It’s that time again. Monday’s (March 6) installment of the DX Digest finds Kyle and Lil Yachty looking on the bright side in the new animated video for “iSPY” and A$AP Rocky channeling his inner Matthew McConaughey for the Mercedes-Benz campaign, “Get A Job.” In a close third comes J Rocc’s “Motor City (J Rocc Blend #1)” in honor of Ma Dukes’ announcement of Jay Dee’s posthumous Motor Cityproject. In addition, Nardwuar interviews Vince Staples, Big Sean participates in Over/Under episode, Smoke DZA drops the video for “Badabing’s Theme,” Mick Jenkins is “Pressed For Time” with Goldlink, 6LACK is “Free,” Calvin Valentine shares the Daddy Kev-assisted “This Feeling,” Cashmere goes in on Uncle Murda with the diss track, “Murda,” and Solange sings with The Doobie Brothers legend Michael McDonald in Florida.
kyle f. lil yachty – “ispy”
After Lil Yachty jumped on Kyle’s “iSPY” in December 2016, the pair has finally resurfaced with an animated lyric video for the uplifting track. Directed by Jayme Lamperle, the cartoon-like visuals kick off with Yachty giving Kyle a little pep talk about the simple joys in life after he was presumably getting hate online.
“See these trees?” Yachty begins. “See this water? Come on man, you’ve got so much more to appreciate, man.”
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“You’re right,” Kyle replies.
“You’re damn right I’m right,” Lil Boat responds. “I can’t remember a time I was god damn wrong.”
The song initially debuted at #80 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at #14 on the chart, becoming Kyle’s first and Lil Yachty’s second Top 40 hit. Watch the visual treatment above.
A$AP Rocky – “Get A job”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jACeUBJIdZE
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A$AP Rocky gets introspective in a new campaign for Mercedes-Benz, which finds the A$AP Mob rapper telling the inspirational story of Rakim. As described in the YouTube caption for the autobiographical video, “Dreams can come at a price. But hard work can pay off. This is the true story about a boy named Rakim who blazed his own trail to the top with nothing but a dream beat.” The commercial comes after the “Said N Done” video he did with French Montana.
J dilla – “motor city (J rocc blend #1)”
Cherished producer J Dilla passed away in 2006, however, his legacy is still going strong thanks to his family, which is helmed by the loving matriarch, Ma Dukes. The Detroit native, whose birthday and death date are in the month of February, has been honored by artists like MF DOOM, KXNG Crooked and Spanish production duo Cookin’ Soul. Now, Ma Dukes has announced the release of yet another posthumous project, Motor City, a collection of rare and unreleased Jay Dee instrumentals, all curated by his mother. In anticipation of the April 21 release, founder of The Beat Junkies, Madlib tour DJ and DJ for Dilla’s group Jaylib — J Rocc — has crafted a mix ahead of Motor City. Pre-order the album here and listen to J Rocc’s mix above.
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vince staples – “nardwuar Interview”
Canada’s favorite weirdo Nardwuar put Vince Staples to the test when they met up for one of his famously awkward interviews in Vancouver, British Columbia. They talked about Joy Division vinyl, gang banging and drugs being “corny,” the wackness of True Religion jeans, and how Ashanti and Ja Rule saved his life.
smoke dza – “badabing’s Theme”
Produced by Harry Fraud, Smoke DZA’s “Badabing’s Thing” comes from the pair’s collaborative album,He Has Risen. A full 365 days later, the Harlem MC is back with a video for the lead track, which finds him posted up like a boss. DZA’s most recent project with Pete Rock, Don’t Smoke Rock, was released late last year.
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big sean – “over/under”
On the heels of the success of his latest album, I Decided.,Big Sean sat down for Pitchfork’s Over/Under series to rate the sitcom Home Improvement, Ewoks, romantic porn, luxury bunkers and more. The album, of course, garnered Sean’s highest charting single ever, “Bounce Back.”
Mick jenkins f. Goldlink – “pressed for time (Crossed my mind)”
After The Healing Component, “Pressed For Time (Crossed My Mind)” is one of Mick Jenkins’ collaborative tracks with Goldlink. Produced by Monte Booker and THEMpeople, the track is a more mellow offering from the 25-year-old Chicago MC. Jenkins is preparing to hit the road on his Spread The Love Tour, which kicks off in April.
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6lack – “free”
A week after “First Fuck,” his collaborative track with Jhené Aiko, 6LACK is back with the official music video for “Free.” Directed by Andrew Donoho, it marks 6LACK’s first video in color and depicts the artist trapped and seduced by a psychotic fan. As 6LACK tries to break away, he discovers the fan is far from human. “Free” is featured on 6LACK’s debut project,Free 6LACK.
Calvin valentine f. fat tony – “This feeling (Daddy Kev Remix)”
Taken from his Eugeneproject, the original version of Calvin Valentine’s “This Feeling” has received the remix treatment courtesy of Grammy Award-nominated producer, owner of Alpha Pup Records and founder of Low End Theory Daddy Kev. The track also gets an additional boost with vocal help from Nigerian-American rapper Fat Tony.
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CASHMERE – “MURDA (UNCLE MURDA DISS)”
Perhaps wanting to capitalize on the undeniable popularity of the Remy Ma vs. Foxy Brown vs. Nicki Minaj beef, Brooklyn rapper Cashmere has dropped a diss track aimed at Uncle Murda after a “lost” Kay Slay interview of Uncle Murda going at Cashmere recently surfaced online. Rapping over 50 Cent’s “Life’s On the Line,” “Murda” begins with the aforementioned interview serving as the song’s intro.
solange & Michael Mcdonald- “What a Fool believes”
Over the weekend, Solange was a featured artist at Florida’s Okeechobee Festival, where the soulful singer joined The Doobie Brothers’ Michael McDonald for a rendition of The Doobie Brothers’ 1978 classic rock hit, “What A Fool Believes.” McDonald just popped up on Thundercat’s new album, DRUNK,for the track “Show You The Way.” Perhaps he’s caught a second wind. Watch a snippet of the duet above.
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Want more? Check out Friday’s DX Digest.
