Infinite Shuffle mode #1: HELLO ALL
Welcome to the most unpredictable newsletter in your inbox.
Music is timeless, vast and evergreen. That’s why this newsletter is perfect for me. I don’t like to just talk about the new shit. Throughout the weeks, we’re going to be diving into multiple decades of music. Investigating samples that live on through numerous renditions. I’m excited.
It’s impossible to hear every song ever recorded, but there is always a way for us to share and revel in the beauty of music together.
That’s the true point of this newsletter. You don’t have to like every song I share, but if I even put you on to one song that sticks with you then I feel like I’ve done my job.
Typos happen, but music is forever. Ready?
LET’S GET STARTED WITH OUR ARTIST OF THE WEEK!
Artist of the week: Cousin Stizz
If you aren’t hip it’s time to get familiar. When it comes to good vibes and infectious hooks, the man simply does not miss. It’s been a joy seeing him grow from project to project. I first heard about Cousin Stizz from my friends at a beach house in North Carolina. Which brings me to the project of the week.
Project of The Week: Suffolk County
The 2015 project is the perfect album to reminisce about all the times you and your friends were just hanging out and living life the best you could. All that time spent doing nothing but being content with each other’s company.
Cousin Stizz’s ear for beats shines all over this album. From “Ain’t Really Much” to “Jordan Fade”, this project has zero skips and is perfect for taking a drive with the windows down after you’ve been inside the house all day.
A project you can play all the way through is the highest compliment I can give and ‘Suffolk Country’ definitely passes that test.
Favorite Cousin Stizz songs all time:
Now for your songs of the week:
Dropout - brakence
This is my favorite song from brakence, and wow this song was a great first impression. The introduction came from a Youtube music video channel called Overcast.
In the weeks to come, we’re going to talk about how channels like Lyrical Lemonade and Overcast are doing great things for music discovery through memorable and unique music videos. ‘Dropout’ is great for those of you that just made a difficult decision and need an anthem of confidence to be themselves. For brakence, it was dropping out of college. Everyone has a different path, and once you start heading on that path a huge weight just gets lifted. For me, it was pursuing content creation while being in a family full of engineers and doctors.
Everyone’s path to truly being themselves is different, and embracing that difference is an amazing feeling.
Relight My Fire - Dan Hartman
‘Relight My Fire’ reminds me of an electric time in New York pre-quarantine. I remember going to this place with my friends in Brooklyn (I forget the name) and it was a 70s-80s night… which was a pleasant surprise because that is absolutely my SHIT. Man, I tell you we danced the night away.
I found about “Relight my Fire” through a Spotify radio channel and I was electrified by everything about it. The intro, Hartman’s singing, the mid-song breakdown. The entire track is catchy as all hell.
I miss those decades nights and the fact that I haven’t been able to go to one for months now. Fortunately, songs like these allow me to dance in my room and pretend that everything is alright for a couple of minutes.
Star Shopping - Lil Peep
Remember when I just said “pretend that everything is alright for a couple of minutes?”, well this is the Sad Boy/Girl portion of the newsletter.
Just to let y’all know in advance, you’re probably going to see a lot of Lil Peep in these newsletters. Star Shopping is a beautiful song to put on and just get in touch with your feelings. You don’t have to be strong all the time, and realizing that is strength itself.
If you’re going through some shit, give it some time. If anyone wants a Sad Boy/Girl playlist, just let me know and I can make something happen.
- R.I.P. Lil Peep
Fool - WORRYWORRY
Speaking of emo hip hip, ‘Fool’ is a pretty good song for getting over a breakup.
WORRYWORRY’s voice is a thing of beauty, and you can truly feel his emotion getting over someone that he doesn’t love anymore. It be like that sometimes… It really do.
I really hope he blows up soon because his singing voice is immaculate and his lyrics always have the potential to hit close to home.
He might take his music off Spotify soon in favor of new music,
so make a mental note to remember the songs that are here in case they disappear from the newsletter playlist.
Backseat - Little Simz
‘Backseat’ is hands down one of my favorite COLORS performances.
COLORS is a studio in Germany where dope artists from all over the world come and perform some of their best tracks. Little Simz is one of the most underrated artists out (well she just made Obama’s summer playlist so that sentence might not stand anymore).
The UK artist has solid bars and an impeccable flow to match. I know for a lot of people their only knowledge of UK rap is “Mans Not Hot” or “Unknown P”. While I also love those tracks, I understand that they are both comedians.
Down the line, we’re going to talk about Slowthai, Skepta, Headie One, AJ Tracey, Stormzy, Aitch, and many many more. Be amped for that.
That reminds me. Another dynamite performance she’s done is a cover of “Feel Good Inc”.
She’s so freaking talented.
VIBE - Zee Morales
I first heard this song when I was on the Genius show “The Cosign Live” with Jacques Morel. VIBE is perfect for hanging out in the backyard or on the rooftop of your apartment in the summer. One day, I really hope to hear this song on a TV show. I can easily imagine it on an ‘Insecure’ episode. Morales’ singing flawlessly syncs with the bubbly atmosphere of the show… I mean song. I’m getting ahead of myself again.
This is a great song and I’m glad that I can share it with you all.
Bloom - j^p^n
If you love all those “Lo-Fi beats to study or sleep to”, then you’ll love j^p^n. His beats and songs are prime “lay on the floor and watch the time pass by” material. The first half of Bloom is so captivating that it just erases your stress and concern and lets you float with it for a little. I love it.
Compensating - Aminé
Aminé, you’ve done it again.
I can’t stop playing this song honestly. It’s truly the perfect summer vibe. The music video with a Jak Knight cameo matches the track’s energy 100%. If the world was normal, I would be playing this song in any summer situation. Young Thug’s guest verse is solid on this too, and the fact that he was EATING while recording is hilarious.
Sample of the week
Push The Feeling On - Nightcrawlers
Besides the fact that there are so many versions of this song on Spotify, this has also been sampled in two of my favorite songs.
Hotel Room Service by Pitbull
Dinner Guest by AJ Tracey.
It’s also in Wiggle It by French Montana (feat. City Girls), but I think the other two beats sound better. Which sample do you like better? Hotel Room Service? Dinner Guest? Feel free to let me know on twitter @Kofie.
As always, here is the playlist of all the songs in today’s newsletter.
Shuffle Mode Encouraged :)
Hi Kofie, love your content at Secret Base, and am equally enjoying your musical newsletters each week: as a Brit I'm especially looking forward to more UK music, with Dave definitely deserving of an artist of the week at some point, him being one of the best in the world at the moment, in my humble opinion.