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An unearthed Prince original, Friendly Fires goes tropical, a soulful duet, surf rock and more music

serpentwithfeet feat. Ty Dolla $ign: Receipts serpentwithfeet (aka Josiah Wise) and Ty Dolla $ign (Tyrone William Griffin Jr) team up for “Receipts,” a sparse and stirring song—which consists of plucked strings, piano, deep bass and delicate vocals. The result is a glorious fusion of serpentwithfeet’s mystical gospel-inflected style and Ty Dolla $ign’s caramel, contemporary R&B. Minimal, but richly layered with emotion, it’s a song that …

Jonah Yano feat. Nono: Perfume

Slipping into a genre of its own that could perhaps be dubbed digital jazz, Toronto-based Jonah Yano and Vancouver-based producer Nono’s “Perfume” (from Yano’s debut EP Nervous) is delightfully of-the-internet, yet undeniably jazzy. “I know you’re not around / you fled to solid ground / but you’re in my head, safe and sound / like perfume,” Yano sings. There’s longing in his voice and, as …

Freddie Gibbs + Madlib feat. Yasiin Bey and Black Thought: Education

From Freddie Gibbs and Madlib’s collaborative album, Bandana, “Education” is a star-studded track that harkens back to the golden era of hip-hop. Gibbs, Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) and Black Thought (frontman of The Roots) lend verses, with Bey taking lead and setting the tone. He speaks of justice, the perils of wealth, the private prison system, gun violence and much more. And, as expected …