Last night New Jersey natives like Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Chris Rock, John Stewart, Fountains of Wayne, Hasley, and Charlie Puth joined forces for the “Jersey 4 Jersey” benefit for the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund.
However it was local native SZA, who stole the show with an angelic performance of her song “20 Something,” off her 2017 album Ctrl. After being introduced by Whoopi Goldberg, the TDE singer took a minute to shoutout her home state, “Hi, my name is Solana and I’m from Maplewood, New Jersey. We’re praying for everybody at home.”
SZA was accompanied by her producer, Carter Lang. The singer even changed some of the song’s lyrics to show her solidarity, “Everybody safe at home/ Everybody scared outside/ Everybody all alone/ God Bless you,” she sang.
After almost four years, Isaiah Rashad has finally released a new single “Why Worry,” which was recorded in 2017. Rashad’s last release was in 2016 with his album The Sun’s Tirade.
Since his last album release, Rashad has not released any new music. He did appear on SZA‘s “Pretty Little Birds,” and Tokimonsta‘s “No Way,” alongside rapper Joey Purp. Last year he played new music for fans on Instagram and announced that his third album would be called The House Is Burning.
Although it’s been a while since we’ve gotten new music from the TDE rapper, his new single reminds us that he is still working, and provides us with reasons for the delays and informs us on what he’s been doing in the meantime, “Too busy livin’ big/ Too busy checkin’ of my list of sh*t I never did/ Drop top on all my whips.”
The single reminds us why Rashad is worth the wait, and we can only hope that this single means the release of The House Is Burning is near. Listen to the single below.
Joji took to Instagram on April 16 to announce his sophomore album Nectar, will be released on July 10. He also shared the album’s third single “Gimme Love,” along with its music video.
“Gimme Love” is a ballad that finds Joji begging his lover to return his affections, over a low-fi electronic instrumental. The accompanying music video is co-directed by the 88Rising star himself, and has two parts. The first half of the video matches the songs quick pace, using several quick cuts where we find Joji taking on different careers that end in stressful situations. The second half changes to a slower pace matching the toned-down speed of the track, and Joji still finds himself alone and hopeless as he takes off in a rocket ship. “Everyone’s looking for something to hold/ But I can’t let you go,” he sings.
Nectar follows his album BALLADS1, which landed number three on the Billboard 200 chart, allowing him to make history as the first Asian-born artist to top the Billboard Hip-Hop/R&B album chart.
The spread of the Coronavirus has forced us all to self-quarantine in our homes. As numbers continue to increase, festivals, venues, and artists have been forced to cancel or postpone their events within the next couple of months, crushing the hearts of music lovers everywhere.
Luckily for us, now that all our favorite artists, musicians, and DJs are all stuck at home just like us, they have a lot more time to be creative and make new music for us all to enjoy. Since we’ve gone into quarantine we’ve gotten new albums and singles from several different artists. Some have even gotten creative and started sharing performances through different streaming platforms like Instagram live, Twitch or Youtube for fans to enjoy in the comfort of their own homes.
Artists across all genres such as Miley Cyrus, Kali Uchis, Steve Lacy, 4B, and Diplo have all been actively live-streaming for fans to help them during this difficult time. However, it’s the EDM community that has mainly used this as a way to keep their community close while in quarantine. Several DJs have begun live-streaming weekly hour long sets for their fans to enjoy. DJs like 4B, Wuki, Party Favor, Skrillex, Subtronics, GG Magree, Valentino Kahn,Wax Motif, and Sullivan King to name a few have all been actively live streaming sets for their fan to enjoy.
On April 9 Kayzo went live for two hours for his Unleashed Online, and Alison Wonderland will be going live every Monday for “Alison Wonderland Mondays.” Boombox Cartel just announced he will be streaming a set this Sunday April 19 at 8 pm PST. During this time, Diplo and Dillon Francis who have teamed up with DoorDash, will also be live-streaming bringing back their “Coronight Fever.” For every viewer who tunes in, DoorDash will donate one meal to a family in need. This whole weekend (April 17, 18, & 19) Lost Lands Festival is presenting “Couch Lands,” where they will be streaming their full sets from 2019.
Insomniac CEO and Founder Pasquale Rotella, hosted Beyond Wonderland’s Virtual Rave-A-Thon on March 20 and 21 in place of the actual festival that was forced to be postponed until June 19 and 20. The livestream brought in over 3 million viewers, prompting Rotella to host weekly virtual Rave-A-Thons to keep headliners entertained at home. This weekend April 17 and 18 Insomniac will be hosting Escape Halloween’s Virtual Rave-A-Thon, featuring performances from artists like AC Slater, Bonnie X Clyde, Cut Snake, Dillon Nathaniel, Duke Dumont, GRAVEDGR, Kendoll, Mikey Lion, Morten, No Mana, Sian, Slushii, TSURUDA, Two Friends, and Yulton.
