This week’s Push Play Monday features an even mix of rising artists and legends of the music industry to give your Monday a bit of old and a bit of new. Just press play, friends.
1) “GOOD MORNING” by SBTRKT feat. The-Dream
Aaron Jerome is the man behind the musical mask of SBTRKT (pronounced “subtract”). The English post-dubstep creator has frequently collaborated with Jessie Ware and Sampha, garnering fame from his M.I.A., Radiohead and Mark Ronson remixes. The track’s feature artist, The-Dream, has been a recognizable name in the hip-hop industry since 2001, first for writing some of Rihanna’s biggest hits, and then for releasing his own music with album features from the likes of Mariah Carey, Kanye West and Beyoncé.
2) “I Don’t Care” by Raheem DeVaughn
Raised right here in Prince George’s County, Raheem DeVaughn joins the ranks of highly successful R&B/hip-hop artists coming out of the DMV area. DeVaughn experienced a musical epiphany while attending Coppin State University in Baltimore City after coming across a group of street performers and singing and harmonizing with them. Ever since releasing his first solo single, he’s been cutting up the music scene.
3) “19 in Mexico” by Sofi de la Torre
Sofi de la Torre proclaims her own genre as “POP DONE RIGHT,” passionately capitalized. She first received attention in 2014 when she released her single, “Vermillion,” which Billboard called an “aching, confessional burner.” Her music has since continued in a similar tone, with a dark-toned twinge to hazy themes.
4) “Body Cry” by Slumberjack feat. Father Dude
This Australian-based duo came together in 2012 after Morgan Then and Fletcher Ehlers met at the Perth Dance Music Awards. As they are both previous winners of Western Australia’s Limelite DJ Competition, they were practically destined to connect their musical talent for Slumberjack. This banger’s feature artist is a singer-songwriter from New York City, whose name has a hidden origin story in the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 episode “Soultaker.”
5) “Sour Patch Kids” by Bryce Vine
Bryce Vine was born in New York but raised in Los Angeles. He first hopped on the music scene in 2014 with his Lazy Fair EP. With influence from artists like Chiddy Bang, blink-182 and Hoodie Allen, his music is a well-cut mix of hip-hop and old-school pop. “Sour Patch Kids” is perhaps unintentionally one of the best summer anthems to pop up on the scene in the last few years.
6) “Keep Me A Secret” by TVÅ
These angelic vocals belong to half of the Swedish brother-sister duo TVÅ, whose electropop sound has been overlooked for far too long. After Connor Franta, a YouTube star, chose the duo’s single “Sensual” for his Common Culture compilation album, they caught the eye of MTV. “Keep Me A Secret” was then featured on a recent episode of MTV’s Awkward and is well worth many plays.
7) “This Girl” by MUTO feat. M. Maggie
MUTO is a 23-year-old producer from Sydney, Australia, who says his music stems from “strange, real-world sounds that either have percussive or melodic potential and fuse … into something more relatable.” M. Maggie is poet, songwriter and singer based in New York City, and adds the perfect flair of majesty to this eclectic song.
8) “Initiation” by Kiiara
This 21-year-old singer-songwriter is blowing up with co-signs from Zane Lowe, Lil Aaron and Jai Wolf after dropping her debut EP, Low Kii Savage. The six tracks include the popular songs “Gold” and “Say Anymore,” the former of which premiered last year to a massively positive reception. She cites Yelawolf as a large influence, and humorously follows only Yelawolf on Twitter.
9) “wRoNg” by Zayn feat. Kehlani
With past One Direction member Zayn Malik’s debut solo album release comes this track, the only one on the 18-track compilation with a feature artist. Quite frankly, it is worthy enough to be the only collaboration, as this duo with powerhouse Bay Area star Kehlani is easily the best possible match for Zayn’s new-era R&B sound. This track holds almost no influence at all from Zayn’s time in the British boy band, with a spacey ambience reminiscent of Bryson Tiller and Tory Lanez.
10) “Can I Kick It?” by A Tribe Called Quest
Perhaps one of the most pivotal groups of the early hip-hop scene, A Tribe Called Quest started a movement under the wings of legends Q-Tip, Phife Dawg and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. Their fame began in 1990 with People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, which later went gold in 1996. However, the real come-up came with The Low End Theory, which many modern hip-hop artists cite as a major influence in their careers. After Phife Dawg’s recent death, tributes across the world have been made in the honor of Phife’s incredible influence on the industry.
I’ll be back next week another playlist of tracks your music library is missing out on.