To initiate his album due for official release tomorrow called Uninvited, Minnesota rapper and birthday boy Call Me Karizma has followed a similar pattern with this third preview, “f u till i f u”, as with the BILLCS Top 30 top tenner “u suck” – centre a grab bag of emotions around a great female vocal. Cass’ perfectly suited, somewhat disaffected sounding vocal, which carries the song with its refrain, is counterpoint to Karizma’s love-you-hate-you outpouring which his fans will just love. Plus like many of his best songs, you will find yourself singing along in no time. It’s not a story that everyone goes through, but Riz gives you his take and we can still all relate, younger and older.
NYC group The Village Sound – focusing on the Brothers Gorman, particularly vocalist Dan – provide a great introduction to what they’re all about in “Circles”. There is so much familiar in this particular rap and hip hop style – particularly Beastie Boys, but Eminem, Linkin Park, and Korn all come to mind as well – tough and on-point, but fun and eminently listenable as well. “Circles” is all about people listening to the voices of only a select few, when others have something potentially important to say. So the Gormans definitely get their digs in while injecting ribald humour into the proceedings as well. Dan makes a convincing, and commanding case in the video which would translate well on to the stage, and the camera clearly loves him 🙂 While rap is not always a style that’s in my regular wheelhouse of tunes, The Village Sound know their craft and their audience – do check out the well-shot video below.
I’m humbled by the amount of new visitors I’ve had recently to this blog and Twitter. The BILLCS Top 30 is my personal chart of favourites which started out online in 1998 as the monthly Tuned-On! Top 10 and quickly grew into a bi-weekly Top 30 on a web page hosted by Geocities (remember them?). Its focus over the years has shifted depending on what styles of music I’ve been drawn to the most. It largely focuses on singles but album tracks are included. Songs can only appear on the chart for 10 appearances (20 weeks) which keeps the new songs flowing. In 2003, music was becoming much more globally in sync and I allowed songs to appear on the chart providing they were released … somewhere. In 2009, a free download hit #1 for the first time. A song must be ‘released’ (for pay or for free) in order to qualify to appear on the chart – a You Tube or Soundcloud post that is not consumable does not qualify. Official remixes may chart instead of the original if that’s the version I prefer.
With that update provided, on to the new chart 🙂
The Top 10
The ongoing revival of Simon Curtis “8bit Heart” continues to grow as the cover to his upcoming book “Boy Robot” (cover above) was premiered by Just Jared Jr. The book would not be forthcoming without Simon’s original 2010 mixtape (still available for free athttp://www.simon-curtis.com) which has recently been re-recorded as Super 8bit Heart and now available everywhere for purchase. “8bit Heart” is still so much of a personal favourite, and continues at #1 for a second appearance in its delightful redux version. The new version of “Super Psycho Love” joins “8bit Heart” in the Top 10, rising 16-10.
MAX (Schneider) holds at #2 with “Wrong”. Do check out the infectious remix recently unleashed online by RyanEXOE featuring Taylor Bennett, above.
Before my next chart, the album 55 by The Knocks will finally be on release and should be the soundtrack to the first part of 2016, given that I heard most of the songs at their Toronto concert in January. “Kiss The Sky”, featuring a fantastic vocal by Wyclef Jean, climbs 7-4 and is definitely eyeing #1.
Coincidentally, The Knocks are back-to-back with their own label signees, Sofi Tukker. The NYC duo holds steady at #5 with the irresistible “Drinkee”. Yeah it’s all in Portuguese, but no matter!
This chart marks the mini-invasion of the Top 10 by songs by the latest boy wunderkind, Troye Sivan. The glorious “Talk Me Down” advances 12-7 while the heart-wringer “Wild” climbs 14-9 (both above). And Troye’s “Fools” (below, rounding out the Blue Neighbourhood trilogy of videos) is the fastest riser, movin’ on up a few notches below 26-17. This only means one thing: If you haven’t heard Troye’s Blue Neighbourhood, you are missing out. Troye is playing a sold out show at the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto next week.
More Songs Movin’ On Up
Brandyn Burnette’s hip hop flavoured “Down” from his Made Of Dreams EP rises 15-12. He and his gal Molly Moore (sitting pretty at #8 with “Blood. Sweat. Tears.”) have joined forces as Cosmos & Creature and will appear as the featured voices in an upcoming song by dance music performer Vicetone called “Brightside”! Watch for it!
Elephante’s original “Age Of Innocence” (featuring Trouze and Damon Sharpe) is one pumped up slice of emotional EDM with a melody that stays with you for days. It moves up 18-15.
Like “Hello”, it looks like Adele’s “When We Were Young” is about to dominate the dance charts in its remixed version. But the still stunning original from the 25 album climbs 21-16.
