Damn. We’re slacking – another fortnightly wait for Eargasms. We had all 5 tracks picked last week but couldn’t get the post on time so it was scrapped so hop on after the cut for our top 5 from the first week of February. Boom.

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ESPERANZA SPALDING

‘Black Gold‘

After hearing  ’Chamber Music Society‘ and then seeing her live at The Barbican, I’ve been keen to hear some new material from Esperanza. Based around the theme of empowerment, ‘Black Gold‘ is a soulful track featuring Algebra Blessett and is taken from her upcoming album ‘Radio Music Society‘. While I love the song, after hearing it, I’m intrigued by what her new album will offer as the previous one boasted a stronger Jazz influence than this track.

Selected by Yang

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JOHN LEGEND x LUDACRIS

‘Tonight (Best You Ever Had)‘

YES! New John Legend. Enough of the features! though they were all dope – his features made me a Rick Ross fan. Fact. R&B Crooner is back with this braggadocio filled track titled ‘Tonight (Best You Ever Had)‘ featuring Ludacris. The pair confess their way with the ladies and why they’ll provide the best night ever. Baby making music! Enjoy.

Selected by Yin

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CHRIS BROWN

‘I Love You‘

When it comes to sexy slow jams Chris Brown fully understands how to craft such a tune that exudes the necessary sultriness, sexiness and suggestive nature needed to pull it off. Examples include recent tracks such as ‘Wet The Bed’, ‘Like A Virgin Again’ and ‘Take You Down’. Having released the up-tempo lead single from his forthcoming fifth studio album Fortune to the world, this sexy love song found it’s way to the Internet this week.

As much as I like the song, I do have a slight problem with the over use of studio effects on the vocals. Chris can sing and I feel that the studio trickery takes away from the song rather than adds to it. His vocals sound muffled in parts which irritated me. This is either because of the over reliance on studio magic or it could be that it is a low quality, unmastered, unmixed version of the song that has been leaked. Although I don’t feel the latter is the actual reason.

Selected by DJB

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Cris Cab

‘Angels & Demons‘

BEAUTIFUL. I’m a sucker for tracks with an acoustic guitar instrumental. Angels & Demons is by young Miami artist Cris Cab who’s signed to Pharrell‘s imprint I Am Other. So I decided to do a little bit of research to see where his distinct Carribean inspired sound comes from…

Selected by Yin

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K’NAAN x NELLY FURTADO

‘Is Anybody Out There?‘

Both K’naan and Nelly Furtado had quiet 2011’s, but they make for a great collaboration on ‘Is Anybody Out There?’, the first track off the highly recommended K’naan EP, More Beautiful than Silence. With a simple piano melody, some fantastic vocals, and great lyrics, this makes for some easy listening. It may be a little too mainstream for fans of K’naan who will still remember the days of The Dusty Foot Philosopher, his first studio album. But that doesn’t make this any less of a brilliant song, and its message should not go unnoticed. Hopefully, we’ll hear more from these two talented artists in 2012.

Selected by Amon

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NICKI MINAJ

‘Marilyn Monroe (Tags)‘

So it’s fair to say that Nicki Minaj hasn’t had the best start to this new album era. Her single ‘Stupid Hoe’ has been hugely criticized along with the album’s buzz track ‘Roman In Moscow’. Pushing the album back may have been the best thing to happen as she is now in a position to start the promotion and select the right songs to support the album all over again. This new track entitled ‘Marilyn Monroe’ has not officially been confirmed as an album track but this is definitely the right direction to go in if she wants to continue to have commercial success.

The song sounds very much like it has been produced by Alex Da Kid but I cannot confirm my suspicion at this point. The track wouldn’t be out of place on a Rihanna album, Minaj has go on record to say that she writes songs as well as bars and this just may well be a very good example. This is a leak so the track does have tags attached and is cut short but let me know what you think anyway. Is Nicki on to a good thing with this vibe?

