Issa Rae’s trademark television show Insecure has grown to be one the country’s most-watched shows through its four and a half seasons. In recent years, Insecure took home the award for Outstanding Comedy Series at 2021’s NAACP Image Awards. The show also earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series last year. In addition to its storyline and its characters, the soundtrack for Insecure is also another aspect viewers love about the show. Now in its fifth and final season, Issa Rae unveils the tracklist for this season’s soundtrack and it looks like a good one.
The soundtrack for the fifth season of Insecure features familiar names like Saweetie, They., Jesse Boykins III, Ambre, Duckwrth, Thundercat, Mereba, and Teamarr. Elsewhere, ESTA, Mack Keane, Akeem Ali, 27Delly, Jorge Amadeus, B.K. Habermehl, Nnena, Josh Levi, Mikhala Jené, Amindi, 27Delly, Kiah Victoria, and Ace Henderson can also be found on the soundtrack. The full project arrives this Friday, December 3.
“Music has always been an essential part of every project I do and working with emerging talent is a personal passion,” Rae said about the upcoming tracklist to Variety. “Raedio allows me to continue that work within the music industry and audio entertainment space. The Atlantic Records team are innovators in terms of shifting and shaping culture. I’m excited to join forces with them to discover new artists.”
You can view the full tracklist for Insecure: Music From The HBO Original Series, Season 5 below.
Kaytranada has been steady grinding all year. The Canadian producer has dropped a collaboration track Mick Jenkins, the Black History Month-focused “Caution,” and has announced festival headlining slots at both Phoneix’s non-profit M3F Fest and California’s lakeside Lightning In A Bottle. But he’s saved his 2021 piece de resistance for last…
Released today, the Intimidated EP is just three tracks long, but they’re each equally brilliant and you’re going to want to press repeat again and again on these cuts. “Intimidated” featuring HER taps into the same magic that garnered Kaytra his Grammy Award for 10% with Kali Uchis. “Be Careful” features Thundercat and stands tall just as much on the producer’s signature drums as it does on ‘cat’s silky vocals. Finally, “$payforhaiti” sees Griselda rapper Mach-Hommy rapping in Creole on a track whose message of Haitian freedom is illustrated on the album cover. It’s all pure heat from Kaytranada; of course.
Listen to the title track featuring HER above. Check out the album artwork and track list below, along with Kaytranada’s upcoming tour and festival dates.
12/03/21 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Wallercreek Amphitheater
12/04/21 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Wallercreek Amphitheater
12/08/21 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
12/09/21 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
12/29/21 – Toronto, ON @ History
12/30/21 – Toronto, ON @ History
12/31/21 – Chicago, IL @ Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
03/04/21 – 3/5/21 – Phoenix, AZ @ M3F Music Festival
03/18/21 – 3/20/21 – Buenos Aires, Argentina @ Lollapalooza Argentina
03/25/21 – 3/27/21 – Sao Paulo, SP @ Lollapalooza Brasil
05/19/21 – Montreal, QC @ Piknic Electronik
05/20/21 – Montreal, QC @ Piknic Electronik
05/25/21 – 5/30/21 – Bakersfield, CA @ Lightning In A Bottle
05/27/21 – 5/30/21 – New Orleans, LA @ Noir Fever
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.
Silk Sonic’sorigin story dates back to the European leg of Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic Tour. Anderson .Paak served as the opening act for the string of shows and it’s here that Silk Sonic’s funky, free-spirited roots were planted. More than four years later, the tourmates-turned-good-friends delivered what will undoubtedly be one of 2021’s most memorable albums with An Evening With Silk Sonic. This brief, but rich musical experience, is birthed out of a few things: Bruno and .Paak’s trajectory in their careers, the combination of their respective inspirations, and a schedule that was unexpectedly freed up due to the coronavirus pandemic.