Calvo’s “Vicious Girl” continues to be embraced by DJs throughout the world thanks to a memorable keyboard melody and an odd vocal that works quite well. It jumps 27-20 and is well on its way. It’s also a co-write by the talented Daniel Volpe (who as a performer is none other than Zorro Blakk).
It may be their best song yet. Canadian bros DVBBS feature a Torontonian singer Dante Leon on “Angel”, which bows at #23. DVBBS have previously charted with MOTi with “This Is Dirty” (#9) and with Sander van Doorn and Martin Garrix on “Gold Skies” (#3).
A bit of summer is upon us courtesy of the driving beat of the Cloudchord remix of “Loud Places”, an alternative hit last year for Jamie xx featuring Romy, from Jamie’s Grammy-nominated album In Colour. This tropical anthemic remix stands on its own and arrives at #24.
Sweden will simply have to share its current #1 with us. That song is “Faded” by Norwegian producer/DJ Alan Walker, which originally started as an instrumental called “Fade”. It premieres at #25.
And at #27 is “u suck” by Minnesota rapper/producer Call Me Karizma (aka Morgan Parriott). Its clever featured chorus from the song “Why Don’t You Do Right” is sung by UK vocalist Bev Lee Harling. “u suck” is a wonderful slice of what sounds like ‘new era rap’.
Listen to the songs or watch the videos using the links on the pictures on the pretty and detailedweb edition of my chart. Go on, have a look and listen/watch 🙂
Listen to the BILLCS Top 30 Songs on Spotify! Click on this link to take you there, and follow me on Spotify 🙂BILLCS Top 30 Songs
Although it will not air this week, you can usually hear me online onhttp://www.planetradio.caevery Monday at 9:00 pm EST counting down a Toronto Top 10 chart from yesteryear, and then again every Thursday in a rebroadcast at 7:00 a.m. EST on WROCKhttp://www.wlor.net!
With his new song “Euphoria”, 20 year old Minnesota rapper Karizma wants everyone to know that it’s okay to fall in love. He’s all about peace, love, co-operation, unity – positive messages from someone who enjoys the stage but never feels that he’s above anyone else. He’s had his successes in the hip hop scene in the Twin Cities and deserves to breakout nation-wide. I caught Karizma (aka Morgan Parriott) opening up for MAX (Schneider) in concert last month, and his energetic and personable set was a breath of fresh air, sort of like the kinder side of Eminem. “Euphoria” (which revolves around a sample from “Radio” by Alkaline Trio) is a standout song and contrasts a downbeat melody with convincing lyrics that make you feel good. He calls his largely teen fans ‘losers’ because he cares – he’s been down and out, and knows how to rise above it, and they’re all in this together to have a good time. Give a listen to “Euphoria” below and be sure to catch a Karizma show when he comes to your city – guaranteed to make you smile.
BRANDYN BURNETTE featuring NEVELLE VIRACOCHA, “I Wanna Be (Free)” (video)
This is part one of a series of previews from Brandyn Burnette’s Made of Dreams EP, which will arrive on November 13. Track listing:
DOWN I WANNA BE (FREE) FT. NEVELLE VIRACOCHA NOTHING AT ALL MADE OF DREAMS NO INVITATION
LOST (STRIPPED)
I don’t usually write more than one or possibly two posts about the same song, but after it spent five non-consecutive appearances at the top of my personal chart, and after hearing a couple of remixes and watching the original and fan videos for Brandyn Burnette’s “I Wanna Be (Free)”, the song has become a key part of the core of my music in 2015 and likely this decade so far. In no matter what form, the song takes hold of you and does not let go.
This new interpretation, featuring rapper Nevelle Viracocha, only goes to show that a great song is diverse and adaptable to many styles of music. I originally thought “I Wanna Be (Free)” to be this carefree, southern California-influenced summer beach song of escape (from whatever you want). I still fondly think of it this way for my own enjoyment. But I’ve come to discover that the song was intended to be so much more, both a powerful and a societal statement about the desperate need to be free in various ways and forms.
“I Wanna Be (Free)” is all Brandyn, including production, and he also co-directed the new video, which has a chaotic feel to reinforce the emotion in the song. I’ve played this version for a few people, and some of them prefer it over the original. Nevelle’s powerful rap to me almost overwhelms the gorgeous piano at the start but the hip hop style sets the no-nonsense tone for the scenes that follow. This version is also a perfect companion to Brandyn’s other recent song “Stand Down (2150 A.D.)” . By the time the video is all done, the need to be free still continues, it’s a dream we all chase.
Watch the video above. It’s the kind of video that will make you react and want to say something. Feel free to add a comment on this blog post or tweet me @billcs .
