July has been one of the oddest months sonically for me. Between Frank Ocean and Azealia Banks’ sick mixtape releases and No Doubt’s triumphant return this week, I’m stuck deciding whether today’s current state of music is stronger than the music that would play through the 3 saved radio stations I had in my car back when I listened to the radio and actually needed a car to get around. With No Doubt making a come back, I’ve been combing through my music library listening to the artists who were before Napster, Kazaa, and iTunes. To make it then required a sound that was unlike anyone else. Viral artists were around and music wasn’t an instantly shared commodity; it was an experience. Waiting for your requested song to play on the radio ’cause you didn’t have the album yet was an odd thrill-ride now that I think about it. Accessibility, however, was limited. That’s why I love the music scene today. It’s accessible to all. Because of this accessibility, new artists pop up everyday and in order to really make it, artists still have to have a sound that’s unlike the rest of the crowd. That’s why Azealia and Ocean are blowing up right now. They’re switching up the game and raising the bar for hip-hop/R&B artists.
Through my iTunes combing this week of all things pre-Tumblr, pre-Twitter, pre-Facebook I stumbled across this track and the original. Although Mario released this single back in 2008 when social media was just starting out, it has that early R. Kelly vibe that made R&B take off. The original is sexy and has a seducing beat. Lapalux comes in and chops & screws it up without remixing the R&B roots out of it. That’s what I love about music today; the level of music re-interpretation in some artists is incredible. They’ve found a way to take a song that’s had it glory and twist it so it works with today’s scene. This is the type of music I’m addicted to finding. It’s a lush compilation of synths and swag. It’s seduction for the post-2000s era. The beginning chimes sound like summer. It’s a summer Tuesday jam that’ll cool you down even though a heat-wave is probably making every movement you do laborious.