An Evening With Silk Sonic is a unique spectacle that Bruno and .Paak were kind enough to release in a format that allows us to infinitely experience this magic. From the very moment that the curtains open and Bootsy Collins’ ethereal voice seeps out, Silk Sonic coasts with no regard for distractions and an incredible display of showmanship. Collins’ multiple appearances on An Evening With Silk Sonic are key as it’s an endorsement that requires both acknowledgment and respect. Bootsy Collins, who rose to fame beside James Brown, stands as one of the front names in funk’s history. That’s on top of inductions to the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame and Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame as well as being recognized as one of the top bassists of all time.
That’s exactly what makes An Evening With Silk Sonic so special. The idea that a mere collection of jam sessions beautifully produced a body of work created in the glory of greats from the 1970s. “After Last Night,” which supplies help from Thundercat and Bootsy Collins, balances sensual and soulful with funky and yearnful. Bruno and .Paak lay stomach-flat with feet to the sky on cloud nine after an unforgettable experience with the woman of their dreams. “If I still had my phone, I’d call every girl I know / And tell them goodbye,” the duo sings blinded by love. “Cars, clothes, diamonds, and gold / Anything you want, any place you want.” This dramatic account of surefire love after one encounter is soon greeted with an equally-dramatic display of despair and sadness on “Smokin’ Out The Window” after both singers find out their newfound romance is nothing but a sham. That’s exactly how Silk Sonic’s show is supposed to be: exaggerated, hyperbolic, and melodramatic. It’s a quality that .Paak solidifies on that song. “Look here, baby I hope you find whatever it is that you need,” he says. “But I also hope your triflin’ ass is walking ‘round barefoot in these streets!”
The theatrics behind Silk Sonic’s new album, when taken from the viewpoint of Bruno and .Paak’s respective discographies, is a clash of 24K Magic and Yes Lawd!. The intentional blast to the past intertwines itself with dressed to the nines cockiness on An Evening With Silk Sonic. .Paak leads a ridiculously confident and infectiously good declaration of self-excellence on “Fly As Me,” one that also crowns a lucky woman with a top-notch title of her own. “I’m tryna love, is you gon’ love me back?” .Paak quips on the track. Towards the backend of the album, Silk Sonic gets lost in gambling and the other addicting aspects of Las Vegas on “777.” If you needed any proof that Bruno and .Paak could be the life of the party, “777” is both evidence of that and an enticing invitation to join them in some high-risk/high-reward fun.
A large part of Silk Sonic’s success lives behind the scenes. Critically-acclaimed producers and songwriters James Fauntleroy and D’Mile live within the notes of the album. Fauntleroy co-wrote three of the album’s nine songs while D’Mile co-wrote and co-produced each one in addition to delivering background vocals and contributions to the project’s instrumentation. Furthermore, Babyface’s contribution to “Put On A Smile,” a song dedicated to putting on a front through heartbreak, as well as that from others throughout the album, are notable in their own right. Together, they emphasize Bruno and .Paak’s strive to make An Evening With Silk Sonic as perfect and flawless as possible. The freedom of the album’s jam session contributes to the rawness and true spirit of the project while help from the industry’s best ensure that its rough edges aren’t too sharp.
Long story short, Silk Sonic did it. An Evening With Silk Sonic is fun, charismatic, and ambitious in all the best ways. Sure, the sonics of this project aren’t particularly new, but it’s a change in the wind direction in today’s R&B/soul landscape. And yes, maybe the album could’ve been a bit longer, but according to D’Mile every song Silk Sonic and company created appears on the album, except one. Bruno and .Paak gave us everything that had for their first collaborative effort. Soon enough, fans from all over will be able to spend an evening with Silk Sonic when the duo (hopefully) goes on tour. Once that comes to an end, An Evening With Silk Sonic will be capsuled as a moment in time for years to come. So let’s enjoy the great music and make room for the memories that will arrive with it because An Evening With Silk Sonic won’t be forever.
