6 min read what's good

What's Good (Week of 6/15)

The cover for Milc & Spinitch's "Run for the Arts". A cartoon of Milc as a child running, flanked by a bluebird, a butterfly, passing by a patch of grass and a flower.

We made it through another treacherous week, and as is standard I'm providing you with a rest stop on your way to the weekend with a little dose of What's Good. This week we've got:

New Albums

  • Chè Noir
  • Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer
  • Lukah & Statik Selektah
  • Milc & Spinitch
  • Radamiz & Fortes
  • U.S. Girls
  • Yaya Bey

New Singles

  • Automatic
  • The Armed
  • Blueprint
  • Clipse
  • End It
  • $ilkmoney
  • Wednesday

Just like last week, before we get into the regular spiel, I'd encourage you to do what you can to help and speak up for people in the ever-expanding crosshairs of the ghouls currently at the helm of the American government. A few days ago, SCOTUS upheld Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors in what will no doubt have a devastating effect on the lives of children for years to come.

In addition to contacting your elected representatives to oppose legislation criminalizing healthcare for transgender kids as well as the budget reconciliation bill that calls for numerous cuts to Medicaid that would exclude medically necessary healcare for trans people of all ages, here are a few orgs you can help with your dollars and time:

The modus operandi for the days ahead should be that none of us are free until we're all free, no matter if it's freedom from illegal detention and deportation or freedom to be who you are. Let's take care of each other.

Now with that out of the way, let's get into the music.

Playlists

TIDAL

TIDAL: What's Good Playlist - Week of 6/15/25

YouTube

Bonus Beats

A golliwog (black minstrel doll) resting against a tree branch in the woods, surrounded by fall leaves.

Elmattic digs into the horror of shared history in billy woods GOLLIWOG over on Medium:

You could line up the modern Africa kleptocracy in “BLK ZMBY” with Fela Kuti’s “Zombie,” about the Nigerian military blindly following brutal orders — which enraged the junta so far to attack his commune and kill his mother. Zombie no go think, unless you tell am to think — or as woods put it thirty-odd years later: child soldiers is African robotics. We promised you change — and it’s here!

woods’ zombies are the kleptocrats, who chew the brains out of countries, staggering post-colonial African zombie state chase the people into the waves, watch every ship and raft ’til they disappear. Every nationalist Western politician in modern history has described mass migration as hordes, as herds, invasions, overrunning the besieged compound. Every zombie movie makes a fantasy out of real-life migration and refugees: moving furtively through hostile, violent lands, with only what you can carry, scrounging for food and water, desperately trying to reach a safe haven. Some drove, some crawled, some ran glancing backwards. Some ran ravenous.

“All These Worlds Are Yours” has ELUCID chanting up Babylon 5, but its title is from 2010: Odyssey Two, where the all-powerful alien monoliths lay claim to one of Jupiter’s moons, warning the human race: ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS — EXCEPT EUROPA. ATTEMPT NO LANDING THERE. Could’ve come straight out the mouth of Geert Wilders, Macron, Starmer, Meloni, any European head of state this century. Odyssey Two: all those dangerous voyages across the seas, all those boats full of migrants and refugees, the sirens’ song is coming from Coast Guard patrol boats, stay away…whether make it or watery grave, hey, who’s to say?

And as close as we be to the furthest planet, as close as we be to the furthest planet — that’s Planet X, out at the edge beyond Pluto, the one we can’t see or even be sure that it’s there. We don’t know whether it’s where the Mother Wheel is, waiting with Fard Muhammad on it to return and save the 144,000, or if it’s just a reflection in our telescope mirrors, another blurry vision in a glass, darkly.

Stanley Clarke. Tiny Desk. 'Nuff said.

TOKiMONSTA uploaded her full hour-long EDC set to YouTube for your livingroom rave convience.

Chester Watson and Elaquent hit Europe in support of their collaborative EPs Montisona and Mirage, and they've documented the trip with a feature length documentary.

