All eyes on Ski Mask the Slump God, Kaytranada, and Mac Ayres!

Morning Beats

Ski Mask The Slump God

Ski Mask the Slump God, a powerhouse in the rap scene, is known for his rapid-fire delivery and off the wall style. His ability to mix dark humor with intricate wordplay sets him apart in the hip-hop world. Tracks like "Catch Me Outside" and "Nuketown" highlight his dynamic flow and love for high-energy beats. Ski Mask's collaborations with artists like XXXTentacion on “FREDDY vs JASON” and “Take A Step Back”, as well as Juice WRLD on his newest album “Wake Up!” add another layer to his versatile sound. His latest project "11th Dimension" is a testament to his growth as an artist, showcasing a blend of raw emotion, technical skill, and genres different than what he is used to. He tends to have a lot more upbeat tracks, but I decided to showcase a slower one this week to showcase his range. Dive into Ski Mask's world, and you'll find a refreshing twist on modern rap that keeps you coming back for more.

🐐 The G.O.A.T?

• “Life of the Party (with André 3000)” - Kanye West

  • Kanye West is known for his amazing music, but is equally known for how unlikable he can be at times. Regardless of whether you think he’s crazy or not, he is arguably one of the greatest creative minds in modern times. Whether it’s music or fashion, he has set trends multiple times over multiple decades. Without getting into too much detail, albums like “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”, “808s & Heartbreaks”, and “Yeezus” have heavily influenced the sound of rap that we hear from todays big artists such as Travis Scott, Kid Cudi, Don Toliver, and so many more. Please go educate yourself on his discography and then come up with your own opinion on if he’s achieved G.O.A.T status.

🥬 Mr. Q

• “Blank Face” - Schoolboy Q feat. Anderson.Paak

  • Schoolboy Q, a key figure in the West Coast rap scene, brings a gritty, authentic edge to his music. Known for his distinctive voice and raw lyrical content, he paints vivid pictures of life in South Central Los Angeles. Tracks like "Man of the Year" and "Collard Greens" showcase his versatility, blending hard-hitting beats with introspective lyrics. His album "Oxymoron" is a powerful narrative of his personal struggles and triumphs, featuring collaborations with Kendrick Lamar and 2 Chainz. His latest album “BLUE LIPS” is also an amazing album that has sounds that are different from monotony of the rap that we hear today. Schoolboy Q's music is a raw and unfiltered look into his world, making him an artist you should go listen to.

Golden Hour Grooves

Kaytranada

Kaytranada, the Haitian-Canadian producer and DJ, continues to revolutionize the music scene with his innovative approach to house and electronic music. Known for his infectious beats and genre-blending sound, Kaytranada effortlessly fuses elements of hip-hop, R&B, and funk into his tracks, creating a unique and captivating auditory experience. His album "BUBBA" showcases his talent for crafting danceable grooves and features collaborations with artists like Pharrell Williams, Kali Uchis, and Tinashe. One standout track, "10%" featuring Kali Uchis, perfectly exemplifies his ability to blend smooth vocals with dynamic beats, making it an instant hit on dance floors worldwide. The song featured in this weeks playlist is off of his latest album “TIMELESS”, which is one of my favorite albums of this year. Go check it out!

🧈 Silky Smooth

• “Open" - Dylan Sinclair

  • Dylan Sinclair is an rising r&b artist who brings a really refreshing sound to the genre. With songs like “Ask Me - Extended” and “Intermission (Get Away)” off of his album “Proverb”, and singles such as “Lifetime”, it’s hard not to chill out too. With only two albums out, there is still time for you to jump on the bandwagon before it’s too late!

📹 Viral Dance Challenge

• “Ddokbokki” - Baauer feat. Omega Sapien

  • Known for his viral hit in 2013 “Harlem Shake”, Baauer was thrown into the EDM scene as one of the best trap producers of the decade. Notable songs include “Temple”, “Cantina Boys”, as well as having a hand in producing “Higher” with Just Blaze and Jay Z and “18” with Kris Wu, Rich Brian, Trippie Redd, and Joji. Baauer has seemed to mature in his artistic vision and now makes more than just hard trap beats, so if you like any kind of EDM, definitely give him a listen.

Referrals!!!

Starting this week, I’m happy to finally say there is a referral program! For each referral (up to three), you can earn exclusive access to the master playlists. These are comprised of all of the songs ever featured on the weekly rotating playlists known as Morning, Afternoon, and Evening. If you love all of the music I curate, don’t want to miss out, or simply want to support the growth of the newsletter, then referring the newsletter is a great thing to do!

• 1 Referral

  • Access to the WYP? Morning Master Playlist

• 2 Referrals

  • Access to the WYP? Afternoon Master Playlist

• 3 Referrals

  • Access to the WYP? Evening Master Playlist

Starlight Serenades

Mac Ayres

Mac Ayres, the soulful singer-songwriter, and producer, brings a refreshing blend of R&B, jazz, and neo-soul to the music scene. Drawing influence from Stevie Wonder, his smooth vocals and heartfelt lyrics create an intimate listening experience, perfect for unwinding and introspection. With standout tracks like "Easy", "Walking Home", and “Get to You Again”, Ayres showcases his talent for crafting mellow grooves and emotionally resonant melodies. His album "Drive Slow" is known to have absolutely zero misses. As he is one of my favorite artists that I listen to regularly, I highly recommend diving into Mac Ayres' discography and letting his soothing sounds and soulfulness captivate your senses.

⏱️ The Timeless Sample

• “A Garden of Peace” - Lonnie Liston Smith

  • The amount of r&b and hip-hop songs that sample this song is too much for me to list off. To name just a few, this song has been sampled by Mary J. Blige, Meek Mill, and Jay Z. I will leave the who sampled link here for you to go check out the rest. Besides this one song being so iconic, Lonnie Liston Smith is well known for his keyboard skills on many jazz tracks as well as playing with Miles Davis and Marvin Gaye. Go check out this legendary musician!

 🔨 The Hardstone Genius

• “Double Standards” - Don Toliver

  • After his recent album “HARDSTONE PSYCHO”, the already popular Don Toliver has managed to continue to grow in his success. Although ragers such as “TORE UP” and “BANDIT” are what everyone raves about, I wanted to talk about his slower stuff. “Life of a DON” is an album that is full with beautiful melodies that will put you on a different planet. Don Toliver definitely lives up to the hype, so go ahead and go listen to him.

Playlist of the Week: 
New Jazz

This week’s playlist is new jazz! New jazz is an exciting, trendy sound in hip-hop/rap that was made popular by the song “Out thë way” by Yeat. With this popularizing the sound with the quirky bass line as well as many Soundcloud producers doing this before and/or catching on, it has started a new wave of a bouncy baselines and smooth melodies. Definitely give this week’s playlist a listen!

🥷🏻 Bowww

• “Out thë way” - Yeat

  • Known for it’s iconic baseline produced by BNYX and Snapz, this song put new jazz on the map. It also helps that this song was a part of Yeat’s successful career. With Yeat being known for his unique and futuristic sound (which includes a lot of synthesizer sounds), this song fits perfectly with the rest of his discography. If you haven’t listened to much yeat, listen to high energy songs like “Talk” and “Jump”.

🐈 The Cats Meow

• “New Jazz” - Kyra

  • With new jazz on the rise, Kyra embodies exactly what the genre is known for. Majority of his songs consist of beautiful melodies, lush chords, and the iconic baselines that walks down. Really you can’t go wrong with anything Kyra does, but some of my favorites are “Velvet” and “New Jazz” (which is in the new jazz playlist below!).