The Plug’n Play: September (‘21)
You can listen to the full playlist on Apple Music, Spotify, or Tidal
Below are some of our favorite songs from the month, and a bit about why we love them. The first 11 songs were selected by Kevin, and the last 11 songs were selected by me, Stanley. We hope you find a song you like, and check out the entire album!
Stanley: Nate Smith — See The Birds (Featuring Joel Ross and Michael Mayo)
Nate Smith’s new record, Kinfolk 2: See The Birds. his fourth LP, sees the drummer expand his repertoire as bandleader and songwriter. Much like his 2017 album Kinfolk: Postcards From Everywhere, Kinfolk 2 features Smith’s mesmerizing and meticulous drumming, but with featured artists Joel Ross on vibes, Living Colur’s, Vernon Reid on guitar, vocals from Michael Mayo, Brittany Howard, Stokley, Kokayi, and Amma Whatt, Kinfolk 2 feels like something different; something more. The title track, See The Birds, is a song of hope and aspiration captivatingly sung by Michael Mayo (one of the great revelations of Smith’s new project for me), and taken to new heights by Joel Ross’ vibes solo. Smith new project is excellent, but more than that it’s beautiful.
Stanley: Yebba — Far Away (Featuring A$AP Rocky)
Metaphors have their limits, but stick with me. Yebba [almost] feels like one of the young basketball players you’d see on Bleacher Report’s Instagram account doing 360-windmill dunks from the free throw line, only to find out in the caption that that kid is only in the 6th grade, or something like that. I guess I’m basically talking about Zion Williamson. But Yebba feels like that — the person you’d hear featured in seemingly unexpected places at unexpected times: on A Tribe Called Quest’s We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service; on PJ Morton’s Gumbo Unplugged, which, maybe more than anything else, really introduced her to a new audience; on James Francies and Robert Glasper’s respective albums, and then on Drake’s latest LP. To continue running this metaphor into the ground, Yebba’s much-anticipated debut album, Dawn, feels like the moment when that player that you’d been hearing about is drafted number one overall and…they actually live up to the hype. Dawn is vulnerably written and excellently composed. It’s an impressive feat, especially as a first offering.
Stanley: Wayne Snow — Relativity
Nigerian-born, Germany-based singer-songwriter, Wayne Snow’s new album Figurine is one of the most exciting and daring albums released this year. Snow often describes his musical style as “Future Soul” — citing artists such as Sade, King Sunny Ade, Marvin Gaye, and Fela Kuti as inspirations. Showing reverence for his influences, Snow is keenly interested in advancing the variety of Black music traditions, often incorporating digital and analog recording technologies, while also not being bogged down by homage, or falling prey to parody. Relativity, the slow-burning, yet ever-building tune, begins with the sound of a Hammond B3 organ and a bass guitar. As the organ’s tremolo setting kicks in (it almost sounds like the organ is “opening”, if you will), synthesizers and drums are introduced, and then an electric guitar. The song’s compositional dynamics make it an exciting tune of expectation and pay off for the listener.
