Each week, we’re going to round up new tunes and bring them to you here on the Dive blog. Check out our first installment from Mimi Mendouga!
• J Cole Feat. Miguel: “Power Trip”
My phone rang at 3 AM. Answering was the best decision of my life. It was a friend urging me to take both my computer and myself off sleep mode, and play J Cole’s first released single from his highly anticipated sophomore album Born Sinner. God bless him. “Power Trip” featuring the Grammy Award winning Miguel, is so potent, so good, it’s probably a sin.
• James Blake: “Retrograde”
Talk about aural magic. Blake released this record last week, and I’ve had it on replay since. If you’d like to know what it’s like to let your mind soar — to have a near spiritual experience through vocal arrangements, this record is for you. Calling this song beautiful, just wouldn’t do it justice.
• For All Man Kind a.k.a FAM: “Song of Champions”
After the success of their freshman mixtape Finga Lickin’ Ridiculous Children, FAM, short for For All Mankind is back with another power-packed single. This track is the first single off their sophomore tape to be released later this year. If you heard the first tape, expect to be even more blown away by the jazzy fusion of hip hop and funk. This is what happens when clever hip hop meets James Blake and George Clinton. In a good way — a really, really good way.
• The Rendezvous NYC Presents: Napoleon Da Legend
After last month’s iTunes release of his single, “Wise Men,” produced by Sean Price, Napoleon Da Legend sits down with The Rendezvous NYC. See the Symphonies of a Lost Soul rapper talking about his influences and the meaning of art. He even gives us a little taste of his notoriously complex and poignant freestyle. If you’re a “hip hop head,” you’ve got to press play. You’ve just got to.
• Defacto Thezpian: “Gone”
When Durham, NC native Defacto Thezpian released his album Adolescent Thoughts last month, he made sure to follow right-up with visuals for his first single, “Gone” featuring Dorian. It’s soulful, it’s rhythmic, it’s rap. It’s a hit.
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