Mick Jenkins - Frontstreet
At this point, Chicago rapper Mick Jenkins is well on the verge of veteran status. He’s been delivering incisive messages about race, society, and self-improvement through his signature brand of omnivorous multi-layered wordplay since well before his breakthrough 2014 mixtape The Water[s]. Now that he’s “stamped up two whole passports,” on “Frontstreet” he is ready to go off on his haters until they start acting like grown-ups. The masterful urgency in Kaytranada’s shadowy production has Jenkins sounding like a superhero preparing for a night ride, even from the track’s first moments. But once Jenkins really starts in on how he feels about all the lies, the beat swells sympathetically like a tuning fork to his limbic system; and before you know it, you feel it too. Before you know it, the track turns into an alley and through the bushes, and it’s gone. At just over two minutes, it leaves you feeling like it’s got to be a trailer for something more—and who knows when Jenkins will drop his next full-length project. But goodness gracious, he sure packed this one full of enough brain and heart calisthenics to get us through until then.
— Karl Snyder on April 8, 2020
Henry Jamison - The Wilds
Henry Jamison is a storyteller at heart. It may be in his blood — his father, a classical composer, and his mother, an English professor — but Jamison is a writer and artist in his own right, evidenced by his debut album The Wilds (released October 27th). Beyond writing, recording and arranging the album all on his own, Jamison has a special ability to bring each track to life. Take his song, “The Wilds”: it’s instrumentally rich without being overbearing, letting Jamison’s narrative whisk you away. “The Wilds” sounds like an old-time American love story - unassuming and familiar, but nevertheless, still surprising.
— Natasha Cucullo on January 7, 2018
Moses Sumney - Plastic
Los Angeles genre-bending artist Moses Sumney released his gorgeous and ethereal debut album Aromanticism into the world this September. Sumney has made a big impression on artists like Solange and Sufjan Stevens for good reason. His infusion of soul and folk come together on this album in a way that leaves us begging for more. A prime example of this heavenly blend is found on the third song of the album, “Plastic.” A previous version of the song can be heard on the first season of Issa Rae’s HBO series, Insecure. This new version serves as one of the more simplistic songs on the album, featuring just a fingerpicked electric guitar, a synth and Sumney’s captivating voice. The hook of the song repeats the line “my wings are made of plastic,” each time sung in a slightly different way than it was before, continuing to imbue the phrase with new meaning. This song of vulnerability, self-awareness and secret-spilling is the kind that you can leave on repeat and get lost in for hours.
— Dara Bankole on October 22, 2017