An Evening With Silk Sonic is out now via Atlantic/Aftermath. Get it here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
It’s been nearly two years since Kaytranada released his sophomore album Bubba, which featured Sir, Goildlink, Tinashe, VanJess, Masego, and more, gave the Canadian producer his first Grammy awards for Best Dance Recording, thanks to “10%” with Kali Uchis, and Best Dance/Electronic Album. Just as he did in 2019, Kaytranada is gearing up to end this year on a high note, as he announced a new EP, entitled Intimated, will arrive next week. He also shared the features listeners can expect on it.
The EP only has three songs, one featuring HER, another with Thundercat, and the last one with rapper Mach-Hommy. Kaytranada confirmed that Intimidated will arrive on November 19. The track with HER, titled “Intimidated,” will make for their second collaboration, after they previously joined forces for “Bloody Waters” from HER’s debut album Back Of My Mind. It’s also a song that featured Thundercat, which makes “Be Careful,” from the upcoming EP, his and Kaytranada’s second collaboration. Lastly, “$PayForHaiti” is Kaytranada and Mach-Hommy’s first track together.
As for what’s next, Kaytranada is set to headline Lightning In A Bottle’s 2022 festival. He joins a guest list that includes Glass Animals, Purity Ring, Little Simz, Empress Of, and more for a festival that stretches over five days.
At last, Bruno Mars and Anderson. Paak’s new Silk Sonic album, An Evening With Silk Sonic, is finally out. With Mars and .Paak at the helm, there’s not much need for featured guests, but they packed a couple into one track: Bootsy Collins (who also serves as the album’s narrator) and Thundercat join the fun on the smooth and funky “After Last Night.”
Mars told Apple Music of the song, “That one got a lot of Bootsy on it. And my boy Thundercat came in and blessed us. It’s just one of them songs — everything was built to be played live, so that song is one of those we can keep going for 10 minutes.”
In an interview from March, Mars said of working with Collins, “He represents what a superstar is, from the whole package, everything. From the silhouette, the glasses, and we grew up listening to that. He’s got that iconic voice, so when me and Andy put this project together, I said, ‘It’d be cool to have Bootsy narrate this thing and thread all these songs together.’” .Paak added, “We put the setlist of doom together, you know, and we needed somebody, a real OG, to host it and guide everything along.
Meanwhile, Thundercat has been doing some tweeting about the album. Late last night, he shared a photo of himself with .Paak and Mars, and this morning, he revealed he apparently got a gift from Collins, as he posted a photo of a pair of flashy glasses and wrote, “Thank you uncle @Bootsy_Collins you have made me who I am & I love you so much. Blastin off into some good vibrations!!!”
Thundercat has come a long way since he released his debut album in 2011. The bass player’s debut project introduced fans to his endlessly groovy sound, clever lyrics, and love of manga. Since then, Thundercat has gone on to drop several more albums, the latest of which, the 2020 LP It Is What It Is, earned him his second Grammy Award for best Urban Contemporary Album. Now celebrating a decade of music, Thundercat is plotting a deluxe vinyl edition of his debut, The Golden Age Of Apocalypse.
Not only is the deluxe version of The Golden Age Of Apocalypse repressed on a translucent red vinyl and has brand new cover art, but it also unearths some new music. The track listing includes two never-before-heard bonus tracks, “$200 TB” and “Daylight (Reprise).” The release is set to be available in participating stores on Record Store Day later this month.
Thundercat – The Golden Age of Apocalypse (10th Anniversary Edition)
A brand new ltd edition deluxe vinyl of @Thundercat’s debut album housed in a gold holographic sleeve. Includes 2 bonus tracks. Exclusively in record stores for @recordstoreday‘s Black Friday on 26th November. pic.twitter.com/go4oq84845
At the time, The Golden Age Of Apocalypse was executive produced by Thundercat’s longtime musical partner Flying Lotus. The LP was also a hands-on effort featuring some of the musician’s talented LA collaborators who would go on to find solo success, like Kamasi Washington.
