What's Good (Week of 8/24)
We've got a whole grip of new joints this week, so I'm not going to give you too much preamble. You know the drill, I bring you What's Good—namely, the music I've dug that came out this week. Like:
New Albums
- Braxton Cook
- Chè Noir & The Other Guys
- End It
- ShrapKnel & Ohbliv
- Wave Generators
- Westside Gunn
New Singles
- Chester Watson
- Crushed
- Die Spitz
- Dying Wish
- Saltyyyy V
- Sleep Sinatra
And much more. If you wanna make sure you don't miss these drops each Friday, subscribe to get What's Good delivered to your inbox the moment I hit publish. Alternately, you can add me to your RSS feed with the link up above.
Let's get started with this week's Bonus Beats.
Playlists
TIDAL
TIDAL: What's Good Playlist - Week of 8/24/25
YouTube
Bonus Beats
Fielded uploaded video from her set at C'Mon Everybody where she performed joints from Chuckles Deluxe this week, so I put 'em in a playlist:
- Chuckles Deluxe
- Let It Out
- Baby Boys
- Looking For Love in the Anthropocene
Drew Millard
Drew Millard talked with Dean Van Nguyen about his book on Tupac Words for My Comrades: A Political History of Tupac Shakur.
I think about how Pac’s mom spent years being surveilled by COINTELPRO, and then as he gets older, he develops this paranoia that Bad Boy Records is filling that COINTELPRO role in his life, and it’s almost a rational mindset because of his mother’s own experiences.
Yeah. It’s interesting, because we’re living in an age of disinformation or even conspiracy theories, and there’s a tendency among the left to position itself as anti-conspiracy theory. But when it comes to things like Tupac’s murder, although I don’t subscribe to most of the conspiracy theories — I tend to believe that the most obvious answer around his death is the correct one — if you lived through things like the murder of Fred Hampton, the murder of MLK, the cases that were brought against some of these people, it’s not crazy to suspect that an influential Black artist in the nineties would could have some very high-level enemies in the US establishment. I felt like it was worth bringing this conversation about how we talk about power and authority to the forefront. I think the Panther 21 trial is much more forgotten than the Chicago Seven trial, even though at the time it was like the most expensive and longest trial in New York history. It was obviously a major part of the story, but it’s certainly useful to revisit that and see that the use of power as a subversion tactic against revolutionary groups is something that’s always been prevalent.
Sofie Royer stopped by KEXP to do a set of song from her recent album, Young-Girl Forever.
Dash Lewis
With the final album dropping this week, Dash Lewis tapped in with ShrapKnel to talk the momumental feat of their three back-to-back LPs with three powerhouse producers (collectively known as the The Triple Steel Beam Collection):
As Castro recovered and the duo toured in support of Metal Lung and Nobody, their next moves slowly began taking shape. The road had taken them all over North America and Europe, where they interacted with a growing fanbase that included countless other hip-hop luminaries. Emboldened, they started asking artists whom they admired point-blank if they would want to work together. Before long, they found themselves working on not one, not two, but three separate records, each helmed by a single producer. “We’re still a little chicken and the egg because we don’t know exactly how it happened,” Castro laughs. “Nobody said ‘Aha!’ with a lightning bolt over their head and mapped the whole thing out. It really felt like it [was] built in stages.” Prem agrees. “‘Let’s make three records’ was never the idea,” he says.
Dylan Green
Dylan Green talked rap with Bruiser Wolf over at Hearing Things for their Words Matter series to learn what songs shaped his style:
2Pac: “Dear Mama”
The writing, the vulnerability of Pac on that one. All that gangsta shit Pac was on during that time? And he made “Dear Mama.” He had to perform “Dear Mama” after “Hit ‘Em Up,” and you could tell it was real. And go do your research on his mama.
It goes back to my father, because my father had a great mother. She was a hustler, she was kicked off a slave plantation because she was a slavemaster’s daughter. When my daddy heard “Dear Mama,” he played the shit outta that. He was probably thinking about my mama and us when he did, because he never told us about her. He always kept that a secret, didn’t want us looking at our mama like that. I never really thought about her like that until I got older and I started noticing shit. So when I made “Momma Was A Dopefiend,” I told everyone at the beginning of the track that I love my momma. I say it clearly. I don’t care what nobody say: my momma was a dope fiend, and I had to go take care of her when she was sick. I found a lot of her skeletons. I had to take a lot on the chin from people who don’t believe she hid it from me, but the people who knew, knew. When I wrote “Momma Was A Dopefiend,” it definitely came from Pac. To this day, I can’t perform that song without crying.
Ahead of the album release show at NYC's Jazz Gallery for his upcoming album CREAM, Kassa Overall released WE'RE TIME TRAVELING IN A SENSE, a short film made during his residency there back in 2018:
This short film featuring myself, Jon Batiste, and Ameen Saleem, directed by my good friend Jake Remington, was one of those special things that never found its way into the world until now.
Captured during my "Time Capsule" residency at the Jazz Gallery in 2018, WE’RE TIME TRAVELING IN A SENSE features a more avant than usual Jon Batiste, and a whole lot of spontaneous composition.
Jake was able not only to capture our raw selves interacting and bringing something unique to the people, but also found us at a very pivotal moment in our careers.
Mei Semones graced COLORS Studios with a lovely performance of "Tora Moyo" from her Animaru LP.
Music
Braxton Cook - I Just Want You (From Not Everyone Can Go, out on now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Wiles Martyr - Mad Hatter (From CIRCA WEALTH II, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Saba - sit down (A video only loosie.)
