We're hitting mid-June is perfect stride, and as school begins winding down for many young minds across the nation it's time to really amp up our Jamming. There's some slight shake-ups and I'll admit I ended up pretty hip-hoppy this week. Still, pay some respect and take a listen:
Hot Jam of the Week: "La La" by Childish Gambino
Alright, so this song doesn't actually have a title yet. It also doesn't exist other than this grainy video from Bonnaroo. It certainly hasn't appeared on any albums, music videos, or radio play yet. It'll drop officially pretty soon though, and it's such a departure from Gambino's normal motif that it's fairly notable. And I thought I heard this at the end of Jurassic World (2015)...
R&B Jam of the Week: "Million" by Tink
This has some real potential if it gets exposure but it ultimately isn't pop enough to really blast off to capture mainstream eardrums. Tink totally follows that Jhene Aiko school of coo-singing, and she adds enough legit rapping skills to really emerge as a talented artists here. It's a fun song with a nice mix of longing and loving. Beyond highlighting it here, though, you're not going to hear it again. Great, we got through those two obscure jams. Hot shit!
Dance It Off: "Watch Me" by Silento
I'm not sure if this even has an official music video, but here are some cute little girls dancing. You want to talk about a perfect choreograph-ordered song that's rising a bit high in hip-hop circles to spill over into pop? Right here. It may be a little tough for white people to catch on and hit those moves, but I might actually praise this jam's potential. I mean, it's no "Go Kindergarten." It's been around for a few weeks now, but I definitely clued into it the past few days.
HEYWHASSAPHELLO: "Trap Queen" by Fetty Wap
I think Fetty still has the distinction of being one of the freshest current rap artists, and even if the sheer novel newness of this jam peaked a few months ago I tuned back into it this week after somehow hearing a spike in airplay and general discussion. Hahaha! I forgot about his weird eye! I really don't know what all the cooking metaphors are doing here, actually. Anyone clue me in?
Holo-Boobs: "Hey Mama" by David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha, and AfroJack
David Guetta looks like Tim Roth. I love a lot of things about this song, but as is typical with Guetta collabos, the beat is probably the weakest. I don't understand how he's a really "cutting edge" DJ, which is also a complete oxymoron. Nicki's range and Trinidadian funk save this jam, although she's weirdly detached from the video. You know she just wasn't available for all the Mad Max / Burning Man scenes, so had to holo-in from a remote location. It doesn't quite work. But I do like this jam.
Tay Slay: "Bad Blood" by Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar
Can we say it? Has "Bad Blood" peaked? I guess I was anticipating just a monster, landslide, non-stop assault for the entire summer, but I'm not even sure it actually deserves to be this high. It's totally still a great, complex song, with a truly epic music video (even if it actually just focuses more on cameo character introductions rather than furthering any semblance of plot or theme), but is it really taking charge of the country? I wounder if Tay and Kendrick fans were a bit more mutually exclusive than either would like to admit. I mean, there's me, who was a big fan of both prior to this collabo, but anyone else? Maybe not, and this hits a wall.
Shut Up and Prance: "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon
You know, those first few chords really feel like the start of an 80s Movie. Like a little Say Anything (1989) or something. This is still a fairly engaging jam, although its ubiquity may have dropped a bit this week. It's still left a pretty solid impression and while some of the other early leaders have fallen off, this jam continues to ride its irreverence, oddness, and 80s-ness to eternal glory. Will we look fondly on this as a postcard from 2015? I'm not sure, but it's got a strong case so far.
Wait, What? "Honey I'm Good" by Andy Grammer
Yes folks, "Honey I'm Good" surges to the number one spot this week. I really just ended up hearing and humming it more than any other jam, despite my continual belief that it's not that popular and ought to fall off any time now. It's a pretty engaging song, and even if its content is fairly conflict-free milquetoast, it's an adorable positive sing-a-long on a hot Summer Night.
Next Week...
