It may be my summer trip to Ibiza inspiring me but I seem to have found a stack of new tracks that warranted a mix, so here you go:
Tracklist
Whitesquare – Stina
Dennis Cruz & Ian Ludvig – Blackbird
Kölsch & Tiga – Hal
Kevin Di Serna – Amapola
Bruce Loko – Sunset Over Water (Fka Mash Glitch Dub)
Pablo Fierro – Tel Aviv to Casablanca
&ME – Fairchild
Gullen – Lydia’s Cove
Glowal – Cries
Xinobi – Far Away Place (Rampa Remix)
Chloe – What Will Be
Hidden Empire – Valhalla
Claptone & Super Flu – Birdsong (Superflu remix)
Little Simz AKA Simbiatu “Simbi” Abisola Abiola Ajikawo (can see why she went for the shortened nickname) has been knocking around for a few years. I heard a couple of tracks that I really liked without falling in love with. She did stand out from her peers by seeming less interested in the beats of grime and more the classic beats of old skool hip hop.
So I admit it – I initially dismissed her a bit as a promising UK hip hop like a million before her that was full of promise but hadn’t quite delivered THAT track.
And then I heard OFFENCE. Jesus H Christ. What a ridiculous beast of a track that is. It became a genuine crossover that was being played on 6Music AND Radio 1 AND Capital (which I know, thanks to my kids).
Still, I approached this album expecting 10 tracks of more of the same. What I wasn’t expecting was such a rich, inventive brew, so full of creativity and painted on such a wide canvas.
Influences? Oh man, where to start? The nu-soul meets hip hop of Anderson .Paak and K-Os (of old!) on tracks like WOUNDS. SELFISH is basically a gorgeous RnB pop song but with a rap holding it together. VENOM’s flow feels like a grime style and BOSS is a great track 2 choice, smacking you right in the face. FLOWERS could be a collaboration with Cinematic Orchestra, and obvs Michael Kiwanuka is always a seal of quality.
So much to love on here – the live band and instrumentation gives it a blaxploitation film score vibe. Everywhere there are surprises – fresh samples, unusual arrangements. This is a really ambitious album made to aim high, and it nearly completely delivers.
Finally – oh joy of joy – it’s got NO SKITS and it’s a tight, punch 35 minutes long. How many hip hop albums could learn from this?
I notice she right at the top of the bill of one of the Coachella stages. She’s that good. Not surprised the US is noticing.
Any criticisms? Maybe her delivery and flow is a little bit monotonous at times, but lyrically it’s bloody brilliant – and she works around that by making each song such a uniquely constructed entity.
So yeah. I LOVE this album and I’m sure it’ll end up in my top 10 at the end of the year. How about you, Brothers?
