Music Videos
Open Mike Eagle Drops New Song “Neighborhood Protection Spell (Lana Del Biden Nem)”: Stream
After wrapping up a prolific year in 2019, Open Mike Eagle still had a lot on his mind — and rightfully so. From a global pandemic to a jumbled party of political nominees, this year hasn’t exactly gotten off to the best start. So he did what any talented rapper would do: pick up a mic and recorded a new song. It just so happens that the single, “Neighborhood Protection Spell (Lana Del Biden Nem)”, is as prescient as it is astute. According to The New Negroes star, he decided to write the song because felt like public figures were regularly taking aim at the Black community, seemingly without even realizing it. Instead of venting about the ignorance of and low-flying racist remarks by celebrities — especially, but not excluded to, Joe Biden and Lana Del Rey — he chose to turn his obse...
The Chicks Perform “March March”, Talk Dropping “Dixie” on Colbert: Watch
When the pandemic hit and lockdown was initiated, Stephen Colbert was forced to abandon the iconic Ed Sullivan Theater. His last guests scheduled to appear at the New York City landmark were the then-named Dixie Chicks, but they were understandably bumped in favor of CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta. On Thursday night, the group now called just The Chicks were finally able to make up that missed appearance on The Late Show with a remote performance of “March March” and a discussion about their new moniker. Asked why they’d chosen now to drop “Dixie” from their name, lead singer Natalie Maines said a change was always in the works. “Well, it’s because of everything that’s going on in the world. It was about time; we’ve wanted to change it for a long time, actually,” she explaine...
Ihsahn Announces Pharos EP, Shares New Song “Spectre at the Feast”: Stream
Black metal legend Ihsahn has set a September release for Pharos, the second of two companion EPs. In advance of the EP, he has shared the music video for lead single “Spectre at the Feast”. Pharos, due September 11th, concludes the two-part EP concept dedicated to Ihsahn’s home country of Norway. Following the February’s five-song Telemark EP, Pharos is billed as a “reverse image” of its counterpart. The EPs see Ihsahn drawing inspiration from the black metal he helped proliferate in his influential band Emperor, as well as other styles and genres. According to Ihsahn, this second EP is the “aesthetic and musical counterpart, wherein I can distill all those more progressive, experimental and mellow elements of my music.” The press release refers to it as “the light to Telemark‘s dark.” Th...
Joey Bada$$ Reveals New Project The Light Pack: Stream
Joey Bada$$ has returned with his first solo release in three years. The project, titled The Light Pack, is streaming in full below via Apple Music or Spotify. The long-awaited follow-up to All AmeriKKKan Bada$$ consists of three new songs: “The Light (Mind)”, “No Explanation (Body)”, and “Shine (Soul)”. According to social media posts teasing the release, this bundle serves as a “rebirth” for the Brooklyn rapper, which likely means it’s a precursor to a full album and not than just a standalone effort. Since his last proper full-length in 2017, Joey released a collaborative album as part of Beast Coast, a supergroup featuring members of Pro Era, Flatbush Zombies, and The Underachievers. The MC’s also been particularly busy with TV projects; in addition to portraying Inspectah Deck in...
Drake and DJ Khaled Reconnect on New Singles “Popstar” and “Greece”: Stream
As someone who likes to shout-out his own name whenever he gets the chance, DJ Khaled has come up with the best title for his next album: Khaled Khaled. The project was announced earlier this week, and today it’s being teased with not one, but two major key collaborations with Drake. Stream the new pair of singles, “Popstar” and “Greece” below. “SOME BOY DEM MAKE POP CHUNE WE MAKE CHUNE THAT GO POP! POP PON THEY HEAD!!” DJ Khaled wrote in an Instagram post about the tracks. He also took the time to thank Drizzy and his longtime OVO label crew, saying, “Great to collaborate wit the team prod @ozmusiqe we work AMAZING together ALSO BIG UP @ovo40 @ovonoel @chubbsview @futuretheprince @oliverelkhatib always great to work wit the OVO team. WE WORK AMAZING TOGETHER! DRAKE LUV FOREVER !” “Popstar...
Boris Unveil Dystopian Music Video for “-鏡 -Zerkalo-” from Latest Album NO: Stream
Japanese metal auteurs Boris have offered up the dystopian music video for “-鏡 -Zerkalo-”, the third single from the band’s latest album, NO. Much like the tracks cascading doom chords and passionate vocal rasps, the video for “-鏡 -Zerkalo-” is epic and transportive. Slow pans depict the barren rocks and surging oceans of a future, post-nuclear landscape. After traversing what looks like an alien planet, we’re taken to a dystopian cityscape. Created by CG artist Yoshiki Shimahara and directors fangsanalsatan and Ryuta Murayama, the video is like Philip Glass’ Koyaanisqatsi by way of Dark Souls. In a press release, Boris gave only this brief cryptic comment on the song and video, revealing that it’s not an alien planet, but our own: “The song as a mirror that reflects this world.” The video...
