In July, Compton house producer Channel Tres dropped the sizzling dance floor track “Just Can’t Get Enough” and promised that his new album, Real Cutlrual Sh*t, would be out this fall. We’re in September and the release date still hasn’t been announced, but now we know why: Channel Tres just announced that he inked a deal with RCA Records in partnership with his existing label, Godmode. So it looks like Godmode and RCA will be putting out Real Cultural Sh*t jointly this year and while we await a release date, Channel Tres has blessed us with another heater in “No Limit.”
Propped up on a funky bass line, harmonic disco organ and infectious beat, Tres sings, “There’s no limit where this can go, there’s no limit where this can go.” Close your eyes for a second and imagine hearing that hook at a club and tell me you don’t think this is the type of song that’s going to draw people together?
Tres spoke about the meaning of “No Limit,” saying that it, “…was made about my time in New Orleans and about my memories of backyard BBQs my family used to have in Compton. It also speaks of breaking past limitations in life and with a love interest.” This one’s got the juice now.
Listen to “No Limit” above.
Real Cultural Sh*t is due out this fall via Godmode/RCA Records.
Drake is a master of throwing curveballs. The now-35-year-old rapper has been juking fans’ expectations since he arrived on the scene as an aspiring artist back when he was still just a cast member on a cable teen soap opera. Heck, his very existence as THEE superstar rapper of the past decade defiantly flouts rap conventions. You probably already know the spiel at this point and have probably long since chosen your position on whether this is a boon or blasphemy.
With his new surprise album Honestly, Nevermind, Drake may have thrown the biggest curve of his career yet. Fans have never expected hardbody rhymes from The Boy, but they could at least rely on receiving a collection of sad boy anthems and passive-aggressive caption raps with each new Drake project. Instead, many were utterly flabbergasted to press play on a compilation of dance tracks inspired by late fashion designer and DJ, Virgil Abloh, showcasing a global palette of mainly South African-originated house styles like gqom (the “gq” is pronounced as a click in isiZulu, one of the nation’s 14 official languages) and amapiano.
As for me, I was delighted. For the past three years, I have been predicting a wave of Black artists making a pilgrimage to dance music, including such pioneers as Channel Tres, Duckwrth, and even Vince Staples (Big Fish Theory was right there). That Drake – who has always cottoned on to international subcultures as both an extension of his eclectic tastes and savvy stylistic evolution – is the one to lead the charge is deliciously fitting. Just look at the mainstream relevance of UK drill music and its New York-based offshoots in the wake of Drake’s 2019 collaboration with Headie One. Before that, it was Nigerian Afropop, UK grime, and way, way back, you may recall, the house-inflected title track from his sophomore album, Take Care.
Not only does Drake’s embrace of house music on his latest represent a full-circle moment for him but it is also one for the genre itself. Over the course of the last several years, there has been a cornucopia of articles on the internet recounting the origins of house and techno music in Black subcultures in cities like Chicago, Detroit, and New York in the 1970s and ‘80s. They’ve highlighted how Black artists and DJs were pushed out of the genres that they created, supplanted with watered-down, whitewashed imitations thanks to an influx of international interest – particularly from Europe, where dance music continues to flourish in a mainstream context compared to the US where it’s still considered niche or passé (classifications of Honestly, Nevermind as mall music abound on Twitter as I write this).
But also over the past few years, due partially to the keen interest in reclaiming Black American history that spawned from the uprisings of the past decade, Black artists have shown a greater inclination to break out of the limiting categorizations of so-called “urban” genres. Even more than that, Black artists have taken aim at reclaiming OUR genres – country, rock, pop, punk – and declaring that we do, in fact, belong in the spaces that we had hands – in some cases, the greatest hands – in creating. As Channel Tres told me back in 2019:
“I think a lot of people right now are artists that fit into a category of what you think how they should be. But if you push the conventions, it frees up other kids that are coming after us seeing certain images. It’s hard a lot of times for Black kids to find an image, because we get told what we should be. I just know if I let somebody put me in a box, someone else might not get the freedom to be who they’re supposed to be.”