Selected by DJB

So on Saturday was a day of two half for me. Having woke up after a deep and meaningful sleep that lasted all of 1 hour I headed down to the studio (photography studio), still intoxicated, to meet Yin. After the shoot was done I took my ass home and slept for a lil bit. Having returned to being a fully functioning human being I then took my self down to the second studio shoot of the day where I again met up with Yin. We had no business being on set really other than just to be there but it was good just to be in the presence of such talented people. Olan was busy doing his thing behind the camera creating his next Cardy Films masterpiece while Joel Baker and Monique Sian were busy looking pretty and showing off their acting skills. If you guys aren’t familiar with Joel and Monique then take a peak at our previous Eargasms post but before you do that just watch the visuals that Olan has crafted. May I just add that this was shot on Saturday, his turnaround is crazy I don’t know how he does it.

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YIN: I’m here, alive and well. You think I’m going to go on set without my camera? Please. It was another opportunity to play with my camera and see what I can do indoors. Especially since there is lighting involved – I’m a big fan of natural lighting, absolutely despise of the overly commercial ‘shiny reflective’ skin look that many people yearn for. To me, it’s like the autotune of photography but that’s just my opinion. I want to be able to make studio lighting look as natural as possible, will take practice! Here’s a few behind-the-scenes photographs, including a few funny ones. Poor Joel, he almost got Chris Brown’d by Monique.

And the cover for DJB & Joel’s upcoming single – Changing Room (Drake Cover)

I should have really wrote an Introducing post on Elle Varner mid last year but for what ever reason I didn’t. Still she did manage to grace the pages of Y&Y via our Eargasms post back in August with her J Cole assisted single ‘Only Wanna Give It To You’. While the world is awaiting her album Perfectly Imperfect following the success of the single the RCA signed singer has decided to release a mixtape entitled Conversational Lush to tide fans over until she is ready to release her debut studio offering. If you have never heard of Elle then I strongly suggest you read on and give the EP a listen. I don’t what has happened in the last year or so but there seems to be so many good artists with good real music bursting at the seams waiting to be unleashed on the charts (many of them being from the UK might i just add).

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Incredibly dope selection of music for you after the cut. Handpicked by 4 members of the Y&Y family – don’t delay, hit read more and play. Eargasmic.

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BJ THE CHICAGO KID x KENDRICK LAMAR

‘(His Pain)‘

Just had to post another track of BJ’s upcoming EP ‘Pineapple Now Laters‘ featuring one of my favourite rappers of 2011, Kendrick Lamar. He switches up his flow nicely so it works well with the beat. Chicago kid’s undeniably soulful vocals just kill it, beautiful. I’m looking forward to hearing the full project on Valentine‘s Day.

Selected by Yin

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JOEL BAKER x MONIQUE SIAN

‘Blame Game (Cover)‘

Olan introduced me to this pair earlier this week, I’m not the biggest of YouTube fans. I know people that spend half their time on that network watching make-up gurus to fashionistas to bitchie video bloggers. One great thing about the network is the platform it gives music artists the opportunity to play to a worldwide audience, who knows when a label boss will be listening to your stuff. Joel Baker and Monique Sian deserve the recognition, the record deal and more – their talent is effortless. Just listen. Download the EP here.

Selected by Yin

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MIKE POSNER x BLACKBEAR

‘Stay Schemin’ (Acoustic Cover)‘

It’s seems Common isn’t the only one adding his flavor to Rick Ross’s Stay Schemin. Mike Posner alongside Blackbear has recorded his very own Acoustic cover of the song, I must add at this point that this acoustic take is actually pretty good. The pair have voices that work very well together and because of this I think that they should actually lay down vocals on an original song together, I’m sure they could come up with something dope!

Here I have the audio to the video of them recording the track, which you can download off SoundCloud here.

Selected by DJB

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AZEALIA BANKS

‘NEEDSUMLUV (SXLND)‘

Recent Universal signee, Azealia Banks lays down some (less explicit) vocals over Machinedrum’s Aaliyah-sampling SXLND which Banks dropped on Monday in a kind of ode to the late Aaliyah (it would’ve been her 33rd on Monday) It’s quite weird hearing Azealia talk about love and being the other woman…I feel like she really opened up on this track! I love Azealia, granted she may be a little OTT for some; but her versatility, punchy lyrics and overall attitude is what I’m in love with.

