9 min read what's good

What's Good (Week of 10/4/26)

The cover of dawn richard's "creole culture". A close-up of dawn's face being caressed by hands adorned in rings and nail art. dawn has gold and gems on her teeth, and piercings in her nose.

Welcome back on into my weekly spread of new music and (hopefully) good vibes for you with What's Good. We've got a stacked lineup this week with:

New Albums

  • dawn richard
  • Death Valley Girls
  • Ovrkast.
  • Rhys Langston
  • Sunset Tim & Heather Grey
  • Teller Bank$

New Singles

  • Ché Noir
  • Genevieve Artadi
  • H31R
  • Mike Ladd
  • Thundercat & Button Masher
  • Real Bad Man & Boldy James

Let's get into it.

Playlists

TIDAL

TIDAL: What's Good Playlist - Week of 10/04/26

YouTube

Bonus Beats

Kamaal Williams is joined by drummer Berj Fazlian for a performance on the roof of the National Opera House in Yerevan, Armenia.

The Koreatown Oddity taps in with The Rap Music Plug Podcast to talk his excellent new album Purdy, maintaining dedication to his craft, and more.

Nao Yoshioka shares a live version of "In The Rain" from self, at Blue Note Tokyo for her Tokyo Funk Sessions series of shows with the venue.

Choosey
The official website for Choosey music, merchandise and more!
ChooseyChoosey Store
Table For One
After nearly two decades of stellar musical offerings, artist and TV personality Meyhem Lauren is releasing his first solo project, notably with no additional featured artists, entitled “Table For One”. The full-length LP consists of production from Hip Hop’s elite, including DJ Muggs, The Alchemist, Buckwild Daringer, IceRocks, Ghost Dave, Real Bad Man, Ern Dogg, and Don D. “Table For One” is the first release under Meyhem’s newly launched record label, White Truffle Records, and will be released exclusively on the VYB music platform. Numerous celebratory release events surrounding the album will be accompanied by a top-tier merchandise capsule, aligned with the fashion sense Meyhem has long been known for. Although “Table For One” is solidifying his past legacy, it will also serve as the initial building block for the next chapter of Meyhem’s musical evolution. Limited edition. 500 total vinyl.

I've wanted to highlight direct-to-consumer joints here for a while, but more often than it's a little difficult to do it in the standard What's Good format. If the artist doesn't drop a single or a video to go along with the roll out, I can't include them in the music drops. If it's not in the context of an interview, or a live performance, or something similar they're not a great fit for Bonus Beats. But since this is my blog and I can do what I want, I'ma start plugging a few of these in Bonus Beats as they come up. Let me know if y'all dig this!

First up, Choosey (Black Beans w/Exile) released his LP Gloria early for newsletter subscribers back in December of last years, and while I missed it then, he's letting it go for PWYW: "You can now pay what you want to download the entire Gloria album! This option was made possible by those who purchased it early. I've reinvested every dollar back into this project and there's much more on the way. Thank you all in hindsight and in advance. Name your price and enjoy!"

Next, Queens' own Meyhem Lauren has Table For One coming on December 15th, his first solo project with no features, but production from a murderers' row (The Alchemist, Buckwild, DJ Muggs, Real Bad Man, and more) along with a ton of physical and digital bundle options.

After Further Review: De La Soul’s Stakes Is High
Thirty years later, two writers return to the album that served as a crossroads for hip-hop.
POW MAGOliver Wang and Adam Mansbach

Heads of a certain age, get comfortable. Oliver Wang and Adam Mansbach sat down to talk De La Soul's seminal 1996 album Stakes Is High. Discussing it in the context of its time of release, De La without Prince Paul, whether the album holds up and more.

OW: In hindsight, especially because this album dropped while Biggie and 2Pac were still at the height of their beef and where Ice Cube and Common had only just squashed their skirmish, I’m actually amazed that De La didn’t seem to draw any smoke from rappers who thought that lines like “the only Italians you know are icees” and “Colombians never ran with your crew” were aimed at them. As far as I know, no one publicly barked back on De La. It never dawned on me until now how unusual that seems given how many rappers over the years have taken umbrage over mere hints of being disrespected.

AM: I think there was a kind of continental drift between the underground and the emerging pop scene, where it’s a case of “what’s a mouse to a lion?” Also, we don’t know what private conversations might have happened—it’s not that hard for me to imagine, for example, Pos calling Nas and telling him “we don’t mean you, we love your shit” or whatever. It’s also worth mentioning that De La is critiquing much more than just hip-hop with punchlines that deliver devastating facts that point to a nuanced and well-informed worldview: “De La Soul is here to stay like racism”; “My rhymes escalate like black death rates.”

Like, Jesus Christ, these are dark fucking ways to brag. But they’re also a way of sneaking information into the discourse in a clever and memorable way. And in an era where the dominant paradigm was punchlines that were shocking and graphic—which Nas set off a couple years earlier with lines like “I’m waving automatic guns at nuns,”and “when I was twelve I went to hell for snuffing Jesus” and then Big L elevated to a whole other level—De La sort of inverts the formula. These lines are shocking because they’re so depressingly, mundanely true.

Ahead of the Stones Throw 30 Festival on October 17th the label are letting never before seen Dungeon Sessions from their archives go, the most recent from Dam-Funk performing "Somewhere, Someday." Shout out a quick cameo from Sofie Royer.

The Womack Sisters' brought a few songs from their self-titled debut to KEXP back in August, and now it's up on YouTube.

