<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Lady Wray shares the final advance offering from her forthcoming new album, releasing its title track. \u201cCover Girl\u201d serves as the dominant message behind Nicole\u2019s upcoming album, written as a reminder to herself of what\u2019s most important in life as she\u2019s watched her daughter grow up. A stripped down, heartfelt ballad, the song defies the importance placed on modern beauty standards and materialism, and chooses an uplifting message of self empowerment. Nicole\u2019s new album\u00a0Cover Girl, is out September 26th via Big Crown Records.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cover Girl\u00a0elevates Wray\u2019s artistry as the latest product of her decade-spanning partnership with Grammy Award winning producer Leon Michels (Clairo, Norah Jones, Freddie Gibbs). Together, Wray and Michels have crafted a joyful, revitalized vision of Wray\u2019s sound, which draws from several of her formative musical influences, \u201860s and \u201870s-inspired soul and disco, \u201890s hip-hop and R&B, and gospel.\u00a0Cover Girl\u00a0also captures Wray turning the focus of her writing inward, looking back fondly on herself as a little girl as she\u2019s grown as a mother in the years since 2022\u2019s\u00a0Piece of Me, living vivaciously with the same warmth she sees watching her daughter grow up.<\/p>\n Lady Wray\u2019s North American tour begins September 28th in Kingston, NY, and she\u2019ll be playing shows across the continent including dates in New York City, Toronto, Chicago, and LA, before concluding in Austin, Texas on November 22nd. Remaining tickets are available at\u00a0ladynicolewray.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Following a series of industry road bumps and the doubts that can come with finding your footing when beginning a career in music at just 16, Lady Wray reclaimed the spirit she first brought to music singing in her hometown church choir. Her two previous albums on Big Crown Records, 2016\u2019s\u00a0Queen Alone\u00a0and 2022\u2019s\u00a0Piece of Me, saw her reimagine her identity as a musician exactly how she wanted to be seen, and the latter of which led to her late night TV debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (performing \u201cCome On In<\/a>\u201d) and perform a rousting\u00a0NPR Tiny Desk Concert<\/a>. With\u00a0Cover Girl, Nicole is letting her hair down, continuing her decade-spanning partnership with Leon Michels to infuse the raw soul and gospel power in her voice with a self-assured collection of contemporary R&B, soul and funk songs that speak to her joy and the revived bliss of this stage of her career.<\/p>\n Listen to \u201cCover Girl\u201d above, see below for Lady Wray\u2019s upcoming North American tour dates and more album details, and stay tuned for more from Lady Wray coming soon.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t Atlanta-born R&B luminary\u00a0Chase Shakur\u00a0returns today with his latest single \u201cTell Me Why,\u201d out now via Def Jam Recordings. The track sets the stage for the highly anticipated deluxe edition of his debut album\u00a0WONDERLOVE<\/em>, arriving soon.\u00a0LISTEN\u00a0HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n A soulful and vulnerable ballad,\u00a0\u201cTell Me Why\u201d finds Chase weaving raw emotion through his signature blend of R&B, funk, and alternative soul. With lush instrumentation and his evocative vocal delivery, the record speaks to the push-and-pull of love, self-discovery, and emotional honesty.<\/p>\n The release follows the momentum of\u00a0WONDERLOVE<\/em>, which has already generated millions of streams worldwide and critical acclaim across the board.\u00a0Billboard\u00a0praised the project as \u201ca moody, introspective emotional odyssey through a soundscape that amalgamates gospel, soul, dancehall, Miami bass, trap, Afrobeats and more.<\/em>\u201d Meanwhile,\u00a0Rated R&B\u00a0raved, \u201cAcross 16 sprawling tracks, Shakur peregrinates through love\u2019s euphoria, fueled by a mix of genres \u2014 R&B, jazz, hip-hop, dancehall \u2014 to keep the journey thrilling<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Chase\u2019s deluxe album will expand the world of\u00a0WONDERLOVE<\/em>\u00a0with new songs, deeper stories, and a sharper creative vision. More details coming soon.<\/p>\n Stay tuned for updates on the deluxe edition of\u00a0WONDERLOVE<\/em>, and stream \u201cTell Me Why\u201d now.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t Today, celebrated Nuyorican rapper and songstress Princess Nokia (Destiny Frasqueri) announces her new album\u00a0Girls\u00a0due Oct 10th. Alongside the album announcement she shares a new single \u201cBlue Velvet\u201d and a string of upcoming tour dates. The new single is a dark and harrowing track embracing Princess Nokia\u2019s signature rap flow.