Words by GabSoul
After cooling down from a summer of blazing hot new tunes, we’re back for a new season full of sounds from across the Caribbean diaspora. This week’s update features fresh tracks and hand-picked gems from some of our favorite new projects, collaborations and single releases.
You can always vibe to the full playlist here. Run the tunes below, and find all of our playlists over on our Apple Music channel.
With over four decades of music under his belt, everyone’s favorite uncle of lovers rock has returned with a new album titled, Never Ending. Not to our surprise, he captivates us with yet another slew of love melodies. “My Kinda Girl” is our fave, produced by DJ Kurt Riley, who is also responsible for the infectious Jambe An Riddim.
Our soca queen Patrice Roberts is on fire this season, as she graces us with another spicy tune for the ladies called “Like It Hot.” She sprinkled plenty pepper on the Kickstand Riddim, produced by Parry Jack, which also features heat from Problem Child and Shal Marshall.
Champagne Papi strikes again, and this time it’s with Puerto Rico’s Latin-trap pioneer Bad Bunny. The two try to claim their mutual lover on “MIA,” reminding her that she promised her heart to both of them. Who do you think has a better shot at serenading her for affection?
Walshy Fire and The Expanders ft. Randy Valentine – Rubble Rebel (Champion)
LA-based vintage reggae revivalists The Expanders combined their vibrations with super producer Walshy Fire, of the dynamic dance music trio Major Lazer, on their joint project Thanks For Life Riddim. Randy Valentine, Jamaican-native artist by way of the U.K., blesses us with a righteous anthem on the riddim’s single “Rubble Rebel (Champion).”
Trinidad’s own triple threat Mical Teja produces, writes and sings his own music. He has production credits on some of the hottest soca songs of the last few years; including soca-monk Machel Montano’s “Waves,” Kes and Nailah Blackman’s “Workout,” and my fave Olatunji songs “OLTL” as well as “Midnight Cruise.” On his first self-produced riddim, he puts his own artist hat on and serenades us with the title track, “Want.”
We heard it here first on his Majestic Melodies mixtape, and now Addis Pablo returns with the self-composed tracks as an official EP. Check out the lead single “Universal Dub,” which features his signature melodica sounds over an experimental dub composition with a flare of hip-hop production.