A big week in the hip hop world with Coachella getting under way.
Anderson .Paak celebrates the release of ‘Ventura’ with Coachella set
With the first weekend of Coachella now behind us, there’s already talk of whose sets kicked ass, which ones left more to be desired, and what exactly came about from Childish Gambino and Rihanna’s mysterious Guava Island movie. For Anderson .Paak, Friday at Coachella doubled as a memorable album release party, as he and The Free Nationals launched .Paak’s new record, Ventura on the Main Stage. Ventura, the quick follow-up album to November’s long awaited Oxnard, sees .Paak take another swerve in direction, opting for some more funk-laden jams to kick back to. The track list of guests is impressive too, with the likes of Andre 3000, Smokey Robinson, Nate Dogg and Brandy all contributing their vocals, while Pharrell Williams also laid down some production duties. The release of Ventura continues Anderson .Paak’s coast Californian theme of releases and, when compared to Oxnard, is almost like The Love Below to its Speakerboxx. Definitely worth listening to, one after the other.
Childish Gambino and Rihanna’s ‘Guava Island’ film available to stream
Now, speaking of Gambino’s latest venture, the Friday night headliner of Coachella also tied in the release of his Guava Island film with his bombastic festival performance. The film, directed by frequent collaborator Hiro Murai and co-starring Rihanna and Black Panther’s Letitia Wright, was filmed entirely in Cuba over the course of one summer. The film, featuring reworked versions of Gambino’s songs including ‘This Is America’ and ‘Summertime Magic’, is available to stream if you have access to Amazon Prime or Coachella’s streaming channels. Guava Island depicts Donald Glover as “a musician with designs on pulling off a scheme to rob his way into the good life, which quickly gets him in over his head”. For Melbourne fans, Childish Gambino has recently announced a Splendour in the Grass sideshow for July 17th at Rod Laver Arena.
BROCKHAMPTON’s Kevin Abstract reveals ‘ARIZONA baby’ E.P
After much teasing, BROCKHAMPTON rapper Kevin Abstract has revealed details of his new solo project, the ARIZONA baby EP. A collection of three songs, produced by Jack Antonoff and BROCKHAMPTON’s Romil Hemnani, ARIZONA baby is the first of a series of Kevin Abstract releases, with Ghettobaby set to follow this week. ARIZONA baby features the songs ‘Big Wheels’, ‘Joy Ride’ and ‘Georgia’, while details on Abstract’s Ghettobaby release, as well as a rumoured third solo record, are still under wraps. On social media, Abstract cryptically posted “11th, 18th and 25th”; considering ARIZONA baby was released on April 11th, the next two records should follow accordingly. The music from Abstract is the first since BROCKHAMPTON’s acclaimed Iridescence album dropped last year, and the first solo album from the rapper since 2016’s American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story.
Drake and J. Cole tease new music
Looks like there’s some more collaborations still to be revealed from Drake and J.Cole. During the final night of his week-long residency at The O2 Arena in London, Drake brought Cole out to perform a banger of a tune in ‘Middle Child’. A lot of love on stage, as footage captured saw Drake teasing new music on the way from the pair; “I can’t wait to make some more new music with you,” he said. “I know we’ve been working. I can’t wait to let these people hear it.” If you’re a fan of that and the What A Time To Be Alive record, then chances are you’re frothing on the idea of a new Drake and Future collaboration, also apparently in the works. If you believe Drake, that is. It’d be the first time the two have linked up since the 2015 mixtape.
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