Watch this blog for more previews from the Made of Dreams EP 🙂
JERZEE featuring CRYSTALYNE, “Back Where We Started”
From the moment Crystalyne sings her first few notes, I could imagine “Back Where We Started” lighting up a room when it’s played. The force of the song performed by rapper Jerzee and his fellow Canadian Crystalyne together should have no problem nailing the end-of-school-breakup-start-of-summer song category. It’s great when rappers can show their flow from heavy-edged rap into pure pop soul and Jerzee perfectly complements his partner, who reminds me when I first heard Ariana Grande – I’m not looking for the whistle notes, just a solid delivery. Well done – in tandem with “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth, and one of my other faves, “Chasing Stars” by Canadians Corey Niles and Alex Lacasse.
It is perhaps one of the most unique collaborations you will hear in this or any year. Sour Soul is the short album brought to you by Toronto rock/hip hop instrumentalists BADBADNOTGOOD (BBNG) and former Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah, who has gone on to be a respected and sought-after soloist in his own right these last two decades. Sour Soul (due for release February 23) is BBNG’s fourth album in so many years, and their love for hip hop music through their live performances has won them the admiration of the rock and R&B/hip hop communities. So while an album with someone like Ghostface Killah might seem a no brainer, it’s still quite exciting to see that it all came together so successfully. It actually takes rap and hip hop back before the mid-1990’s, before all of the ubiquitous ‘featuring [insert rapper]’ billings took place. Run-DMC re-recorded “Walk This Way” with Aerosmith, The Beastie Boys brought punk sensabilities to their rap/hip hop style, Public Enemy re-recorded “Bring The Noise” with Anthrax, and LL Cool J rocked out with “Mama Said Knock You Out”. It makes you wonder what would have happened if a well-known rapper, say like LL Cool J, had worked with a band like BBNG, who specialize in larger-than-life cinemascopes in their instrumentals, and how the storytelling might have made a different impact. In 2015, BBNG and Ghostface Killah are preaching to the converted who are starving for this kind of powerful originality. It’s hard to pick out a standout song, because they all flow so well, but start with “Ray Gun” (above), “Six Degrees”, “Gunshowers”, and “Street Knowledge”. Look for Sour Soul to be much imitated and revered in the coming years.
“Today” is one of those songs about those lazy, hazy days, that float on by when you’re having a big outdoor party, and that you can reminisce about later, even though you may not, uh, remember all of the fine details. It’s rapped by Washington group The Good Husbands along with fellow west coaster Ryan Caraveo, who has the same kind of appeal of someone like Jake Miller – also give a listen to Ryan’s “When The Sun Sets” below. “Today” has the same kind of vibe that goes back as far as War’s 1976 hit “Summer” through to today’s “Stolen Dance” by Milky Chance with a few spins around the block that might be “Because I Got High” by Afroman 😛 It’s an enjoyable ride, and like those other songs, memorable for capturing a good time and putting it into a funky-kool-kinda song. Download it for free from The Good Husbands’ Soundcloud page above.
Miami singer/rapper Jake Miller is so loyal to his fans that he’s seen his Twitter followers grow to a half-million. Not too shabby for this young man who signed to Warner Brothers earlier this year. His first release for the label is the EP Lionheart, and I’ve zeroed in on the title song, though Jake has already seen national Top 40 airplay for the poignant “First Flight Home”. “Lionheart” is almost a successor to his previous single “Collide” (which reached #5 on my personal chart) with a similarly crowd-pleasing vibe as he sings and raps about his strong-willed lady love. Jake’s appeal is highly contagious and it’s easy to get caught up in a performance like this that wears his enthusiasm on its sleeve. You can get the Lionheart EP on iTunes and listen to the title song above.
This is an exclusive BILLCS Music Blog alert! Coming on Monday is the latest and perhaps greatest of three singles this past year from Toronto singer/songwriter Corey Niles. This time he returns to the form of his first deep n’ dirty hip hop single “Rollercoaster” (which featured Dru) for “Get To Know You”, and he brings along fellow Canadian Ish (known himself for solo work plus collaborations with Stef Lang, Faber Drive, Esthero, and Daniel Richter of Eleven Past One). Not only will “Get To Know You” sound great next to fellow Canadian R&B performers like Raghav or Massari, it will be the new flavour for you that you might find sandwiched on the radio between Usher and Chris Brown tunes. Corey’s distinctive voice is like grittier Drake, and the break by Ish sends the song home. I will be away for the next four days and not blogging, but I’ll have all of the details about “Get To Know You” next week 🙂
BILLCSMUSIC BLOG 
You must be logged in to post a comment.