Category: News

Ted Lucas’ Slip-N-Slide record label is an iconic Miami institution, churning out multiple legacy artists throughout the tenure of their history. Next up from their roster is Miami’s own Mike Smiff, who aims to be the voice of the voiceless.

Having faced his fair share of battles throughout his life, it wasn’t always sunny days in Miami for Mike.  Overcoming homelessness to receiving a roster spot on Slip-N-Slide was quite the story but the work doesn’t cease and it’s just beginning

Today Mike Smiff releases the music video for the lead single off of his forthcoming album, which is still untitled, due out this year. World premiering on BET Jams and Papa Keith’s Local Clout of the Day track on Miami’s 103.5 The Beat, “Cheese” features Orlando rapper Hotboii who has been making a heavy impact on streaming. The Drew Filmed It and Mr. Surge directed visual is the epitome of South Florida, taking place in an opulent villa, and should motivate a lot of fans due to Mike’s past history and overcoming that adversity.

Mike Smiff states, “Cheese” to me sounds like payday! I love the energy in the song. It feels good and it’s one of the first songs I let breathe. I sat with the beat for a while, did the hook and sat with that for a while, went back and did my verse, sat with that and when Hot came through with his verse, I knew it was up! The energy at the video shoot just confirmed how I felt about this record.

With co-signs by other South Florida artists like Kodak Black and Trick Daddy, as well as Boosie Badazz, Mike Smiff is destined for success, as he has yet to throw in the towel no matter what life threw at him. Get ready for his forthcoming album due out at some point this year.

On Wednesday, April 7th, Twenty One Pilots announced a new album, Scaled and Icy which is to be released on May 21st via Fueled by Ramen. This new album follows the band’s platinum-certified 2018 album, Trench. 

Along with the announcement, Twenty One Pilots released the first single off of the new album, called “Shy Away.” The song is poppy, upbeat, and maintains the alt-rock style of their previous records. The single is accompanied by a colorful music video directed by Miles & AJ, that shows the band members performing the new song. 

The press release regarding the new album talked about the band’s process of creating it, saying “Scaled and Icy is the product of long-distance virtual sessions and finds the duo processing their upended routines along with the prevailing emotions of 2020 – anxiety, loneliness, boredom, and doubt. The duo had to forgo their normal studio sessions, but reached a new level of introspection in the process, adopting a more imaginative and bold approach to their songwriting. The result is a collection of songs that push forward through setbacks and focus on the possibilities worth remembering.”

Twenty One Pilots will also be performing their first livestream concert on the day of Scaled and Icy’s release, May 21st at 5 pm PST. To buy tickets for the concert, check out their website here. 

The tracklist for Scaled and Icy is below. 

1. “Good Day”

2. “Choker”

3. “Shy Away”

4. “The Outside”

5. “Saturday”

6. “Never Take It”

7. “Mulberry Street”

8. “Formidable”

9. “Bounce Man”

10. “No Chances”

11. “Redecorate”

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On Tuesday, April 6th, Dave Grohl announced he would be publishing and releasing an autobiographical book called The Storyteller. The book is due out October 5th from Dey Street Books. The Storyteller is to include stories and memories from Grohl’s life that have molded him as a person, including his experiences with Nirvana, Foo Fighters, David Bowie, Joan Jett, Iggy Pop, Paul McCartney, Tom Petty, AC/DC, and more.

Learn more about The Storyteller on Dave Grohl’s website here. 

Grohl posted about the book on his Instagram account @DavesTrueStories, which included the caption “A collection of memories of a life lived loud. From my early days growing up in the suburbs of Washington, DC, to hitting the road at the age of 18, and all the music that followed, I can now share these adventures with the world, as seen and heard from behind the microphone. Turn it up!” Additionally, the post shared photos of paragraphs of Dave Grohl talking about the inspiration behind the book and included the book’s cover, which is a side profile picture of Grohl himself. 

Dave Grohl also shared an 11-minute voice recording of him explaining and talking about The Storyteller and its inspiration. 

Listen to Dave Grohl talk about The Storyteller here. 

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On Sunday, April 4th, Justin Bieber surprised his fans with a gospel-themed EP called Freedom. Bieber posted about the EP on his social media, which included the EP’s cover art, a picture of text saying “Freedom.” from his notes app. Along with the post is the caption “Freedom on all platforms.”

Freedom on all platforms https://t.co/k9a33Pb2Gu pic.twitter.com/BkAqqaKJRZ

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) April 4, 2021

Freedom has 6 tracks: “Freedom” featuring BEAM, “All She Wrote” featuring Brandon Love and Chandler Moore, “We’re In This Together,” “Where You Go I Follow” featuring Pink Sweats, Chandler Moore, and Judah Smith, “Where Do I Fit In” featuring Tori Kelly, Chandler Moore, and Judah Smith, and “Afraid to Say” featuring Lauren Walters.