The Golden Age Of Apocalypse (Deluxe) is out Record Store Day on 11/26 via Brainfeeder.
Considering Thundercat dropped his monumental funk fusion albumIt is What It Is in April of 2020, the pandemic and ensuing lockdown orders did not allow for the Los Angeles bass virtuoso to get his well-deserved promotional trip around the sun. But the interest in his album has been unwavering, considering it won Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B record and his current tour has been going steadily.
Last night, he made a long-awaited appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and he played the first single off of the album, Dragonball Durag, with Colbert bandleader Jon Batiste on the grand piano. It felt like a future-jazz lounge remix of the track, with Batiste moving from elegant to totally nuts on the ivories and Thundercat shifting similar wavelengths on his oversized electric bass and vocals.
‘Cat was dressed in short Gucci tiger shorts and a sparkling Gucci blazer. He also had a Gucci pin on his red beanie covering his green dreads pulled back in a ponytail. Sensing a theme here? Look, when you’ve waited this long to come on The Late Show, by all means, wear all the Gucci you can.
Watch the performance above and check out Thundercat’s remaining tour dates below. Tickets available here.
11/06 — New York, NY @ Terminal 5
11/07 — Boston, MA @ House of Blues
11/10 — Montreal, QC @ MTELUS
11/11 — Toronto, ON @ History
11/14 — St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theater
11/16 — St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
11/17 — Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
11/19 — Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall Downstairs
11/20 — Dallas, TX @ House Of Blues Dallas
11/23 — Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
11/27 — Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Expo Hall
11/30 — Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
12/03 — Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
12/04 — Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
12/05 — Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory Boise
It Is What It Is is out now on Brainfeeder. Get it here.
At the end of last year, TDE’s in-house engineer Derek “MixedByAli” Ali announced that he purchased Death Row Records, the iconic studio where rap legends like Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and Tupac Shakur recorded classic records. He renamed it NoName Studios, after his newly-launched label, NoName Recordings, and quickly signed his first artist: Malik Moses, who recently released his new single, “Show Me Something” with Bas. Fresh off the singing, Ali explained what he liked most about his new artist.
“The way he was able to really catch my attention with his selection of beats, the way his production was laid out, the way his songwriting and just how he carried himself sonically, that reminded me of working with Kendrick [Lamar] and working with Thundercat and Terrace Martin,” Ali told Rolling Stone. “It gave me that same feeling instantly as soon as I heard the first four bars of his music, and that’s rare nowadays.”
Ali also spoke about his overall vision for NoName Recordings. “We just want our label to be that safe place where artists can create, artists can have that creative freedom,” he said. “I don’t hear of too many audio engineers starting ventures like this, so it’s a different perspective to bring into the industry, the perspective from somebody who’s in the trenches understanding how it works and the grind that it takes to really be successful.”
You can listen to Morris’ new single and read the full Ali’s full interview with Rolling Stonehere.
Last month, Red Hot Chili Peppers had some fun announcing a tour, doing so with an off-kilter parody news broadcast. They didn’t announce the dates for the shows at the time, but now, in a follow-up video, they have.
The band will travel the world between June and September next year, and they’ll be joined by a particularly impressive roster of openers: The Strokes, St. Vincent, ASAP Rocky, King Princess, Haim, Beck, Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, and Thundercat.
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ most recent album is 2016’s The Getaway. They haven’t yet announced a new LP, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see them drop one before or around when these tour dates kick off next summer.
Check out the full list of tour dates below.