Virtual Rave-A-Thons and livestreams will never compare to the feeling that comes with being at a live show and dancing with your best friends. But for now they offer us a brief moment of escape, as well as new music during this crazy time. For many of us music is our lifeline, and artists are trying to give us what we need in order to make staying home more bearable. It’s also a way for us all as a community to stay connected, and has reminded me why I love this community so much.
A reported 3.5 million viewers tuned into the Insomniac’s first livestream. Artists such as Joyride, Party Favor, 4B, Drezo, SayMyName, Kill The Noise, SVDDEN DEATH, and Wax Motif all gave sets spanning from 25 minutes to an hour. All the artists and host Rotella continued to encourage people to stay safe and to stay home. He even asked artists questions about how they’re spending their quarantine, asking Party Favor how many pairs of sweats he had been rotating at home. Here are some of my favorite sets below.
Insomniac presents Countdown Virtual Rave-A-Thon
Viewers tuned in to Insomniac Events Youtube channel from 8pm to midnight on March 27 and 28 for the Countdown Virtual Rave-A-Thon. Rotella was decked out from head to toe in an alien mind control deflection unit, and was accompanied by his alien friend “Trillion Toth.” Artists such as DJ Soda, Ekali, Flosstradamus, Peekaboo, Dombresky, i_o, JVNA, K?D, Los Kings, Mat Zo, Medasin, Ookay, Phantoms, Sacha Robotti, Sage Armstrong, SNBRN, and Tisoki. Not only did Rotella remind viewers to stay home and stay safe, but he also asked the artists Coutdown themed questions. We learned that Dombresky believes in aliens, and the Ookay would his laptop, Nintendo Switch, and his dog if he could travel to space with only three things. Here are some of my favorite sets below.
REZZ
Rezz gave her fans a live 45 minute set on April 1, finally joining artists in accepting livestreams as the new temporary normal. The audio and visuals weren’t the best, but her intent was clear: she wanted to give her fans live music and a moment of escape from all the madness going on in the world right now.
Insomniac presents Hard Summer Staycation Virtual Rave-A-Thon
On April 3 and 4 Devault, Ducky, Franklin Watts, Habstrakt, J Worra, Jauz, Kaivon, Mr. Carmack, Noizu, Omnom, Party Pupils, SVDDEN DEATH, Valentino Kahn, Walker & Royce, Wolfgang Gartner, and Wuki, all came to the Insomniac headquarters for Hard Summer Staycation. The lobby was covered in sand and palm trees, and Rotella was in his beachwear. Here are some of my favorite sets.
Brownies and Lemonade presents Digital Mirage Online Music Festival
Over 4 million people tuned in on April 3, 4, and 5 for Proximity and Brownies & Lemonade’s Digital Mirage, where 51 artists streamed sets from their homes. They originally set out to raise $100,000 for charity, but ended up raising over $300,000. Artists like Kaskade, Alison Wonderland, Kill the Noise, A-Track, Seven Lions, Ghastly, Nitti Gritti, 4B, and 12th Planet were all trending on twitter. Unfortunately the sets did not stay up after they were streamed, but I was able to find some below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wha_yS_sOXk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmPNG5WC0fM
Insomniac presents Nocturnal Wonderland
For the fourth weekend in a row, artists came to the Insomniac headquarters to perform live sets for audiences at home. Nocturnal Wonderland included performances from 12th Planet, ARMNHMR, Arty, Bijou, Borgore, Born Dirty, Champagne Drip, Demigod, Jason Ross, Ship Wrek, Spencer Brown, TJR, VNSSA, Z-Trip, and an hour and a half long set from Zeds Dead.
“This is not a test”: Kid Cudi has released his first solo single in almost four years! It’s called “Leader of the Delinquents,” and Cudi first previewed the track in 2012 during one of his performances. He previewed it again on Instagram Live on April 10 before releasing it on Tuesday (April 14).
The throwback single reminds us why we love Cudi so much. He’s an outcast who can articulate what’s all on our minds, “How I do it, why the kids love me so?/ ‘Cause they connect with Cudder real simple.”
“Delinquents” features classic rap shit talk, all while showcasing his psychological turmoil. “I’ve been trapped in my mind, I’ve been trying to escape,” he spits. “Fame and loneliness, /the recipe for disaster /I can’t handle this shit, I’m going to get plastered.” Cudi has never been one to shy away from talking about the uglier side of wrestling with inner demons, and these struggles have helped to build his character. The song does manage to wrap up on a more positive and happier note, “All hail King Wizard in your motherf—-g space, you love it.”
His next studio album Entergalactic, is set to be released sometime next year. The album will also serve as the soundtrack to an animated Netflix series of the same name for adults. Not only will Cudi star in and write for the show, but he will be executive producing alongside Kenya Barris, the man behind Blackish and its two spin-offs, Grown-ish and Mixed-ish.
