Put Me On: October 2021
From Nina Simone to Baby Keem to Amaarae, let me put you on.
Well, well, well, here we are. Another month, another playlist, another newsletter that starts with me in utter shock that the year is already this far gone, despite the fact that the passage of time is truly nothing new. Anyway, hello everyone. This month’s playlist is a bit shorter than usual - something I didn’t realize until I sat down to pick which songs I’d keep in the lineup and realized there weren’t many to tick off. Truthfully, the reason it’s shorter than usual, and I say this with the utmost sincerity, is because I have spent the past month almost exclusively listening to James Blake’s new album. So this month’s playlist is an interesting dichotomy of either very slow vibes to match that energy or new rap songs that I found and also spent hours at a time driving around blasting. As usual, the full playlist is available on Spotify and Apple Music. Enjoy!
“as long as ropes unravel fake rolex will travel,” Dean Blunt
At this point, those of you who are faithful listeners won’t be surprised at this month’s opening song - the slow, enchanting sounds of Dean Blunt’s uniquely named track caught my ears almost immediately the first time I heard it. The song is an impressive display of artistry, it does so much while at the same time doing so little. There’s no real lyrics besides the sound of a woman humming along in the background, and the instrumental itself is comfortingly minimal, but you hear all sorts of sounds find their place in the song over the course of nearly six minutes. This, of course, quickly became my go-to song in the mornings as I start my day or at night as I wind down - because it blends in perfectly with the background but at the same time lifts me up.
In the last ten months that I’ve been doing this newsletter, James Blake has probably made the most appearances on my playlists out of any artist. But can you blame me? I love the man’s music, what can I say? I don’t know if it’s because we’re both Libras (I barely know what this means tbh), because I’m a sucker for an album full of sad music, or because his music has some kind of hypnotic hold on me. Whatever the case, it’s now impossible for me to listen to “Funeral” just once. No, I always play it back to back at least four times in a row. Sick, I know. I can’t help it - two and a half minutes isn’t nearly enough time to fully digest all the feeling he injects into that song. I’ve been listening to his project Friends That Break Your Heart so much that when I sat down to put together the final playlist I had damn near the whole project on the original list (I literally had a dream about “I’m So Blessed You’re Mine” and I need you to listen to “Coming Back” with SZA). But hey, I’m not mad at that.
“lost souls,” Baby Keem Feat. Brent Faiyaz
As the year winds down, I’m beginning to speak with more confidence on the albums that have stood out to me as my favorites of the year: and Baby Keem’s The Melodic Blue is absolutely one of those. I took my time getting to this project because for the first time in years I no longer have to report on music dropping and therefore have no obligation to listen to everything immediately to be a part of the conversation. Which, honestly, makes the whole listening experience infinitely more enjoyable. That being said, The Melodic Blue was well worth the wait. Every song is genuinely different, and in the case of “lost souls,” (of course I’m picking the version with Brent Faiyaz) it was just too good to pass up as this month’s inclusion from the project. The beat is versatile - something you could just as easily hear on a full R&B album, and yet it carefully balances Keem’s flow with Brent’s singing. In fact, I still don’t know whose verse I enjoy more.
“SAD GIRLZ LUV MONEY,” Amaarae Feat. Moliy
Now, this song isn’t new, nor is it the first time I’ve included either Amaarae or Moliy on one of my playlists. In fact, Amaarae’s THE ANGEL YOU DON’T KNOW is easily one of the most unique projects that came out in 2020, with this track being arguably one of her most popular. That being said, I have no real explanation for its inclusion outside of the fact that I woke up one morning with it in my head once again. Her music sounds like you’re walking into a fog and by the middle of the song you realize you’ve been completely covered by the sound of her music. If you listen closely, you’ll find so many small sounds that add to the song that you may not even recognize at first - for example the subtle sound in the middle that sounds like coins dropping together. All these different elements blend together to create a musical piece that has you bopping along but excited to explore every layer separately with each subsequent listen.
“LalalaLah (Intro),” TisaKorean
I feel like I have a lot of explaining to do with this one, but let me start by saying that I’m fascinated with the way that TisaKorean has cracked the code when it comes to making viral, TikTok-first music. I’m not gonna sit here and act like this song is any deeper than it is, but it’s the simplicity of it that fascinates me. Ever since Vine (remember The Mop?), Tisa’s had more viral songs than I can count, and while it’s hard to pin down any concrete reason for it, I do find it worth noting considering how many artists and labels break their backs every day trying to replicate similar numbers. If I could get deep with it for a second, my personal hypothesis is that songs with heavy, repetitive bass, that aren’t overly complicated in terms of instrumentals, with an easily repeatable, relatively universal lyrical structure and relatable verse, are ones that often do well on platforms like TikTok because they’re easy to digest in 15 seconds on a phone and virtually anyone can make a video about anything around them. In the case of this song “They said Tisa, the club too packed // Nigga, I don’t give a fuck I’m tryna get up into that club…” is the lyric that does it for people, and it’s surprisingly resonated with quite literally millions of people. And if you’re thinking Tia, it’s not that deep, you’re exactly right. It’s not that deep, and that’s why he’s so good at it.
“Mind Playing Tricks On Me,” Geto Boys
There’s no question that this is one of the best hip-hop songs of all time, point blank period. I’m not really into Halloween, but when it comes to songs that are good for fall or any kind of “spooky season” festivities, this is the one for me. Let’s start with the fact that I have vivid memories of the first time I ever heard this song (it was the clean version which makes it an even funnier memory) driving in the car with my dad when I was around 7 or 8 years old. The storytelling across this track is so incredibly vivid that I could picture the entire song before I ever saw the music video (which scared me just as much as the lyrics). This, of course, is due to the fact that the track opens with the lyrical finesse of one of the best storytellers in hip-hop: Scarface. And if we want to get deep into the impact of the Geto Boys for a moment, Willie D had one of the first recorded uses of the phrase “cap” or “cappin’” on a track back in the day. That, coupled with the fact that “Mind Playing Tricks” deftly samples Isaac Hayes’ “Hung Up On My Baby,” and was subsequently sampled by both Kodak Black and Ini Kamoze makes this song truly one of the most beautifully haunting songs in hip-hop history.
BONUS PLAYLIST: songs that feel like fall 🍂 (Available on Spotify and Apple Music)
This playlist is perfect for walking around on a crisp fall day, you didn’t bring quite a heavy enough jacket but that’s alright, hopefully the heat is on when you arrive at your destination. It’s getting chillier as you walk so you stop for a latte and burn your tongue on the first sip. It’s too hot, you probably should’ve let it cool down first. Nevertheless, you continue your walk along, the leaves are changing color, there’s a breeze blowing, cooling you off but somehow not your coffee? When did it get so cold? What happened to the 70 degree days? Anyway, while you’re going through all that, why not listen to a lovely playlist I put together that can be your soundtrack to fall.
That’s all for this month’s issue of Put Me On. Catch the full October playlist on Spotify and Apple Music.
This newsletter is completely free to read, but each month I highlight a different community organization, charity, or foundation for you to consider donating to if you can. This month, I invite you to check out KIND (Kids In Need of Defense), a U.S. based nongovernmental organization working to assist unaccompanied minors at the Mexico/U.S. border.
See you next month!
Tia