Yall are absolutely bugging with this whole nostalgia for 2016 shit.
2016 was a bad year. We lost Prince, David Bowie, Muhammad Ali and a gang of other folk. It was the year that police killed Alton Sterling and Philando Castille and maybe more importantly the year Trump got elected.
There was way more collective mourning than celebrating in 2016 and that in itself is the marker of a bad year.
I’m not even talking about music. There is always good music dropping. Shit I was involved with three albums that dropped that year (Abandoned Theme Park, Ahead of Schedule and stop. waiting.) and did some pretty cool gigs to boot. With all of that in mind I definitely don’t look back at that year longingly.
SHOWS
I’ll be going on the road with Michelle Buteau starting in February and those dates are listed here.
NEWS
I am really enjoying this G/B/U thing. I love a template!
GOOD - J. Cole is back but the song he dropped is not on streaming. I wonder if that’s why it feels like the internet hasn’t been talking about it. What if he goes direct to consumer on this one and forgoes streaming? That would be incredible. I doubt he’ll do that tho.
BAD - Ludacris and Nelly were scheduled to play a festival alongside Morgan Whalen, Kid Rock and a gang of other folk. It’s called Rock The Country and it seems like a MAGA version of Rolling Loud. Ludacris has since dropped out of the line up but Nelly is still on board and defending his decision by saying he’s performing for the troops. LINK
UGLY - LeBron dropped an Honor The King colorway of his sneaker that was meant to commemorate a game where he scored 51 points against the Grizzlies in 2008 and it draws inspiration from the Lorraine Hotel where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated in 1968. I think they are donating a portion of the proceeds to a museum but outside of the charity of it all it feels tacky and the shoe is ugly. LINK
VIDEOS
Zo! dropped a documentary detailing the making of his SkyBreak album. It’s a really dope album and I’m guessing the documentary is equally as good. Also I love that thumbnail they used.
Since you can’t get the new J. Cole song on streaming here’s the video. Based on the song title I have the feeling that it’s a double album but I also haven’t really listened to the song to know if it’s part of the song concept. The video is really cool tho.
OK Go ASAP Rocky back with another cool video. This time it features animation and narration by Tim Burton who also stars in the video. The most interesting part of all this is that he has an actual whiskey called Mercer + Prince but doesn’t show it in the video.
Vic Mensa’s album isn’t on streaming and I haven’t heard it yet but every song he’s dropped a video for has been fire.
I don’t know the name of the breakbeat that Hit-Boy used for this song but it’s almost impossible to make a bad song when you use it. This joint got a good feel to it. It’s not on streaming either. Youtube got all the exclusives.
I found out about Ezale during my stint in the Bay and had completely forgotten about him until this video popped up in my feed. This is a slapper* and it reminded me to go back and listen to the song that made me a fan.
He went absolutely crazy on this joint. The beat switches four times. They do donuts in a paddleboad. The dreads are shaking. The Gucci bulletproof vest is incredible. The yaddamean is yaddasayin.^^
Man I miss the bay so much. I think I was supposed to live there but ended up staying in Brooklyn instead but that’s another topic for another time.
*will one of my bay area folk confirm that I used this word correctly?
^^i absolutely did not use this right but idk lol.
MUSIC
E L U C I D’s output is crazy. Feels like he got a new album out every few months!
Sa-ra has been consistently dropping jams for a few weeks now. I am not mad at it.
This GENA album gonna be great.
Guapdad is so dope. He makes really fun videos but the songs are jamming too.
I don’t know who this group is but saw they had a song with Nottz so I linked it. Pretty dope.
Tiana Major9 got a jam.
I have no idea who this is. It is dope and has a new-age new jack swing feel to it.
I don’t remember hearing this song but Ego Ella May is dope.
This joint is a jam. It’s pretty infectious!
RANDOM
Lexa Gates is a new act who promotes her albums with art installations and it’s pretty intriguing.
She dropped an album and I gave it a skim. It’s very listenable if you are a person like me who is into soul samples and drums. She’s like a boom bap version of lana del ray* or something. The videos are very well shot. I just wonder what type of music she’ll be making in 5-10 years…
*i don’t fully know what lana del ray sounds like.
Brilliant breakdown on the 2016 nostalgia thing. The music was solid, but the collective grief part really puts it in perpsective. I remeber that year felt heavier somehow, even with great albums dropping. That G/B/U format works so well for digestng music news without the usual fluff.
Ezale's Town Taxes is definitely in my top 5 albums of 2025. Every song slaps and is fun as hell. I'm glad Ezale, LaRussell, and P-Lo (and probably a bunch of other Bay dudes I don't know about) are still willing to make music that is fun without (to me) being corny. Sometimes you need a song to put you in a good mood!