Writing about music in lieu of human interaction
Driving While Black's Jordan Montgomery returns with Prime Real Estate, his first album since 2020. The album's lead single, "Carne Asada," rides a triumphant Big Jerm instrumental through a series of trials--bad credit, unaffordable tuition, creative dry spells, untrustworthy friends--and emerges victorious, with drums knocking and horns blaring. As Montgomery puts it, "Pain is like … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Jordan Montgomery – Carne Asada
Collaborators unite for a single that draws from Afrobeats' signature bounce. The backbone of "Give 'em Hell" (produced by Julio) is its rhythmic heartbeat, a propulsive bah-bah-bah-bahbah that I could probably listen to on its own for several hours. We're spoiled, though, because the percussion track is adorned with insistent keyboard pulses and multiple layers … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Luwidakid – Give ’em Hell (ft. Brothamans)
Benji. returns with a languid dance track called "Jorja." Rather than coast off the success of 2021's Smile, You're Alive!, Benji. pulls a switch-up on his latest single, forgoing his previous album's soulful rave-ups and meditative ballads in favor of a "Passionfruit"-style toe-tapper (produced by Nice Rec, Gianni Carter, and Damon Steele) built around flickering … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Benji. – Jorja
Image provided by artist BrothaMans, a local hip-hop artist and producer who’s spent the past few years peppering the internet with singles, freestyles, and EPs, is set to release his debut album, Chapter 1, this summer, and contacted me a few months ago to propose an advance listen and write-up. I readily agreed, and then … Continue reading BrothaMans – Chapter 1
Oddball R&B artist and rapper Deej recently released, "Deejor," a single that exudes subdued swagger. There's a point on "Deejor" at which Deej, addressing a dude over his proclivities for messing around while out of town, murmurs, "They don't know you like I do." On a lesser track, the line might function as a plea … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Deej – Deejor
DWB labelmates Jordan Montgomery, JM the Poet, and Livefromthecity join forces for Back In Business, their first collaborative EP since 2019's Support Black Business. Like the rest of the EP, lead single "Love & Trust" is produced by Live himself, operating under his Low Key Flame tag. The track's instrumental is simple--nothing more than a … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Driving While Black Records – Love & Trust
Hardo and Deezlee, who make up one of Pittsburgh hip-hop's most formidable partnerships, deliver a painfully honest reflection on the carceral system. "Depend on Me," inspired directly by the two artists' life experiences, takes the form of a back-and-forth between close friends--one locked up and the other free. Backed by plucked acoustic guitar and ghostly … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Hardo x Deezlee – Depend on Me
Motormouthed rapper Ramon Yancey returns with something even more DIY than a mixtape: a SoundCloud playlist called Okaywein. Ever since I heard Yancey annihilating beats on "Haunting" (a 2019 collaboration with Shamar), he's reminded me of André 3000. It's not an exact one-to-one (I don't even know if Yancey has been to Atlanta before), but … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Ramon Yancey – Empathy
HUBBS's latest project, Winston Zeddemoore, contains his usual array of intricate wordplay, with bars interlocking like pieces in an astral puzzle. While Zeddemoore may be named after an everyman who famously signed on to bust ghosts in 1984, the album sees HUBBS bust rhymes instead. There aren't a ton of features on here, but when … Continue reading Daily Yinz – HUBBS – Solar Rishi (feat. Shad Ali)
Rappers Dewey Markie and BrothaMans run it back for the second installment of their Kin Folk EP series. The two emcees are natural teammates, working in tandem to create a spirited, aspirational tone that pervades Kin Folk II's eight tracks. There's a lot of striving happening here; Brotha and Dewey display a single-minded focus on … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Dewey Markie & BrothaMans – Life Is Good
Bored In Pittsburgh 