Hi <<First Name>> <<Last Name>>! For the best viewing experience, view this email in your browser. |  | | Week Ending February 21stTomorrow is 2.22.22, which means Kanye West’s highly anticipated Donda 2 is set to be released. Unfortunately, it will not be available on any streaming platform. Kanye’s $200 Stem Player will be the only way to hear the album. Click here for a Spotify playlist with the songs mentioned in this email. | | | BIGGEST Songs of the Week 📈 |  | Jack Harlow’s rise to stardom has been captivating. Raised on his mother’s Outkast, Black Eyed Peas and Tribe Called Quest records, Jack began uploading his raps to YouTube at just 12-years old. As heard on this throwback, his nerdy yet confident personality has made him stand out since the jump. By the time he entered high-school, Jack was already a Louisville wunderkind. At 14 he was offered a record deal by Joie Manda, the then-president of Def Jam Recordings, the legendary rap label founded by Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons. Unfortunately for Jack, Manda exited the label during negotiations and the deal fell through. But as Jack quipped on Industry Baby, he did not peak in high-school. A few years later, his single Dark Knight went viral, catching the attention of mixtape legend DJ Drama, who offered him a spot on his label Generation Now, the same label which brought Lil Uzi Vert mainstream success just a year prior. Jack didn’t waste time, dropping Sundown the day his signing went public, earning him a co-sign from P. Diddy and a 5 Fingers of Death freestyle on Sway’s Universe, a right of passage for rookie rappers. Jack first popped up on our radar in 2019 when he teamed up with fellow Louisvillian Bryson Tiller for Thru the Night. A year later he became a household name when his Grammy-nominated WHATS POPPIN remix with Lil Wayne, Da Baby and Tory Lanez reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. He reached No. 1 the following year with Lil Nas X on their hit INDUSTRY BABY. Though Jack is no longer an “industry baby,” his latest single Nail Tech, with its horn-heavy instrumental and low-energy flow, sounds like it’s trying to replicate the success of last year’s monster hit. Though the track is not on the same level as Industry Baby, it is a solid comeback single — Jack’s first solo song in 14 months and presumably the lead single off his next album. The track even earned Jack an endorsement from Kanye West, who called him a “top 5” rapper after the song’s release. 1. Jack Harlow, Nail Tech (Southern Hip Hop) 👍 2. Sabrina Carpenter, Fast Times (Pop Rock) 👍👍 3. NBA YoungBoy, Superbowl (Trap) 😑 4. Tinashe, Naturally (Contemporary R&B) 👍👍 5. Gunna, Banking On Me (R&B Rap) 👍 6. J Balvin, Niño Soñador (Pop Rock) 😑 7. Oliver Tree, Swing & A Miss (Country Pop) 😑 8. DDG, Gunna, Elon Musk (Pop Rap) 😑 9. RealestK, Love Me (Alternative R&B) 😑 10. Mimi Webb, House On Fire (Trap) 😑 | | Noteworthy 📰 |  | WATCH: DJ Khaled brought out Lil Wayne, Mary J. Blige, Ludacris, Migos, Lil Baby and Gunna for NBA All-Star Weekend.
WATCH: Baz Luhrmann, director of The Great Gatsby, shared the first trailer for his upcoming Elvis Presley biopic. Austin Butler stars as The King while Tom Hanks plays Presley’s infamous manager Colonel Parker.
