BEST NEW MUSIC: JUSTINE SKYE - BUILD FT ARIN RAY

Finally a song that objectifies men! (if even just a little) Come on, you know we’re all just stupid little boys who could never give a woman this heart-stoppingly gorgeous what she needs. CASE IN POINT: acting our shoe size, not our age. We truly deserve this emotionally abusive treatment.

Justine Skye leads the battle charge against the decades of lyrical abuse women have taken from the likes of everyone from Rolling Stones to more rappers than I care to put together in a list because it would paint a problematic picture that we don’t have the time to get into right now.

“If I could build a man” she pontificates, finally giving the much needed female perspective to what would happen in the gender-reversed version of a Weird Science situation. For those of you unaware of the classic 1985 John Hughes film, two teenage boys set out build the perfect woman through a computer program, and just as it seems like it’s going to be utterly chauvinistic (and it definitely is to some degree) it comes down on the side of you need to love yourself before anyone else can love you. This is where Justine Skye ends up too. When she says “I’ma work on who I am,” I’m here for that. This is a song about anger, sadness, fucked-up relationships and coming out the other side all the better for it. We’ve all been there. Men definitely suck. Preach.

JUSTINE SKYE - BUILD FT ARIN RAY

I’m genuinely furious that this is the first I’m hearing of this queen. The 23 year old Brooklyn singer has been around since 2013 and honestly every single song she’s released is an absolute ‘stop the presses’ kind of track. Yes, the fact we’re just talking about her now is totally inexcusable. I want to say she has this sort of Rihanna thing going, but that would cheapen the originality of her voice and I don’t want to do that. I only offer the suggestion because she’s got a deeply powerful voice (of Caribbean descent) and an ear for lush production that really has to put in the work to keep up with all that those vocal chords can do. Sure there are similarities, but there also are between Apples and Oranges. My instinct to hold back on the comparison was correct. But for fans of…

“Build” is Skye’s first follow-up single to her 2018 full-length release ULTRAVIOLET. Only seven months later and she’s already got some new hotness fueling the fire. Arin Ray hops in for a featured verse that’s got some major charm, but also has me counting the seconds until my new favorite voice comes back to serenade me. Color me infatuated.

From deep within the murky depths of the Los Angeles River emerged a creature: 50% raver, 50% comedian, 10% Robotcop. Kurt Kroeber doesn’t own a dog, operates Soundbleed (the world’s only dance party comedy talk show rave), and is down to party with you. Come up some time and say “Hey dude!” But definitely make sure to casually drop the secret Illuminati password.