Freedom comes just a few weeks after Bieber’s recent album Justice’s release. Justice is Bieber’s sixth studio album and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart. 

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New records from established stars, and up and coming artists were released this week. Demi Lovato, Foxes, Ryley Walker, and Flock of Dimes all released new music this week. 

Demi Lovato releases her new album Dancing with the Devil… The Art of Starting Over today. The album includes 19 songs and three bonus tracks and is a companion to Lovato’s documentary, Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil. Read Dash’s full article on Lovato’s new album here. 

Foxes releases their EP Friends in the Corner today. The pop artist’s EP includes previously released tracks by the artist “Kathleen,” “Friends in the Corner,” and “Hollywood.” Friends in the Corner includes 7 songs and a bonus acoustic track of “Kathleen.” Foxes talked about the single “Kathleen,” the EP, and an upcoming album saying “Focusing on creativity during lockdown has been essential for me – it’s given me so much strength and positivity. Almost without realizing it, I ended up writing a whole new album. The new songs have a really different energy and need to exist together as a record… It felt right to wrap these songs up together as an EP before the new album gets released later this year.”

Rapper Lil TJay dropped his Destined 2 Win project featuring 21 new tracks and features from Tyga, Saweetie & more. 24hrs released the Real Walker EP with appearances by Ty Dolla $ign, MadeinTYO, PnB Rock & Lightshow. 

Ryley Walker releases his new album Course In Fable today. The folk singer-songwriter, and guitarist from Chicago describes the new album as “indie rock.” Even though Walker lives in New York City now, Course In Fable stayed true to his Chicago roots, as it is said to have definite feelings and sounds of music being made in Chicago. The album’s described as being elegantly dizzy, shimmery, and yet direct.

Flock of Dimes’ new album Head of Roses is released today. Jenn Wasner is behind Flock of Dimes, and this record is her second solo album. When talking about Head of Roses, Wasner said “Simply put, Head of Roses is a record about heartbreak, but from a dualistic perspective. It’s about the experience of having one’s heart broken and breaking someone else’s heart at the same time. But beyond that, it’s about having to reconcile the experience of one’s own pain with the understanding that it’s impossible to go through life without being the source of great pain for someone else.”

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Two years ago today we lost an icon, father, entrepreneur, friend & legend; Nipsey Hussle. Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, G-Eazy & plenty others have shown love to both Nipsey & his wife Lauren London on social media today.

Nipsey will never be forgotten and today we are reminded of his influence, not only in Los Angeles but around the world. The two-time Grammy-winning artist left behind a legacy that will inspire the globe for years to come. As Nip would say, The Marathon Continues.

This statement stands true as Nipsey has been nominated for 5 Grammy awards since his untimely passing, bringing 2 Grammys home. The Jay-Z/Nipsey Hussle collaboration “What It Looks Like” recently dropped on Judas and the Black Messiah: The Inspired Album. The song peaked at #19 on the Billboard charts.

All-day today we are celebrating the music of Nipsey Hussle via our Nipsey Hussle Pop-Up Station.

The Marathon Continues.

Rest in peace Ermias “Nipsey Hussle” Asghedom.

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On Monday, March 29th, Waxahatchee celebrated the one-year anniversary of her critically acclaimed album, Saint Cloud. Along with the celebration, she released a new deluxe edition of the album, which features three covers. “Fruits of My Labor” by Lucinda Williams, “Streets of Philadelphia” by Bruce Springsteen, and “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” by Dolly Parton were covered by Waxahatchee and appeared on the deluxe edition of the album. 

Listen to Waxahatchee’s cover of Lucinda Williams’ “Fruits of My Labor” here. 

Listen to Waxahatchee’s cover of Dolly Parton’s “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” here. 

Waxahatchee talked about the deluxe edition and its inclusion of the covers on her Instagram, saying, “3 covers released today to commemorate the 1 year anniversary of saint cloud we tracked @lucinda_williams ‘fruits of my labor’ while in the studio making SC, & tracked the other 2 (@dollyparton’s ´light of a clear blue morning’ + @springsteen’s ‘streets of philadelphia) a few months back just for fun with @bradleywcook LIB enjoy xoxo.”

Waxahatchee took her own spin on each of the covers while staying true to each of the songs’ roots. The covers align with Saint Cloud’s mellow, country feeling mood. Waxahatchee talked about her album Saint Cloud when it was released a year ago, saying “I think all of my records are turbulent and emotional, but this one feels like it has a little dose of enlightenment. It feels a little more calm and less reckless.”

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BTS will be releasing a 400-page e-book that is inspired by the group’s 2020 global art exhibition called CONNECT, BTS. The book will highlight the artists that were involved with the exhibition, and revisit the locations of the installations. 

