Five For Friday ft [@amaarae], [@DJDODGERSTADIUM], [@still1ax] + more

Friday’s are packed full of releases, these are 5 you should pay particular attention to today.

Five for Friday makes its scheduled appearance. Friday is essentially the most important day of the week musically, and typically a lot of music drops on Friday’s. Friday is also the day that the official charts are announced letting us know who holds the coveted number one position. To make life a little easier this Friday we are giving you 5 of our top picks that have just dropped.

Amaarae – Leave Me Alone

Amaarae is really one to keep your eye on. The Ghanaian-American songstress has a knack for being able to traverse a variety of sounds extremely well. With this talent and the hard work she’s been putting in for some years now she has gained the recognition and backing of a whole host of scenes and publications and even has a Wande Coal feature to her name. On ‘Leave Me Alone’ we get a dancehall-inflected riddim that’s pure West African vibes, with lush and overarching guitar licks that draw from the highlife and Afrobeat tradition. Lyrically, ‘Leave me Alone’ is about learning how to protect one’s peace irrespective of underlying circumstances, fitting for any moment in time.

KiLLOWEN – Flawless

KiLLOWEN is a man on the rise, in the midst of finding his feet in the musical landscape and if he keeps putting out music like ‘Flawless’ it’s only a matter of time before he cements himself. ‘Flawless’ sits over laid back self-produced number which is not only easy on the ear but also infectious. The production isn’t the only thing to sing about, lyrically it’s a track of substance. Speaking on it KiLLOWEN says “’Flawless’ is about realising the beauty of your surroundings, but remembering the fact that to keep the balance in life, nothing stays as perfect as it might seem in the moment”.

DJDS, REMA, Tory Lanez – Simple Things

This is a link up we didn’t know was needed. REMA has been on a roll of recent with his releases and he doesn’t fail to deliver here. Fresh out of his deal and now completely independent Tory Lanez provides the Caribbean twinged Toronto sound we have come to know and love over time. But I think it’s DJDS that need to get the big shout out on ‘Simple Things’. Not only did they orchestrate putting together two of the most exciting artists out at the moment, the worked wonders on the production to create a sound that feels like home for both artists. It’s catchy, it’s fun and it leaves you hoping for future collaborations between them all.

Shumba Maasai – Flavour – 9

The story behind ‘Flavour – 9’ coming together highlights the importance of networking with those in the same position as you. Shumba and Mathematics met whilst working as kitchen porters a while ago and reconnected to bring ‘Flavour’ to life. The track’s playful production works well with Shumba‘s lyricism and raw energy in the delivery making it a track you’ll definitely be coming back to.

Tax – Shots

‘Shots’ is a track that has already had critical acclaim from key talents in the scene like Robert Bruce, DJ Teeshow, and even Toddla T. The track has Tax flexing his lyrical chops with skippy flows over the bouncy Trooh Hippi production. This is the warm up for a project that’s in the works as Tax seeks to re-establish himself in the scene. Tax is no newcomer, he formerly performed under the name Intact and his debut single ‘Think’ knocked Lethal Bizzle‘s ‘Pow 2011’ off the number one spot. He’s continued to put in the work and took time out to develop his sound before returning as Tax.

You can check out the previous Five For Friday here.