The Starting Five — 6.4.16

Today, I’m debuting “The Starting Five,” a collection of the five new songs I’m listening to in heavy rotation. Check out who made the lineup this week, and listen to the playlist below:

PG — Chance The Rapper — How Great (Featuring Jay Electronica & My cousin Nicole)

While much of “Coloring Book” disappointed me, this is one song that stood out. The track sets the soulful tone from the get-go, as the gospel choir sings beautifully, leading into the phenomenal production, and excellent verses from Chance and Jay Electronica.

SG — KAYTRANADA — YOU’RE THE ONE (Featuring Syd)

My timeline blew up about KAYTRANADA’s new album “99.9%” last month, and the second I pressed play, I understood why. From start to finish, this album is filled with gems, including “YOU’RE THE ONE,” featuring Syd of The Internet.

SF — River Tiber — Acid Test

A friend of mine just posted about this song on Facebook the other day, and I haven’t been able to stop listening to it since. The amount of texture and depth in the sound River Tiber produces on this track is astounding, and makes me even more excited for his upcoming album, “Indigo,” which will be released on June 24th.

PF — Robert Glasper & Miles Davis — Violets (Featuring Phonte)

Phonte for years has been one of my favorite MCs from his days with Little Brother and now The Foreign Exchange. On this track by Robert Glasper from his new album, “Everything’s Beautiful,” which is inspired by Miles Davis, Tigalo flows effortlessly over the beautiful production.

C — Vic Mensa — Shades of Blue

Yesterday, Vic Mensa released a new EP entitled, “There’s Alot Going On.” “Shades of Blue” is his most powerful track to date, which dives deeply into the race issues in America over open production driven by piano keys to emphasize the message in the verses.

Listen to the first Starting Five playlist below and let me know what you think of the selections.