Japanese Rapper Awich is “Shook Shook” on Her New Single: Stream
Japanese rapper Awich is ready to break through to America with her upcoming EP, and there’s no better track to make a memorable introduction with than “Shook Shook”, the new song she’s dropped today. Over the past few years, Awich has been busy establishing herself as a rising force within Japan’s hip-hop scene. And now, in a few weeks, she will cross over to western audiences with Partition, her upcoming EP due out August 21st via Universal. “Shook Shook” is our first taste of Partition, and it comes on strong in the best of ways. Awich alternates between Japanese and English while rapping about her experiences as a women in the male-centric music industry. Behind her, a dark piano loop can be heard atop a gritty bass beat, all smoothed out by producer Chaki Zulu. It’s almost reminiscent...
Ho99o9 Unleash Grand Theft Auto-Style Music Video for New Song “Pigs Want Me Dead”: Watch
Industrial hip-hop act Ho99o9 (pronounced “horror”) have shared the music video for their brutal new single, “Pigs Want Me Dead”. The video was ostensibly made with Grand Theft Auto V and features the voice of comedian Eric Andre during the opening disclaimer. To be expected from a GTA-style video, it’s total carnage — like when your little cousin takes the controller and blows everything up instead of playing the actual missions. As the song title implies, Ho99o9’s avatar takes a particular interest in the rampant destruction of police property. As Andre warns in his voiceover, it’s chock-full of violence and explicit language, so viewer discretion is advised. Director Tyler Bradberry is behind the video, which is very timely given the current state of turmoil in the United States surroun...
IDLES Offer Up “A Hymn” of Shame and Love: Stream
Ultra Mono is the third album from post-punk group IDLES, due out this fall through Partisan Records. The effort, which comes two years after Joy As An Act of Resistance, is being previewed today with “A Hymn”. While previous singles “Mr. Motivator” and “Grounds” the Bristol natives ferocious and snarling as always, their newest offering opts for an entirely different mood. “A Hymn” rolls out slowly and steadily, almost in a drone-like fashion. “I want to be loved, everybody does/ I find shame in the crack-like corpse un-cadaver reign… I find shame gripped tight like your withering fame,” sings frontman Joe Talbot, with an equally monotone cadence. The fixed churn of it all echoes the backstory for “A Hymn”, which according to a tweet from the band ” rejoices in the sinister flesh-eating v...
Jazz Collective Standing on the Corner Share New Video for “G-E-T-O-U-T!! The Ghetto”: Watch
Experimental jazz collective Standing on the Corner have shared a video for their new song “G-E-T-O-U-T!! The Ghetto”. The clip features SOTC in Variation 7 (Shamel Cee Mystery on clavinet, drummer Savannah Harris, Kweku Sumbry playing congas, Devin Starks on double bass, Linton Smith III tapping the tambourine, and organist Aja Grant). They’re joined by 7-year-old vocalist Annalise Chanel Renee Williams, who takes the stage like a true star performer. Young Annalise screams and sings some “ooh-ahhs” before interpolating a bit of “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen”. Described in a press release as “a special shape shifting message of concern,” the video also features poetry from director Carlos de Jesus. Watch below. Editors’ Picks Standing on the Corner will release ...
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard Return with Sweet New Single “Honey”: Stream
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have returned with “Honey”, their first new material since last summer’s Infest the Rats’ Nest. Nearly five minutes in length, the single leans on the more gentle, twangier side of psychedelia, as frontman Stu Mackenzie praises a special someone (“the magic potion”) that’s kept him afloat during these uncertain times. “You taste like honey/ All warm and runny/ Kinder than candy/ Effervescent shandy/ Days are ever sweeter when I wake up near ya,” he sings on the track, which isn’t to be confused with The Jesus and Mary Chain’s similarly titled saccharine alt-rock hit. Accompanying the song is a video directed and edited by John Angus Stewart. “Shot at sunset during the apocalypse with a reeeeeeal long lens,” Mackenzie noted on Twitter. “I wrote this s...
Elvis Costello Shares New Song “Hetty O’Hara Confidential”: Stream
Elvis Costello is back with another new song, “Hetty O’Hara Confidential”. The track comes one month after he returned with “No Flag”, his first new music since releasing his 2018 album Look Now. Sounding like early ’90s Costello with some Tom Waits thrown in, “Hetty O’Hara Confidential” tells “the tale of a tattler who outlives her time.” In particular, it’s the story of an exploitive gossip columnist who gets her comeuppance when she “named the wrong man in the story she broke.” Her audience turns on her, but in ways that perhaps make them no better than she is. There’s something very modern in this story about people with “an unfortunate character trait/ The irresistible impulse to assassinate” and what happens when “now everyone has a megaphone.” Take a listen to “Hetty O’Hara Confiden...