“I think that the reason why house is so big in the white demographic is because it’s very much straightforward. It’s two, three, four, one, two, three, four, and with Black folks, put a little swing in that thing. I feel the original creators of it like Mr. Fingers had a bit more of a soulful flair to it, and then as time went on different people started grabbing it, and then it may have become more simple… I think you can hear the Blackness in the original house.”
This is why Virgil Abloh was so important to the movement to bring the culture and the genre back to their respective centers. He’d DJ at festivals and play house music by Black artists such as Black Coffee, who executive-produced Honestly, Nevermind, opening the door for modern audiences to see and understand our role within the dance genre. And this is why it is so important that it’s Drake, the biggest artist within the one Black genre that has successfully defended itself from a complete takeover of cultural appropriation, who is taking this stride back into the space that Black artists created and were forced to vacate. He’s taking a screwdriver to the door’s hinges, and removing it entirely, ensuring unfettered access to our history.
It’s freeing. It’s giving Black people permission again to take up space – both culturally and literally. It’s telling people to move their bodies. For decades after hip-hop’s creation, movement itself was stifled – especially for men. Just look at Terror Squad’s “Lean Back”; we were all so pre-occupied with being “hard,” with being “gangsta,” we couldn’t move our bodies – the most natural response to music in the world – because we were afraid to look “soft” to be vulnerable, to be corny, to be square. Drake has already absorbed all the disapproval connected to those labels for his entire career. He has already been the butt of the joke. He has nothing left to lose. And because of that, he can be the example that shows that it’s okay not to settle for the small, stifled caricature society has assigned to us as Black men. We can be more.
The best part is, he’ll be far from the only one this summer. Because he’s Drake, the trendsetter, the movement starter, there will be others. And if no one else is willing to take up the cause, Beyonce has already hinted that her upcoming album, Renaissance, will also be heavy on dance and country, another style that Black folks helped to originate before being given the boot. She’s reclaiming that, too, in her own way. Black art won’t be reduced to just one of two musical styles it’s “okay” for us to like. And at first, that may confuse some in the audience, those who have learned to accept society’s limitations and expectations. That’s okay. They have “Jimmy Cooks,” the most traditional rap song on Honestly, Nevermind. Until they’re ready. Until they too, free themselves, loosen up, and learn to reclaim what was always theirs from the start.
Known for pushing the envelope with each of his projects, Channel Tres has just dropped a new instrumental album with no prior promotion. On Refresh, Tres showcases his prowess for producing tracks.
Known for songs like “Controller” and “Fuego,” Tres has become known for rapping and singing over groovy, kinetic dance beats. Refresh contains these kinds of tracks, reminiscent of Detroit techno and Chicago house, with Tres hoping fans will feel creative as they listen to the seven songs.
In an Instagram post, Tres wrote, “here’s a beat tape to start 2022….made a bunch of beats while on tour with cat and in my room also drew this cover art. hope ya create something while listening.”
In a 2019 interview with Uproxx, Tres said he finds more inspiration in the “spirit” of the music than the actual sound. “I think a lot of people right now are artists that fit into a category of what you think how they should be,” he said. “But if you push the conventions, it frees up other kids that are coming after us seeing certain images. It’s hard a lot of times for Black kids to find an image, because we get told what we should be. I just know if I let somebody put me in a box, someone else might not get the freedom to be who they’re supposed to be.”
Tres was supposed to perform at Coachella in 2020, however, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic halted those plans. While in isolation, Tres produced and wrote an EP called I Can’t Go Outside. Last year, Channel Tres made appearances on tracks by Tokimonsta and Emotional Oranges, and also toured across the U.S. with singer and instrumentalist Thundercat.
Tres is set to perform at Ceremonia 2022 in Mexico City this April, as well as Governors Ball in June.
Refresh is out now via Art For Their Own Good. Get it here.
Although Terrace Martin’s last solo full-length collection came out four years ago (2017’s criminally overlooked Sounds Of Crenshaw Vol. 1 with The Pollyseeds), the Los Angeles producer has nevertheless remained busy throughout the past year, co-producing a number of EPs including They Call Me Disco with Ric Wilson and joining the jazz supergroup Dinner Party with 9th Wonder, Kamasi Washington, and Robert Glasper. However, today he announced his solo return with Drones, a new album coming out this Friday, November 5.
