Bradley Andrews Profile Photo

Bradley Andrews

Peacemaker. Rabble-Rouser.

🎵 Music & Hip-Hop

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    🎵 Stumbled across Jahson Paynter’s music for the first time this weekend and I am absolutely hooked. He reminds me so much of Frank Ocean and Dijon. If you’re a fan of them, you won’t regret giving these a listen:

    Astonished that he hasn’t blown up yet.

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    🎵 A strange quirk of my personality is that I really like to listen to covers of songs that I already love. There is a sweetness in listening to people also enjoy the song and interact with it in a fresh or unique way. The early days of Youtube were full of singers and acoustic guitars players just jamming for the joy of the music. Therefore, I’ve decided to link live versions of my most listened to artist since last year along with some covers that I personally found delightful. Good intro to the amazing artist that is Mk.gee:

    The entire Two Star and the Dream Police album is a masterpiece. Like if Prince, The Police, and Phil Collins/Peter Gabriel had a baby in the internet era. I hope New Jersey is so proud of him.

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    🎵 More music for ya headtops:

    A strange mix, for sure…

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    🎵 Been listenin' to:

    Full 2026 playlist here.

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    🎵 Last post for the week.

    Seems like the recently leaked Kendrick Lamar track is legitimate. Not a fan of all of it, but crazy his cuts are still better than 90% of other rapper’s official releases. Not to mention I love that Dot is always experimenting.

    I heard you got a big name, so what?
    Turn a big mouth to a pop-tart
    It’s either rock bottom or a rock-star
    The hate and the love go side to side
    The hate and the love go, side to side

    ♊️

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    🎵 Been listenin' to:

    Very miscellaneous mix. Hearing Give It To Me reminds me of the Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince sample. Full 2026 playlist here.

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    🎉 I turned 30 today. Lots of thoughts about the topic forthcoming; but for today, all I want to do is remind the public of this banger from Jay-Z regarding the same topic.

    I guess you can say that my legend just begun
    I’m young enough to know the right car to buy
    Yet grown enough not to put rims on it…
    Thirty’s the new twenty, homie, I’m on fire still

    (P.S. — production is fire because it’s by Dre. California’s finest.)

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    🎵 Drake dropped 3 new albums last night. I’m pretty biased, but I don’t think these projects will be enough to get him back on top. First songs on Iceman were promising but then got repetitive quick. He just isn’t having fun anymore—and it shows. Will comment more when I listen to everything though.

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    🎵 Some classic recs:

    Is Outstanding one of the best songs ever? Essay on Tom’s Diner soon.

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    🎵 New Kehlani album is really good. A few skips, but still an instant purchase for me. Some favorite tracks for those wanting to listen:

    RnB is on the up and up, y’all, and just in time.

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    ✍️ Decoding Jay-Z’s Quadruple Entendre // bradley-andrews.com

    There are very few pursuits that are more creative than hip-hop music, but it’s endlessly overlooked as an art form because of it’s urban roots. I just did a brief breakdown of one of my favorite rap verses (not even a full verse, actually, just four lines) to help prove my point. Let me know if you agree.

    I father, I Brooklyn Dodger them.
    I jack. I rob. I sin.
    Aww man — I’m Jackie Robinson.
    ‘cept when I run base, I dodge the pen.
    — Jay-Z, Brooklyn Go Hard

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    🎵 Hip-hop recs for the week, but only hard songs:

    Not ready to forgive Kanye, but seeing him rap this version of the song always inspires me. You can see the hunger in him.

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    🎵 I can’t explain precisely why, but I firmly believe that Chicago by Sufjan Stevens is an Easter Song:

    You came to take us
    All things go, all things go
    To recreate us
    All things grow, all things grow
    We had our mind set
    All things know, all things know
    You had to find it
    All things go, all things go

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    🎵 Listening To:

    Notes—The Egyptian language in #2 is so beautiful & where was this energy from Cole during the beef?

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    🎵 Been listening to this week:

    Just discovered Samara Cyn, but she is easily one of the most promising MC’s I’ve seen in a while. Her new project drops soon.

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    🎵 3 songs recommended/shown to me by friends this week:

    Just a reminder that both my 2025 and my 2026 listens are public. They are disparate playlists, but you are guaranteed a few gems.

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    🎵 Been listening to this week:

    There was a bonus track on the Baby Keem CD called “Tubi” that I wanted to share, but it doesn’t exist online. I had a link, then it got taken down… Sorry 🤷‍♂️ That’s the benefit of physical media though. Buy your music! Don’t rent!

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    ✌️ Came across a wildly fun video of Kendrick Lamar’s 2025 Superbowl performance in American Sign Language from deaf interpreter Jeremy Lee Stone. It’s well worth the watch.

    However, it’s his breakdown of the interpretation and explanation for his choices that is easily the most creative thing you’ll see all week. It’s a beautiful blend of artistry, language, and expression. I don’t know sign language, but I feel this gave me an even deeper appreciation for the deaf community.

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    🎶 Update: Can’t sleep. Album too good. I was definitely trying to play it cool in my last post. Like I said, no skips; and there is a different genre of hip-hop for all the fans. 😮‍💨

    🎰🕺🪩🎤🎼

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    🎵 Just finished the livestream of Ca$ino by Baby Keem. Always dangerous to speak too soon, especially because I’m very biased, but gonna give broad thoughts. May talk about individual tracks after the album has time to breathe.

    Baby Keem is a style-bender, which is why I love him. The Andre 3K, Kanye, and dare I say, Tyler the Creator, influences are so evident. None as palpable as Kendrick though, and I imagine the most critcism will be that he is so similar to Kenny.

    I think it is a phenomenal album— more melodic and catchy than his last, but still energetic and absolutely hype. He gets into his singing bag for real. It is going to please hip-hop fans and causal listeners. Above all, there are NO skips.

    Lyrically it’s not the strongest (but still leagues ahead of the zeitgeist), something Keem himself acknowledges in a song called “im not a lyricist”. The West Coast joints with producers like Too Short are my favs, I think— but maybe that’s the 909er in me. I’m feeling this one STRONG 🕺

    Being 25 years old, I think he understands how to make a “meme”, or moments, that feel so perfect for online culture. There are a million of them sprinkled throughout the album. That being said, Keem also digs deep into some traumas and hardships. This stuff is real art.

    Lastly, I think PgLang knows they knocked it out of the park with the rollout. The livestream listening party was sick, like everything they do. I need them to expand their projects ASAP. With two great albums, Keem has successfully cemented himself as a player to be reckoned with. However, if he is going to really ascend and take over for Dot, I’m not sure that pgLang can afford to be as insular as they’ve been. I understand that they want to keep it small and family, if only to keep out the bad culture. But playing nice with others is part of the game and the album could’ve beneffited from some other great features.

    Conclusion: amazing album. Happy I pre-ordered the CD. As I predicted earlier this week, it is going to be on repeat for a long while.

    Oh, and Kendrick’s features are frickin’ fire, funny, and PLAYFUL. My GOAT for real.

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