TroyBoi “Do You?”
Those unfamiliar with TroyBoi will have missed our Vol. 79 review for “Papi Chulo” but shouldn’t make the same mistake this time around. The London-raised producer and DJ is back with “Do You?” which starts off with a sitar strumming before giving hints of a more modern sound. An auto-tuned voice rings out “Do you love me?” before giving way to room-rattling bass drums with an infectious beat. “Do You?” takes advantage of TroyBoi’s musicianship for a delightfully sounding number.
Kevin George “Sweet Darling”
Another StripJoints alumnus, Kevin George has been cramming a lot of music into a short amount of time. Only 20, George cites J Dilla, Kanye West and Mac Miller as musical influences. The beginning of “Sweet Darling” has hints of a Kanye-produced beat, slow yet intentional. George’s sultry vocals belie the voice of a 20-year-old with a title reminiscent of a Delta Blues oldie. “Sweet Darling” is an example of the 21st-century ballad headed by the new age’s rock star: the rapper.
Liza Colby Sound “Eye On You”
If you mix equal parts Tina Turner, Led Zeppelin and Iggy Pop, you have the on-stage whirling dervish that is Liza Colby of the eponymous Liza Colby Sound, a New York City-based band that has been performing on the scene for a decade. “We’re a four-piece band, stripped-down rock and roll,” said Colby in a recent interview with ED Magazine. “We’ve always been that way and I just love it. I think there’s something so powerful about being a four-piece rock ‘n’ roll band. There’s no bullshit. Everyone does their fucking job onstage and we’re a fucking machine that plows over an audience in the best way.” “Eye On You” is from the band’s debut album and Colby proudly endorses it for play in your club, saying “The verses have this heavy, sexy, push-and-pull feel to it which honestly would be perfect for these women to dance to.”
Ty Dolla Sign “Hottest In The City”
“Hottest In The City” has the scratchy fading vocals of an old record. Most listeners will know Ty Dolla Sign as either a major contributor to Post Malone’s “Psycho” or more recently Fifth Harmony’s summer sizzler “Work From Home”. With “Hottest In The City”, Ty Dolla Sign is his own man, playing guest for no one — and the song benefits from a darker sound akin to Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode”. The song is from Ty Dolla Sign’s as-yet-to-be-named album but the song’s echoing hooks make it the high-visibility (audibility?) song trumpeted for his next work.
Shiver “She Rides”
(Full disclosure: ED Publications/ExoticDancer.com’s Associate Publisher Dave Manack is the singer and rhythm guitarist of the band Shiver.)
“She rides/letting loose upon the stage, she is the night.” If those words sound like they’re designed exclusively for strip-club-industry entertainers and club DJs, it’s because they are. Originally written by Glenn Danzig (Danzig, The Misfits), “She Rides” features a burlesque-style beat and unmistakable sexual energy. But at almost six minutes, ED’s Manack realized that although it would be a great strip club song, no club DJ would ever play it. Enter his band, the Florida-based quartet Shiver, and a cover version of “She Rides” that clocks in at exactly three minutes, 30 seconds. The lyrics were specifically altered if only slightly so, to become a more obvious celebration of feature dancers and club entertainers. Will this track work at your club? Take Tootsie’s Cabaret in Miami, for example, a club that plays virtually no rock music whatsoever. Head DJ Mike DeSuno (aka DJ Platypus) says he has one girl in his club that wants to dance to rock, and only one song that he plays for her. That song? Shiver’s version of “She Rides.”
Jae Mansa “Blessings”
North Carolina hip-hop duo Jae Mansa — formed by cousins Brandon Boone (left) and Daron Johnson — summons an old-school vibe with “Blessings”. A chilling violin and piano team up to give this tune an eerie feel that sounds a bit like Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. The song is a smooth, poignant anthem about the blessings success brings “Came a long way from Ramen and now I’m eating lobster/use to pick food with my hand, now my silverware in copper” is just one sampling of this sentiment, but this song is pure gold.
NIKI & 88rising “Indigo”
NIKI, or Nicole Zefanya, is a 20-year-old Indonesian singer under the 88rising label, a four-year-old mass media company that counts Dumbfounded, Joji and Keith Ape among its clients. A child of the early 2000s, NIKI oozes charm and pop-radio sultriness in “Indigo.” The bubbly track is evocative of Ariana Grande or Mariah Carey, although she has momentary bursts of rap ability, markings of a musical talent with staying power.
Darnell Williams “Outta Style”
When Darnell Williams raps being broke is “Outta Style”, he’s coming from a place of understanding. Williams, a Detroit native, endured homelessness for a bit in his pursuit of music stardom. “Then I realized Hollywood is right down the street,” Williams said in a previous interview with ED Magazine. “There’s so much opportunity here. If I can’t make it here, I can’t make it nowhere.” The music video itself begins with a home-video of Williams pointing to a pile of clothes and commenting it’s his room. Cut to Williams in a Christopher-Nolan-Batman-type ride beginning his ode to success.
