The Mixtape 6/26/18: KSG, Kanye, Snail Mail

Happy Holidays 

This past month has been like Christmas for the rap fan in me. A glut of albums (KIDS SEE GHOSTS, Kanye West, The Carters, Pusha T, Rico Nasty) and tracks from Vic Mensa, 'Lgado, Ski Mask The Slump God, and Valee have been keeping the House Party in my head going while a generation behind me, unfortunately, deals with the loss of 20-year-old XXXTENTACION and potential next-big-thing PA rapper, 21-year-old Jimmy Wopo, both shot to death. I'm not going in to the societal elephant-in-the-rooms that are guns and mental illness here, but suffice it to say that my heart breaks at the suicides, homicides, and other unnecessary exits that so many have taken the last several years. Okay...back to the music.

The rap fest resulting from the above artists (and others) makes up around a third of this week's list, but it's not the only genre at the table. I love me a little bit of everything and am happiest when The Mixtape is reppin' most of the genres that I enjoy. To that point, this week has everything from the indie-pop perfection of Snail Mail, Camp Cope, and Hop Along to angsty snot-rock courtesy of FIDLAR, Jeff Rosenstock, and THICK. 

Want to dance? Hookworms, Drake, and the new Chic (💖), Chaka Khan, and Ariana Grande jams  should keep your feet moving. 

If you're in search of a lazy summer day vibe, may I suggest chilling out to the slinky (Natalie Prass), the soulful (MorMor) and the sublimely droning (Beach House). 

Sadly, we're without jazz as Kamasi Washington's nearly 10-minute odyssey, "Fists of Fury," fell off the 40 this week after a couple of months in its lower register. His full-length Heaven and Earth was released this past Friday. Once I commit to diving into it completely, you might see some more of his insanely good creations make their way on the 'tape in the near future.

On the horizon

New albums from Drake and Gorillaz come out this Friday, but I can't say I'm that excited for either. I tend to really like every tenth Drake song I hear and Gorillaz, while a mainstay of my auditory diet during the 00's, are a 'take it song-by-song' kind of act for me these days. 

What I am excited for (as both a music fan and a dorky grammar-loving English major) is the second full-length release from Let's Eat Grandma. Sure, no comma may result in some geriatric drama, but  LEG's transformative tunes are more than worth that risk.