I’m pretty sure everyone’s morning commute consists of traffic, more traffic, repetitive songs on the radio (92.3, 93.9 & 95.5) your morning playlist or silence. I can say for my 1hr drive to the metro my car is filled with a plethora of tunes. From rock to 80’s to the grittiest hip-hop. If I did a carpool service, my passengers and I would be lit! Then there is part 2 of my commute. The 1hr train ride to my stop in DC. I swear MD Trains put me in a nostalgic state thanks to the help of the old ass trains we have. The warm lighting, and outdated or faded seats that are filled up with black faces until I hit the gentrification line. The trip brings up a unique scenery. Accompanied by this train ride is an eclectic playlist featuring music from the stylistic arrangements of Lil Boosie or the Vivacious vocals of Earnest Pugh. My music taste depending on the day is quite vast. Which brings you all to this post, I want to share my Top ten songs for the past weeks morning commute in hopes that you can add it to yours. Now, this list consists of a variety of genres, artists, years and moods so if you are weirded out by titles or the sound, just press skip. You might like all of the selections or maybe just one.
I hope you all enjoy this list. Feel free to share with me your morning commute songs or playlists as well.
Descending order
“Sango” by Oshun
I actually came across the musical duo sometime in 2015 via SoundCloud. They reminded me of an even younger and more conscious version of “Floetry”. I liked their style of music, definitely different from what I was listening to before-hand. Last year, I re-visited Oshun but this time on Apple Music just to see if their work from sound cloud was featured on there. It wasn’t, but I did discover a lovely gem out of their catalog. The song is titled “Sango”. Initially, I thought the song was an ode the artist Sango until I listened to it. The song overall has a good vibe. It’s about love and relationships but the way they convey the message is like through a conversation between two people who aren’t sure about which way to go with the relationship. Although it’s a typical theme, the messaging isn’t something you hear too often. Now, none of their SoundCloud tracks are on Apple Music which is fine because I utilize both music platforms so if you want to find more music by Oshun, the link is below.
“The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance” by Vampire Weekend
Anything that was Indie between 2008-2010 I was listening to it. Matt & Kim, HolyGhost!, Theophilus London (my fave) anything from Green Label Sounds was on my Mp3 player (my dad wouldn’t buy me Apple). For a while, even up until now I was heavy Vampire Weekend listener. It was something about the little guitar that they played and the one drum being utilized and the dynamic guitar choices that they used. These white boys got down! Out of all of their songs, “The Kid’s Don’t Stand a Chance” from their first self-titled album “Vampire Weekend” is my favorite. It’s slow and melodic. The lyrics really don’t connect which makes the song even better. This song just works for me. Depending on the space you are in, this song will make you feel like you’re sitting in your loft apartment with the windows open, until you realize that you’re on the blue line train, cramped. Vampire Weekend had major success during my teen years. Now the group makes slight projects if you still follow them but the real standout is lead vocalist Ezra Koening. Many people don’t know that Ezra is a vocalist and songwriter for Beyoncé. “Beyoncé” and her recent studio album “Lemonade” was partially written by Koening including her hit single “Lemonade”. In addition, He is very close friends with Kid Cudi. Learn something new every day huh?
“Touch Me, Tease Me” by Case ft. Mary J. Blige and Foxy Brown
Now let’s get beyond the fact that this song is on every Bedroom Banger or Slow Jams of the 90’s playlist. Touch Me, Tease Me is actually one of my favorite songs outside of the content. The fusion of rap and R&B makes this joint a classic. I never knew it was a slow jam until My Alexa device felt like playing R&B slow jams when I was cleaning my apartment (Circa 2016). I always heard the instrumental though, specifically in Chris Rocks standup but never took the time out to figure out who made the song. Low and behold it was Case who I thought was a rapper because of his character in the video game Def Jam Vendetta. Apparently during the making of this song Case who was in a relationship at the time was having an affair with Mary J. Blige, if you watch the video you can definitely see the chemistry between the two. This song is on rotation at-least once a day during my morning commute, at a very high volume. I can only imagine what the drivers beside me say when they look over and see me rapping Foxy Browns part like I’m in the video.
“Coming to Break You Off” by The Roots ft. Musiq Soulchild
This song is truly my shit. I love Musiq Soulchild and The Roots so the fact that they have this collaboration in their catalog makes my heart happy. We all know how awesome The Roots are, I am genuinely a fan of their songs that are geared towards loving women. I like their activist driven songs too but I melt for their songs with smooth beats and vocals. We all know what this song is about but I look past that. Imagine listening to this song on a cold morning, looking out the window of an empty train. That’s the scene I set myself in when listening to this song. You would think I was in a music video listening to this song.