Included on the album’s 13 tracks are appearances from a veritable who’s-who of hip-hop luminaries including Cordae, D Smoke, Kendrick Lamar, Smino, Snoop Dogg, Ty Dolla Sign, and YG. Martin’s Dinner Party bandmates Kamasi Washington and Robert Glasper are also set to appear, along with a genre-hopping collection of rising stars and well-known hitmakers including Arin Ray, Celeste, Channel Tres, Hit-Boy, James Fauntleroy, Kim Burrell, and Kim Burrell.
In his press release for the new album, Martin teases the eclectic mix of sounds he intends to display throughout: “There are touches of R&B, touches of jazz, touches of hip-hop, touches of classical, Cuban music, West African music, house music,” he says. “You’re going to hear all elements of Black music within this record. It’s not one element I can leave out if I call myself a true Black artist.”
Drones is due 11/5 via Sounds of Crenshaw / BMG. You can pre-order here and check out the lead single, “Leave Us Be,” above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
“Let’s break the rules.”
These are the words singer Kyle Dion blares out on the opening track to his third album Sassy. This idea of negating the world’s expectations isn’t a newly-discovered concept for the Los Angeles-based singer, he’s been doing that from the very start. From his 2016 debut Painting Sounds through his 2019 sophomore effort Suga, Kyle Dion has made his uniqueness very clear. He possesses the energy of a rockstar, has one of the more impressive voices in the R&B world, carries an impenetrable confidence like most rappers do, and he does all of this while traversing the world like an indie act. It’s these qualities that helped the singer craft his last album, Suga, one of the most impressive R&B albums in 2019. The album’s 13 tracks detailed the rise and fall of love filled with equally climatic and crushing moments. Each was accentuated by the singer’s ability to excellently portray the raw passion needed for whatever emotion was at hand.
With that being said, his invitation to break the rules is more so for we as listeners, and maybe even his contemporaries, to join him in moving against the expected flow of the world. It comes with the hope that we’ll find an exhilarating freedom in doing so. But how does a rule-breaker continue to break the rules in a way that’s still attention-grabbing rather than recycled, repetitive, and even exhausting? Well, for Kyle Dion, he does it by simply having fun. His third album Sassy taps into a different side of his personality, one he describes as “an exaggerated version of myself.” However, even Dion has set boundaries for his anti ways. “I’ll never make the same song or album twice,” he says over a Zoom call. “That just doesn’t stimulate me at all and I don’t want to hear that, so I wouldn’t make it.”
It’s a line of thought that Dion said multiple times to me during our conversation. Even without him saying it, one might have guessed it as his mantra after listening to Sassy. The 17-track album is lively in ways that even the most energetic moments of his previous two projects hadn’t reached. “Parmesan” welcomes your best dance moves while Dion sings of his saucy ways and “Drip” with Duckwrth picks up the pace for an infectious number that commends a woman’s spotlight moment during a night out. “Money” is a cut-throat record that happily accepts the idea that cash ruling everything around him while “Fix Vision” with Channel Tres praises a woman’s beauty on the beautifully constructed track.
Kyle Dion’s change of emphasis on Sassy came after he discovered a falling point with his 2019 album. “I remember going to my friend’s house and they couldn’t play a song of mine on Suga at a kickback or something because it was not the wave,” he says. “I want to be played at a kickback, I want girls to be twerking and sh*t. I want to be played at different things.” So after touring the United States and Europe, all while having a blast with friends as he created moments like partying and “peeing in a lake and sh*t” in Amsterdam as well as the “lit as hell” experiences of Chicago, Dion set his mind on making a more outdoor-friendly album. While some may have not caught on to his versatility yet, the singer is very aware of his Rolodex of talents. “I can do many things and I’m not scared to show people that I can do many things, I don’t want people to expect things.”
