Diandra’s 2016 in Music

Far away from Broadway hits, her fellow Doomtree member P.O.S, released one of the most forceful and personal raps of the year, Sleepdrone/Superposition., ahead of a 2017 album release.

The accompanying video is very minimalist but still compelling.

The track Wearing a Bear [Bandcamp] is also worth a listen.

Another favorite rapper, Ana Tijoux, went back to traditional folk singing with Mexican musician Celso Piña Arvizu on the excellent single Calaveritas.

The song is morbid and romantic at once, clear in three-four time, while also maintaining Tijoux’s human rights focus with a quote of from priest and activist Pierre Dubois.

For another act that looks way way back, there’s the jazz band Shabaka and the Ancestors. British-Carribean bandleader Shabaka Hutchings formed the rest of the group with South African members, whose excellent musicianship pulls multilayered yet introspective avant-jazz fused with traditional rhythms. When you’re in the right mood for long tracks, try The Sea [1], Give Thanks [1] or The Observer [Bandcamp].

Finally, I leave you with Robert Glasper bringing back Miles Davis in Maiysha (feat. Erykah Badu).