My Soundtrack to this Tumultuous Summer

It’s hard to be in great spirits when the sky is orange, there is no part of my house that doesn’t at least slightly smell like ash, and the world seemingly is facing the brunt of all of its imperialist and ecological destruction at once. But for me, the way I’ve gotten through and continue to navigate whatever I’m working on is through music. And no, that doesn’t mean protest music or any sort of faux march music that dumbs down the work that is being done (you know what artists I’m talking about). I mean music that just really is just fun, energetic, and honest about whatever an artist is going through. So this week, I thought amidst everything going on to just share some of my soundtrack to this eventful summer.

You cannot say pop and forget the smoke. But truthfully, no artist has been in the rotation all summer long like Pop Smoke. It’s still heartbreaking to not just know his life was tragically ended this year, but to see how positive and excited he was about making music that makes this so devastating for hip hop. 80% of this first (and presumably last) album was done before he was killed, and fortunately, it sounds like that. Some of my favorites on the album, from “Gangstas” to the 50 Cent interpolated “Got It On Me”, are a testament to his passion for telling his story. There are so many other standouts, including on the deluxe like the “Enjoy Yourself” remix with…