| | BEST Songs of the Week 🔥 |  | Sarah Beth Tomberlin, known mononymously as Tomberlin, announced her sophomore album i don’t know who needs to hear this, out April 29th. Alongside the news, the folk singer shared happy accident. Unlike the skeletal tracks from her 2017 debut, happy accident is packed with slacker-rock instrumentation, including guitars from Cass McCombs and percussion from Told Slant’s Felix Walworth. Strikingly introspective, happy accident explores the confusion of undefined relationships. When speaking about the song, Tomberlin noted, “happy accident is a song about relational obscurity. Trying to sort out who you are or who you were to someone. Is this relationship romantic or is it just sex? Do you want to spend time with me or are you just bored? Do I make my own decisions that are good for me or are my decisions predominantly based on what I think you might want or need?” Earlier this year, Tomberlin shared i don’t know who needs to hear this’ closing track, idkwntht. With soft instrumentation and touching harmonies, the song sounds completely different than happy accident, showing off the versatility listeners can expect on her forthcoming album. 1. Tomberlin, happy accident (Lo-Fi) 👍👍👍👍 2. Fontaines D.C., I Love You (Gothic Rock) 👍👍👍 3. Hatchie, Giving The World Away (Neo Psychedelia) 👍👍👍 4. Kurt Vile, Like Exploding Stones (Folk Rock) 👍👍👍 5. Rex Orange County, AMAZING (Indie Pop) 👍👍👍 6. White Lies, Blue Drift (Post Punk Revival) 👍👍👍 7. Fly Anakin, Pink Siifu, Billz Egypt, Black Be the Source (Hip Hop) 👍👍👍 8. Nilüfer Yanya, anotherlife (Indie Pop) 👍👍 9. Ibibio Sound Machine, Protection From Evil (Dance Punk) 👍👍 10. Future Islands, King of Sweden (Synthpop) 👍👍 | | Albums Spotlight 💿 |  | Few artists this century have crafted a catalogue as impressively consistent as Beach House’s. On their breakout album Teen Dream and their monumental release Bloom, the cult favorites ushered in a new era of dream pop. Musicians often believe that reinvention is the essence of artistic survival. However, Beach House has stayed relevant by remaining true to their sonic principles, even as peers have veered in different directions. For most of their career, the duo introduced subtle changes on each new record without ever losing their identity — a blissfully psychedelic sound, unique to them. Though their last album 7, which featured the duo’s heaviest music to date, felt a bit like a rebirth, their new album Once Twice Melody sees Beach House take their most daring step yet. Fans will already be familiar with 3/4 of the project’s material which the band began releasing in November in order to make the nearly 90-minute odyssey more digestible. Once Twice Melody is the first album the band has self-produced entirely. This freedom has afforded them the space to experiment in ways they haven’t been able to before, most noticeably with acoustic guitars and live string sections. The project also puts a greater emphasis on the duo’s influences — Only You Know sounds like My Bloody Valentine, Masquerade sounds like Tears For Fears, Hurts to Love sounds like ABBA, and Modern Love Stories sounds like David Bowie — yet somehow, they all sound unmistakably Beach House. 18 years into their career, it is difficult to imagine how Once Twice Melody could be this good. It’s another soaring feat for Beach House’s illustrious catalogue. Beach House, Once Twice Melody (Dream Pop) 👍👍👍👍 Curren$y, The Alchemist, Continuance (Jazz Rap) 👍👍 Black Dresses, Forget Your Own Face (Electro Industrial) 👍👍 Yeat, 2 Alivë (Trap) 👍 Alice Glass, PREY//IV (Electropop) 😑 Other Notable Projects: Big K.R.I.T. Digital Roses Don’t Die, Hurray For The Riff Raff LIFE ON EARTH, Immolation Acts Of God, Khruangbing, Leon Bridges Texas Moon (EP), Metronomy Small World, Oliver Tree Cowboy Tears, Sea Power Everything Was Forever, TAEYEON INVU, Tame Impala The Slow Rush B-Sides & Remixes (EP), White Lies As I Try Not To Fall Apart | | WORST Song of the Week 🗑️Eddie Benjamin, Weatherman (Pop) | | Next week: Avril Lavigne releases her first LP under Travis Barker’s label. Music is meant to be shared. Support us by sending this newsletter to a friend. Have any comments or suggestions? Contact us here. | | To stop receiving these emails, unsubscribe here. | |
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