A revolving cast of contributors showcase some of the best new music releases from the past week.
Erykah Badu feat. Andre 3000 – ‘Hello’
Photo: Unknown
It’s been five years since we’ve heard a new body of work from Erykah Badu. Her rework of Drake’s ‘Hotline Bling’ was the seed of the project, written as a birthday gift for a friend and subsequently kicking off 12 days of recording in her Dallas studio with producer Zach Witnessin. The new mixtape BUT YOU CAINT USE MY PHONE is an extension of the collaborative work she’s long practiced, and sees her pulling threads - musical and otherwise - from past, present, and future.
Badu is a deft weaver. ‘Hello’ is, technically speaking, a cover of the Isley Brothers’ rendition of ‘Hello It’s Me’; but in the context of ‘Hotline Bling’ and Adele’s ‘Hello’, it ties decades of disparity together by focusing us on the decidedly unromantic notion of telecommunications technology. Specifically, all these songs remind us how phones are intrinsically bound up in our human relationships… whether it’s frustration at the device’s unfulfilled promise to bridge distance (Adele), an examination of late-night “U up?” texts (Drake), or the truism of “Okay, challenge / leave your phone unlocked and right side up / Walk out the room without throwin’ your b*tch off balance” (Andre 3000). Badu has wound all this together into a swirling vortex of expansive melody.
Excitingly, long time collaborator, ex-partner, and Badu’s co-parent Andre 3000 makes a surprise appearance on ‘Hello’. It’s a rare feat these days to get Andre 3000 on board a track, but he came to the party on this one, bringing his quick-fire, freeflow rhymes to Badu’s psychedelic “TRap & B” beats.
The supremely vibey BUT YOU CAINT USE MY PHONE is out Dec 4th. – Sarin Moddle
M.I.A. – ‘Borders’
“Freedom, ‘I’dom, ‘Me’dom. Where’s your ‘We’dom?”
In M.I.A.’s latest single ‘Borders’, the second release from her upcoming fifth album Matahdatah, we’re faced with the question of how free we really are. Whose lives do we value the most? What do we do when we’ve lost our sense of community with one another? More importantly, how do we get it back?
But there’s always subtext with M.I.A. The video for ‘Borders’, which is not only self-directed, but also self-representative, ties together social commentary on the refugee crisis with a keen awareness of where she fits into it. M.I.A. arrived in London with her mother and siblings as a refugee from Sri Lanka when she was nine-years-old, fleeing the war-torn country for a better life. The clip itself mimics the difficulty of such a trajectory and it succeeds through showing solidarity with those who have found themselves forced into the same situation with nowhere to go.
The music is just as challenging. A loose tirade against hashtag activism - “#lovewins / what’s up with that?” - begs us to pay attention to the oft-ignored acts of inequality but, for the most part, the questions asked are seemingly left for the listener to ponder where exactly they see themselves in the equation. Plenty of words have been spilled criticising her politics as misguided or empty, but the philosophy of M.I.A. shouldn’t be so hard to grasp. The illusion of freedom. Ask yourself - what’s up with that? - Hussein Moses
Benny Sings feat. Mayer Hawthorne – ‘Shoebox Money’
I had never heard of the Dutch-born Benny Sings before discovering this lil’ gem of a track but good god he’s great. ‘Shoebox Money’ is the most recent single from his album Studio and features the modern soul icon Mayer Hawthorne.
The song includes a piercing synth that leans toward disco sounds of the ‘80s, which contrast nicely with Sings’ often-warped vocals that ooze a certain relaxing laziness. Hawthorne comes through with a soulful and uplifting bridge near the end of the song, which is then wrapped up by one final bout of powerful synthetic sounds and Sings’ tweaked vocals. It’s the kind of track to have you closed-eyed and smiley while singing and dancing miserably to it at the party.
Other songs such as’ One Of These Hearts’ and ‘Black and Blue’ have a slower, more rhythm and bluesy sound and fit in nicely amongst the funkier, more upbeat tracks littered throughout the album. Studio is out now. – Oscar Mein
What's your song of the week? Tell us about it in the comments section.