Between the return of Damien Rice and a brand-new song from Grouper, this week saw fall get off to a melancholy start, even by the standards of a season whose main thing is that everything dies all the time. But the past few days haven’t all been morbid. Vince Staples cut into the mix with a timely protest song about police brutality, while Perfume Genius and Julian Casablancas weighed in heavy on uptempo surrealism. Nothing got weirder, though, than How to Dress Well’s “Repeat Pleasure” seeing the light of day again in an A.G. Cook remix. Grab something solid and sink into this week’s weird and wonderful roundup.
10. Problem and Salva – “Motivated”
Compton rapper Problem entered Salva’s Burbank studio amped to make a banger celebrating the city’s many enduring hustlers. As Problem professes over Salva’s trap-style rhythms, the stacks just aren’t for the jet-setting lifestyle and million dollar rings: “Sister need a house, father need a house/ Brother need a house, momma need a house/ Fuck it, give me the ball, I’ll scramble/ God ain’t gave me nothin’ that I can’t handle.” Yeah, expect this one to be massive on the court, and the club, when it drops October 8th via Vans OTW Presents: What’s Good LA?. –Derek Staples