You know, I thought "Bad Blood" would be our It Song, but I think we're still waiting for it. We got plenty of time left, but I think the Race for Summer Royalty is still wide open, folks. I'm curious if Childish Gambino's song gets a name or even any other listen beyond this week. We'll see. Stay tuned, people!
Hot Jam of the Week: "La La" by Childish Gambino
Alright, so this song doesn't actually have a title yet. It also doesn't exist other than this grainy video from Bonnaroo. It certainly hasn't appeared on any albums, music videos, or radio play yet. It'll drop officially pretty soon though, and it's such a departure from Gambino's normal motif that it's fairly notable. And I thought I heard this at the end of Jurassic World (2015)...
R&B Jam of the Week: "Million" by Tink
This has some real potential if it gets exposure but it ultimately isn't pop enough to really blast off to capture mainstream eardrums. Tink totally follows that Jhene Aiko school of coo-singing, and she adds enough legit rapping skills to really emerge as a talented artists here. It's a fun song with a nice mix of longing and loving. Beyond highlighting it here, though, you're not going to hear it again. Great, we got through those two obscure jams. Hot shit!
Dance It Off: "Watch Me" by Silento
I'm not sure if this even has an official music video, but here are some cute little girls dancing. You want to talk about a perfect choreograph-ordered song that's rising a bit high in hip-hop circles to spill over into pop? Right here. It may be a little tough for white people to catch on and hit those moves, but I might actually praise this jam's potential. I mean, it's no "Go Kindergarten." It's been around for a few weeks now, but I definitely clued into it the past few days.
HEYWHASSAPHELLO: "Trap Queen" by Fetty Wap
I think Fetty still has the distinction of being one of the freshest current rap artists, and even if the sheer novel newness of this jam peaked a few months ago I tuned back into it this week after somehow hearing a spike in airplay and general discussion. Hahaha! I forgot about his weird eye! I really don't know what all the cooking metaphors are doing here, actually. Anyone clue me in?
Holo-Boobs: "Hey Mama" by David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha, and AfroJack
David Guetta looks like Tim Roth. I love a lot of things about this song, but as is typical with Guetta collabos, the beat is probably the weakest. I don't understand how he's a really "cutting edge" DJ, which is also a complete oxymoron. Nicki's range and Trinidadian funk save this jam, although she's weirdly detached from the video. You know she just wasn't available for all the Mad Max / Burning Man scenes, so had to holo-in from a remote location. It doesn't quite work. But I do like this jam.
Tay Slay: "Bad Blood" by Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar
Can we say it? Has "Bad Blood" peaked? I guess I was anticipating just a monster, landslide, non-stop assault for the entire summer, but I'm not even sure it actually deserves to be this high. It's totally still a great, complex song, with a truly epic music video (even if it actually just focuses more on cameo character introductions rather than furthering any semblance of plot or theme), but is it really taking charge of the country? I wounder if Tay and Kendrick fans were a bit more mutually exclusive than either would like to admit. I mean, there's me, who was a big fan of both prior to this collabo, but anyone else? Maybe not, and this hits a wall.
You know, those first few chords really feel like the start of an 80s Movie. Like a little Say Anything (1989) or something. This is still a fairly engaging jam, although its ubiquity may have dropped a bit this week. It's still left a pretty solid impression and while some of the other early leaders have fallen off, this jam continues to ride its irreverence, oddness, and 80s-ness to eternal glory. Will we look fondly on this as a postcard from 2015? I'm not sure, but it's got a strong case so far.
Yes folks, "Honey I'm Good" surges to the number one spot this week. I really just ended up hearing and humming it more than any other jam, despite my continual belief that it's not that popular and ought to fall off any time now. It's a pretty engaging song, and even if its content is fairly conflict-free milquetoast, it's an adorable positive sing-a-long on a hot Summer Night.
Next Week...
You know, I thought "Bad Blood" would be our It Song, but I think we're still waiting for it. We got plenty of time left, but I think the Race for Summer Royalty is still wide open, folks. I'm curious if Childish Gambino's song gets a name or even any other listen beyond this week. We'll see. Stay tuned, people!
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