Has anyone else been in a total fog this week? I feel like I can barely string two sentences together, which is why I've been leaning extra hard on music to help me through. In this edition of What I'm Listening to This Week, I'm spinning contemplative hip-hop albums from Kota the Friend and YBN Cordae, whose lyrics explain how I've been been feeling far better than I can. I'm also revisiting my favorite Rolling Stones album and drifting back into my post-college '70s music phase. Here's what you should slam the play button on this week and why.
Lost Boy by YBN Cordae
YBN Cordae told Apple Music that his debut studio album "represents anyone who hasn't found their path or calling yet." Lost Boy is full of self-reflection, and you'll get lost in the groove and the lyrics.
Standout tracks: "RNP," because I can't resist an Anderson .Paak feature.
Listen now on Spotify. [2]
Some Girls by The Rolling Stones
While controversial at the time, The Rolling Stones' 1978 album holds up in a way that might surprise Mick Jagger himself. It's pure rock and roll with a mix of blues, punk, and disco, and is still regarded as one of the band's best albums ever. I didn't discover Some Girls until I was in my early 20s (I went through a very fun '70s music phase!), but it's one that I like to revisit whenever I'm down.
Standout track: "Beast of Burden," because what can I say? It's just so, so good.
Listen now on Spotify [3].
Foto by Kota the Friend
This album from Brooklyn rapper Kota the Friend is one of those that absolutely needs to be listened to in order and all the way through, like Frank Ocean's Channel Orange. The pacing is perfect and the lineup is punctuated with interludes featuring the rapper's family. It also came to my attention that Kota and I share a birthday, so I feel like I was predestined to stan.
The 19-track album tackles issues of self-esteem, love, and family against mellow beats and with introspective and insightful lyrics. Songs like "Solar Return" and "For Colored Boys" act as love letters to the rapper's young son, and the heartbreakingly honest "Bagels" explores confident confessions of insecurity with a crush. I've been listening to this (in order!) nonstop.
Standout tracks: "Alkaline" and "Backyard," because they're upbeat and fun to dance to, but the lyrics will still make you think.
Listen now on Spotify [4].