Rapsody: Ibtihaj

Named for Ibtihaj Muhammad (the first American to wear a hijab when competing for the USA in the Olympics), new single “Ibtihaj,” from North Carolina rapper Rapsody, heavily samples GZA’s “Liquid Swords” and also features the Wu Tang member. Unlike the 1995 track, this release includes the immediately recognizable vocals of D’Angelo. The infectious groove will appear on Rapsody’s upcoming album EVE, which features songs …

Packaging Made From Soap Drastically Reduces Waste

Brands and consumers are becoming more thoughtful when it comes to biodegradable and eco-friendly packaging, but Central Saint Martins student Mi Zhou has taken it to another level for her project Soapack. While a single person goes through some 800 plastic shampoo bottles in their life, Zhou’s glorious vessels (conceived to contain shampoos, cleansers, et al) are actually made from soaps themselves. That means the …

Caroline Polachek: Parachute

Some two years after Chairlift broke up, Caroline Polachek’s solo debut album Pang will be released. Polachek has released three songs from the record, and our favorite is the operatic “Parachute.” Produced by Danny L Harle, the exhilarating song is a “direct transcription” of a dream Polachek had. “It was an incredible moment, realizing that this melody we’d written was unintentionally re-telling a dream I’d been …