Got a Switch 2 and missing menu music? Jonwayne's got you covered, by making a beat with the new Nintendo console's UX sounds.

Kendra Morris gave us an intimate version of her latest single "If I Called You" live from the Portage Lounge in Loveland Ohio.

Music

Blueprint - Black Plates (From Vessel, out on 7/25. Preorder: Physicals and merch bundles via Weightless Recordings | Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

D2x - Blue Ocean Water (From Boy In The Blue Hoodie, out now. Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

$ilkMoney - THE JURY DUTY SEAFOOD BOIL BAG FROM THE LYFE JENNINGS PAPERWORK PARTY (From WHO WATERS THE WILTING GIVING TREE ONCE THE LEAVES DRY UP AND FRUITS NO LONGER BEAR?, out on 7/15. Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Clipse - So Be It (From Let God Sort 'Em Out, out on 7/11. Preorder: Physical, Digital, and Merch via Clipse's site, Stream: Tidal | Spotify)

Estee Nack & V Don - LAKOTA DREAM CATCHER (From the upcoming BRAP 2. Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Squadda B & Yarrow Slaps - Number One (Out now. Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Wynne - Centerfold (YouTube loosie with Spinitch. Hopefully these two have more cooking.)

Linda May Han Oh (with Ambrose Akinmusire & Tyshawn Sorey) - Portal (From Strange Heavens, out on 6/22. Preorder: Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Sankofa & G Fam Black - Cat Of Nine Tails (From Monster Factory, out on 7/1. Preorder: Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Jaywalk and The Cadillacs - Rain (From Whitewalls & Harmonies, out on 9/26. Preorder: Physicals via Kartel Music Group | Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

doseone & Steel Tipped Dove - Dial Up (From Album Title, out on date. Purchase: Backwoodz Studioz | Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Radamiz & Fortes - 6 A.M. (From LIGHTMAN, the album, out now. Purchase: CD via Big Enough Home, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

The Armed - Kingbreaker (From HE FUTURE IS HERE AND EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE DESTROYED, out on 8/1. Preorder: Bandcamp | Physicals and merch via Hello Merch, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Wednesday - Wound Up Here (By Holdin On) (From BLEEDS, out on 9/19. Preorder: Physicals and merch via Wednesday's site | Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Automatic - Is It Now? (From the upcoming Is It Now?. Purchase the single: Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Sofia Kourtesis - Canela Pura (From Volver, out on 8/1. Preorder: Bandcamp | Ninja Tune, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer - Side by Side feat. Jeff Parker (From Different Rooms, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

U.S. Girls - No Fruit (From Scratch It, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | 4AD Records, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Yaya Bey - spin cycle (From Do It Afraid, out now. Purchase: Digital and physicals via drinksumwtr | Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

End It - Pale Horse (From Wrong Side of Heaven, out on 8/29. Preorder: Physicals and merch via Flatspot Records | Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Chè Noir - New Beginning feat. Son Little (From The Color Chocolate 2, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Maxo - Mars Is Electric (From Mars Is Electric, out now. Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Milc & Spinitch - Saturday (From Run for the Arts, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Lt. Headtrip and NorthernDraw - It's All Timing (From Novel Path, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

N8NOFACE - Everything We Thought We Knew (From As Of Right Now, out on 7/11. Preorder: Vinyl via Stones Throw | Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Wiles Martyr - Do4u (From Circa Wealth II, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Nicholas Craven & Boldy James - Nice Try Wrong Guy (From their upcoming album. Purchase the single: Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

Lukah & Statik Selektah - Mirror Discussions (From A Lost Language Found, out now. Stream: Tidal | Apple | Spotify)

That'll do us for this week. If you enjoyed the blog or found anything new that moved you, feel free to subscribe or add me to your RSS feed so that you get each edition of What's Good as soon as it's published. Take care of yourselves, enjoy the weekend, and as always, make good choices.

DJ Regular

DJ Regular

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