MC’s MUSIC LOUNGE: The Beats of KAYTRANADA

When KAYTRANADA burst onto the music scene in 2010, he became known for remixing his favourite hits through his own hypnotic beats. It wouldn’t take long before the masses fell in love, with his Montreal Boiler Room set being one of the key moments in his rise. One of the best parts about reimaging older tracks is that it gives the listener an opportunity to hear something familiar and comforting while still discovering a new sound that feels fresh and exciting. It’s been 15 years since his debut and KAYTRANADA is still creating magic with the release of his new album Ain’t No Damn Way!, and features samples from music icons like TLC, J Dilla, Kelis and more. He’s been quoted as saying that this new record was for “workouts, dancing, and studying for people that love beats”. I’m listening…

Remixes have the ability to take something beloved and elevate it to something magical if done correctly. This is especially true when it comes to pop and R&B tracks being transformed into House mixes – in fact, some of the biggest hits of the last few decades were aided in their chart performance due to the house remix (this week’s viral pick is one example). I have yet to come across a house beat that doesn’t love a big voice attached to it, and I love coming back to those remixes whenever I need a pick-me-up. KAYTRANADA, however, puts his own signature on any song he chooses to re-make, diva adjacent or not (The Weeknd’s “Out of Time” remix is a particular non-diva favourite). There is something to be said though about the connection between these house beats and the LGBTQ+ community as a whole, a community in which KAYTRANADA is a part of after he came out back in 2016. His influences, undoubtedly while still borrowing from many different sounds, stem from the likes of Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey among others (like me!). And his music has always felt like a love letter to house and the divas that helped give it a voice, eventually branching into many different sounds and genres while still keeping the house foundation. KAYTRANADA’s work isn’t just music but rather a continuation of a legacy and safe space that the queer community continues to populate,  from soaring synths to heavy bass lines, he gives us beats worth dancing to. 

His newest album is coming off the heels of his mega-successful 2024 studio effort TIMELESS, and he’s also fresh off an opening gig for The Weeknd’s After Hrs ‘Til Dawn stadium tour. So KAYTRANADA’s visibility is at the highest its ever been right now, and with an album as fire as his newest project, he’s sure to only keep rising, especially with his own headlining tour in the fall. “KAYTRANADA Fall” anyone?

Next week is the release of Ciara’s eighth studio album CiCi which marks the end of a 6-year gap between records for the R&B legend. The album will be a continuation of the EP she released of the same name back in 2023 except with new songs and whole new aesthetic. Plus, new music by Laufey who has pretty much all of Gen Z in a chokehold, standby for my thoughts on the record next week (even Sarah Jessica Parker is into it!). This week, aside from KAYTRANADA, we also have some new tunes from Coco Jones with Alicia Keys, Olivia Dean, J Balvin and a full blown Caribbean-fused banger with Chloe Bailey as the featured artist. Plus, Mariah Carey is heavy in the promo for her upcoming record Here For It All – but in true Mariah fashion, another one of her classic hits is picking up some serious steam online.

Listen on…

MC’s PICKS OF THE WEEK

“DO IT! (AGAIN!)” by KAYTRANADA, TLC 

I’ve had KAYTRANADA’s music on pretty much every single cooking, dancing or vibes playlist since the mid-2010s. It seems like none of that will be changing any time soon because his new record is full of fire beats and mixes, including this gem that is a re-working of TLC’s 1994 deep cut “Let’s Do It Again” from their diamond selling album CrazySexyCool. KAYTRANADA and the 90s R&B ladies have a long history together as he has re-mixed some of the eras biggest hits from artists like Janet Jackson and Sade. There’s just something about the way those 90s melodies and beats transition into house music so effortlessly, and he has most definitely tapped into that. The original “Let’s Do It Again” is a bedroom jam, to say the least, with Chilli even moaning in part of the song, making it very clear what the tune was intended for. This remix has a little more duality to it as, yes, you definitely can still play it during an intimate moment but it works just as well as something to blast at the gym during a weight-lifting session, or even for a candlelit dinner with a loved one. Either way, the replay factor on this high and like the rest of his discography, is sure to hit even harder as time goes on. 

 

“The Greatest Bend Over (Take It Easy)” by Full Blown, Yung Bredda, Chloe, MOLIY 

Fresh off the heels of Caribana weekend over here in Toronto, I have been exploring the Soca genre more and more and the vibes are vibing. Caribbean music just incites joy no matter what culture you come from. One of the biggest Soca hits of the last year comes courtesy of Trinidadian artist Yung Bredda, whose original version of “The Greatest Bend Over” has been doing serious numbers since its release in 2024. Now, just in time for 2025 Carnival season, he has tapped Chloe Bailey and Moliy (of “Shake It to the Max” fame) for a new global remix that blends both American and Caribbean influences. Each of the ladies provide their own respective verses to the song, adding the female perspective to the already very successful banger. Chloe has been spending lots of her time in St. Lucia in recent years – she even recorded her entire last album Trouble In Paradise there. The music video to the new remix aims to capture the spirit of the culture, even highlighting St. Lucia carnival which Chloe herself has attended in  back-to-back years. In the words of one of my closest friends who is from Jamaica (shout out to you Jasey boy), when I sent him the song he wrote back “this can gwan”. If you don’t take my word for it, at the very least you can take his. 