Music

Boneweso & The Hidden Character (???) - Bombsaway (From the upcoming The Hidden Splash 2. Purchase "Bombsaway": Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Youtube Music)

DeevoDaGenius & Kil The Artist - DA TUNNEL (From KILTECH, out now. Purchase: Deluxe digital edition with signed poster via E11EVATION RECORDS | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Death Valley Girls - How Losing Everything in the Fire Taught Me to Love Myself (From Welcome to Earth, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Physicals via Suicide Squeeze Records | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Genevieve Artadi - Dangerous Night (From GVA!!!!!, out on 10/30/26. Preorder: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Armani Caesar - The Liz Symphony (Out now. Purchase: Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Youtube Music)

Omari Lyseight - Square feat. Earl Sweatshirt & Rockitneedspace (From Digital, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Mike Ladd - Time Has feat. Samuel Hirsch & Florent Berteau (From Nonechosen, out on 11/6/26. Preorder: Bandcamp | Physicals and digital via Backwoodz Studioz | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Papo2oo4 - Foreman & Holyfield (Out now, YouTube loosie.)

Def Sound - 8te Up! (From Raps 4 N*&&AS That Read Books Vol.1: Writes A Passage, out on 11/11/26. Stream: Untitled)

Ex:Re - Sleep (Live) (From Save As, out on 10/30/26. Preorder: Bandcamp | Physicals via 4AD | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Leron Thomas (Pan Amsterdam) - Audicious Pigeons (New video for 2020's Some Elevator Music. Purchase: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Brainstory - Home Alone (From Shoebox Days, out on 11/13/26. Preorder: Bandcamp | Vinyl via Big Crown Records | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Thundercat & Button Masher - Moving at Light Speed (Out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Brainfeeder/Ninja Tune, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

L'Eclair - Excelsior (From Echo, out on 11/6/26. Preorder: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad - Water's Edge (From The Midgnight Hour: Lost Tapes, out on 10/23/26. Preorder: Bandcamp | Vinyl via Jazz Is Dead | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Ciarán - Houston (From Róisín, out on 11/6/26. Preorder: Bandcamp | Physicals via Ciarán's official site, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

devonwho - encaso (From TV2, out on 10/16/26. Preorder: Bandcamp | Physicals and digital via Leaving Records, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Recoechi - Impossible (From Act 2: Body of God, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Daniel Son, Asun Eastwood, & Futurewave - Clean Up Nice (Out now. Purchase: Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Youtube Music)

H31R - No Pressure (From AIR FLOW, out on 10/23/26. Preorder: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Damon Locks & D-Composed - We Stay Beginning (From Dawning, out on 12/4/26. Preorder: Bandcamp | Physicals and digital via International Anthem | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Teller Bank$ - Lights Off ($$$$$$$) feat. Sha Ray (From NOAH, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Real Bad Man & Boldy James - Flowers At The Bezzle feat. Wiki (From Strobelight, out on 10/13/26. Preorder: Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Youtube Music)

Puma Blue - Desire (Live) (From Croak Dream (Live) out now, & Croak Dream (Deluxe) coming in November. Purchase Croak Dream (Live): Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Sunset Tim & Heather Grey - Rolling Stone (From Earl Grey, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Jeremiah Chiu - Doubles (From Edge Conditions, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Physicals and digital via International Anthem | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Che` Noir - Grandma's Cookies (From It Takes A Village, out on 10/23/26. Preorder: Bandcamp | Physicals via HiPNOTT Records' Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Joyce Wrice - Down To Earth (From MACHIKO, out now. Purchase: Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Youtube Music)

dawn richard - only fans (From creole culture, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Physicals and digital via Merge Records | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Illingsworth - wear the mask (Out now. Purchase/Stream: Bandcamp)

Black Flute Brigade - Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Leaving Records | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

MoRuf & Matthewdavid - Geronimo / Proud (Out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Cassette and digital via Leaving Records | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Percocetty, by TUAMIE
from the album Matter Fact, I’m Sick Of Talking
TUAMIEandiu.

TUAMIE - Percocetty (From Matter Fact, I'm Sick Of Talking, out now. Purchase/Stream: Bandcamp)

Rhys Langston - I woke up feeling like an anti-zionist Rube Goldberg feat. Dick Chainey, nahhphet, & Ya Boy Pax (From to live and die in E.U.L.A., out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Vinyl via Fused Arrow Records | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

claire rousay - rekindle (for guitar) (From on holding, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Ammi Boyz - Humble Request feat. Jadasea (From It Dies Here, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Wun Two - coffin (From Pumpkin Tales II, out on 10/28/26. Preorder: Bandcamp | Qobuz | Vinyl via Vinyl Digital (EU), Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Bruiser Wolf & Harry Fraud - Billboard Billy (Out now. Purchase: Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Youtube Music)

Danielle Ponder - Open Windows (From Everything Has Changed, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Physicals via Secretly | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Milc, Ransom, & The Heatmakerz - Mountain Dew (Out now. Purchase: Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Youtube Music)

Ovrkast. - WINDO feat. Michael Sneed (From STRIKING, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

Declaime & Spice Programmers - Timberland Boots (From Reclaimed, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)

That'll do it for this week. As always, if you enjoyed anything here be sure to share it with your friend and folks. Don't be afraid to tap in either down in the comments (a good reason to subscribe), or on social media. Enjoy the weekend, take care of each other, and make good choices.

DJ Regular

DJ Regular

Game and Music Lover. Writer. Unfortunate optimist. "Spare me the Hallmark Karl Marx."
SF Bay Area