North Mississippi Allstars & Erykah Badu release sweltering, smooth tracks perfect for the heat.
As a guy who needs to find a place to live by later this August, I’m acutely aware of just how close September, Back-to-School season, and chillier weather is around the corner.
Luckily, I recently discovered two tracks from this summer that compliment these warm rays perfectly, but mellow out that upcoming deadline.
The North Mississipppi Allstars have been around for a while, and are perhaps known best for a great cover of Junior Kimbrough’s classic Meet me in the City. Up and Rolling, released earlier this month, is a genre bending homage to the southern counter-culture. Laid-back harmonies coupled with a distinct blues sound give this track a fresh, versatile sound that could lend itself to a blues playlist as easily as it could a summer beach one.
The B-side, What You Gonna Do?, featuring THE Mavis Staples, is another highly listenable track. Although it lacks the catchiness of the A-side, the soulful vocals compliment a satisfying, spiritual blues instrumental.
Up and Rolling is a fresh single that remains true to NMA’s sound. Both tunes released this month bode extremely well for the upcoming album, also named Up and Rolling. I am so happy to have discovered this track while I can still listen to it under the sun.
My second shareable summer single is Tempted, a collaboration between Erykah Badu and The Roots’s James Poyser. A jazzy, satiny cover of the Squeeze original, Badu & Poyser’s track feels familiar like the 80’s classic while simultaneous jumping genres into a billowing jazz track. This track is classic Badu, and an ideal tune to play on a warm summer cruise.
What tunes have you had on repeat all summer? Comment below to let us know!
-Jack
Artless Troglodyte Media 