Selected by Tara

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ERIC TURNER x KARDINAL OFFISHAL x PROFESSOR GREEN x WRETCH 32

‘Style Changer‘

American singer and songwriter Eric Turner had a breakout 2011 collaborating with Tinie Tempah on the anthem ‘Written in the Stars’ and Lupe Fiasco on ‘Break the Chain’. Now he’s back with a new single entitled ‘Style Changer’. Featuring the rapping talents of Kardinal Offishal, Professor Green, and Wretch 32 – incidentally one of my favourite rappers right now – this is set to be another certified hit. Produced by Ishi and Charlie Bernardo, the beat will instantly have your head in full nodding motion. Like the title suggests, the track oozes innovativeness; even the video is suitably unique. Eric Turner’s debut album is out later this year. Consider my appetite whetted.

Favourite lyric: ‘I’m the Rhyme Minister, you can do the voting’ – Wretch 32

Selected by Amon

Here we are. New week, new songs. You’ll probably be waking up to see this post, you still have a good 30 minutes or so till you need to get ready for work/university. Hop on after the cut, click the song title to download and import the songs onto your iTunes. You won’t find these tracks on Spotify.

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JAY-Z x B.I.C.

‘Glory‘

Jay-Z described last week as ‘best week ever’ via Twitter a few hours ago. No surprise why that is; his and Beyoncé‘s child Blue Ivy Carter lays down her vocals 2 days after popping out into this world. Although she might not be making much sense, Pharrell has made a smooth beat using the sample. This is probably the softest that we’ve all heard Jay – he’s a new man. The guy who once stated in a song that ‘I never prayed to God, I prayed to Gotti’ now he thanks God for the wonderful human being that he’s been gifted with – oh how people change when kids are brought into their lives!

This is smooth, reminds me of Song Cry. Not quite as good but yet so addictive. I’ve already given it 50+ listens! I want a baby now. I’d write a glorious blogpost!

Selected by Yin

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MELANIE FIONA

‘Wrong Side Of A Love Song‘

Why oh why have I been sleep on Melanie Fiona? I know she can sing and I’ve liked songs from her in the past but I have never taken the time to actually check her out properly. I don’t own her album and I can’t even remember the name of the song of hers I like but what I can say is, this song right here is the TRUTH.

Vocals, arrangement and a sound that takes us back to the Motown era all come together on this track to provide a great piece of musical art. It’s the simple things in life that can often lead to the greatest pleasure and this song is just that, Simple (but effective might I add) Have a listen and let me know what you think.’

Selected by DJB

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STELLA LE PAGE

‘Wastin’ Time (The Shoes C0ver)‘

I hardly have time for new music these days so I usually listen to random workmates’ playlists but on this occasion I got around to checking out the most recent Hypetrak Selects. The featured track is by a Londoner, Cellist, Pianist, Singer and Songwriter by the name of Stella Le Page. She makes this ‘The Shoes’ cover her own with her silky voice and a hint of a Jamie-XXesque instrumental. Look out for her Debut Single
“Snake” out January 23rd.

Selected by Jazz

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BJ THE CHICAGO KID

‘Dream II‘

Taken from B.J.‘s (what an unfortunate name) forthcoming Valentine’s LP, “Pineapple Now-Laters” Dream II features audio clips from Will Smith interviews and production from THC (Kendrick Lamar/SchoolboyQ). I pretty much adore anything that B.J. appears on and cannot wait for his own project to come out…and on Valentine‘s?! Ahh how perfect *swoon*’

Selected by Tara

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Welcome to the first episode of Video Jukebox, a weekly post where I’ll feature my favourite music videos of the week I’ve stolen the name from one of MTV’s first ever feature shows and thank goodness I’m not famous enough (yet) to be sued for such blatant trademark infringement. Video Jukebox aired at a time when MTV was just about showcasing the latest videos from the top talent, providing a platform for both the musician and the team behind the video to shine – that’s before they started providing a place for Teen ‘Moms’, Trailer Trash, Airheads and Pornstars to shine. So in an ode to what MTV used to be about and what Yin&Yang is always about (showcasing dopeness basically) here we go, the first ever ‘episode’ with visuals from Mark Ronson, Tyga, tabi Bonney/Terri Walker, GLC/Rotimi, 14th, Iggy Azalea, Clement Marfo/Kano, Phonte and Chiddy Bang. Hit the jump for the goodies!

