MUSIC PREMIERES
Price Returns With New
Music Courtesy of PriceThese new cats ain’t playing with y’all on the releases. Coming out with a double dose of content, up-and-coming artist Price links with Dreamville’s Bas and the legend Wyclef for his bouncy bassline-fueled single “Selfish.”
Hearing the messages that permeate the track is where the greatness of this production lies. “Selfish is a song that was made to inspire people to take time out for themselves, better themselves while doing it, and love themselves in the process,” says Price. “We’re often looked at as selfish for doing these things for ourselves, so I wanted to shed light and present people with a different way of looking at it.”
Produced by Camper, known for tracks with Keyshia Cole (“Trust and Believe”), Tamar Braxton (“Love and War”), Mary J. Blige (“Self Love”) and executive producing Brandy’s newest album B7, the New Jersey native adds his magic to the groove oozing track. That strong foundation only added to the fact that Price could link with the bros in Bas and Wyclef. “Making ‘Selfish’ with Bas and Wyclef was a dream come true,” Price explains. “I got the chance to tour with Bas overseas and Wyclef was one of my biggest influences growing up. The creation process was amazing. Even through quarantine we were still able to come together and create something we all love and we hope the people will love it just as much as we do.”
Where “Selfish” describes taking time for self “Amistad” details the struggles of Black people and how easy it is for the systematic breakdown of our culture effects our generations past, present and future. Also produced by Camper, Price leans on personal experience and historical reverance to get this one out to the the people. “‘Amistad’ is a very non-traditional but powerful song. I want to give my fans new experiences every time I release new music. I have other songs on the album with big features but I felt it was important to come with ‘Amistad’ first because of the message it conveys.”
Be on the look out for Price’s sophomore album F.O.E.S which will be out on March 26th. Check his debut project C.L.R.D below.
MUSIC PREMIERES
Lykke Li didn’t hold back when speaking about the making of her sixth studio album, ‘The Afterparty’, during a listening session in Los Angeles earlier this year. “Let’s talk about the album. It was a motherfucker to make,” she admitted to the crowd. While balancing motherhood, the chaos of modern culture shaped by Trump and AI, and her own desire to create something more “extroverted, impulsive and chaotic” than ‘EYEYE’, as she previously shared with NME, the Swedish alt pop star arrived at a headspace that “feels like it’s 4am and the sun is going to rise”. The record captures that blurry final moment before regret, exhaustion and reality settle in, which makes it even more emotional considering she has hinted this could potentially be her final album.
There is something fitting about how brief the project feels. With only nine tracks running across 24 minutes, it never overstays its welcome. Lykke immediately drops listeners into the atmosphere with opener ‘Not Gon Cry’, painting a picture of those lonely early morning hours with the line, “No angels here tonight, no dancing queens.” Alongside the shadowy pulse of ‘Happy Now’ and the twisted disco energy of ‘Lucky Now’, she revisits the emotional yet dance driven spirit of her earlier material while blending in the sharper, more confident attitude heard on ‘So Sad, So Sexy’ and the shimmering influence of her 2019 Mark Ronson collaboration ‘Late Night Feelings’.
The emotional fallout begins to settle in quickly. ‘Famous Last Words’ carries a lush orchestral sadness as Lykke reflects on lessons that only came after years of chaos and late nights, confessing, “I had to crash and burn to tell the tale.” Then comes ‘Future Fear’, a delicate acoustic track with robotic textures that stares directly into anxiety and uncertainty with the chilling question, “I’m going to a dark place, do you need anything?” Meanwhile, ‘So Happy I Could Die’ glows like sunrise after a sleepless night, holding onto fleeting moments as she sings about “slipping through the hourglass”.
Throughout the album, Lykke Li vividly captures the beauty and wreckage of reckless nights with the vulnerability that has always defined her music. On ‘Sick Of Love’, she channels heartbreak into revenge, wanting to “make you beg for it” after rejection in a way that feels spiritually connected to Robyn’s ‘Dancing On My Own’. One of the strongest moments arrives with ‘Knife In The Heart’, a track that fully embraces her desire to become the “rock god” and “fuck boy” she spoke about, firing back at anyone who tries to tear her down with the words “you can spit, you can walk on me” while delivering one of the catchiest songs she has created in years.
Closing track ‘Euphoria’ leaves behind the same bittersweet feeling that runs through the rest of the album. With sweeping strings, pulsing beats and emotional intensity, Lykke Li reminds listeners that nothing lasts forever as she sings, “Player play your song, waste the night away”. Like the fading energy of the perfect night out, ‘The Afterparty’ ends in a haze of beauty and uncertainty. If this truly is her farewell, she leaves with one final intoxicating statement, though it still feels like there could be another chapter waiting.
