New year, new us! We’re all about music discovery here at KHOL and love sharing what we’re listening to at any given moment. Each Monday, in our new series, “Music We Like,” we’ll explore the tracks we’re currently obsessed with to get you through the week ahead. Follow us on Spotify to keep up with our recent favorites, including Top 5 Tracks of the Week, Top Tracks of 2022, Sounds of Now and Local Favorites.
Now, behold the debut of Music We Like!
Greentea Peng – Top Steppa V2 (feat. Nightmares On Wax)
When one of your favorite tracks from one of your favorite albums of the last year gets re-imagined by one of your favorite artists it immediately becomes your favorite song of the week. The legendary downtempo trip-hop artist Nightmares on Wax infuses his celestial magic into up and coming artist Greentea Peng’s “Top Steppa” to create a whole new version of the song. The producer describes it as “that iconic British expression of nineties hip hop and seventies roots reggae with a futuristic electronic N.O.W. twist” – Jack Catlin (KHOL music director)
Little Simz – Gorilla
Loose and confident over a minimal beat sampling Ramsey Lewis’s cover of Seals & Crofts’ “Summer Breeze” and previously utilized by Jurassic 5 on their debut EP, rising British hip-hop star Little Simz flexes her lyrical dexterity and goes in on the rap game for a solid four minutes over chunky bass and triumphant horns. – JC
Nia Archives – Forbidden Feelingz
Nia Archives won the inaugural “Best Electronic/Dance Act” at the MOBO (Music of Black Origin) Awards in London a couple months ago, upsetting perhaps better-known artists such as FKA Twigs and Sherelle. This propulsive track shows why the honor was well-deserved: Classic junglist drums and low-register synth blares surround honeyed vocal samples to create a soundscape that’s equally at home as a late-night roller as the soundtrack to a lazy stroll. – Eli Bernstein (deputy director)
Skrillex – Rumble (feat. Fred again.. and Flowdan)
The power of “Rumble” is immediate, as dubstep producer-extraordinaire Skrillex teams up with Fred again.. and veteran grime MC Flowdan to deliver a sparse track that packs a hell of a punch. The lead single to Skrillex’s upcoming album “Rumble” is sure to set the club on fire with its wobbly bass, palpitating rhythms and Flowdan’s nervous warnings of “killers in the jungle.” – JC
LION BABE – Bonita Applebum (Soul House Remix)
A Tribe Called Quest’s hip-hop classic “Bonita Applebum” gets a reboot from duo LION BABE. Devoted to the art of moving butts, LION BABE remixes the cover with more of a focus on the original sample of RAMP’s 1977 hit “Daylight.” The new “Soul House Remix” combines, jazz, soul and house to get booties up out of their seats and onto the dance floor. – JC
