This week, a Portland rap prodigy releases her first-ever single, Nasalrod's long-awaited vinyl split has arrived, and Blossom teases a rock song from her new album! Come get into the new music news that’s happening Hear in Portland.
MUST LISTEN:
New release(s) from a Portland-relevant artist.
“Swish,” J Prodigy
According to local legends, Portland-based teen rapper J Prodigy has been free-styling since she was just a toddler; we know for sure she's been performing her rhymes since the age of nine—where she impressed crowds at the likes of PDX Pop Now! and Mic Check. On March 22, the young emcee released her first-ever single, “Swish,” at the age of 14. Over production by Token and Echo the Savage, punctuated by that “nothing-but-net” sound, "Swish" pulls inspiration from hooping—perhaps best exemplified the chorus that repeats “Does she ever miss?” The song comes at a perfect time as women’s basketball is on fire. (In case you’ve been living under a rock, this year’s women’s basketball NCAA championship was the most-watched in history.) Along with social media promoting the album came the welcome news that J Prodigy signed to Unlimited Vibe Records. She’ll release her forthcoming debut EP with Unlimited Vibe and be managed by Nigerian artist Izzy-Baba-Melo.
“Devil in my Kitchen,” Blossom
Illustrious Portland singer-songwriter Blossom is often labeled as an R&B or neo soul singer (by us! with love!), but she's known to work in pop (“So Cool,” “Loves Coming,”) and reggae (“Black Magic Woman”). More recently, we're also hearing her dabble in pop punk and rock sounds. In a recent performance clip Instagram reel by Soggy Sessions—a new workshop and upcoming record by Burn Money Music—Blossom slays a preview of her forthcoming single “Devil in my Kitchen,” off the upcoming record. Over infectious guitar-driven production by Yellow Trash Can and Snugsworth, Blossom sings “Oh my God, I’m in danger/ Met up with a supercalifragilistic stranger/ We went to the deep end, took me to the deep end/ We went to the deep end, took me to the deep end.” Without hearing the unreleased song in its entirety, we can already say the single is crazy addictive, and we can’t stop watching this clip. Hope to hear this one streaming soon—her other new single “Vacancy,” will have to tide us over until then, as we await her forthcoming album.
ADDED TO THE QUEUE:
Some upcoming music buzz to add to your radar.
Nasalrod
As former Mercury contributor Aris Wales once wrote: "The genre police will never close the case on Nasalrod.” The statement became a badge of pride that the Portland-based punk-rockers still quote in their promotional material. Made up of frontman Jeffrey “Chairman” Couch, drummer Spit Stix, guitarist Mustin Douch, and bassist Mandy Morgan, Nasalrod have long been known for their manic genre-melding sound. Their long-awaited split album with Bay Area band Victims Family, In the Modern Meatspace, finally hit downloads on March 22, but locals can celebrate the 12-inch vinyl release with boundary-pushing punk band at Polaris Hall. The show also features support from Portland punks Divers and garage-punk rockers the Mistons. (Polaris Hall, 635 N Killingsworth Ct, Sat May 4, 8 pm, $15, tickets here, 21+)