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Speaking about the song Princess Nokia shares, \u201d\u2019Blue Velvet\u2019 is both delicate and sinister. It supports women\u2019s rights and women\u2019s wrongs. It straddles the edge of confrontation and dares predatory behavior to be reckoned with.\u201d Largely inspired by David Lynches\u00a0Fire Walk With Me\u00a0and\u00a0Twin Peaks, Princess Nokia canonizes the character Laura Palmer and takes her audience on an off road journey \u2013 where the dark feminine is lawless.<\/p>\n The new song showcases the contrasting side of her upcoming album following previous single\u00a0\u201cDrop Dead Gorgeous<\/a>,\u201d\u00a0\u200b\u200ba celebratory pop banger that\u2019s pure youthful bliss.\u00a0As she found herself in this new phase of life, Princess Nokia wanted to make an album that was a guidebook to living a fulfilling life: a document of the fun she\u2019s having paired with more existential reflections on what it\u2019s taken to get there.<\/p>\n While\u00a0Girls\u00a0is a celebration of growth, it is also ultimately an embodiment of Princess Nokia\u2019s truest, most fundamental self. She\u2019s always been a woman who is fearless in envisioning and pursuing the life she wants and deserves. She says it best herself: \u201cI\u2019ve always been a girl who has my own house, my own weed, and my own squad.\u201d In a way,\u00a0Girls\u00a0is a way of honoring and celebrating that self, too: \u201cI want to have fun with my friends for as long as I can,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd I want my girlhood to last. I want my fun to last as long as possible. And I think that\u2019s a really beautiful thing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Princess Nokia will be performing at a string of tour dates across North America and Europe this Fall beginning in the US on the West Coast in September and continuing on to Berlin, Paris and London in November. Listen to \u201cBlue Velvet\u201d above, find full tour routing below and stay tuned for more from Princess Nokia coming soon.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t At just six years old,\u00a0Van Van\u00a0is already making waves in the music industry with her latest single, \u201cDo The Right Thing<\/a>.\u201d The young hip-hop artist is setting the stage for a new generation of voices, offering her unique blend of youthful energy, positivity, and powerful messaging.\u00a0Van Van\u00a0is managed by Hip-hop legend,\u00a0MC LYTE\u00a0and her Sunni Gyrl Inc. company.<\/p>\n \u201cDo The Right Thing (REMIX)<\/a>\u201d is an upbeat, motivational anthem that encourages listeners to make the right choices, stand up for what\u2019s right, and always push forward with integrity.\u00a0Van Van\u2019s\u00a0playful yet impactful lyrics resonate with people of all ages, delivering a message of fun and meaningful empowerment.<\/p>\n The single, produced by\u00a0Souljagotbeatz\u00a0and\u00a0Jwitdahitz, features one of Hip-hop\u2019s own,\u00a0Bun B, boasts an infectious beat and Van Van\u2019s signature, vibrant flow, only leaves you wanting more. With her incredible talent, charismatic personality, and commitment to positive messages,\u00a0Van Van\u00a0is quickly becoming a trailblazer in the hip-hop world \u2014 and she\u2019s only getting started.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to show kids everywhere that they can make a difference and be a positive force in the world. Do The Right Thing is my way of telling everyone, no matter how old you are, always choose what\u2019s good and right,\u201d says Van Van.<\/p>\n This release follows her successful debut project, \u201cVan Van\u201d, which garnered attention for its creativity and influence within the young hip-hop community. As\u00a0Van Van\u00a0continues to grow her fan base, she remains dedicated to uplifting and inspiring through her music, encouraging her audience to embrace kindness, resilience, and joy.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n A self-taught producer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist, Low.b\u014d forged his sound through trial, pain, and persistence. Raised singing in the church in Baltimore while pursuing a career in photography, he found music as a lifeline during a dark period of depression and isolation. Since then, Low.b\u014d has been\u00a0 named an\u00a0Official Artist at SXSW 2023\u00a0and earned praise from\u00a0The Needle Drop, COLORS x STUDIOS, Ones To Watch,\u00a0Billboard, On The Radar, OVO Sound Radio,\u00a0and\u00a0H0mer Radio,\u00a0and graced the cover of\u00a0Spotify\u2019s Vanguard playlist. With\u00a0husk,\u00a0Low.b\u014d is stepping into his next chapter. Following his critically acclaimed projects\u00a0CIRCA\u00a0(2023) and\u00a0IMPALA\u00a0(2024), Low.b\u014d\u2019s\u00a0husk\u00a0delves deeper \u2013 exploring the bruises, beauty, and blurred lines of learning to feel again.