"woke up by a girl i don't even know her name"

Between holiday parties, final projects, final exams, and shopping for my loved ones, December was a pretty jam packed (and slightly stressful) month.

Despite the fact that I love Christmas music, and holiday music in general, there are no festive songs on this playlist. Instead, I went for a wild assortment of songs, across a variety of genres.

Some of my favorites from this playlist are Bleachers' "Rollercoaster" featuring Charli XCX (who's voice was literally made for pop music), The Weeknd's "Party Monster," and Terror Jr's latest track, "Heartbreaks," which has phenomenal one liners like "sending naked pictures with your iPhone / but you'll fuck her with your eyes closed" and "running laps 'round these bitches in my flip flops."

Below are the thirteen songs that served as my soundtrack during the month of December:

1. "Go Fuck Yourself" - Two Feet
2. "Party Monster" - The Weeknd
3. "After the Afterparty" (feat. Lil' Yatchy)
4. "Advice" - Kehlani
5.  "Bad Things" - Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello
6. "Entropy" - Grimes & Bleachers
7. "Deja Vu" (feat. Justin Bieber) - Post Malone
8. "Some Kind Of Drug - Earwulf Remix" (feat. Marc E. Bassy) - G-Eazy
9. "Let Me Explain" - Bryson Tiller
10. "Wasted" - Dreezy
11. "Phone Down" - Erykah Badu
12. "Rollercoaster" (feat. Charli XCX) - Bleachers
13. "Heartbreaks" - Terror Jr

Happy Listening, 

Robert

"i used to believe change is all i wanted"

photo by Rebel Rae (@rebelraemusic)

After releasing perfectly simple and extremely aesthetically pleasing visuals for "Tomorrow" and "War is Over," R&B songstress Rebel Rae has dropped the third visual from her EP, Twenty16.

"Tears on the Altar," directed by Josh Sikkema, is set in a abandoned town in the middle of the desert. Throughout the video, Rae is seen roaming through the town alone while exploring the various structures and art pieces.

Once again, Rebel Rae has delivered an incredibly beautiful visual and I can't wait for her next release. 

Happy Listening (watching),

Robert

"keep those words locked in a bottle"

Though November is a month that many of us would like to forget, I did try to stay positive because it marks the beginning of the holiday season and I got to celebrate my 20th birthday (!).

My playlist for November is filled with uptempo, dance-floor worthy songs like Shakira's "Chantaje," certified bops (that can only be played at full volume) like Travis Mills' "I Doubt It," and songs that you'll want to scream at the top of your lungs like Greyson Chance's "Hit and Run."

Below are the twelve songs that served as my soundtrack for the month of November:

1. "Fake Love" - Drake
2. "Chantaje" (feat. Maluma) - Shakira
3. "On Hold" - The xx
4. "Hit & Run" - Greyson Chance
5. "Murder" - Lido
6. "Nobody's Better" (feat. Fetty Wap) - Z
7. "Super Powers" - Terror Jr
8. "Hands Free" - Keke Palmer
9. "Ain't My Fault - R3hab Remix" - Zara Larsson
10. "Black Beatles" (feat. Gucci Mane) - Rae Sremmurd
11. "Otra Vez" (feat. J Balvin) - Zion & Lennox
12. "I Doubt It" (feat. Blackbear and Skizzy Mars) - Travis Mills

Happy Listening, 

Robert

"fighting flames of fire"

Historically, my October playlists have been very gloomy, often filled with slow, somber songs about heartbreak and regret.

However, I'd like to think that I switched it up a little bit in 2016. With a mix of bangers (sort of) like Bruno Mars' "24K Magic," feel good tracks like Phoebe Ryan's "Dollar Bill," and slow jams like Solange's "Don't Touch My Hair," my October playlist is more "chill" than gloomy.

Below are the eleven songs that served as my soundtrack during the month of October:

1. "All We Know" (feat. Phoebe Ryan) - The Chainsmokers
2. "Trust Nobody" (feat. Tory Lanez & Selena Gomez) - Cashmere Cat
3. "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" - Dua Lipa
4. "Body Moves" - DNCE
5. "Dollar Bill" (feat. Kid Ink) - Phoebe Ryan
6. "24K Magic" - Bruno Mars
7. "Flex Your Way Out" (feat. Blackbear) - Sofi de la Torre
8. "Edibles." - JoJo
9. "The Loudest Silence" - Maurice Moore
10. "Drum" - MØ
11. "Don't Touch My Hair" (feat. Sampha) - Solange

Happy Listening,

Robert

"i got fake people showing fake love to me"

photo by Drake (@champagnepapi on Instagram)

Just ahead of his 30th birthday, Drake announced that he would dropping a new project in December titled More Life. In addition to relieving the title of the project during a special birthday episode of OVO Sound Radio, Drake premiered four tracks, including two singles "Fake Love" and "Sneakin'" featuring 21 Savage.

"Fake Love," an infectious, tropical hip-pop, and unmistakably Drake record about fake people, has gained more traction than its more rap heavy counterpart "Sneakin,'" even claiming the top spot on Spotify's United States Top 50. 

With it's Instagram caption worthy lyrics like "yea, I know they wanna take my place" and "look you in the face and it's just not the same," "Fake Love" is destined to be a hit. I expect to hear it blaring through the speakers at every after-hours holiday party this fall and lip-synced in thousands of Snapchats. 

Happy Listening, 

Robert

"sometimes i ask for the sun and get rain"

photo by Rebel Rae (@rebelraemusic on Instagram)

Following the release of R&B newcomer Rebel Rae's sweet and soulful EP, Twenty16, the singer-songwriter has unveiled the wonderfully simple and aesthetically pleasing visual for the project's closing track, "Tomorrow."

Donning a cut off "Generic Brand" denim jacket and equipped with a portable CD player, Rae sings about not letting the past impact her, instead, choosing to focus on "Tomorrow."

Hopefully she'll be creating and releasing for visuals for the other songs on Twenty16, but until then, I'll just keep hitting the replay button. 

Happy Listening (watching),

Robert

"this life can make you so jaded"

August marked my return to one of the most fast paced and chaotic places in the world, New York.   The apartment hunt proved to more of a struggle than I was prepared for, so I spent most of the month stressing and couch-surfing, with the occasional trip back down to D.C.

Starting off with the undisputed song of the summer "Closer," and wrapping up with the perfectly cool and dreamy "Moon" by newcomer Tysm, August is pretty low-key with mid-tempo jams from Kehlani, Glass Animals, PARTYNEXTDOOR, and Ansel Elgort, who released his debut single, "Home Alone" at the end of July.

Below are the fifteen songs that served as my soundtrack to the month of August:

1. "Closer" (feat. Halsey) - The Chainsmokers
2. "I Met This Dude at Coachella" (feat. Rykeyz) - Brezy
3. "Hurts So Good" - Astrid S
4. "Perfect Strangers" (feat. JP Cooper) - Jonas Blue
5. "Let Me Love You" (feat. Justin Bieber) - DJ Snake
6. "For Free" (feat. Drake) - DJ Khaled
7. "Youth" - Glass Animals
8. "Home Alone" - Ansel Elgort
9. "Distraction" - Kehlani
10. "Not Nice" - PARTYNEXTDOOR
11. "Come First" - Terror Jr
12. "In The Name Of Love" - Martin Garrix & Bebe Rexha
13. "Lies" (feat. SZA) - Felix Snow
14. "Gone" (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) - Afrojack
15. "Moon" - Tysm

Happy Listening,

Robert