And there it began. Sassy and all its beauty slowly came together, and as Dion worked to put the pieces together, there was one thing he was sure of. “One thing that I’m always gonna be able to do is sing my ass off,” he proclaims. “I’m always going to incorporate that into everything that I do, but there are no rules in what I’m able to do. I can do whatever I want as an artist.” It’s this refusal to conform that also welcomes a surprising, unexpected, but pleasant guest appearance from Ja Rule on “Placebo.” The New York rapper’s appearance came after Dion jokingly mentioned him after Ja Rule and Jennifer Lopez’s “I’m Real” came to mind while recording “Placebo.” “We just felt like it was funny and kind of a stretch, but we put it out there to my team,” he says. “A member of my team knew Ja Rule’s camp, and we sent it out to them.” Well, it turned out to be a great move as they received more than was asked for. “We were so excited when he sent a verse back instead of adlibs and I was like, ‘Yeah, man, this shi*t’s crazy.”
Furthermore, Dion loved that I labeled Ja Rule’s guest appearance as unexpected because it plays into the random and freeform artist he strives to be. “Like you said, You didn’t expect the pairing and that’s what I love,” he boasts. “I don’t want anyone to expect anything from me because I’m ever-changing, I’m ever-growing, and evolving. That’s what it is.” For some, change is dangerous as it promises an equal chance of rejection as it does praise. It’s something Stormzy alluded to during an interview with Billie Eilish. “Your spirit sometimes wants to stick to what you know,” the British rapper said while speaking about the pains of a sophomore album. “But then you want to venture out and like you’re just trying to figure out… the world really loved me for everything I did the first time around, so how do I approach the second one?”
So in a world where many, understandably, cringe or shudder at the idea of sharing something completely different than what they’ve found great success in and have been typecasted to, Dion practically begs his peers to throw caution into the wind and show their full palette of colors. “People are scared bro, people are so scared to show the range [and] do different sh*t,” he says with a bit of frustration in his tone and later adds, “Do what you want in the moment [and] be unapologetically yourself.” It’s sound advice from the singer who’s spent half a decade doing this. Being a musician is founded on constant leaps of faith as you repeatedly subject yourself to criticism or acclaim with every release. However, there’s a reason the saying “you miss every shot you don’t take” exists.
One of my favorite aspects of Sassy comes right after Dion’s collaboration with Ja Rule. Following “Placebo,” the flashing lights and pyrotechnics that come with the show that Dion puts on throughout the album are replaced with a single dim light as the singer’s tender touch returns to the forefront. “Comfortable” provides a warm blanket to a lover in hopes that the gesture will provoke them into opening up and showing him their true self. “Kiss Me Back” uses an endearing collection of guitar chords to beg for reciprocation and his “Good Bye, Good Luck” interlude lets go of a love he so desperately hoped would last forever. This versatility, and mastery in controlling it all, is truly impressive. It’s sequenced perfectly into the album making it a smooth transition into this relaxed moment as well as one out of it as the singer laughs off his sad-boy moment to return to the fun and bring the album to a close.
Sassy is filled with color from top to bottom and Kyle Dion is aware of it. The album isn’t painted within some imaginary lines that were set for it. That would quite literally go against the boundary-breaking agenda that the singer set for it. Instead, it contains splatters of vibrant coloring all over the canvas, and even if it doesn’t amount to a beautiful work of art in society’s eyes, it’s elegant enough for Dion and he’s happy that he did it that way. “I just threw up on this album and [it’s] like, “What do I do now? What’s next?” he ponders as our conversation nears an end. “Just as a young man growing into myself, I’m so curious as to where I’m gonna be next and where I’m gonna go next, but I’m happy that I let that out.”
Being a rule-breaker requires you to put up blinders to how people may respond to you. Going against the grain is rarely applauded, and it’s something the singer understands with his third album. “I did this one unapologetically, this is how I’m feeling, take it, love it, or don’t,” he says to me. However, even this rebel can’t help but hope for one thing from the world that consumes Sassy. “Do what you want and f*cking respect people that just put their sh*t out there and be f*cking free, unapologetic, and exactly who they are,” he declares. “If you don’t like it, that’s fine, but you got to respect it. That’s what I want, people should do whatever they want. That’s it.”
I think we can all agree with that.
Sassy is out now via Kyle Dion/AWAL Recordings. Get it here.
