By the Nuance Editorial Team

Happy Nuance Music Friday! Okay, okay, we know it is Saturday but whats the difference. We don’t have a huge list today but we will touch on the big ones… or at least the ones we think are important.

Starting, as always, with the mainstream. Chance the Rapper (remember him?) dropped a new single called “Child of God.” The song is pretty vintage Chance in terms of the rapping, but its relatively low energy in terms of production and delivery. That said, it doesn’t detract from the quality of the song, its still very well done with a catchy hook. It also wouldn’t be a Chance song without a choir of background singers singing the hook. This one might not go viral like Cocoa Butter Kisses in ‘14, but it has the elements in rhythm and flow that vintage Chance the Rapper displayed when he started to catch.

Now into the good stuff. The album this week that we are most excited about is the debut project “Apt. 505” from Coast Contra. This L.A. based rap collective just started releasing music last year but has already caused a stir with some of their singles. All of their 2021 singles appear on the 17 song album, but the whole album works cohesively as a whole. The four members of Coast Contra, RioLoz, Eric Jamal, Taj Austin, and Ras Austin all fit together seamlessly in each track, passing off the beat to one another in turn. Each carries their own individual style, but their work together as a collective really makes the music unique. Rarely do you find collaborations that make this much sense. While the six songs that came out first as singles are definitely the hypest on the album, but the whole project is worth a spin.

Next up, we want to bring your attention to Deante’ Hitchcock’s new single “Alone” which dropped Wednesday. This vulnerable and intimate single comes right off the heels of his release of “Neck Up (feat. Bairi & Dende)” which came out earlier this year. As he hinted in an Instagram post recently, “Alone” marks the first song off of his upcoming album which he has yet to name. “A lot of shit has changed in my life since BETTER came out. On this next album I’ll tell you about it,” he says in the post. If the rest of the album is anything like “Alone,” we can’t wait to hear about it.

Another rapper/producer that we recently discovered, Jon Waltz, released a little 5 song EP called “My Golden Horse” that could really do some damage. If you are a fan of Healy, Felly, or any somewhat LoFi rappers, definitely give this EP a listen. ASICS is our favorite, but if you have fifteen minutes, listen top to bottom.

Submission of the Week: PONCÉ with “Slippin’”

PONCÉ, the indie rock duo out of Nashville releases their first single of the new year in “Slippin’” which they recorded at Polychrome Ranch in rural Tennessee. The twins Carson and Michael Poncé have been hitting the dive bar scene in cities across the country for the last several years, but have recently gotten into the studio to record some new music with Jared Corder, front man of *repeat repeat. The playful lyricism of “Slippin’” is driven by Poncé’s classic indie instrumentation that builds throughout the song. Their sound is tight and cohesive— no shit, they are twins of course it is— and their lyrics are witty and catchy enough to latch onto a corner of your brain and stay there for days. While “Slippin’” is their first song since their October 2021 EP Human Condition, they have quite a bit in the bank lined up for 2022, so don’t expect to wait too long before they give us some new music.