Briston Maroney - Under My Skin

Navy Blue - "224" from the 2020 album Song of Sage: Post Panic! on Freedom Sounds. Skateboarder/graphic designer/streetwear model Sage Elsesser explores his musical side under the alias Navy Blue. Last year's full-length, Àdá Irin, was a confident debut (read KEXP's Martin Douglas' review here), and less than a year later, he returned with his sophomore album, Song of Sage: Post Panic!, another collection of introspective hip-hop. As Martin describes it in the February edition of In Our Headphones, it's "an illuminating tapestry of meditations on self-harm, colonization and ancestral weight, gentrification, anxiety attacks, the grief we carry throughout our lives, and the ties that bind Black people together." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

23 Helmi 20213min

Gary Bartz, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Adrian Younge - "Spiritual Ideation" from the 2020 album Gary Bartz JID006 on Jazz is Dead. Last year, Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (of A Tribe Called Quest) launched the label and series Jazz Is Dead, where the duo pair up with a legendary jazz musician, recording new music using the vintage studio equipment that artist originally used in their discography. So far, they've collaborated with Roy Ayers, Marcos Valle, Azymuth, and several others, and for the label's first release of 2021, they've recruited legendary saxophonist Gary Bartz. Bartz just turned 80 years old last year, and Gary Bartz JID006 is his first new album in eight years, to be released April 2 via Jazz is Dead. “Working with Gary Bartz epitomizes the ethos behind Jazz Is Dead,” says Younge via a statement. “He’s a luminary that has contributed so much to music culture, for decades. His musical ability is expanding with age and we’re honored to be a part of his world.” (In fact, Bartz's 1975 album The Shadow Do and his 1977 album Music Is My Sanctuary were produced by the Mizell Brothers, our DJ's Dad and Uncle!) Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

22 Helmi 20213min

Dark Time Sunshine - "Familiars" from the 2021 album LORE on Fake Four Inc. Dark Time Sunshine combines the talents of Seattle's own Onry Ozzborn (of Grayskul and Oldominion) and Chicago producer Zavala. It's been nine years since their last album, ANX, but they return this month with Lore. While the lyrics on the new album mostly reflect on trauma and recovery, today's Song of the Day looks at resilience. In a track-by-track with Flood Magazine, the duo describe the meaning behind today's Song of the Day, stating simply, "ignore the negative voices in your head, and outside of it." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

19 Helmi 20215min

Yazmin Lacey & Congi - "Follow Me" from the 2020 self-released Two Takes EP. Nottingham-based duo Congi have teamed up again with vocalist Yazmin Lacey for another soulful set of R&B jams. Their latest EP, titled Two Takes, is the result of just that: the artists did everything from home — "production and songwriting to the recording and mixing." Then, they kept things minimal in the studio, explaining, "by finishing each song in 'two takes' we kept the process as raw and organic as possible." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

18 Helmi 20213min

Grove - "Ur Boyfriend's Wack," a 2021 single on Memorials of Distinction x Spinny Nights. Bristol-based producer Grove celebrates their "queerness" in today's Song of the Day. In a press release, they claim the song is “part satire about wack boyfriends who do The Bare Minimum, part informed by the experience of rejecting my own sexuality when younger. It is a steezy reclaiming of pride in that queerness, and departing the space where shame was part and parcel of my lived experience.” Grove will release a new EP titled QUEER + BLACK on February 23 via Memorials of Distinction/Spinny Nights. The release is described as "an exploration of personal and political identity." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

17 Helmi 20213min

Jasik - "Black Sands" from the 2021 album Forest of Spirit on Preference Records. Pianist/producer Jamael Dean is only in his early 20s, but he already boasts a lengthy discography, both as Jira >< and, for his rap/spoken word material, as Jasik, a combination of "jah", the creator, and "seek," as in, a disciple or student. He uses this alias "for writing," he explains, "to pay homage to the students of creation seeking to leave something of service in their wake." The grandson of legendary jazz drummer Donald Dean, Jasik grew up in an environment where music was encouraged, and his parents bought him a keyboard for Christmas when he was just eight-years-old. Since then, he's gone on to collaborate with musicians like Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, and Carlos Niño. (He was also part of Thundercat's touring band for a while.) On his latest album Forest of Spirit, Jasik displays his introspective side, demonstrating a mastery of wordplay against a soothing, jazzy soundtrack. On today's Song of the Day, he seemingly meditates on the preservation of culture. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

16 Helmi 20213min

SPELLLING - "Secret Thread" from the 2019 album Mazy Fly on Sacred Bones Records. Oakland-based artist Tia Cabral, who records under the name Spellling, found inspiration for today's Song of the Day in both a children's book and her dog. She told Culture Collide: I remember reading this book called Brown Angels. It’s a little book of poetry, and it has these old photos of black kids just being joyful. There’s a poem in there called "Secret Thread," about the unspoken bond between people and ideas. This thing that tethers you to someone else, that you don’t need words for. So it’s not weightless, it’s the opposite, really. The secret thread is what tethers me. Even though I’m up in the sky, it’s what keeps me tethered to this world. It’s between both- you’re rooted in the earth and looking up into the sky. Today's featured track is also where the title of her latest album originates from. She continued: This was the last song I wrote for the record. It felt like I was collecting a lot of little treasures from other songs. I was inspired by this idea of what the spirit of this record would look like. Mazy Fly was the name I came up with for the music on this record. It’s a creature-like thing, something with wings, something that can transport you to this world. I got the idea from my dog. At the end of writing sessions, we’d go out to this field and she’d run like a maniac. I was inspired by her being in this state of crazy energy. She was running, and it was like she didn’t even know where she was running. It’s like she was flying. And I just loved that moment of the day. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

15 Helmi 20215min

Jason McCue - "First Time," a 2021 single on Fluff and Gravy Records. Back in 2017, Seattle singer/songwriter Jason McCue won the annual Sound Off! competition at MoPop, stunning audiences with his solo performance on acoustic guitar. Since then, he's grown as an artist, evidenced by his most recent releases WASTELAND and PANGAEA. Today, our Song of the Day is his latest single "First Time," his first new music since last year's Apocalypse EP. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

12 Helmi 20213min