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RE:GENERATION Track: Mark Ronson “A La Modeliste”

Mark Ronson hooks up with Erykah Badu, Trombone Shorty, Mos Def, Zigaboo Modeliste and The Dap Kings for the latest installment of Hyundai’s RE:GENERATION project. This video follows the creative journey from studio through to a live performance in New Orleans giving it that genuine old school jazzy feel!! Erykah Badu looks like goddess….even with her durag on! This must’ve been such an amazing project to work on, which has received lots of well-deserved coverage recently…it’s lovely to see it all wrapped up in this video! Does this mean Hyundai are cool now?

Tyga – Rack City

Earlier this week Tyga dropped the video for his popular hit, ‘Rack City’ taken from his forthcoming debut album, ‘Careless World: Rise of the Last King’. Now I don’t care much for Tyga, but I’m loving this beat produced by DJ Mustard and when I heard the music video takes on a GTA: San Andreas theme….I had to check it out!

tabi Bonney – Beautiful Lover (ft Terri Walker)

tabi Bonney is one of my favourite artists on the come-up right now! This week the self-directed visuals dropped for his track, Beautiful Lover featuring UK songstress Terri Walker, taken from his project with Ski Beatz, ‘Summer Years‘. This raunchy video features the rapper shirtless alongside a hot lingerie-wearing vixen before he decides to get fully dressed and hop into a bath full of water for the second half of the video….pretty weird but it kinda works! I highly recommend ‘Summer Years’ which you can buy from iTunes here….you won’t be disappointed.

GLC ft. Rotimi – Back to the Money

G.O.O.D. Music rapper, GLC of Spaceship/Drive Slow fame hooks up with director Teddy Waffles to showcase Chicago in the visuals for his track, “Back to the Money” featuring singer, Rotimi. Chicago is a city that gets little love overseas, the majority of videos are shot in New York or Cali so I’m really happy to see GLC showcasing his hometown on this beautifully shot black and white video! This track is taken from GLC’s project, ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Pimpin Mind’ which you can download for free here!

Beatnik Sessions – 14th – Take Me There

I love how Beatnik felt it essential to mention ‘filmed in a warehouse in east London’ just to ensure the ‘cool’ tickbox was filled. Besides that….this is a rather enigmatic, spooky version of the track, ‘Take Me There’ by electronic-soul duo, 14th which Yin introduced us to a couple of weeks back in Eargasms. If you wanna check out the original which has a two-step/garage kinda feel, check it out here! The pair explain the Outkast-related reasoning for the name 14th (which is rather lovely by the way!) and the theme of the track, ‘Take Me There’ which is escapism (an element that really comes across in this acoustic version). There’s something quite haunting about Tracey’s vocals, and the Beatnik team have really emphasised this in their shoot (in an East London warehouse don’t forget!).  You can hit up 14th on their website here!

Iggy Azalea – The Last Song

I’m officially the most fickle music lover ever!! When I first came across Iggy Azalea I thought she was simply an attention-seeking Aussie with a rather amazing arse that would disappear from the interwebs this time next year. And then I saw this video….I AM IN LOVE!!!! The B&W ‘The Last Song’ video, directed by Bell Soto features the Aussie Belle in numerous gorgeous looks and poses and has racked up nearly 400,000 views in 3 days! The lyrics, her flow, those sequin pants, that Barbie hair….oh gosh I’m officially a convert!

Clement Marfo ft Kano – Mayhem

Clement Marfo and the Frontline cause absolute Mayhem in a basement club for their latest video featuring Kano. I’m fortunte enough to have seen Clement Marfo & The Frontline perform live before, and you really get a feel for their energetic, crazy live shows in this video! CTMF have been selected for MTV’s Brand New for 2012 – which you can vote for here!

