Infinite Shuffle #18: Did you get your powers today?

What’s good shufflers. It’s almost time for the end of 2020. I want to say thank you to the 2,000+ people that have signed up for this newsletter. Whether you open these emails once in a while or every week, I appreciate you. You could spend your time with any other creator but you chose me. Thank you.

Artist of the week: Statik Selektah

A legend. Statik Selektah is one of the best producers/samplers of all time. The Boston producer has been in the game for decades and makes timeless beats to fit with rappers old and new. He’s been involved with a ton of projects that I grew up on in high school and beyond. There’s “Don’t Front” from the Joey BadA$$ project 1999, an entire project with Action Bronson called “Well Done” and many many more. Here we’re going to talk about his new project.

Project of the week: The Balancing Act

With producer albums, there’s always the question of if all the features mesh with each other. With DJ Khaled, sometimes you get “I’m the One” and sometimes you fucking get “Forgive Me Father”. With Statik, you don’t get that issue. Every feature fits into this album seamlessly. There are so many old and new names of rap here. Jack Harlow, Black Thought, Conway the Machine, Paul Wall, Benny The Butcher, Jadakiss, Dave East, Method Man. I could go on. There are so many features jampacked into 46 minutes of hip-hop that makes you feel like you’re chillin’ on the subway just enjoying the ride.

Let’s GO! Songs of the week!

Morray - Quicksand

The Fayetteville artist sped onto the scene with this hit “Quicksand” which sounds like something that would show up on the Dreamville label. He already has a co-sign from “J. Cole” so anything is possible. I love when artists from my state (North Carolina) pop off and go viral/make it big. Seeing J. Cole make the meteoric rise that he did was so inspiring as a high schooler. Dababy followed suit.

I hope that Morray can make it as big as they did. The kid has talent for years.

ENNY ft. Jorja Smith - Peng Black Girls Remix

This is one of my favorite new songs out. ENNY is a rising star with incredible lyrical skill. With the “Peng Black Girls Remix” she teams up with Jorja Smith to make an equally great version of the original song. I love how their voices bounce and play off of each other to make a heavenly sounding song.

Jaden Smith - P, I, N, K

Jaden Smith has been steadily improving as a rapper over the years and his last four albums have significant evidence of that. On the projects SYRE and ERYS, he starts each album with four songs that seamlessly transition into each other. I’m taking a look at PINK this week because I think it matches this week’s energy more. P and I is a slow steady buildup to N and then K is the cooldown of the four songs. If Jaden could make an entire album with the same concept as P-I-N-K and B-L-U-E he would truly ascend to the next level musically.

MEDUZA, Becky Hill, Goodboys - Lost Control

BRUH THIS SONG FREAKING SLAPS. The Italian production trio of Meduza team up to bring this infectious anthem backed up by Becky Hill’s piercing vocals. When the beat drops I become a new person. I MISS DANCING IN BARS. WEAR A FUCKING MASK PEOPLE.

Ty Dolla $ign - Message In a Bottle

Ty Dolla $ign is such a talented person. His best songs don’t always top the charts and while that’s frustrating that’s just the industry is. The background vocals and ad-libs on this song are truly special. It’s the last song on Beach House 3 so it’s buried deep down there so if you’re going through the album for the first time don’t ignore it.

Sample of the week: A FUCKING TRAIN

Kirk Knight is a genius. One day hanging out near the Q-train, Kirk Knight hears the sound of the train and samples it. He then turns that into the sample for A$AP Ferg’s Plain Jane.

WHO DOES THAT?! LEGENDS DO.