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t Meklit,\u00a0the Ethiopian-born, San Francisco\u2013based vocalist, composer, activist, described by\u00a0PopMatters\u00a0as \u201cone of the jazz world\u2019s most innovative modern artists,\u201d today releases \u201cAbebayehosh,\u201d the second song from her\u00a0Smithsonian Folkways\u00a0debut,\u00a0A Piece of Infinity,\u00a0out 9\/26. This latest body of work journeys through the Ethiopian music \u201cgalaxy,\u201d reimagining traditional folk songs and drawing on feminist lineages in Ethiopian music, where women and girls have carried stories, rituals, and histories.<\/p>\n A song deeply rooted in seasonal tradition, \u201cAbebayehosh\u201d is sung every September by young girls in Ethiopia to mark the New Year, when the countryside bursts into color with adey abebay, the golden flowers of Ethiopian springtime. Meklit brings the traditional melody into vivid contemporary form alongside Kibrom Birhane (keyboard), Sam Bevan (electric bass), Colin Douglas (drumkit), Marco Peris Coppola (tupan and percussion), and Howard Wiley (alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone). Her soaring vocals combine with vibrant rhythms and horn lines, bridging centuries-old cultural traditions with her contemporary sound, rooted in jazz, soul, and East African music.<\/p>\n Having topped world music charts across the US + Europe with her previous works, Meklit has collaborated with everyone from Andrew Bird to the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and her music has been praised by\u00a0The New York Times,\u00a0San Francisco Chronicle, and NPR. Beyond performance, she is a visiting artist at Stanford University and host of\u00a0Movement, a PRX podcast exploring the sounds of global migration.<\/p>\n Recorded entirely at the Bay Area\u2019s Women\u2019s Audio Mission,\u00a0A Piece of Infinity\u00a0is both an ancestral offering and a cultural intervention, showing that tradition is alive, evolving, and shaped by the experiences of those in motion across borders. For Meklit, these songs are acts of connection, bridging past and present, homeland and diaspora, and the personal and the political to reveal how music holds the memory of migration and celebrates the communities it creates.<\/p>\n Watch the video for the first single, \u201cTizita,\u201d featuring Brandee Younger and directed by Sophiyaa Nayar, for a glimpse into the album\u2019s sound\u00a0HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t Less than two weeks ahead of the launch of his North American tour, Amin\u00e9 shares his new single \u201cLA.\u201d Produced by\u00a0Westen Weiss<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Pasqu\u00e9<\/a>, the latest offering is a prime example of Amin\u00e9\u2019s artistic versatility. Arriving alongside a music video directed by\u00a0noahsocold<\/a>\u00a0(Bad Bunny, bbtrickz), \u201cLA\u201d sees the rapper basking in all he\u2019s accomplished whilst living in LA over a playful, digitized beat and hypnotic melody.<\/p>\n Last month, Amin\u00e9 shared a live performance\u00a0video<\/a>\u00a0from his new album\u00a013 Months of Sunshine. Filmed in the\u00a0Addis Skatepark<\/a>\u00a0in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, this latest visual offering sees the rapper perform a handful of highlights from the album, including \u201cNew Flower (feat. Leon Thomas),\u201d \u201cTemptations,\u201d \u201cArc de Triomphe,\u201d and \u201c13MOS,\u201d while surrounded by the internationally renowned\u00a0Ethiopian Girl Skaters Crew<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Released this past May,\u00a013 Months of Sunshine\u00a0is a play on the 13-month calendar that Amin\u00e9\u2019s native Ethiopia and Eritrea follow, as well as a direct reference to the Western marketing campaigns to entice tourists to visit Ethiopia in the 60\u2019s and 70\u2019s.\u00a0\u201cThey came up with this slogan to show people that there was so much more to Ethiopia than what is advertised,\u201d\u00a0the rapper shared,\u00a0\u201cI related so heavily to it, because on this album, I am showing that there\u2019s so much more than what everyone assumes about my music\u2014myself included.\u201d\u00a0Guided by intimate conversations with family members, specifically his father, and the strong ties to his East African heritage,\u00a013 Months of Sunshine\u00a0sees the rapper reevaluate his meteoric success and the legacy he wants to leave behind through intentional storytelling.<\/p>\n Executive produced by Dahi (Ravyn Lenae, SZA, Kendrick Lamar), every line on the 16-song album passes the \u201csmall reading room test\u201d through lyrics that he \u201cwould be proud to read, without music and in front of 30 people,\u201d\u00a0Amin\u00e9 explains,\u00a0\u201cEvery line had to pass that test.