The e-book and project are described on their website saying, “CONNECT, BTS is a global project to connect five cities and twenty-two artists, each of whom contributes their unique philosophy and imagination to it. This project aims to redefine the relationships between art and music, the material and immaterial, artists and their audiences, artists and artists, theory and practice.”

Learn more about CONNECT, BTS on their website here. 

The K-pop phenomenon group announced the e-book on Monday, March 29, and in the statement, they said “It’s the belief that diversity can create a world where differences do not render us apart but ‘connect’ us together through our uniqueness. We hope that you can be a part of CONNECT, BTS through this shared belief, and we hope that here is true inspiration awaiting our discovery.” 

The e-book will be available for download for free on April 30. Additionally, BTS also created a font to go along with the e-book which will be released on the same day. 

CONNECT, BTS

각자의 다양성들이 서로 '연결'된 세상을 만들어나갈 수 있다는 믿음.

It's the belief that diversity can create a world where differences 'CONNECT' us together through our uniqueness.

E-Book & Font available on
▶ https://t.co/qH8vzkF54R#CONNECT_BTS pic.twitter.com/zD7zg8b7MK

— BTS_official (@bts_bighit) March 29, 2021

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On this past weekend’s Saturday Night Live episode, Pete Davidson and Jack Harlow break down what an NFT, or non-fungible token is through rap. The sketch is inspired by Eminem’s “Without Me” both in the song, and its video, with Davidson wearing a Robin costume throughout the musical sketch. 

The sketch starts inside a school classroom. Kate McKinnon is seen playing Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen who is talking to the class of students. When asked if anyone had questions for Yellen, Davidson raises his hand, then starts rapping. “Two silicon boys were talking outside, talking outside, talking outside,” Davidson starts the rap “What the hell’s an NFT? / Apparently cryptocurrency / Everyone’s making so much money / Can you please explain what’s an NFT / It’s like real-life Monopoly / Everyone’s doing it, like Gronkowski / Can you please help me make an NFT?”

Another verse is rapped by Chris Redd dressed as the Matrix’s Morpheus. Jack Harlow then comes in, as he appears in the classroom as a janitor for the school. Harlow jumps in to explain NFTs a bit more eloquently, rapping “Here’s the thing about NFTs / It’s a non-fungible token you see / Non-fungible means that it’s unique/ There can only be one like you and me / NFTs are insane, built on a block chain / A digital ledger of transactions / It records information on what’s happening / When it’s minted you can sell it as art/ And this concludes my rapping part.”

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This week, new music was released by artists who haven’t released new albums in years, including Evanescence and The Antlers. Additionally, new music from AJR, NF, and Peach Tree Rascals is released today. 

AJR release their fourth album OK Orchestra today. The album is to include previously released songs “BANG!” and “Way Less Sad.” When talking about the new album, AJR said “In the most uncertain year of our lives, making OK Orchestra was the one certain thing we had to hold on to. We ended up with the most sonically experimental and emotionally raw album we’ve ever made.”

Michigan rapper, NF releases his latest project Clouds (The Mixtape) today. The release features collaboration tracks with Hopsin and Tech N9ne. “LOST” which features Hopsin, and “CLOUDS” were previously released. Both songs were accompanied by somewhat dark and ominous music videos, which seems to reflect the tone of the tracks, and possibly the mixtape. 

Cheb Rabi, the breakout artist from Sketpa’s “Love Me Not”, who is known for providing the hook on that hit record, gave us his second release as a solo artist, “Void” and first release since 2019. Returning to the scene with a guitar-heavy instrumental, Cheb Rabi delivers a melodic masterpiece that takes you through a roller coaster of emotions. “Void” debuted on Zane Lowe’s show on Beats 1 and is putting the world on notice.

Evanescence releases their first album with all original music in over a decade today called The Bitter Truth. The album is said to be full of emotion and angst. The band uses some new techniques with synths and electronic beats throughout the album as well. “Yeah Right,” “Use My Voice,” and “Wasted On You” will be included on the album. 

The Antlers release a new album called Green to Gold today. This is the indie-folk group’s first new album in 7 years. Green to Gold has 10 tracks and includes the song “Solstice” which was released in January. “Solstice” has a warm and relaxed sound, while still including emotionally deep lyrics. 

The San Jose music collective, Peach Tree Rascals release their EP Camp Nowhere today. When talking about the EP, vocalist Tarrek Abdel-Khaliq said “Camp Nowhere came from the idea that a lot of people have been using the isolation of quarantine and the state of the world to dig deeper into themselves and figure out what’s important to them.” The collective seems to meet at the intersection of R&B, pop, and funk. Previously released songs “OOZ” and “LEAVE ME” will be included on the EP.

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