In case you were wondering the 42 is directly related to the meaning of life as referenced in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. May one of these 42 songs be your new favorite song...
1. Knife Knights - “Give You Game” 2018 Black Constellation and all of its members are light years ahead of the rest of the Seattle music scene.
2. Remember Face - "Snake" 2018 I happily added this video from one of the most interesting Seattle duos to my list of Music Videos with Bathtubs.
3. Neneh Cherry - "Kong" 2018 Neneh Cherry has maintained her stance in the industry and just released a new track produced by Four Tet and 3D from Massive Attack.
4. SEVDALIZA & Emmanuel Adjei present SHAHMARAN 2018 I've been hooked on Sevdaliza since I first saw the video for "Human." I'm hooked.
5. Jessie Reyez - "Apple Juice" 2018 Jessie Reyez makes the kind of music that is hard to listen to in the best way. She sings about feelings most of us would rather brush under the rug so we can move on with our days. "Shutter Island," "Gatekeeper," and "Figures" are great examples of the beauty that can be created in the darkness.
6. Tierra Whack - "Whack World" 2018 Tierra Whack has been building the best kind of buzz but aside from music downloads, my Googling has come up dry when searching for her merch. She has so much potential for unique merch that would make her audience feel like they’re a part of her Whack World, here’s hoping we can buy this hoodie soon. I’d be honored to join your team to help make this happen. 😉
7. Sudan Archives - "Nont For Sale" 2018 Truly unique artists are scarcely in the spotlight these days so let's make sure Sudan Archives gets the shine she deserves. Love that Stones Throw had the brains to help her on her journey.
8. Massive Attack - "Saturday Come Slow" 2018 Massive Attack released this new video last month for their eight year old track “Saturday Come Slow” off their Heligoland album. Couldn’t have more respect for the Massive Attack family.
9. Benny Sings - "Realize" 2017 Discovered Benny Sings' new album and then found this video from last year which I added to my Music Videos With Kissing compilation (my biggest Reddit hit).
10. NoNameDisciple X A Millenial's Godfidence 2018 The first minute had me wondering if this song was too wavy for me but once she started rapping, I was in.
11. Tyler, The Creator & ASAP Rocky - "Potato Salad" 2018 You'll never catch me eating potato salad but I've been on Team Tyler since "Yonkers." His empire is truly amazing and his team is one of the happiest I've had the pleasure of working with so far.
12. Kojey Radical ft. Mahalia - "Water (If Only They Knew)" 2018 Everything I know about Kojey Radical I learned from this article from The Independent.
13. Ama Lou - "DDD" 2018 Love seeing artists go the short film route for their music videos. Visuals have been a great way to give your audience insight to what you're all about beyond the song itself; amazed that some artists don't even try. This was my intro to Ama Lou but Drake and Jorja Smith have already cosigned.
14. Mahalia - "I Wish I Missed My Ex" 2018 I'm down with Mahalia because of my instant love of her song "Sober" but let us never forget that Spike Jonze and The Pharcyde did it better AND first in the video for "Drop" back in 1995.
15. KAITT - "OG Luv Kush p.2" 2018 KAIIT is an artist who I discovered via the YouTube algorithms. I'm still a little confused that I love the music a computer thought I would. The future is weird.
16. Black Thought - "Rest In Power: The Trayvon Martin Story" 2018 Shoutout to Black Thought for giving a voice to the voiceless and for being that dude for decades. I can't be the only one that keeps relistening to the Sway In The Morning freestyle he did with Method Man last October.
17. DoNormaal - "Buckle" 2018 Of all the Street Art I've been blessed to photograph in the last few years, the DoNormaal wheatpaste below is one of my favorites. There's so much to learn from the Street Art world about self-promotion if you're seeking inspiration.
18. YOTA: Youth of the Apocalypse + MF DOOM - "Drop The Bomb" 2018 Hit the link on the video to read the Director's Artist Statement and try to ignore the cringeworthy chorus on this song. My respect for MF DOOM and artists making art for a good cause runs deep but I'm not loving this track even a little bit.
If you're wondering who this masked woman is...
20. Travis Thompson - "YOUGOOD? An Ambaum Film" 2018 Travis Thompson is crushing the game right now. Everyone who has seen him perform over the last few years knew this was coming. As a wise rapper once said, you know you're getting somewhere in life if you find yourself within 20 feet of Sway.
