Chris Daly is the father of Dragons
Peter Rosenberg knows a thing or two about hip hop, but you either already knew this or you’re reading the wrong blog. The NY Hot 97 DJ is getting ready to drop a mixtape, Winter Is Coming. For accuracy’s sake, let’s hope it gets here no later than autumn, but to ward off White Walkers and various Lannisters in the interim, Dr. Rosenberg has let loose the first single, “Will She Be Loved,” featuring Lauriana Mae. The Atlantic Records’ artist’s debut is expected to drop in late 2014/early 2015, so this will probably be the first time most of you will have heard her dulcet tones, which fall somewhere between a young Erykah Badu and a more experienced Lorde.
“Will She Be Loved” acknowledges what I’ve been maintaining for more than a minute now–easily definable genre music is dead. Today’s best tracks are an amalgam of more sounds than Michael Winslow has in his entire repertoire. “Will She…” is equal parts quiet storm jam, jazz workout and funk flexing, polished with ample helpings of hip-hop mentality and trip-hop sensibility. Bemoaning the various plights of today’s woman, Mae displays vocal chops on par with, if not superior to, any of her R&B contemporaries, hitting the sweet spot of every note that comes her way. Equally impressive, check out the subtle, yet impressively heavy, lifting accomplished by the bass, lead guitar and piano on the latter half of the track.
