The acoustic version of Mahalia’s new single perfectly mixes R&B with a Latin-influenced guitar riff. It’s reminiscent of Destiny’s Child with a modern twist.
Selfish (ft. Bas, Wyclef Jean) – PRICE
Get some inspiration to take some time for yourself with this new single, “Selfish,” that’s all about enjoying alone time and loving yourself.
Caught Up (ft. Phony Ppl) – VanJess
VanJess and Phony Ppl together bring a track filled with 90’s-style nostalgia, from the album cover to the song itself. Very groovy and a perfect listen if you’re in the mood to reminisce.
Sinking Feeling – Wavves
I’m still surprised by the new direction Wavves takes on this new single. It’s also their first new release in years.
Intruded (ft. Timbaland) – Justine Skye
A tumultuous love track that’s so catchy, you won’t be able to get it out of your head anytime soon. Skye’s voice is perfect with the addition of a Timbaland feature.
Listen to this week’s Friday Favorites, as well as my favorites from past weeks, on WKNC’s Spotify.
Y’all… I am so mad at myself that I am JUST NOW listening to this band!!! WHY DIDN’T ANYONE TELL ME THAT CYTOTOXIN GOES SO HARD???? My dad texted me a few months ago and was telling me to listen to their most recent album, “Nuklearth,” that was released in 2020. I am so happy that I listened to my dad and gave this band a shot because I absolutely love them. They have the perfect blend of chunky riffs, blasts beats, double bass, and growls that create a brutal sound.
This band is literally the definition of brutal death metal. The technicality that this band performs at is insane! Especially the drums, I always hear something new on the drums each time I listen to their album “Nuklearth.” I honestly have no idea how they make this seem so easy when they play live. Speaking of live shows, they have never been to the U.S., they only play shows in Europe and I am so jealous! One of the things that stood out to me when I first listened to Ctyotoxin was their vocalists. To me, the vocals sound a lot like Phil Bozeman from Whitechapel. Grimo is Cytotoxin’s vocalists and him and Phil Bozeman have similar vocal ranges within their songs, which I love!
Cytotoxin is a technical/brutal death metal band from Chemnitz, Germany, that formed in 2010. There’s not a lot of information on the band but I did come along some cool facts on their record label, Unique Leader’s, website. The band name, Cytotoxin, was influenced by the Chernobyl disaster which was a catastrophic nuclear accident that happened in April of 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine.
Album Cover For Genesis Owusu’s “Smiling With No Teeth”
Genesis Owusu is a Ghanaian-Australian rapper, singer, and songwriter. I can’t really tell you that much about his life or cultural context, because for all intents and purposes he just apparated into existence three months ago. His label is a persona non grata online, this is his debut album, and his music gives him very few contemporaries. All we really have to work with here are two interviews from The Guardian and Anthony Fantano, the content of his album, and the rather impressive word of mouth campaign surrounding it.
Owusu’s music is, in equal measure, hip-hop, pop, and rock. He described himself to the Guardian as “Prince, if he were a rapper in 2020s Australia,” which is a grand claim, though not an altogether inappropriate one. He has Prince’s combination of chameleonic versatility and instantly recognizable personality. Despite jumping from hardcore hip-hop to gospel to post-punk in the span of 10 minutes, his album has a stylistic cohesion exemplified by the sheer force of personality that is Genesis Owusu.
Beyond his overall aesthetic, Owusu is also an extremely talented vocalist, in a way that feels almost out of place given that the current ethos of hip-hop focuses more on production skills than raw vocal abilities. Owusu has both, and this means he can bend his voice to fit the mood of the track. He can also sing his own hooks in a different register than he raps, allowing him to get through the entire album with a total of one feature.
However, the most engaging element of the music is the lyrical skill demonstrated by Owusu throughout the album. The album is set up to have recurring themes, lyrical motifs, and an ambitious sense of musical arc. This is not to say the album is repetitive, in fact, Owusu covers a long list of subjects, and on the occasions where he does repeat, he approaches the topic from an entirely new angle. Themes of depression, cultural isolation, and biblical references are mainstays, and the album has a few explicitly political tracks that hit hard as well.
Take a listen to this album, especially if you don’t catch that many hip-hop records. The music is accessible without sacrificing depth, and it has some surprisingly uplifting cuts towards the end. Personally, it’s one of my favorite albums of the year so far.