23. SOUL ASSASSINS: DJ MUGGS X MF DOOM - "Death Wish" feat. Freddie Gibbs 2018 Since it’s not in my budget at this time anyway, I couldn’t be happier for this crew that all the DJ MUGGS X MF DOOM merch is already sold out.
24. SOUL ASSASSINS: DJ MUGGS X MF DOOM - "Assassination Day" 2018 Amazed that MF DOOM manages to stay relevant even though he rarely appears. I have yet to see a DOOM performance and I'm hoping that changes soon.
25. MOORS - "Mango" ft. Tune-Yards 2018 This song is like, "wha.... I think I like this." Lakeith Stanfield is doing a great job of being in all the most interesting places. His starring role in Boots Riley's "Sorry To Bother You" has me double taking almost every time I see him because he looks vaguely like the Seattle legend, Vitamin D.
26. Cee Knowledge and the Cosmic Funk Orchestra - "Spaceman" 2018 In case you were wondering what Doodlebug from Digable Planets is up to these days... he's right here.
27. Snoh Aalegra - "Sometimes/Worse" 2018 I've had "Sometimes" on repeat since I first heard it a few days ago. One of the great things about music is that the first time you hear it, it is new to you, even if it was released last year. There's so much music being pushed out into the world, it's more than okay to arrive late to the party and let others filter through the bs.
28. Estelle - "Better" 2018 I wish I loved this song. Estelle has some cuts that have become fixtures of my playlists ("Come Over" & "American Boy" & "Wait A Minute"). Can't wait to hear her new album "Lovers Rock," due out September 7.
29. Wu-Tang Clan - "Pearl Harbor (Remix)" 2018 Anybody got links to the Shaolin Global Times? I'm guessing their news coverage beats FOX News anyday.
30. CHROMATICS - "BLUE GIRL" 2018 Of the two videos Chromatics released in the last few months, "BLUE GIRL" is my favorite. If you like what you see, "BLACK WALLS" is waiting for your consumption here.
31. Agar Agar - "Sorry About The Carpet" 2018 They did an amazing job of matching the video to the song title. This was my first peek into the world of Agar Agar and it won't be the last.
32. Aphex Twin - "T69 Collapse" 2018 I once saw Sneaker Pimps open for Aphex Twin at DV8 so that's my story about that. Glad to see he's staying weird.
34. j'von - "green beanie" 2018 Wishing I had the budget to ask this man if he could animate a video for @TheRingOfDOOM. #goals
35. j'von - "orange beanie" 2018 Love that J'Von does his own thing and that more people are recognizing his genius. He will win.
36. Jeremiah Jae - "Summer School" 2018 Jeremiah Jae first caught my attention back in 2013 with his Flying Lotus collaboration, "Cat Fight." I love that I can google exactly when I first posted a Jeremiah Jae video (or any other artist) because I've left a nine year trail of music behind on the internet.
37. Marlowe (L'Orange & Solemn Brigham) - "Things We Summon" 2018 I have yet to meet a L'Orange album I didn't like. My favorites are The Night Took Us In Like Family with Jeremiah Jae and The Orchid Days.
38. Chaka Khan - "Like Sugar" 2018 I love that this new Chaka Khan song fits right in with current music trends but that it stands out by being better than the rest. Ain’t Nobody do it like Chaka.
39. Evidence - "The Factory" (Prod. by Twiz the Beat Pro) 2018 Evidence with a wig and guitar for the win. Here's an eight year old video of the director, Jason Goldwatch if you're as curious about this prolific video director as I was.
40. PSA - "Ghost" 2018 I was blessed to see PSA perform at Taylar Elizza Beth's Fresh Cut Flowers EP Release Party last year. The whole lineup was amazing.
41. Stimulator Jones - "Give My All" 2018 Always amazed by the artists the Stones Throw team chooses to work with. This song sounds like it could have come out anytime in the last 40 years.
42. Everything Is Recorded feat. Obongjayar & Kamasi Washington - "She Said" 2018 Still haven't heard enough of Everything Is Recorded's song "Show Love" with Syd and Sampha.
I did not realize that Everything Is Recorded AKA Richard Russell is the Owner of XL Recordings until this very moment when Google clued me in. Fortunately, a documentary was just released to teach us about the rest.