Track of the Day: 'Did You See My Skin Through The Flames' by Blood Orange

A new track from Dev Hynes is always cause for celebration, but this 10-minute opus is really something else. Although it's not on his next album it covers the sort of themes he's tackling, as it investigates issues of race, slavery and Hynes' own heritage. Mixing jazz with spoken word and funk it really does take you on a journey through his mind. If this is anything to go by then his next album could well be a masterpiece.

A tale of two rap albums: 'To Pimp A Butterfly' vs 'Mr. Wonderful'

In the past couple of weeks two completely different but great rap albums have been released - Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp A Butterfly' and 'Mr. Wonderful' by Action Bronson. You've probably seen a lot of reviews of them, especially the former which a lot of people have already crowned the album of the year, so rather than do another straightforward review I thought I'd compare the two (not entirely seriously). Whether you like one or the other or both, it's good to see rap music in such rude health at the moment.

           

Location:

West Coast                                                 East Coast

Themes:

Black Consciousness                                  Food
Racial Equality                                            Women
Politics                                                       Transport
Sex                                                            Sex

Musical influences:

George Clinton                                             Billy Joel
70s Funk                                                     80s soft rock
Jazz                                                            Some weird Turkish stuff

Collaborators:

Flying Lotus                                                 Mark Ronson
Snoop Dogg                                                 Chance The Rapper
George Clinton                                             Party Supplies
Thundercat                                                   Zane Lowe
Dr. Dre  

Likelihood of winning a Grammy next year:

100%                                                           0%                      

Best tracks:

The Blacker The Berry                                  Baby Blue
How Much A Dollar Cost                               Easy Rider
King Kunta                                                   Only In America

Most likely to say:

"I'm black, deal with it"                                "I'm hungry & horny, feed me or fuck me"