Best Tracks: “Chandler,” “Falling in Love” and “On One”
FCC: 3, 6
If there was ever a way to bring the flavor of R&B from the early 2000’s to today’s realm of music, Joyce Wrice has the recipe. The Los Angeles artist recently dropped “Overgrown,” a journey through growth in love and searching for the perfect person. After a listen from top to bottom, this album is easily deserving of high remarks. The first track, “Chandler,” displays Joyce Wrice’s ability to share her feelings through her incredible vocals over smooth and bouncy beats. She does a great job of creating a feeling that allows the listener to escape from their reality and enter her world. In fact the first three songs are so good at this that I had to make them my favorites (even though the rest of the album is equally great).
The album also boasts features from other highly talented artists such as Lucky Daye, Freddie Gibbs, Westside Gunn, Kaytranada, and many others. Interludes throughout the album offer great transitions through the different emotions, themes, and aspects of relationships. Finally, one thing I greatly appreciated was the transition out at the end of the album. Joyce Wrice did an amazing job at bringing the listener in at the beginning of the album, and was consistent with ensuring the end was just as captivating. This made the album feel much like an experience I was sharing with the artist.
I highly recommend checking out “Overgrown” for anyone who is new to Joyce Wrice’s music. This album set a strong tone and I anticipate more amazing works from her in the future.
“Horses” is easily Patti Smith’s most iconic album. Filled with a glorious fusion of poetry and rock n’ roll, her 1975 release is an early punk masterpiece. Her bold feminity adds a sort of mystique that makes “Horses” stand out against similar albums of the time.
The cover is a testament to her bold beauty and authenticity as an artist. It was shot by the legendary Robert Mapplethorpe, one of Smith’s dearest companions and the subject of her memoir “Just Kids.” She always knew Mapplethorpe would shoot the album cover for “Horses;” Their friendship was so extraordinary and his reputation as a photographer was skyrocketing. Smith recalls that she “had no sense of how it would look, just that it should be true.” The only thing Mapplethorpe asked of her was to wear a clean shirt with no stains on it.
After a trip to the Salvation Army, Smith found a pile of white button-downs. The one she chose had an RV embroidered on the breast pocket, which she says reminded her of the movie “Barbarella.” The portrait was taken in their friend’s apartment, bathed in natural light against a blank wall. Smith tried several poses before throwing her jacket over her shoulder “Frank Sinatra style,” leading to the portrait we all know and love today. In total, Mapplethorpe only took twelve photographs.
“When I look at it now, I never see me. I see us.”
Patti Smith, “Just Kids”
The true beauty behind the “Horses” cover is Mapplethorpe and Smith’s connection. After crossing paths in New York during the cultural explosion of the mid-1960s, they formed a life together by exploring art in all its forms. Though they drifted apart as their careers took them down different roads, they always managed to find each other again.
To read more about their relationship, you can read the book review I wrote on “Just Kids.” If you haven’t heard “Horses,” give it a listen!
WKNC 88.1 FM recently partnered with Prison Books Collective to host a book drive. From March 15 to March 26 individuals could drop off books in labeled bins outside of WKNC’s studios on the NC State University campus.
Thanks to WKNC’s audience, the drive was able to collect 125 books for Prison Books Collective, a Carrboro-based nonprofit that distributes paperback books and zines to incarcerated people across North Carolina and Alabama.
The collected books spanned a wide range of genres including Black history, biographies, self-help guides, legal texts, language dictionaries, and a multitude of science fiction of fantasy novels. More information on how Prison Books Collective serves incarcerated individuals, with the aid of community donations, can be found at PrisonBooks.info.
WKNC has its own relationship with the North Carolina prison system, as inmates across the state tune in every Friday night to listen to Penitentiary Rock. This segment broadcasts song requests mailed in from inmates to the show’s host, Uncle Paul. Uncle Paul not only plays the requests but reads inmate letters on-air, which has helped the development of the show’s popularity amongst inmates, who even use the show as a means to communicate with one another via shout-outs in their letters. Thus, a partnership between WKNC and Prison Books Collective seemed natural. WKNC is grateful to be able to give back to a community so often overlooked by mainstream media and one that has supported WKNC for decades.
Within the pandemic in particular, these individuals have had little-to-no access to visitors and have faced increased restrictions placed on the small amount of literature that may be available in the prison. Ivy Shelton, Prison Books Collective’s Outreach Coordinator, commented that, “COVID-19 has limited the operations but, Prison Books Collective (PBC) has been working hard the past year to fulfill book requests. PBC has continued to send 35-45 packages of books on average a week to individuals based on letters of request. The book drive WKNC 88.1 is hosting makes PBC’s continued work possible. Paperback donations from the WKNC 88.1 book drive will make a difference in someone’s life.”
WKNC would like to thank the audience for their continued support, both for the station and the recent donation drives.
WKNC 88.1 FM is 25,000-watt student-run non-commercial radio from North Carolina State University featuring indie rock, electronic, metal and underground hip-hop. WKNC is on social media @WKNC881.