Phonte – Dance In The Reign

My second favourite North Carolina rapper Phonte showcases footage from a live show with 9th Wonder in his new video for the track, ‘Dance In The Reign’ taken from his solo project, ‘Charity At Home‘. I must admit I wasn’t majorly impressed by this album unfortunately, but somehow watching the video for one of the tracks really brings it to life…might have to reload that album!

Chiddy Bang – Ray Charles

The new video for Chiddy Bang’s ‘Ray Charles’ opens with Chidera and Noah bumping some Tinie Tempah in their living room before cutting to a 50′s style video staring Chidera as….Ray Charles! This is a fun, mess-around (lol) video featuring numerous film references such as Blues Brothers, for a fun Hip Hop duo who I hope to see go even further this year with their debut album, Breakfast due out on Feb 28th!

A little late with this post, was hoping to have it up last night but seeing that I was bedridden from around 7pm so that just wasn’t going to happen. I hate being ill, been fighting off a cold ever since Christmas and it started to get the better of me last night – headache. Feeling a lot better now so hop on after the cut for our top 5 songs of the week.

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NIKKIYA

‘Sailing‘

South Carolina born singer-songwriter, Nikkiya (of Yelawolf & TechN9ne association) released her new joint titled, ‘Sailing‘ this week! Her matured, sensual vocals mixed with the beautiful instrumentals on this track almost distracted me from realising just how sad this song actually is!

Selected by Tara

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MIKE HOUGH

‘One In A Million (Aaliyah Cover)‘

Its often been said that classics should NEVER be tampered with, especially classic from such iconic artists. However The Dream decided to take it upon himself and present to the world his SHOCKING rendition of Aaliyah’s ‘One In A Million’. This unforgivable decision further cemented the notion that classic shouldn’t be played with but then came alone Mike Hough.

Mike took to YouTube this week and delivered his rendition of the song. At first I was skeptical considering The Dream’s unforgettable mishap however I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked Mike’s cover. If this isn’t proof that this kid has bags of talent then I don’t know what is. He smashed it! simples.

Selected by DJB

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RICK ROSS x NAS

‘Triple Beam Dreams‘

Not your average Ross song – he isn’t rapping about his usual ego-driven lifestyle and ‘bling’ items. This track is certainly one of the more grittier, darker but honest songs on his Rich Forever mixtape. As usual, Nas’ flow and lyricism is insane. You’ll replay the song just to hear his verses over and over again.

Selected by Yin

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EMELI SANDE

‘Next To Me‘

Emeli Sande had a good 2011. She released her first two singles and had a number one hit featuring on Professor Green’s track ‘Read All About It’. I presume she wants 2012 to be even better considering she is edging ever closer to the release of her debut album Our Version Of Events. However before we can get our hands on the album she is set to release her third single ‘Next To Me’.

The track is completely different from her previous offerings but at the same time is distinctly Sande. The talented songstress looks set to concur the charts again this year and all I can say is that it is well deserved.

Selected by DJB

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EMMALYN ESTRADA

‘Trust Issues‘

I’m breaking the Eargasms rule of only posting up songs from the past week with this one. This song has been out since AUGUST 2011 but I’m sure most of you haven’t heard it before. I came across it one of those annoying tumblrs where music automatically starts playing but Canadian singer Emmalyn’s voice just blew me away. Also had me trying to figure out what song this was as I’ve heard the lyrics before, she makes all the profanity not sound as bad it usually does. Weird. I’d recommend watching the YouTube cover, guys.

Selected by Yin

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Hope you’ve all had a great Christmas day! I’m pretty sure I’m still stuffed from the epic food consumption throughout the day, from roast to Indian. That’s how my family do. 5 tracks for you fat mofos after the cut, selected by me and DJB.

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THE WEEKND

‘D.D‘

Who would have thought Abel could cover an MJ classic and actually do it justice? It’s quite scary how similar he sounds to the late great, his vocal range is impressive. Love how he’s given the song The Weeknd twist with the production. Have a listen above, download the ‘Echoes of Silence‘ mixtape here.

