Every month, we bring you #Mixtape—a place to discover the best new music from emerging to established artists.
Ariana Grande Meek Mill benny blanco Big K.R.I.T. Yaeji MØ CHEAT CODES JadeBird Bailey Bryan Bay Ledges Axwell KOAN Sound Taylor Janzen Toby Green Adrianne Lenker Yung Baby Tate Bread Doe Tabby Wakes Sharon Van Etten Shame Calum Scott
Ariana Grande “Thank U Next” directed by Hannah Lux Davis. The anthem broke YouTube records as it became the first video to reach 1 million views in less than 35 minutes. Thank U Next pays homage to Mean Girls and other early-2000s rom-coms 13 Going On 30, Legally Blonde and Bring It On. In the lyrics, Grande delivers an ode to self-love, “I know they say I move on too fast / But this one gon’ last / ‘Cause her name is Ari / And I’m so good with that.”
Meek Mill — “What’s Free” featuring Rick Ross and Jay Z. Some listeners interpreted Jay Z’s lyrics were a diss aimed at President Donald Trump and Kanye West. The lyrics include, “No red hat, don’t Michael and Prince me and Ye / They separate you when you got Michael and Prince’s DNA. uh/I ain’t one of these house niggas you bought/My house like a resort, my house bigger than yours/My spou- (C’mon, man).” But Jay-Z addressed the speculation on Twitter: “The line clearly meant don’t pit me against my brothers no matter what our differences are (red hat) now go pick up Meek album,” he wrote. “Drake and Meek on there together.”
benny blanco debuts a new track, “Better To Lie” with Jesse of The NBHD and Swae Lee of Rae Sremmurd.
Born and raised in Reston, VA, benny blanco is an American record producer, songwriter, musician and recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also a five-time BMI Songwriter of the Year award winner, 2017 iHeartRadio Producer of the Year award winner, and four-time Grammy winner.
DOUBLE DOWN, the new 2-song EP by Big K.R.I.T. featuring “Pick Yourself Up,” produced by Rico Love and D-Town The Great and “Learned From Texas” produced DJ Khalil and Tariq Beats.
Rising Korean-American vocalist, producer, DJ and visual artist Yaeji debuts her mix for Blowing Up The Workshop. The mix follows the release of Yaeji’s new video for “One More.”
Danish superstar MØ debuts the remix for “Blur” featuring Foster The People. The remix is accompanied by a Lauren Sick-directed video starring MØ and Mark Foster. Taken from MØ’s new album Forever Neverland released in October on Columbia Record.
Multi-platinum, electronic dance music trio CHEAT CODES (comprised of Trevor Dahl, Matthew Russell and Kevi Ford) new single “Feeling of Falling,” with pop sensation KIM PETRAS. The euphoric anthem pairs Cheat Codes‘ signature sugary electronic hooks with Kim’s mesmerizing vocals. “Feeling of Falling” marks the first time the two artists have joined forces and wrangles with falling in love.
“Love Has All Been Done Before,” the new song from breakout singer, songwriter and performer JadeBird.
Jade’s debut full-length album is due for release early next year. The forthcoming LP will culminate a breakthrough year for Jade who won the Anchor Award for most promising international emerging talent at Reeperbahn, the 2018 Grulke Prize for developing non-U.S. act at SXSW and was selected for the BBC Sound of 2018.
Singer/songwriter Bailey Bryan is sharing new music with fans, debuting the vulnerable track “Songbird.” The song, co-written by Bryan and frequent collaborators Dennis Matkosky and Michael Hardy, is the first insight into her upcoming EP slated for a 2019 release via 300 Entertainment / Warner Music Nashville.
Rising LA-based band Bay Ledges’—led by songwriter and producer Zach Hurd—new EP, In Waves, is out now on S-Curve Records. The track “I Wonder,” was co-written and produced by Christian Medice who co-wrote and produced lovelytheband’s “Broken,” which is one of the biggest songs at alternative radio this year.
5-time Grammy-nominated artist and modern house music icon, Axwell, unleashes his new track ‘Nobody Else’ via Axtone and Ultra Music, following its radio premiere on Annie Mac’s BBC Radio 1 show last week. Awarded the Hottest Record in the World accolade by Mac, and receiving spins from Beats 1’s Zane Lowe, ‘Nobody Else’ is a return to Axwell’s roots and shows his innate feel for the dancefloor is alive and well.
KOAN Sound’s highly anticipated album Polychome is out next week on December 7th, but for a final taste of new music before the full release, the duo have shared “Viridian Dream.” With melodic dream-like sounds woven together with a wonky bassline and dnb synths, “Viridian Dream” is a full five minute ethereal listening experience, sure to further ignite excitement from fans eagerly awaiting the album in its entirety.
With her stunningly sparse melodies and minimalistic guitar riffs, 19 year old Taylor Janzen may seem softly spoken, but her staggering lyrical narrative and deeply personal writing sends a resounding message. “New Mercies” is a song that sees Taylor embrace a bigger, fuller sound and was produced/mixed by Mike Mogis (Cursive, Phoebe Bridgers, Bright Eyes).
Toby Green is back again, bringing his infectious sound to rally ravers worldwide on his dancefloor call to arms “Party People.” “The latest single to be released in the Danish upstart’s breakout 2018, which has seen him pioneer a fresh, exciting subsect of electronic music.
Adrianne Lenker shares stunning new video for “Symbol.” Directed by Adam Gundersheimer and V Haddad, it features Adrianne exploring Coney Island, meeting and connecting with different people she encounters.
Buzzing Atlanta-based singer/songwriter and producer Yung Baby Tate unveils the music video for her new single “That Girl.” The clip translates the song’s flirty bounce, hypnotic energy, and empowering message into a tight, trippy, and turned-up visual. Yung Baby Tate talents as an entertainer: namely singer, producer, rapper, dancer, actress, and “dope ass chick.”
Chicago artist, songwriter, and producer Bread Doe premieres the music video for his latest single “40” The predominantly black-and-white visual brings viewers behind-the-scenes as he spits in the studio and at home. Its simply execution packs a raw punch on par with the music.
Emerging NYC-based rapper Tabby Wakes’ new song “Tabby Night,” co-produced by Brenmar and Wakes. It sets the stage for more music from Wakes as she gears up to release her debut EP in 2019 via Fool’s Gold Records.
Sharon Van Etten will release Remind Me Tomorrow, her first album in almost five years, on January 18th via Jagjaguwar. Following the release of lead single “Comeback Kid,” Van Etten now shares “Jupiter 4,” and its accompanying video.
Shameshare terrifying new video for “Dust On Trial” directed by BISON (Friendly Fires, Bonobo). The video pays homage to old school B-movies, subverting roles with a sinister femme-fatal who lures rich, young, handsome men to their death.
U.K. artist and songwriter Calum Scottreleases a special edition of his breakout debut album Only Human on Capitol Records. Only Human (Special Edition) features four bonus tracks including Calum’s new single, “No Matter What” Directed by Ozzie Pullin. Says Calum, “‘No Matter What’ is an incredibly personal song but it is much more than a ‘coming out story,’ it’s about acceptance as a whole and that idea is something we really wanted capture in the video.