Ghostface Killah - Rap Kingpin (From Supreme Clientele 2, out now. Purchase: Merch and physicals via Mass Appeal | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Gelli Haha - Pluto is not a planet its a restaurant (From Switcheroo, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Other retailer, | Vinyl, CD, and coloring book via Gelli Haha's website, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Mavis Staples - Beautiful Strangers (From Sad And Beautiful World, out on 11/7. Preorder: Bandcamp | Physicals and merch via Port Merchandise, | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Mick Jenkins & EMIL - Coco Gauff (Out now. Purchase: Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Youtube Music)
Benny Sings - Simple Life feat. Leven Kali (From Beat Tape III, out on 9/19. Preorder: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Die Spitz - Punishers (From Something To Consume, out on 9/12. Preorder: Bandcamp | Third Man Records, | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Chat Pile & Hayden Pedigo - Radioactive Dreams (From In The Earth Again, out on 10/31. Preorder: Bandcamp | Physicals and digital via Computer Students, | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Tyler, The Creator - Sucka Free (From DON'T TAP THE GLASS, out now. Purchase: Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Sofie Royer - AUTO (Out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Flee Lord & Eto - Zip of Badu (From RocAmerikka 3, out now. Purchase: Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Youtube Music)
Julia, Julia - I Know (From Sugaring A Strawberry, out on 9/9. Preorder: Bandcamp | Vinyl and bundles via Suicide Squeeze)
Anysia Kym & Tony Seltzer - Automatic (From Purity, out on 9/12. Preorder: Bandcamp | 10k Global, | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Stacy Epps - Away feat. Karriem Riggins (From Flowheart, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Kenny Dope feat. Róisín Murphy - Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On) (From the upcoming Talking Heads tribute compilation Naive Melodies, out on 10/24. Purchase the single: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
ttwig aka JUICEB☮X - Disappear (From Hang Ten Colors to Catch the Sun, out on 10/21. Preorder: Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Crystal Sting - Suburban Atomizer (From Bubblegum Aquarium, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Fanclubwallet - New Distraction (From Living While Dying, out on 10/24. Preorder: Bandcamp | Physical merch bundles via Lauren Records, | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Sleep Sinatra - Dirge (Out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
WAVE GENERATORS - Four's A Riot feat. Hester Valentine (From RUN AWAY WITH A WILD AND A RARE ONE, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Saltyyyy V - Up Almost 24h (From A Dream, out on 11/14. Preorder: Bandcamp, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
crushed - oneshot (From no scope, out on 9/26. Preorder: Bandcamp | Ghostly International, | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
FloFilz - 6F Encounters (From Hagaki 葉書, out on 9/12. Purchase: Bandcamp | Melting Pot Music, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 28, 2024
KUTMAH - the blessing song (From No Closing Hours At Sea - pt1, out now. Purchase/Stream: Bandcamp)
iativos
ShrapKnel & Ohbliv - Who's ManZz is this? feat. STILL RIFT (From Armature, out now. Purchase/Stream: Bandcamp)
Earl Sweatshirt - CRISCO (From Live, Laugh, Love, out now. Purchase: Physicals, digital, and merch via Earl Sweatshirt's official store | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Chè Noir & The Other Guys - Smooth Jazz (From No Validation, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Chester Watson - fashion week feat. Kent Loon (From Psychic Warfare Department, out on 9/22. Preorder: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
TW: Suffocation, asphyxiation, scenes of assault with a plastic bag
Dying Wish - Revenge in Carnage (From Flesh Stays Together, out on 9/26. Preorder: Physicals and merch via SharpTone Records | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Evidence - Seeing Double (From Unlearning Vol. 2, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Physicals & Merch via Rhymesayers | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Paul Wall & Dj.Fresh - Money On My Mind (From The Tonite Show, out now. Purchase: Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | Youtube Music)
Westside Gunn - AMIRA KITCHEN (From HEELS HAVE EYES 2, out now. Purchase: Qobuz | CD via Roc Nation, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
ShunGu - Stay Alive feat. Pink Siifu (From Faith In The Unknown, out on 11/7. Preorder: Bandcamp | Vinyl via Lex Records, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Grace Vonderkuhn - Holding My Heart (From Into The Morning, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Other retailer, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 26, 2025
Bradford Thomas - Aye Ye Ye (From Bradventure 15, out now. Purchase/Stream: Bandcamp)
End It - Empire's Demise (From Wrong Side of Heaven, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Merch and physicals via Flatspot Records, | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Squadda B - It All Came From A Thought (From The Wonderful World of Squadda B, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Declaime & Spectacular Diagnostics - WITNESS feat. Blu (From What If, out now. Purchase: Vinyl via FXCK RXP | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Eiko Ishibashi & Jim O'Rourke - lia (From Pareidolia, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Drag City | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Kazi - Live In Santa Cruz (From King, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Kazi, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
bad snacks - nightcap feat. Nicole McCabe & Noah Kellman (From MIDNIGHT, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Saul Williams, Carlos Niño & Friends - We would lift our Voice... (From Saul Williams meets Carlos Niño & Friends at TreePeople, out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Roy Rutto - Dear Malvern, I'm Tryin feat. Lundey (Out now. Purchase: Bandcamp | Qobuz, Stream: Tidal | Apple | YouTube Music)
Zilla Rocca - A Million and One Questions feat. Defcee & Milc (From Easy Street Mixtape, out on 9/19. Stream "A Million and One Questions": Bandcamp)
That'll do us for this week. As always, if you enjoyed anything here and want to keep the party going, be sure to share it with your friends and folks. If you wanna be real kind, drop me a comment below to let me know what you're feeling. Enjoy your weekend, and make good choices.
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