Hi all! I’m Kai Wayans, a senior at the University of Southern California. I’m also a DJ and a member of the music department at KXSC. We curate New Adds Playlists for the public at the end of each month, organize and replenish our physical music library, and sometimes write song, album, or show reviews. My time in college radio led me here to KCRW as an intern. I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn from such great people with equally awesome musical palettes. As my farewell project, I’m providing this week’s 5 Song choices and accompanying blurbs.
JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown – “Lean Beef Patty”
My introduction to JPEGMAFIA was either his Colors performance of “Thug Tears” or a review on Anthony Fantano’s (a.k..a theneedledrop) Youtube channel. One of my best friends put me on Danny Brown in eighth grade with the song “Dip” from the 2013 album OLD. I’ve been a fan of both artists from the start, so I was pumped to hear about their upcoming collaboration album, Scaring the Hoes.
Their first single is the sonic embodiment of drinking a Red Bull while playing video games and finishing a school paper at the same time. It contains chaotic, pitched-up samples that sound like they belong on a 2009 nightcore mixtape. The playful and outrageous production makes room for witty commentary about powerful figures. The two rappers complement each other so well it almost makes me mad they didn’t join forces sooner. It’s an intriguing teaser for what’s to come… (hopefully it doesn’t scare the hoes).
Panchiko – “Failed At Math(s)”
This band was on my “To Be Listened To” list — my TBL, if you will — for an extraordinarily long time. After seeing their 2000 album D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L on the Topsters of various music recommendation accounts I follow on Instagram and Rate Your Music, I finally tuned in last March. I was immediately pulled in by their sound, and I had also noticed they’d been inactive until 2020. It was a pleasant surprise to see them on my Spotify Release Radar playlist a couple weeks ago.
“Failed At Math(s)” is an amazing, sorrowful track. Andy Wright’s soft singing backed by stripped down psychedelic production invokes loss. The fuzzy, layered effect strengthens the emotional impact. We are confronted with something quietly vulnerable and universal: repeating mistakes. It’s revisiting buried memories in a dusty box deep in a basement.
Malik Hendricks – “Melody and Rhythm”
Shoutout to Bandcamp for exposing me to Malik Hendricks’ extraordinary Praise EP a few weeks ago. The entire project is a rapturous experience. You feel like you’re entering a chamber of sequins, of smiles, of light. The first track, “Melody and Rhythm,” is especially welcoming. It features joyful synthesized church bells paired with an effortlessly cool beat for half the duration. The latter half takes the synths in a more distorted direction. Between the music, a pitched down voice echoes the song’s title intermittently. It’s a mesmerizing track that ends in ecstasy, with a tinge of suspense added by a steady, singular drum — like an empty church.
Sega Bodega – “Kepko (Boyz Noize Remix)”
Sega Bodega and Boyz Noize: I came across Sega Bodega through his collaboration with Dorien Electra on their “Teenage Dirtbag” cover. My first introduction to Boyz Noize was Abra’s “Affection,” which was one of my favorite finds of 2021. Needless to say, this collaboration is exciting.
This remix of the Sega Bodega packs a punch. The frustrated lyrics have been channeled into a disorientating-yet-exhilarating fast tempo, robotic and sparse vocal passages, and a series of moody breakbeats. The song would fit in perfectly with the “Run Lola Run” soundtrack. It could be the backdrop of a sweat-inducing race against a clock, or the atmospheric tunes of a hazy Saturday night at the club.
Starberry – “heartbroken boy”
I came across Starberry on Tik Tok three weeks ago. Immediately struck by the audio in a cheeky juxtaposition of his raw vocals versus autotune, I streamed away. “Heartbroken boy” is an exciting, and possibly satirical, tune about love’s pitfalls. Starberry’s voice is powerful and unique, and creates a wonderful theatricality to the track. The lyrics play into this tonal fusion of intensity and play — you don’t know whether you should cry, dance, or both. The bouncy guitar riffs, the bassline on the bridge, and the drums are all bouncy yet laid back. It’s nicely reminiscent of Jonathan Richman. It’s been on my repeat for a while now, and I look forward to bopping this one during many warm summer sunsets.