14B
Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015
ARTS & CULTURE | KANSAN.COM
+
LOWKEY LISTENS
Every month, Lowkey Listens showcases five tracks to listen to from five different artists. For August, read about and listen to Brockhampton, Chance the Rapper, Lil B, Lund, Yung Lean and Duke Jordan.
ONTRIBUTED PHOTO FROM SOUNDCLOUD
"We Rare BASED FREESTYLE 1" Chance the Rapper and Lil B
I've never understood all the Lil B love, but this beat — produced by Nate Fox — is too hot to pass on. This track is the last (and also the best) off of "Free," the mixtape that the duo recently dropped, which is composed of freestyles. Though I didn't love the tape as a whole, this last track has me wanting more. The two rap over an absolute banger of a beat, while Chance the Rapper comes through with a catchy hook between the "whoop" and "based god" of Lil B.
With Chance and the based god rapping about why they're "rare," this is play-loud-in-your-car-with-the-windows-down music. Just trust me.
Bet I'—Brockhampton
Best line: "The reason why we rare is 'cause everybody's beautiful." — Chance the Rapper
I was put onto the Brockhampton collective this summer, and it basically owned the rest of my summer. Kevin Abstract is the lead man of the collective, but there are contributions from Matt Champion, Ameer Van, Joba, Poofie and Merlyn Wood on this track. It's not often that we get a six-minute song in hip-hop that is enjoyable all the way through, but this is one of those tracks. Right when you think it's starting to cool down around the four-minute mark, Wood comes in and throws some hard bars over some sharp bass about 90 seconds later.
Keep your eye out for this collective: This track has over 145,000 views on SoundCloud, the group has a cult-like following and it recently won the "VFILES LOUD!" competition — a talent search conducted by VFiles. The group is quickly on the rise, and you shouldn't be surprised if you hear more about it soon.
Best line: "She don't smoke weed to get high/She only smoke dope' cause her friends do it." — Kevin Abstract
"Tokyo Drift" - Yung Lean (featuring MonyHorse, PETZ, Bladee and Junkman)
Yung Lean is hit or miss, and with this track, he hit it hard. But I'm not going to give the credit to Lean on this one; that all goes to the producer, Chaki Zulu, who I knew little about before this track dropped. Zulu is a Japanese producer who has just over 5,000 followers on Twitter. Lean dug deep for this one. We even get to see a verse (albeit, a subpar verse) from Bladee on this track, which is something we don't get every day.
"Alone"—Lund
Best line: "Lean Doer, I'm exhausted, I be coughin' in that coffin." — Yung Lean
I know absolutely nothing about this guy Lund other than this song will get you in your feels. Usually, Lund will remix or use samples heavily in his music. Here, he's doing it all by himself, and from what I've heard, it's his most impressive work yet. It's a piano-heavy song on the hook, but when the verses come in, Lund spruces things up with some drums and hi-hats. It's a masterpiece which deserves a lot more attention than it's getting. I'll try to keep my eye on this guy, but he is very low-key — just how we like them.
Best line:"Addicted to love, and you're my supplier."
"Forget Me (Duke Jordan Remix)" Keaton Allen and Lexi Caudill
Duke Jordan hasn't released a whole lot yet, but what he has dropped — mostly just instrumentals on his Sound-Cloud page — has been very good. This one takes some getting used to, I'll admit. Allen and Caudill originally made this song completely acoustic: only a guitar and the vocals. Jordan decided to come in and spice it up a bit.
CHRISTIAN HARDY
@HardyNFL
It's a soulful beat that stays very repetitive and simple throughout the whole song. Though it can get a bit dicey at times, the voices of Allen and Caudill always smooth it out, and the production itself is beautiful to listen to. With a few listens, you'll really start to groove to this song. The original version can be found on Allen's SoundCloud page.
Best line: "Forget my loving touch, cause now we're nothing." — Lexi Gaudill
ROBERT J. DOLE INSTITUTE OF POLITICS
BE SMART. BUDDY UP.
79% of KU students stay with the same group of friends the entire time they are drinking.
Source: National College Health Assessment, Spring 2013
@KUBJS
!
buddy.ku.edu
+