Selected by Yin

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COMMON x MAYA ANGELOU

‘The Dreamer‘

Easily one of my favourite tracks from Common’s latest album ‘The Dreamer/The Believer’. It features one of my favourite poets of all time, Maya Angelou who adds an inspiring spoken word piece towards the end of the No-ID produced track. Be sure to check out the album, it’s one of the best releases this year.

‘Dare to let your dreams reach beyond you
Know that history holds more than it seems
We are here alive today because our ancestors dared to dream‘

Selected by Yin

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BEI MAEJOR

‘The Truth‘

I showed y’all a vid last week that showed off Bei Maejor’s production talents and now I’m selecting this song to showcase his songwriting and vocal abilities. I really like the fact that the beat is quite minimal, I feel like it adds to the atmosphere of the song and its message. When the truth is being told people need to hear and the beat doesn’t overpower and drown out his voice allowing the audience to listen to the words being spoken. It in fact compliments the lyrics very well. Both are of a sinister nature with the beat also delivering haunting tones. Love the production on this!

Selected by DJB

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Project Alfie

‘Still D.R.E. – Dr. Dre vs Project Alfie‘

I find it easy to express my distaste for things, however the same can’t be said for when I actually really do like something. My words never seem to say what I want to say but I’m going to give it a try. This song is DOPE! lol There that’s all I want and need to say about this track apart from the fact that Project Alfie has a mixtape which is due for release tomorrow so make sure you check back here to get your hands on that mixtape.

P.S Dre would be proud.

Selected by DJB

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RIHANNA x JAY-Z x RICK ROSS

‘Talk That Talk (Remix)‘

I’m not sure if I’ve given Rihanna’s new album enough airplay yet but from what I’ve listened to so far I can safely say she needs to take a seat somewhere. The title track Talk That Talk featuring Jay-Z was one of the few tracks I liked upon first listen and now it has been remixed by Rick Ross for his upcoming mixtape. This song should be released as the albums 3rd or 4th single cause it’s pretty good.

Selected by DJB

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So we decided to take a break last week. Why? Well I guess the only excuse we have for you is the preparation of the new site. Most of our time went into getting that sorted out for the launch so everything went smoothly. However we’re back with bunch of new songs for your ears, hand picked by DJB and me.

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MAR x SZJERDNE

‘Avril 14th‘

Wow. wow. wow. I’m a teeny bit late with this but the mp3 for the song only came out this week so allow me. Mar is back with another variation, this time he reworks a classic Aphex Twins‘ track into a smooth, deep & soulful balled with UK’s very own Sjerzdene. Incredible, I’m not going to link you to the visuals – it deserves a post of its very own.

Selected by Yin

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JOHN LEGEND

‘Chasing Your Love‘

I don’t know what it is but I feel like John Legend is one underrated artist however at the same time I find him boring. He’s dope! yet boring…. Not really a good combination is it? Anywho check this new song ‘Chasing Your Love’, the intro to this song immediately made me think of ‘Gorgeous’ from Kanye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, is it just me?

The song starts off very interesting however doesn’t live up to my expectations after the strong intro. It’s not a terrible song and as ever Legend delivers a good vocal but as the song continues the boredom sets in zzzzzzzz.

Selected by DJB

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14th

‘Take Me There‘

I featured 14th in the last Eargasms – here and bam, they’ve already got new music out. 14th‘s EP is getting massive airplay everywhere and now they give us a stream of their forthcoming single ‘Take Me There‘. The track has the perfect mix of soulful vocals, garage and a 2-step beat. The song is infectious, easily one  of the most exciting acts emerging in the London scene right now!

Selected by Yin

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CHRIS BROWN

‘Thinking Out Loud‘

Can someone please explain to me when Chris Brown found the time to record all of these songs? In the last year and a half we’ve had the release of his album F.A.M.E and the release of numerous mixtapes Fan of a Fan, In My Zone 2 and Boy In Detention. Now he is gearing up to release his second studio album, Fortune, within a year (5th overall).

