Hip-Hop/R&B Artist Babylung Drops Track, ‘Funny Innit?’ Ahead Of Album

BABYLUNG digs deep into his past with his anthemic and celebratory new single ‘Funny Innit’ which follows the release of previous single ‘Betrayal’ and is the 2nd single from his forthcoming album To Live And Die In Surrey, slated for late on 30th July.

Babylung says of his newest release: “‘Funny Innit?’ is a song reflecting on my juvenile delinquency, now as a young adult with a redemption story to tell. I recently drove past the Surrey Police Department and remembered having to meet monthly with my probation officer when I was 13. Passing by there, now having traveled the world thanks to music, graduating, and working in the music industry, I knew I’d come too far to end up in that dark place again. I’m college-educated, musically gifted, alive – everything I wasn’t supposed to be. Funny innit?’”

For Babylung, ‘Funny Innit’ is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to reflecting on his past. On To Live And Die In Surrey (TLADIS), he psychoanalyzes the ego death of his destructive youth and the birth of a new identity found in love, passion, and purpose. The album reveals Babylung’s inner dialogue, touching on his dark past as an at risk youth, his search for meaning as a juvenile delinquent, and the passionate pursuit of his new found life in music. Babylung reflects on his journey, now with an understanding that his past only empowered him to discover his true creative destiny.

Have a listen to ‘Funny Innit?’ below…

Song of the Day: YSB – Nimkish (ft. ASCXNSION)

NIMKISH‘s collaboration with ASCXNSION, ‘YSB’ (Young, Sick, Broke), is about the need for healing, freedom, and to be heard.

The Canadian indie-pop artist explains further of the release: “This song is about feeling like you can’t get ahead, and specific issues that we as Indigenous women work through on a daily basis. Our generation has been left to deal with trauma and we are continually fighting for equity. It can feel exhausting to constantly try to be truly heard.”

Nimkish has made quite an impression on the scene with her 2019 debut album, ‘Heartbreak On The Coast’, which was charted at #1 on the CiTR Discorder Charts within a week of its release.

Check out the powerful single below, produced by Darren Metz of Snotty Nose Rez.

Song of the Day: To The Beach – Magi Merlin

Montréal-based alternative R&B and neo-soul artist, MAGI MERLIN‘s single, ‘To The Beach’, the latest installment of a larger body of work titled Weather Music. The full collection comes as a deconstructed album with each release marking a different season, this particular piece being the one of spring, a time of growth, change, and catharsis.

Underpinned by an uncompromising introspection while exploring themes surrounding her own racial identity, love, and personal growth, the FunkyWhat-produced single follows on from her recent EP, Drug Music, and a string of standalone singles which have found her opening for the likes of Chiiild, R.A.P Ferreira and the cyborg rapper, Orrin. Merlin’s music ties together a diverse set of influences, spanning from the likes of Childish Gambino and SZA to Radiohead’s In Rainbows, Hyukoh’s 23, and Tim Maia’s World Psychedelic Classics, Vol. 4 knotting together this scintillating web of syrupy R&B and experimental electronic textures.

Magi uses her music as a way of processing deeply personal emotions, it’s a method of catharsis with this particular single also marking one of her more intimate cuts. “I tend to overshare through my music, I use it as a tool to process the more important moments in my life,” she explains. “‘To The Beach” is the perfect example of that creative process. I’ve always had a difficult relationship with my father. I wrote this song after deciding I no longer wanted to speak with him. This track allowed me to sing my way to catharsis.”

Watch the official video for the single, directed by M A Ï L I S

Listen To Amir Brandon’s Debut Single, ‘Champagne’

Extraordinary vox and melodic sensibilities combine for Ottawa-born, Toronto-based pop singer/songwriter AMIR BRANDON and his debut single, ‘champagne’.

Serving as a preview to the Toronto-based artist and multi-instrumentalist’s forthcoming debut album, ‘Lonely Club’, ‘champagne’ achingly peels away Amir’s desire to ditch the bubbly in favour of dancing alone with his broken, pained heart. His authenticity as a melancholic man of sadness comes to life on the track, giving us a one-way ticket into uncharted loneliness.

On “champagne,” Amir takes creative licence, carving his own unique place in the rhythm and blues world. Dripping with charisma and eloquence from every note, his falsetto pierces the heart, while breathless runs solidify his dedication to drawing in the listener and holding them captive.

Having gained early accolades from chart-topping Billboard singer/songwriter JoJo, Amir Brandon has performed headlining showcases at Canadian Music Week, shared the stage with Black Eyed Peas’ Taboo, and amassed more than 2+ Million streams on YouTube for his stunning takes of R&B greats.

Heard across CBC, Netflix’s Cobra Kai, Disney’s PJ Masks, The Young & The Restless, Spotify’s New Music Friday, and more, he has also headlined the “We’re Funny That Way” LGTBQ Festival, Youth Day at Yonge & Dundas Square — as well as being featured as a singer/songwriter at the Toronto Pan Am/Parapan Am Games, and performer, songwriter, and co-producer for ‘Rapid-Eye Movement’ at Nuit Blanche and Summerworks Festival.

Enduring years of closed doors, homophobia, and fighting for artistic integrity only fuelled Amir Brandon’s creative fire, inspiring a striking sense of vulnerability and confidence in his songwriting. After much experimentation, self-discovery, and reinvention, his music stands as a testament to his resilience in the industry.

“champagne” is available now. Lonely Club is available Summer 2021. Check out the music for the single below…

Song of the Day: Toi – Danyka

DANYKA presents her single ‘Toi’ onto today’s hotspot – a happy, lighthearted bop about young love that maintains chill R&B vibes.

The R&B/pop songstress/songwriter says of her smooth release: ‘I just wanted to have fun with the songwriting! Like in those beginning stages of a relationship, where being with this person feels so new and exciting you can’t get enough and want to know if they feel the same.

Danyka’s has an EP titled ‘Other Woman’ coming out soon. Until then, hit play on ‘Toi’…