La Femme Nikita — “Love Kita (Love Sosa Remix)”
Braggadocio has always been a constant in hip-hop culture—MCs telling you why they’re the best—but La Femme Nikita knows how to do it and make it interesting. The Texas native looks and dresses like a diva, but when she opens her mouth to emcee, the guttural baritone that emerges is an oxymoron to the visuals. Her latest effort is “Love Kita (Love Sosa Remix),” where she spits over a Chief Keef beat about being the roughest, toughest thang in the game right now. Think Scarface meets Tupac meets Christian Louboutin. Sounds odd, but that’s the best way to put it. Fun fact, La Femme Nikita can also sang: she competed on MTV’s Making the Band for a chance to be in Danity Kane.
Listen here.
Slum Village — B-Sides
1990s hip-hop heads rejoice! B-Sides, which dropped shortly before Christmas, is the latest from the legendary Detroit crew, Slum Village. The album brings together some of Native Tongue’s finest (Phife Dawg, De La Soul) and more to remake some of Slum Vil’s earlier stuff like “The Look of Love,” “My Life” and more, in addition to some newer tunes. Marsha Ambrosius and Skyzoo also lend their talents.
Available where music is sold.
Andy Allo — “Yellow Gold”
Andy Allo is a Cali native via Cameroon who began her exploration of music at the age of 7. (You can check out our recent interview with her here.) Eventually, Allo made her way to the States and got her weight up enough to get props from Prince, who brought her in as a singer/guitarist for the New Power Generation in 2011. We now have that collabo to thank for the instrumentals on “Yellow Gold,” an upbeat funky plea for Allo’s crush to notice her (if only she had yellow gold to entice him, so the song goes). Allo’s soulful, kinda raspy voice is just as sweet as the tune. This joint can be found on her latest album, Superconductor.
Listen here.
Azealia Banks — “BBD”
When Banks isn’t Twitter beefing and reading people for filth (I think her spazzouts are usually warranted more often than not), she does actually put out some good music. Her latest is “BBD,” which stands for “bad b**ches do it.” The Apple Juice Kid-produced beat is futuristic and synth heavy, but also a slight deviation from Banks’s usual Crystal Waters-meets-Eurotrans sound. Lyrically, Banks has flow as she raps about being (you guessed it) being a bad b**ch.
Listen here.
