New Music Mondays | 02.12.18

Yep it’s Monday, jam out with the newest tunes hand-picked by our Media Team #NMM

‘Opps’ – Kendrick Lamar, Vince Staples, Yugen Blakrock

“Coming from the star-studded Black Panther soundtrack, ‘Opps’ is a clear standout in a sea of hits. Kendrick Lamar and Vince Staples, arguably two of the most technically skilled MCs in hip-hop at the moment, come together for their first collaboration since working together on Vince’s album Big Fish Theory last year. The result is electric; a total banger suited for a dark club and a perfect fit for an action-packed movie like Black Panther.

The song begins with a shrill siren sound before taking a moment to build up to a primal and unbelievably satisfying beat drop. Kendrick and Vince recruit South African rapper Yugen Blakrok to assist them in delivering three hard-hitting verses all tied together by an intoxicating hook from Kendrick. The production on ‘Opps’ is reminiscent of songs from Vince’s Big Fish Theory; a dark, industrial beat with clear grime and house influences that allows the technical style of each rapper to shine through. Once you hear ‘Opps’ for the first time, you won’t be able to get enough of it. While its unclear how the song will fit into the movie, it’s absolutely clear that its replay value will extend far past the period of time that Black Panther is in theaters.” – Cam Corriveau

‘Sweet Holy Honey‘ – Songa, Xavier Omär

“Sango and Xavier Omär come together once again to bring us ‘Sweet Holy Honey’, a smooth ode to women, with a synthetic melody to change things up in the chorus. Sango is a Seattle-based producer and his wide variety of influences, particularly Brazilian beats like funk, make for a refreshing take on the R&B genre. In regards to what the song is about, as Sango told NPR: “When I approached Xavier Omär with this idea, I wanted him to write about how it may feel when you hold back the urge to have sex with a woman that you’re in love with. It’s not a typical love song.” Sango and Omär go back several years, having collaborated on the 2015 EP The Hours Spent Loving You and sharing a penchant for experimenting with genres until what comes out some sort of neo R&B that gets stuck in your head all day. Either way, ‘Sweet Holy Honey’ has certainly been stuck in mine and what’s more, it’s the lead single for Sango’s upcoming LP, In The Comfort Of, out March 16. So now’s the perfect time to get obsessed.” – Catalina Berretta

‘Growing Pains‘ – COIN

“Acne, teenage angst, never fitting into the same pair of pants, discovering sexuality–we all go through growing pains. COIN taps into puberty, a time of turmoil that we were all forced to endure, in their newest single, ‘Growing Pains’.
The song is fun and well-written which is an ironic take on puberty considering that when I was 13 I was neither fun nor well-written.

Analytically speaking, the song sounds like it was made for radio. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s important that bands get the exposure they deserve. But any radio station besides WRBB is fake radio. So catch this single before your 16 year old sister hears it on Spotify’s “Viral 50″ playlist as it inevitably fluxes between overplayed and overrated.” – Andrew Szendrey