Paul White ft Guilty Simpson - Trust

I apologise for the scanty communications. Other exciting things have been happening, including me getting a job reviewing for the astonishing Potholes In My Blog.

One awesome album that I got to review was Rapping With Paul White. It's an intense album - stream it free from the label if you want a preview. This single embodies such an aura of menace, the instrumental creeps you out even without the paranoid vocal. I love music that moves me.



It's always exciting to find a new favourite producer. I like the fact he put rappers on the album (even if their verses aren't the most exciting thing I've ever heard) - it's a rebuttal of anyone who says that hip-hop beats need to be simple for a rapper to shine on top. Complexity is the new king.

Hip-hop is one of the most innovative genres we have - it doesn't have to be simple, as long as it's this good.

Julieta Venegas - Primer Dia

I love it when artists genre-bend. Especially when it comes out sounding better than the classics. Here, the ever-talented Julieta Venegas turns her hand to reggaeton, and utterly kills it.

There's the classic Dem Bow riddim at the bottom, and then an accordion on top, and Julieta belting out some post-feminist lyrics in her faultlessly rich voice. It sounds like a river of melted chocolate flowing through a dancehall, with Mexican accordion players floating in boats on the river, serenading passing dancers. Seriously.

Also, the video is a masterpiece. Calle 13 might have been the first artists to make interesting reggaeton videos, but Juli has upped the ante here.

Trim (prod TRC) - I Am

Everything Shabazz Palaces are doing in the USA, is happening in grime here. This is a series of fresh instrumentals for Trim's seminal track. Give it 6 minutes and be blown away - the Mr Mitch remix at the end is a killer.

Shabazz Palaces - Recollections of The Wraith

Wow. This demands your full attention. The beats are complex enough to stand alone, but the lyrics are fast and smart. This is a new direction for hip-hop, and a statement against all the crowd-pleasers that have dominated since the 90's.

It also sounds like a nuanced response to the nostalgia for 80's hip-hop - there's soul in here but it sounds fresh, beats are squiffy. In short, they just reinvented hip-hop. Get excited.

9ice - Gbamu Gbamu

Really skittish instrumental and a catchy chorus? Sign me up. I'm also going to be bussing those dance moves.

9ice is kind of a big deal in Nigeria, apparently.

Show Dem Camp - Farabale

This is absolutely one of my guilty pleasures. It's a slice of old-school RnB, Nigerian-style: the chorus and the instrumental are just classic, and so well put-together - it's not too heavy on the production, there's just a minimalist instrumental and some tidy harmonies.

It's by Show Dem Camp, who are making some of the best classic commercial RnB/hip-hop I've heard this year. America's not got a monopoly on this stuff anymore. The videos are really polished too.

Maluca - El Tigeraso

This definitely has something. The video's mezmerising, and the instrumental's some gorgeously over-sexed merengue. It's like M.I.A. - only more fun.

Maluca was spotted and signed by Diplo - the electronica tastemaker par excellence -, put out a deliciously odd free mixtape, and then went all hush-hush. Potentially someone to watch

Lloyd feat Andre 3000 & Nas - I Want You

This is a refix of Lloyd's big track. The original has Lil Wayne on it, bragging about smoking weed in the morning. The refix has Andre 3000 trying to pick up a cashier at Wholefoods Market (complete with a series of tongue-in-cheek metaphors - there's tofu, beef and mozzarella).

The refixed lyrics are funny and sweet and sort of charming... which is probably a closer approximation of what most women want than Weezy's promise to give you cognac for breakfast. I'm just saying...

And that hook is one of the best in hip-hop - wait for it to come in, and you'll remember it perfectly, trust me.

Bridget Kelly - Thinking About Forever

Written by Frank Ocean, sung by an angel, this is something to swoon to. That voice is special. This is the commercial end of the new rhythm and blues.

Sash! - La Primavera

My only excuse is that it came out when I was 11, and it (almost) samples the riff from Chariots of Fire. For me, this song held so much promise in its synths - it hinted at a glamorous world where women whispered in Italian and people knew how to dance. Which means it somehow subliminally encapsulated Balearic Beat.

That bleepy melody and the big drum break are still sensational: this is one of my cheesiest anthems, but I stand by it - that tune is phenomenal. And I still have no freaking clue what she's saying.