By now you’ve probably had your fill of Yeezus think pieces (if not might I recommend checking out the Gchat conversation I had with Miles Raymer about it). And chances are you’re probably also a little sick of reading about Jay-Z’s partnership with Samsung: the company bought a million digital copies of the rapper’s forthcoming Magna Carta Holy Grail at $5 a pop and is giving the album away to a million Galaxy smartphone users who download an app July 4. The users get the album 72 hours before the rest of us do, Jay-Z jukes the stats for his record’s sales numbers, and we’re all subjected to a lengthy Samsung ad about how the collaboration is “revolutionary.”
The two men behind Watch the Throne have done an impressive job of baiting listeners over the past few days and making it difficult to think about any new music besides their solo work, regardless of how much you might have actually listened to, say, “Hold My Liquor.” (Full disclosure: I’ve listened to it a lot.) It’s about time for a good palate cleanser. Lately I’ve been taken with TeeFlii, an underground R&B singer from LA who frequently collaborates with ratchet producer DJ Mustard (of “Rack City” fame); I got stuck on TeeFlii’s music shortly after reading Jeff Weiss’s fascinating LA Weekly profile about the former krump dancer featured in David LaChapelle’s documentary on krumping, Rize, and I’ve found myself playing his recent AnnieRUO’TAY 2 mixtape between repeated Yeezus plays.
