Editor’s Note: This is a weekly music article recommending new as well as old songs to diversify your playlists. You can find the playlist here.
In honor of the Toronto Raptors winning the NBA Championship this past week, I decided that this week’s recommendation of music would all be from Canadian artists. Constructing this playlist I was genuinely surprised at how many Canadian artists there actually are and how many I actually listen to. If you look at the Billboard Hot 100 you’ll find a multitude of Canadian artists throughout the list. One big artist is Justin Bieber, who I totally forgot was Canadian. I do have to give an explicit warning as these songs are way less mild mannered compared to the ones last week.
To start off though I’m picking a couple songs from the six god himself, Aubrey Drake Graham. First is “Jungle” from his 2015 album “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.” Noah “40” Shebib, the producer of this song, went above and beyond with this track. He captures the feeling of being downtown in the dead of night when everything has closed down and you want to call up someone from your past, but you know you shouldn’t because you’ve just grown too far apart. The sampled hook from Gabriel Garzón Montano’s song “6 8” is such a smooth serenade as well.
The second song from Drake I want to highlight is “Too Much” from his 2013 album “Nothing Was the Same.” In the first half of the song Drake describes the struggle he came up from when he was trying to make it in the rap game and the second half he describes the problems he has now that he has made it. I think this is one of my favorite Drake songs because it’s so personal and the main message hits hard no matter whatever position you’re in, you’re going to have problems, but don’t think about it too much, just trust the process.
Next is “We Find Love” and “Blessed” by Daniel Caesar. I think he has the best voice of any artist in the game right now. The piano in both of these songs is spectacular and I have spent multiple hours watching YouTube tutorials trying to learn how to play them. “We Find Love” covers how a relationship is over, but how Caesar still cares for his ex and “Blessed” details how even though the relationship has unhealthy reliance on the other person, he is glad the other person is still in his life.
After that is “Real Life” by the Weekend a.k.a. Abel Tesfaye. This is a song off his critically acclaimed 2015 album “Beauty Behind the Madness” which is one of the best albums this decade and you can check it out here if you haven’t already. This song, despite the more upbeat nature is a deep, self-reflective song about the self-destructive nature of the lifestyle Tesfaye lives. This is especially established in the bridge when Tesfaye sings, “Heaven only lets a few in. It’s too late for me to choose it. Don’t waste precious tears on me, I’m not worth the misery. I’m better off when I’m alone.”
“So Into You” by Tamia is the next song, but as great as the original song is, I like the cover by Childish Gambino he did on the Triple J YouTube channel. This man is a true renaissance man being able to sing, write, rap, and direct. The song itself will remind you of the ‘90s R&B scene, super soulful and sensual. I will put the original song in the playlist and the link to the Childish Gambino cover here. Skip to 1:17 for the start of the cover.
Finally is “Break From Toronto” from Jahron Anthony Brathwaite better known as PARTYNEXTDOOR. This song is the perfect balance between a bop and banger. The beat is fire like the bass rocks in the car, but Party’s voice contrasts with his fluid flow and voice. The song is only a minute and 40 seconds long which is way too short, but I just put it on repeat and blast it.
I hope you enjoy the songs for the week. If you have any songs to recommend, email me at paulce@email.grcc.edu