06/04/2022 — Seville, Spain @ Estadio La Cartuja De Sevilla =
06/07/2022 — Barcelona, Spain @ Estadi Olimpic =
06/10/2022 — Nijmegen, Netherlands @ Goffertpark =
06/15/2022 — Budapest, Hungary – Puskas Stadium =
06/18/2022 — Firenze, Italy @ Firenze Rocks
06/22/2022 — Manchester, UK @ Emirates Old Trafford =
06/25/2022 — London, UK @ London Stadium ~
06/29/2022 — Dublin, Ireland @ Marlay Park ~
07/01/2022 — Glasgow, UK @ Bellahouston Park ~
07/03/2022 — Leuven, Belgium @ Rock Werchter
07/05/2022 — Cologne, Germany @ RheinEnergieStadium =
07/08/2022 — Paris, France @ Stade de France ~
07/12/2022 — Hamburg, Germany @ Volksparkstadion =
07/23/2022 — Denver, CO @ Empower Field at Mile High *
07/27/2022 — San Diego, CA @ Petco Park *
07/29/2022 — Santa Clara, CA @ Levi’s Stadium +
07/31/2022 — Los Angeles, CA @ SoFi Stadium +
08/03/2022 — Seattle, WA @ T-Mobile Park ^
08/06/2022 — Las Vegas, NV @ Allegiant Stadium ^^
08/10/2022 — Atlanta, GA @ Truist Park ^
08/12/2022 — Nashville, TN @ Nissan Stadium ^
08/14/2022 — Detroit, MI @ Comerica Park ^
08/17/2022 — E. Rutherford, NJ @ Metlife Stadium ^
08/19/2022 — Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field ^
08/21/2022 — Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre ^
08/30/2022 — Miami, FL @ Hard Rock Stadium ^
09/01/2022 — Charlotte, NC @ Bank of America Stadium ^
09/03/2022 — Philadelphia, PA @ Citizens Bank Park ^
09/08/2022 — Washington, DC @ Nationals Park ^
09/10/2022 — Boston, MA @ Fenway Park #
09/15/2022 — Orlando, FL @ Camping World Stadium ^
09/18/2022 — Arlington, TX @ Globe Life Field ^
= with ASAP Rocky and Thundercat
~ with Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals and Thundercat
* with Haim and Thundercat
+ with Beck and Thundercat
^ with The Strokes and Thundercat
^^ with The Strokes and King Princess
# with St. Vincent and Thundercat
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
HER has been a big deal since 2016, when she released her debut EP, HER Vol. 1. Over the years, the California-born artist has won a Grammy and an Oscar. Through it all, one of the only things HER hadn’t accomplished was release a full-length album, but that will change in just a few days.
Back Of My Mind, HER’s long-awaited long-player debut, will drop on June 18. After revealing its title and cover art earlier this month, the singer shared its tracklist with just three days until the album arrives. According to the Apple Music pre-save page, it’s comprised of 21 songs with contributions from Ty Dolla Sign, Hit-Boy, Cordae, Lil Baby, Kaytranada, Thundercat, Chris Brown, Yung Bleu, DJ Khaled, Bryson Tiller, and YG. Previously-released singles, “We Made It,” “Damage,” “Come Through,” “Hold On,” and “Slide.”
You can check out the full tracklist for the album below.
1. “We Made It”
2. “Back Of My Mind” Feat. Ty Dolla Sign
3. “Trauma” Feat. Cordae & Hit-Boy
4. “Damage”
5. “Find A Way” Feat. Lil Baby
6. “Bloody Waters” Feat. Kaytranada & Thundercat
7. “Closer To Me
8. “Come Through” Feat. Chris Brown
9. “My Own”
10. “Lucky”
11. “Cheat Code”
12. “Mean It”
13. “Paradise” Feat. Yung Bleu
14. “Process”
15. “Hold On”
16. “Don’t”
17. “Exhausted”
18. “Hard To Love”
19. “For Anyone”
20. “I Can Have It” Feat. DJ Khaled & Bryson Tiller
21. “Slide” feat. YG
Back Of My Mind is out 6/18 via MBK Entertainment/RCA Records. Pre-order it here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