\u201d From the Waxahatchee-featuring indie pop beauty of \u201cHistory\u201d to the psych-synth invocation of Toro y Moi-assisted album closer \u201cImages\u201d on\u00a013 Months of Sunshine, the rapper presents his most exacting vision to date as well as a ferocious appetite as both a listener and curator of sound.\u00a0<\/p>\n On the heels of the album\u2019s release this past spring, Amin\u00e9 announced a tour in support of\u00a013 Months of Sunshine\u00a0across North America, the United Kingdom and Europe for this Fall. He\u2019ll be kicking off the tour with the second edition of The Best Day Ever Festival taking place September 13th and 14th in his hometown of Portland before taking the music of his new acclaimed album and his storied catalog across the Live Nation-promoted 4-month run.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t The heavy hitting track continues to show off her undeniable street authenticity with her sassy and bold attitude. In the video, she is truly being the coolest 17-year-old rapper riding around New York City in big luxury SUV, hitting major NY spots such as the local deli to pick up a famous chopped cheese and apple juice before she hits Times Square for an epic night in the city.<\/p>\n The single \/ video comes on the heels of her recently released single, \u201cNAW YEA FR\u201d and her debut festival performance atLollapalooza\u00a0in the heart of her hometown. Star Bandz was just included in Complex\u2019s \u201c13 Best Teenage Rappers Right Now<\/a><\/u>,\u201d and continues to show off her vibrant confidence in this new anthem. Star Bandz has recently received recognition from some of her role models in the rap game including Lil Durk and Polo G. She was also included in Pitchfork\u2019s \u201cBest 100 Songs of 2024\u201d list. Her collaboration with New York native Sugarhill Ddot titled \u201cMy Baby\u201d now has over\u00a027M views on YouTube\u00a0and continues to rapidly grow a year post release. Star Bandz truly continues to make her mark as a 17-year-old in the scene, bringing a fresh and fearless take to drill rap while inspiring a new generation of artists to come.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t Global breakout artist\u00a0d4vd\u00a0has partnered with\u00a0Epic Games\u00a0to release\u00a0Fortnite\u2019s first-ever official anthem,\u00a0\u201cLocked & Loaded (Official Fortnite anthem).\u201d\u00a0The highly anticipated,\u00a0adrenaline-charged\u00a0track is out now and will make its in-game debut in the\u00a0Fortnite Shop\u00a0as part of the\u00a0official Fortnite Global Championship Series (FNCS) Emote and Jam Track\u00a0beginning\u00a0September 4 at 8 PM\u00a0ET.<\/p>\n \u201cFortnite has been such a big part of my life and it\u2019s what led me to make music in the first place,\u201d\u00a0says d4vd.\u00a0\u201cBeing able to create the official anthem for Fortnite feels like a true full-circle moment. Fortnite gave me a space to be creative and connect with people all over the world, and that same energy is what I wanted to put into this track. It\u2019s more than a song \u2014 it\u2019s me giving back to something that\u2019s shaped my story as an artist. And even now, playing Fortnite is still my true passion.\u201d<\/p>\n Accompanying the release is an\u00a0official music video, a stunning visual blend of\u00a0animation, FNCS footage, Fortnite gameplay, and mixed-media art\u00a0that pays tribute to d4vd\u2019s connection to the iconic game.\u00a0WATCH\u00a0HERE<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tSource:Big Crown Records\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n2. Chase Shakur \u2013 Tell Me Why<\/h3>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tSource:Chase Shakur\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n3. Princess Nokia \u2013 Blue Velvet<\/h3>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tSource:Princess Nokia\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n4. Van Van ft. Bun B \u2013 Do The Right Thing<\/h3>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tSource:VanVan – Topic\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n5. Low.b\u014d \u2013 husk<\/h3>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tSource:Low.b\u014d\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n6. Meklit \u2013 Abebayehosh<\/h3>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tSource:Smithsonian Folkways\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n7. Amin\u00e9 \u2013 LA<\/h3>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tSource:Amin\u00e9\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n8. Star Bandz \u2013 Die<\/h3>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tSource:STAR BANDZ\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n9. d4vd \u2013 Locked & Loaded (Official Fortnite Anthem)<\/h3>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tSource:d4vd and Fortnite\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n