ONES TO WATCH 2014 : Music Edition

–photo from XXL MAG

–James Blake and Chance the Rapper are Roommates

If you’ve glanced at Chance the Rapper’s Instagram feed, you’d notice an image of the rapper and producer James Blake “all settled in the new crib,” as the two musicians have recently moved in together. An exciting development for fans of good music everywhere, the two in close quarters makes the possibility of a collaborative project inevitable. The combination of Blake’s unique production skills with Chance’s equally unique delivery and style guarantee an exciting and original experience. If the duo’s remix to Blake’s “Life Round Here” is any indication to what we can expect, future projects from these two are likely sitting near the top of the list of music fans everywhere.

–photo from NRK P3

–Frank Ocean will be back at it.

After the stunning 2012 debut, Channel Orange, Frank Ocean has been awfully quiet. After silently revealing a tentative release date for a follow up project via his Tumblr (“when summer comes round again,”) the Grammy winning artist went off the grid, deleting his Twitter and Instagram accounts, making any details of the new record scarce at best. However it has been revealed that the Odd Future associate has been listening to a lot of the Beach Boys, considering the fact that the secret track at the end of Channel Orange, “Golden Girl,” chronicled a romance on a distant island, the keyword for the sophomore record seems to be summer. Add to that the unreleased--as of now only exists as a self uploaded youtube performance--track “Summer Remains,” which captures the essence of eminent heartbreak in the summer perfectly. Frank Ocean seems up to the task of creating a soundtrack to summer 2014. 

–photo by BRANDON SHIGETA

–Schoolboy Q’s Oxymoron got a release date 

The rap game has been awfully quiet since 2014 kicked off and it seems as though TDE member Schoolboy Q wants to be the first out of the gate. Oxymoron will be the follow up to Q’s 2012 Habits and Contradictions, as well as his first album to follow label mate Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid m.A.A.d. City, a record that really puts the pressure on Q to deliver a dope album. If the current singles are any indication, Schoolboy Q really should have nothing to worry about. Man of the Year, the third single off of Oxymoron, simply proves that Q’s got bangers down to a science “bruh see girls everywhere, titty ass hands in the air, it’s a party over here, shake it for the man of the year,” on top of the hook, Q really spits on this track, “I see hands in the crowds, see whites, blacks blazin’ a pound , jumpin around.” After Kendrick’s rise to stardom, it’s clear Schoolboy Q is hungry, don’t sleep on Oxymoron.

–Big K.R.I.T.’s Cadillactica

It’s really too bad that K.R.I.T’s career has been for the most part gone unnoticed. A truly southern rapper with undeniable talent both in the booth and on the boards, taking production credits on nearly all of the tracks in his discography (which consists of 10 mixtapes and 1 studio album!) Despite an impressively consistent body of work, K.R.I.T. might remain underground, a fact that he has accepted, “I ain’t trippin on mainstream, cuz love from the underground? That’s forever,” as he said on 4evaNaDay (Theme). Cadillactica will be his second studio effort under Def Jam recordings; will hopefully see the southern rapper doing what he does on a bigger stage. The first single on the heels of the announcement of Cadillactica, “Just Last Week” sees K.R.I.T keeping it southern as ever with Future on the hook providing a bit of a change in style, thankfully K.R.I.T.’s faithful southern drawl delivery is front and center. Cadillactica deserves a spot on your watchlist for 2014, those familiar with his catalog and those who aren’t should take the time to check it out.

–whatever D.A. Wallach has planned

October of last year, Tyler, the Creator released a music video he had directed for a song called “Glowing” by an anonymous artist. The video itself was beautifully put together (another reason to be excited: Tyler’s film career, but that’s another discussion) and served as a fitting backdrop for the song, a piano lead track about a post apocalyptic love. The track conjures up flashbacks to something the Beatles might have put together, but most importantly conjured up questions as to who the hell this anonymous artist was. After a while the artist was revealed to be D.A. Wallach, not a household name by any means, some might recognize his voice from now-defunct pop duo Chester French. On his soundcloud page, D.A. shared a second track Farm, another song that followed the same simple yet enchanting formula of piano and beautiful harmonies reminiscent of the Beach Boys in their heyday. While there is no official word of a release for a project from D.A., it’s safe to assume we can expect more from him this year. 

–article by CARLOS NAVA