 

“Other Side Of Love (Remix)” by Coco Jones, Alicia Keys 

A duet that connects two generations of R&B divas, “Other Side Of Love (Remix)” is the re-imagined version of Coco Jones’s original solo track that shows the more emotional side of her personality. Coco has been teasing the duet all week, posting the DM that Alicia sent her saying that she wanted to work together, something that Coco shares has been a lifelong dream. Alicia being one of the biggest success stories of the 2000s in terms of women in both pop and R&B makes for the perfect collaboration because who doesn’t love to see women lifting each other up? This track, along with a select few others, are all a part of the deluxe edition of her debut album Why Not More?, appropriately titled More!. The song describes a love that is so real and so intense that it’s bigger than the love itself, it’s cosmic, it’s infectious, and isn’t always pretty. The remix features Alicia’s signature piano riffs, elevating the song to a whole new level of excellence. Many times nowadays when two artists collaborate, especially artists on the caliber of Alicia, they generally will just send in a verse and the producers will piece them together, so it’s quite refreshing to see that these two ladies actually linked up in the studio and created the magic in person as showcased in the lyric video. You can hear the difference in their vocal synergy, and knowing that Alicia is now serving as a mentor to Coco makes this even sweeter. One thing that I respect so much about Coco, aside from her immense talent, is how hard she works and her dedication to her craft. She rose to fame as a series regular on the hit show Bel-Air, but she has been working tirelessly on making sure her music career is a success. It also helps that her vocals are incredible and the music is of the highest quality. It’s no wonder legends like Alicia are lining up to work with her. 

 

“Si Te Vas” by J Balvin, Jay Wheeler 

This melodic reggaeton ballad is a little bit of a departure for J Balvin who has become widely known for his club bangers. “Si Te Vas” which directly translates to “If You Leave” in English, sees the singer/rapper opening up to his lover about the heartbreak he would experience if she were to no longer be in his life. J Balvin emotes a sense of longing in his vocal delivery giving fans a new glimpse into his mind. The song is a duet with Jay Wheeler who also adds a tinge of romance to the collaboration, pulling at the heartstrings. “Si Te Vas” is the last of 10 tracks to be released from J Balvin’s surprise album Mixteip which dropped last month, but was leaving a place holder for one final track – making this song the final piece of the puzzle. The music video also plays into the wave of 2000s nostalgia that has been taking over both music and movies in the last few years, with its opening scene showing him playing the song on an old-school iPod (remember those lol) as he proceeds to sing the song on a rooftop. The whole iPod aesthetic is used in the actual album artwork as well, surely meant to evoke the nostalgia for fans who have been following J Balvin since the beginning of his career back in the early 2010s.

 

“Man I Need” by Olivia Dean 

Olivia Dean has been on the rise for a few years now after achieving success at home in Britain. Her latest release “Man I Need” is the third single from her upcoming sophomore album The Art of Loving which is due out at the end of September. The track has a bouncy, bluesy feel that is sure to get you dancing but also serves ethereal vocals that feel like they’re coming straight out of a jazz bar – and I mean that in a complimentary way. She’s out here searching for the man of her dreams but he’s still got to meet a few requirements (relatable), which she lays out in lyrics like “already gave you the time and the place, so don’t be shy, come be the man I need”. The music video is a fun play on the lyrics, with multiple men essentially auditioning for the role of Olivia’s boyfriend. It reminds me a little bit of the “Papi” video by JLO – just without the blatant Fiat product placement. The song and video both have an undeniable commercial appeal that, with the right promotion, could be what will break Olivia in the North American mainstream market, which in turn will be aided by her upcoming spot opening up for Sabrina Carpenter on the upcoming final leg of her “Short n’ Sweet Tour” in Nashville, New York City, and Pittsburgh. In a recent interview, Olivia spoke about the recording process for the new album mentioning how they banged it out in eight weeks of focused and devoted writing and recording, wanting to create music that felt like “warmth”. If the rest of the album is anything like this song, then we are certainly in for some heat.

 

MC’s VIRAL PICK

“My All” by Mariah Carey 

One of Mariah’s most beloved ballads has been gaining some major traction on socials and streaming services over the last few months. From karaoke videos, viral jokes, lip-sync video creations that rival the actual music video or diving into the lore of the lyrics, TikTok users have been discovering every crevice of the iconic 90s ballad, and it’s showing in the streams. The song has been used over 400k times making it one of the most popular sounds of the week, even earning a spot on Spotify’s “big on the internet” playlist, which in turn has helped its daily streams jump up to 400,000+ on that platform. The song is now the third most streamed song in Mariah’s discography in terms of daily traction and is now rivaling her most streamed hits like “We Belong Together” and “Obsessed”. 

@jonathantilkin

channeling our inner @Mariah Carey on this one 🤩 so happy we got to sing this classic with the iconic @Kat McPhee 🤍 @Anthony Gargiula #myall #mariahcarey #katharinemcphee

♬ original sound - jonathantilkin

@nnicolascamerlengo

yearning final boss

♬ original sound - mikayla

@boymarinho

#fy #mariahcarey #sza #myall #paulista #chuva #rain #viral #pravoce

♬ My All - Mariah Carey

@anastasialefever

another endangered species #fyp #foryou #viral #linkedin #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp

♬ My All - Mariah Carey

Mariah wrote “My All” about the night she “risked her life” to spend the night with her then-flame Derek Jeter in Puerto Rico, which she writes about in detail in her 2020 memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey. The result is, in my humble opinion, one of the most beautiful love songs ever written. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 back in the Spring of 1998, and 27 years later it’s in resurgence and has become a staple in her live shows. It’s an exciting time to be a Mariah fan with her 16th studio album Here For It All set for release at the end of September, so naturally that means that many music listeners are revisiting her hits before the big day – as you can imagine, I’m very much “here for” all of this. 

You can also check out my “MC’s MUSIC LOUNGE” Spotify playlist here to keep up to date with my weekly picks throughout the year. 

With Love, 

MC