‘Thinkin Out Loud’ is the latest track to surface, however it is unknown at this moment in time whether it will end up on the track listing for the album. Personally I think he needs to rein in these leaks now because he is getting a little too over exposed. Too many tracks that have his vocal are floating around. He especially needs to rein them in if he wants the lead singles, ‘Strip’ and ‘Biggest Fan’, from his new album to be a success.

Selected by DJB

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BURIAL

‘Ashtray Wasp‘

Doh. I’m 100% certain that Burial debuted this on Youtube earlier this week before taking it down and giving it to Rinse FM to premiere. Now all we have to listen to his forthcoming ‘Kindred‘ EP is this radio rip with a chav talking over the start of the song. This is only a preview, the full track is apparently 8 mins long. Not quite minimalist and chilled as your usual Burial track but I still dig it. Have a listen!

Selected by Yin

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Slightly late with this but this one is a beauty. Especially the song from the pair above, absolutely eargasmic. Right y’all click on after the cut and have a listen/download/skank out while I go get ready for work!

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14TH

‘Hide Yourself‘

Lost for words. I’ve slept on their music for a whole minute! silly me, so yesterday when my good friend @Miss_Tosin went on a RTing spree on Twitter, I finally gave 14th a chance. This track is simply sex the ears,  eargasmic. The blend of the duo’s soulful vocals and garage/electronica is incredible, the production is just perfect. It’ll leave you with goosebumps, best believe I was skanking on the BUS to this. Listen to the EP here.

Selected by Yin

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LLOYD

‘Me & You (This Christmas)‘

Lloyd serves the world another Christmas song, this time in the form of a more mellowed and scaled back arrangement compared to that Michael Jackson inspired mess of a track that is ‘She’s All I Want For Christmas’.

This song feels very Motown yet current at the same time. I’m liking all these Christmas song this year that don’t overtly scream jingle bells but yet are related to this festive time of the year. Enjoy!

Selected by DJB

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KRS-One

‘Just Like That‘

KRS-One is one of those rappers I know I should really listen to more often, but for some reason don’t! ‘Just like that’ only validates the aforementioned statement; KRS raps about his career as well as hip-hop culture and history, all the while sounding smooth and inspirational. This is only augmented by the old school beat, complete with memorable horns. Suffice to say, this got the 5 star rating on my iTunes a while ago. I suggest you do the same.

Favourite lyric – ‘Back then, I was the crazy one, even the lazy one, the not sure – the maybe one/‘Now today I’m the sure one, the on tour one, the raw one, the one you want more from!’

Selected by Amon

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TAIO CRUZ

‘World In Our Hands‘

Although he’s not my favourite artist in terms of lyrics, Taio Cruz can always be counted on to deliver some feel good music, and he’s consistently been rewarded with some big hits. ‘World in our Hands’ is off the upcoming ‘TY.O’ album set to be released in the UK January 2012 and it’s another guaranteed club banger. Whilst the lyrics are quite simple, the track is very positive and catchy. I’m hoping to hear something a little bit different from Taio when the album drops next month as this is his bread and butter but in the meantime, I can definitely jam to this!

Selected by Amon

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DAWN RICHARD

‘December Sky‘

I love love love Dawn Richard’s voice. She was and is my favourite member of Danity Kane and somehow manage to capture my attention more than Diddy when she joined forces with him during his latest effort to capture solo rap glory (although technically he wasn’t solo as he had Dawn and Kaleena by his side at all times)

Dawn has been working on solo music for quite some time now and has plans to release a trilogy of music. Having already given us a taste of what she has to offer via the release of her mixtape ‘A Tell Tale Heart’. She is gearing up to release her first solo album. December Sky is her first single to be released on iTunes and sees Richard singing to those who miss and won’t be able to see their loved ones during the Christmas period.

‘A lot of people won’t be able to see their loved ones this Christmas… Whether they are serving in Iraq/Iran, in the industry, or working a 9 to 5, the truth is a lot of us aren’t able to make it home for the holidays. So this record is for them and anyone else missing their love…. the sky and stars are a gift for us both because no matter how far apart we are, we are under the same sky.’

Selected by DJB

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