AMF Music | July '25

w33kly #29

New w33kly is in - listen, follow, share! 🎧

Featured Mix:

Thanks to Mapate for the recommendation on this one 🫡 I know Alfred myself, but I wouldn’t have known about this new playlist if it weren’t for the tip. In the album section below, I make a silly statement about my developing house music fandom, but this is what I mean - I only know about half of the artists in this mix and that’s about par for me. So I’m grateful when friends share house and other electronic because it serves as my compass for a space in which I don’t spend too much time. I usually get my servings of house music when I go out, but this playlist has been my chance to reset this summer and listen on my own time.

My latest phase has been sifting through my own backlog, and now I get a fresh mix, a Perfect Extended one, to refresh my palette and give me some new inspiration. Thanks, Alfred, for the curation - this wasn’t designed for AMF but we’re all still welcome to enjoy 🙏🏾🎧

5+ New Albums

This section is usually a new playlist or mix from the internet or a collaborator, but I was compelled to go and grab some of the many albums I came across this month. The Friday after July 4th is when I noticed a lot of big artists and smaller artists I like dropping albums, which is generally a predictable post-holiday pattern for music releases. Going through my algorithmic playlists confirmed it over the next week - tons of new projects, so it felt right to pull a few albums and feature them here to be enjoyed in their entirety.

Note: I recognize that this list is primarily black men, and I’d prefer to share it as-is rather than to force one diversity or another. I’m happy with the spread of genres represented in the list, which I think is most important right now, and I always welcome recommendations for the newsletter or for my own edification. These are some of the best projects that crossed my radar recently, and I’ll always make an effort to include different voices and to keep an open mind.

I was planning to add this album before I knew there were four (4) LaKeith Stanfield features on it. When I went to clean up this month’s w33kly, I realized that I’d added four (4) songs from this album - I don’t put a cap on how many songs from an artist I’ll include, but usually it’s just a second at most. I admit that Duckwrth really leaned into a pocket on this album that suits me, but I’d like to think that’s partially because of the likable sound that’s inherent to the project. Don’t be scared off by the artwork; there’s a punk vibe, but he really shows some range here with dips into R&B and pop with very strong production throughout.

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This was sent to me by two of the collaborators you’ve heard from in recent months, people who have helped me scratch my UK music itch over the years. This time, they tipped me off to an artist who’s being discussed as the next one up for this generation. I tend to like UK music - hip hop, garage, and some punk stuff - and I do feel like Jim Legxacy is carving out a really meaningful space for himself in a busy music scene that often gets ignored by us Americans. Enjoy this statement project and keep Jim on your radar; we’ll be keeping tabs on him over here.

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Winston Surfshirt is just very groovy. He must have been teasing this project for a while because I feel like I sat and enjoyed this artwork months ago. Alas, the full album just came out last week and I’ve gotten to properly enjoy it in the summer heat. When I use quotation marks, I feel like it’s fair to say that this is a “funky-ass white guy making good music,” which is a cheap sell in 2025 but it gets the point across.

Oh right, Justin Bieber also dropped SWAG to some mixed opinions but an overall positive reception, and Mac DeMarco is lining something up with Guitar.

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I like house music just a little bit more than the next guy - I didn’t grow up on it and it’s not my #1 genre, but I have my fair share of concerts and favorite records to reference in a pinch. As a late bloomer, I try to be careful about which artists’ bandwagons I jump on, but salute has been a very easy call. I sent this to multiple people before getting a full listen in, and I have no regrets…

…because I still haven‘t gotten a full listen in - it’s 39 songs, help me!

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For a while, I worked on a team that repped Indigo De Souza, and I’m ashamed to say I never paid enough attention. I forget exactly how Spotify put this album in front of me, but it wasn’t long before I wished I’d taken the time to see her live. The project is beautiful - it turns out “Crush” was the single that had been an unidentified earworm for me earlier in the summer - and it’s the kind that makes me feel rewarded for stepping out of my usual listening habits. No, lightedheart indie pop about unrequited summer crushes is not my usual bag, but I do get into it sometimes.

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Like I’ve said in the past, I’ve warmed up to Tyler, The Creator over the years, the same way I’ve warmed up to Lebron. And I guess you could say that Tyler releasing an album, based on an offhand promise most people wrote off, feels kind of like Lebron James playing basketball alongside Bronny James, because he said so. I’m still not a fanboy yet and I don’t know if I ever will be, but I think that should carry some weight when I happen to get excited about one of his projects. That’s this one, favorite track “Ring Ring Ring” had to go on w33kly.

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Politics may vary a bit on Freddie Gibbs, but if you’re checking for Alfredo 2 you’re probably not particularly worried about his antics. He has charted a unique course throughout his career, and that’s a big reason why his fanbase is so spread across generations and corners of the internet. With another Alchemist-produced project to add to his ever-flowing catalog, rap fans can rest assured that the art form is still not dead and its standard-bearers are still fresh in the weight room.

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Not everyone is enough of a hip-hop head to hold this album in high esteem either, but the Clipse project marks a meaningful moment in contemporary hip-hop culture: the decades-long public narrative about two brothers from Virginia who like to play in the snow and make music about God and family continues. There are features from perennial fan favorites like Kendrick Lamar and Pharrell, and if you still need to be sold we can probably agree this won’t end up in your library…that Bieber project has 21 tracks and 3 Druski features just for you 👍🏾

Honorable Mention:

I released another project with good friend and collaborator Julian - he’s an amazing producer, and our artist project has been an exercise in creating the ideal original platform for it. It’s also been a great creative outlet for both of us, and it’s given me a chance to interact with music in a way that I didn’t always foresee for myself. Lots of you have personally encouraged and supported us - including Matt and Alexus who feature on one track - so I’m happy to share this here and ask for your continued support on our journey 🤞🏾