It’s Friday, our favourite day of the week, and on this occasion we dig into the wide catalogue of music out there and pull from our goodie bag of finger-licking treats. Last week was a rather messy one, but we go again and find ourselves surfing through a lovelorn song by Etta Bond on ‘Shorny’, to kicking it back to a nostalgic era on Curren$y & Wiz Khalifa’s joint, and now we lean our ear into the speaker to catch the cosmic tune of newcomer ayrtn. Take your time and immerse yourself into a new palette of sounds.
Wiz Khalifa & Curren$y – The Life
10 years ago Curren$y surfaced on the cover of XXL magazine alongside a range of rising rappers who were selected as hip-hop’s Freshman, circa 2009. In the same year, he struck a partnership with Wiz Khalifa on their joint mixtape ‘How Fly’. A smokers-only section rap cut released during the nostalgic blog era which fostered some of today’s popular rappers.
If we’re to ever remember Curren$y for anything, it’s for his sickening work ethic and post-high blunt raps. Wiz Khalifa & Curren$y buddy up once again on what is the sequel to their last joint. ‘The Life’ is a woozy, synthesised piece which packs a throbbing beat with bossy wordplay and flex-rap bars. Wiz Khalifa dishes out a catchy hook which runs through the perks of living large as a rapper: bitches, sports cars and bottles of luxury. If you’re after a mid tempo banger ‘The Life’ should be your first choice.
ayrtn – Black Cat feat. DXVL
Our next selection is something of a mystery and while you may not be familiar with the artist behind it, you’re going to want to get acquainted. The South London rapper ayrtn, spelt in lowercase, raps on beats of a similar strain to Curren$y. His co-pilot and producer DXVL is behind the cloud rap aesthetic production punched in to an uptempo frenzy with trap styled percussion.
‘Black Cat’ emerges from their newly released project ‘Crack’. A partnership which features 6 snazzy selection of beats made by the duo and lyrics manifested by ayrtn. It’s original and, at times, inventive considering the dynamic the two share on this abstract rap take. ayrtn takes the drill aesthetic and takes it to an upper echelon and flips into a rather refreshing experience.
Bone Slim – ‘Cassius Non-Fiction’ feat. droppedmilk
Bone Slim is the next one up from the NiNE8 collective, which boasts creative talent like Libaan and Lava La Rue, coming right up from the underground. He releases a brand new visual entitled ‘Cassius Non-fiction’, a jazzy sample with compelling drum patterns which hark back to the golden age of Hip-Hop.
He opens the first chapter of his book with droppedmilk as the mastermind behind the production. With crisp production which exemplify his ear for selecting tasty music samples, the duo spin it on its head and loop angelic vocals with rigid yet classy horns. Bone Slim isn’t here to stroke egos and bluntly, calls out ‘trash-talking” rappers on their game. Our masked hero, or villain, likens himself to Muhammad Ali (Cassius) in this stylish visual which finds him cutting through a range of scenes in the countryside.
Kehlani – Butterfly
The day after Valentines could be a bit hazy for some people, and for others it’s lucid as hell. On the topic of love, Kehlani soothes our appetite with her new song ‘Butterfly’. Opening the set with subdued vocals which burst with the unyielding strength of a butterfly emerging from the snare of its cocoon. ‘Butterfly’ finds the sun-soaked swoons swing from the cutting edge of deep affection to a poetic number over the pitter-patter of drums. Through ‘Butterfly’, Kehlani introduces us to her upcoming mixtape ‘While We Wait’ set for release on the 22nd February.
Etta Bond – Shorny
Last year Etta Bond struck us with the smoky release of ‘Surface’ with help from the South London enigma A2. She returns with a visual to her new joint ‘Shorny’, a slow, silky R&B offering which finds our songstress encapsulate the hot-blooded side of a romantic affair. Sometimes when you’re engulfed by someones aura you can’t help but get lost in their company.
Etta Bond cuts through a slew of magical medley of strings, keys and drum beats which play to an endearing effect. In the video, Etta Bond and her infatuated lover glue themselves to FaceTime and share an intimacy which knows no bounds. ‘Shorny’ is a song that reminds us how powerful romance can be, up until the point where you even lose yourself. The atmosphere of the track is dreamy and the glittery tones of the production illustrates the moment your hit by the love bug. You’ve got to be careful not to play this one while you’re in your emotions because it might get rather hot.
