can make their music inaccessible to some, but if you liked Cavalcade, you’ll love their latest single, Welcome to Hell, which is essentially an extension of last year’s sound. The track arrives less than a year after Cavalcade’s release and is the first preview of the band’s upcoming third album, Hellfire, out July 15. With its experimental blend of off-kilter melodies, left-field soundscapes, and brass breakdowns, the explosive lead single is quintessential black midi.

When Hellfire arrives, the album will contain lyrical callbacks to motifs introduced in Cavalcade, but, “if Cavalcade was a drama, Hellfire is like an epic action film,” said frontman Geordie Greep in a press statement. The record will be black midi’s most thematically cohesive project yet and will tell the stories of morally suspect characters. On Welcome to Hell, listeners follow the journey of Private Tristan Bongo, a solider with PTSD who becomes unrecognizable after his military leave. Riddled with immense trauma, Bongo represses his pain through extreme acts of debauchery.

1. black midi, Welcome To Hell (Avant Prog) 👍👍👍👍

2. Kendrick Lamar, United In Grief (Conscious Hip Hop) 👍👍👍👍

3. The Smile, Thin Thing (Art Rock) 👍👍👍👍

4. Julia Jacklin, Lydia Wears A Cross (Indie Rock) 👍👍👍👍

5. Ethel Cain, Ptolemaea (Post Rock) 👍👍👍

6. My Chemical Romance, The Foundations of Decay (Post Hardcore) 👍👍👍

7. Kevin Morby, Bittersweet, TN (Folk Rock) 👍👍👍

8. Shygirl, Firefly (Future Garage) 👍👍👍

9. Danger Mouse, Black Thought, No Gold Teeth (East Coast Hip Hop) 👍👍👍

10. Viagra Boys, Troglodyte (Dance Punk) 👍👍👍

Honorable Mentions: Bill Wurtz if the world doesn’t end (Sophisti-Pop) 👍👍👍, Quelle Chris, Navy Blue, So Tired You Can’t Stop Dreaming (Jazz Rap) 👍👍👍

Albums Spotlight 💿

Last week, Kendrick Lamar gifted us with The Heart Part 5, an incredible piece of art which displayed the Compton rapper’s technical prowess and surgical precision over Marvin Gaye’s I Want You. On the track, Kendrick rapped from the perspective of cultural giants like Kobe Bryant, Kanye West, and Will Smith, which was accentuated by a deepfake music video. A profound moment in Kendrick’s discography, The Heart Part 5 was just an appetizer. The main course came in the form of the long-awaited Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, Kendrick’s first offering since 2017’s DAMN.

During Kendrick’s five-year hiatus, the Pulitzer prize winner suffered from a two-year writer’s block. With two, arguably four, masterpieces already under his belt, what more was there for Kendrick to say? On the Section.80 concept album, Kendrick followed the lives of Tammy and Keisha. On good kid ,m.A.A.d city, he rapped about his experiences with Compton. On To Pimp A Butterfly, he explored the black strife through socially conscious empowerment, and on DAMN., he mixed religious themes with loyalty, lust, and love. With his latest album, Kendrick decides to look inwards, divulging how collective family trauma has left him with a shattered soul.

On the record’s opener, United In Grief, Kendrick’s fiancée repeatedly says, “tell them the truth,” and that’s exactly what Kendrick does. The album sounds like the innermost pages of his therapist’s journal. On Worldwide Steppers, Kendrick admits to extramarital indiscretions and dissects his relationship with white women. On Father Time, he confesses to “daddy issues” brought about by his unsympathetic father. On We Cry Together, Kendrick hurls horrifying insults at actress Taylour Paige as the pair take on roles of domestic partners. On Auntie Diaries, Kendrick accepts two transgender family members, and on the penultimate track and emotional apex, Mother I Sober, Kendrick details his mother’s sexual abuse and her subsequent suspicions that he was abused by his cousin.

Though the beats on Kendrick’s new album are exceptional, the emotional toil hits harder than any of them. By touching upon topics which are taboo in hip hop, Kendrick proves yet again that he is light years ahead of his peers. It’s a raw, soul-baring project from one of this generation’s greatest. Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers was well worth the wait — now we’re just waiting on you, Frank Ocean and Rihanna.

Kendrick Lamar, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers (Conscious Hip Hop) 👍👍👍👍

  • Favorite Tracks: United In Grief, Father Time, Mother I Sober, N95

The Smile, A Light for Attracting Attention (Art Rock) 👍👍👍👍

  • Favorite Tracks: Free In The Knowledge, Thin Thing, Open The Floodgates, We Don’t Know What Tomorrow Brings

Ethel Cain, Preacher’s Daughter (Slowcore) 👍👍👍

  • Favorite Tracks: Strangers, American Teenager, Ptolemaea, Family Tree

Florence + The Machine, Dance Fever (Pop Rock) 👍👍

  • Favorite Tracks: Free, My Love, Cassandra, King

The Black Keys, Dropout Boogie (Blues Rock) 👍

  • Favorite Tracks: Wild Child, It Ain’t Over, Good Love, How Long

Other Notable Projects: Becky G ESQUEMAS, Bird’s Eye Batang Flood Format, The Chainsmokers So Far So Good, Kevin Morby This Is A Photograph, Leikeli47 Shape Up, Moderat MORE D4TA, Obongjayar Some Nights I Dream of Doors, Quelle Chris Deathfame, Say Sue Me The Last Thing Left, TXT minisode 2: Thursday’s Child (EP)

Vinyl Giveaway 🎁

You can win an exclusive copy of Denzel Curry’s LP Melt My Eyez See Your Future. On his fifth studio album, the 27-year old rapper revamps his non-genre conforming sound, giving up his characteristic hardcore sonics in favor of something more mellow. As Denzel trades his mosh-pit classics for jazzier beats, listeners are transported to the boom bap, golden age of hip hop. With bepop, punk, dancehall and soul beats, Denzel extends his creative palette and is as experimental as ever.

How it works: When you refer a friend using this sign-up link, you get entered into a raffle to win. The more you share, the better chance you have. Make sure to include your own email in the referral field. Winners will be notified at the end of the month.

WORST Song of the Week 🗑️

Savannah Dexter, Brabo Gator, Low Down (Bro Country)

Next week: Harry Styles releases his third album, Harry’s House.

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