“The Sky Might Fall” by Kid Cudi (Man on The Moon)
I couldn’t make this list without having at least 2 or 3 Kid Cudi songs on here but Y'all know how I feel about him. I listen to this song with a Complex Magazine interview w/him in mind. The question was “What is your biggest fear” his answer, “That the Sky Might Fall”. With that being said this song is definitely a good pick me up song once you get through the whole song. If you are an OG Cudi fan then you know “The Sky Might Fall” comes from his first studio album Man on The Moon: The End of Day, my favorite album actually. In awesome Kid Cudi fashion, he describes the negative woes he is encountering throughout life, in a very descriptive way (drug use, relationships, depression, etc.). But it ends with him having a very positive outlook on it all “The Sky Might Fall, but I’m not worried at all”. This is the perfect song for that shitty day when you wake up late because of the Jaime Fox marathon the night before. You spill your Chikfila Sweet Tea on your pants, Miss out on parking at the metro garage and then arrive to work late because you wanted to be broke & boujie so you grab starbucks. I love Kid Cudi.
“Rise” by Solange (A Seat at the Table)
I think we can all come to the agreement that “A Seat at the Table” was the anthem for Black Girl, Black Boy Magic. I love this album from start to finish. I swear Beyoncé and Solange are the epitomai of the Gemini twins without even being Geminis. I enjoy the song Rise off of Queen Solange's album “A Seat at the Table” due to the fact that it makes me feel empowered. Others may interpret the song differently, but that’s the purpose of music, to have your own interpretation. Stay true to yourself no matter the hurdle, that’s what I get from Solange's message. I’m glad she chose Rise as her album opener. I remember when I went hiking last year at Sandy Bottom Park in Hampton a few days after the album dropped. It was a beautiful fall morning, I had my speaker, fruit and a few other things that added to the essence of the trip (I’m not about to self-incriminate). “A Seat at The Table” was playing in the background of this trip and it officially became the best day ever. It was like a self-actualization trip, I learned a lot from that one hiking excursion.
“Ultraviolet” by FKA Twigs EP 2
Have you ever been hypnotized by a song before? I listen to this song at least 9 times a day, and so far, I’ve missed my stop 5 times since I started working in DC. It’s something about FKA Twigs that I love and that is her ability to push the limits and create her own genre. On occasion, I may encounter someone who listens to FKA Twigs as much as I do but when I meet someone who hasn’t, I love putting them on to my favorite song “Ultraviolet”. It was February 2015 and I was sitting in my dorm room taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi at the hair salon across from MUF J . Around this time, I was in a really loving space in my life, I removed a lot of negativity out of my life, school was cool, class of 2015 was right around the corner, life was good. Ultraviolet popped up on my YouTube so randomly so of course, I gave it a try because I don’t discriminate against music. The first beat dropped and I was instantly hooked. “Ultraviolet” was so hypnotizing, her vocals were so timid and it worked. And in hip-hop fashion, the song hits a nice plot twist that changes your space again. I don’t even want to continue on with the description of this song because it is an experience. Simple as that.
“I Can’t Wait” By Sleepy Brown ft. Outkast
This is dedicated to the lover, to the lover, in you, in you, in you. Oh, the feels I catch when I listen to “I Can’t Wait” by Sleepy Brown. I trust anything that comes with Outkast or the Dungeon Family so I easily fell head over heels for this song. As mentioned before in the roots discussion, I love rap/hip-ho-/R&B fused songs about women or the love for a woman. I can’t wait is actually a timeless song and could be played for years on end. Someone is going to sing this song to me one day!
"Day N’ Night" by Kid Cudi Man on The Moon
This song has more sentimental value behind it for me. I’m so mad that he decided to perform the Crookers Mix instead of the original version but that didn’t stop the tears falling from my puppy dog eyes that night. If you ask me what my top 4 Kid Cudi songs are, this would-be Number 1. “Day N’ Night” was Kid Cudi’s first introduction to my life back in ’07. I continued to follow him ever since. I love this song for many reasons, some personal, some open to the public but for the most part, I think Day N’ Night can connect to any listener, fan or not. I want to go into detail about this but I will more than likely get into to my feelings so I’ll save it for another time. Just go check out this song if you haven’t already. I mean it’s been out for almost 10 years.
I couldn’t even decide on my Number 1 choice because any song I listen to is number one. So, I’ll just list my choices. Let me know what you think. What’s your number 1? Leave comments on Instagram.
- Through the Wire by Kanye West
- Flying Overseas by Theophilus London ft. Devonte Hynes & Solange
- BlackBerry Molasses by Mista
- Everything is Embarrassing by Sky Ferraria
- Bank Head by Kelela
- RAF by ASAP Mob ft. Frank Ocean, Playboi Carti, Quavo
- Goosebumps by Travis Scott ft. Kendrick Lamar
- I Ran So Far Away by Flock of Seagulls
Thank you for reading. I appreciate your views! Feel free to leave any comments, critiques or subscribe for me! Stay Tuned for more!
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