March seemed to be the month of singles/videos, and great ones too. Feast thine ears on six of the best songs we’ve heard so far in 2018.
“One” by Poppy Native
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Sultry and soulful R&B artist Poppy Native released the much-anticipated single “One” earlier this month. She wrote it last summer, in just a handful of minutes. “I was so in love with the music that I wrote it under five minutes and just did it. No concept in mind. No anything,” she says. “I would say that “One” narrates what it feels like to grant trust to others and the process of what it feels like to willingly trust again. Especially after being placed in some sort of harm or experiencing trauma.” Poppy Native collabed with DJ and producer Black Dave to create the final result, which will also appear on the artist’s upcoming record release. As for a drop date, that, and the album title, is still up in the air — but go easy on her, fans. These things take time for many reasons, one of which is growth. “For a long time I thought I knew what I wanted but I’ve grown so much since then that it’s possible that I could go in a different direction, so we’ll see,” she says. One thing we do know is that in addition to Black Dave, Poppy Native has enlisted producer Khari Lucas on a few tracks. “He really got on me about writing and pushed me in a way that I haven’t been pushed before,” she says. “I really appreciate him for that.” As for the video, it was shot and directed by VXAURA, of Aura Studios and artist collective The Voydd.
“The Only One That Matters” by Jordan Igoe
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Jordan Igoe’s just released her first newbie in a while with “The Only One That Matters.” Written by Igoe, the song was recorded in the fall of 2016 by Paul Ebersold at his studio in Nashville. “I wrote the song on a Rhodes after being inspired by narcissists,” Igoe says. Listen closely and you can hear Charlie Thompson’s pedal steel along with electric guitar by Sadler Vaden of Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit and background vocals by Igoe’s sister, Jessica Daisi. “The Only One that Matters” is off Igoe’s self-titled EP due out this summer. The album was engineered and co-produced by Ebersold as well as Wolfgang Zimmerman.
“Killem with Success” by Scooda Sease
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North Charleston hip-hop artist Scooda Sease dropped a brand new single and video recently called “Killem with Success.” Off his debut album Undiscovered Underdog, the track has a message: “Get ready, because I am here,” Sease says. “I’m going to give the world a lot of me through music.” The beats for the song were produced locally by Mossberg Montana, while the video was created by Stanley Green. Catch Scooda Sease live on Sat. May 19 at 787 Bar & Grill in North Charleston.
Anfernee
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On March 2, Anfernee took to Twitter to present his new single in a pretty creative way, using about 70 tweets to tell the song’s backstory, beginning with, “Alright, so shawty was in the class THE WHOLE SEMESTER.” The artist takes readers on a romantic rollercoaster ride ending in heartbreak as the singer arrives to Terminal 2 somewhere in Germany to revisit his love interest en route back to the U.S. from Nice. And he waits. And waits. And waits. The last tweet reveals that though she never shows, he did have a productive time in the airport penning the words to what’s originally titled “Terminal 2,” and he drops a link to the song. That release shortly followed with a video, “a visual interpretation of the music…” entitled “Too Late.” It’s a clever release strategy and a real-life, edge-of-your-seat love saga (done with permission from “shawty”), and the result is, bonus, pleasing to the ear. Done by videographers/brothers Jaquan and Justin Leonard, the video is above, so check it.
Whitehall
Local rockers Whitehall debuted new single “Vacation Home” on Sat. March 25. Recorded and mixed at Rialto Row by Wolfgang Zimmerman, “Vacation Home” features it all: harmonies, guitar, sax, and hooks for days. The single was mastered by Taylor Hickman at B-Side Sessions and released via Real South Records, run by musician and The Fringe podcast co-host DJ Edwards. Hear it for yourself here or catch the guys fresh from their tour of the Southeast on Sat. March 31 at the Music Farm. Grab your tickets here.
“Front Porch” by Johnny Jr.
Dropped on March 25, his birthday, Johnny Jr.’s new single is a club-ready anthem for anyone who hails from a small Southern town. “The song ‘Front Porch’ stems from a conversation that my cousin and I had before writing the song,” Johnny Jr. says. “We were reminiscing on all the fun and adventures we had in our hometown.” But when his cousin remarked that his songs don’t mention Dublin enough, it stuck, thus inspiring him to create the track. Shot by Stan Green, the video brings the theme of the song home, to Georgia. “The song was created to inspire my people from Dublin, Ga. to always rep where you’re from and never be ashamed to do so.” Clad in a green Dublin letterman jacket, Johnny Jr. joyously, with a rhythm that does not stop, treats viewers to scenes from his roots, including his grandmother with him on a front porch. “I wanted to make sure I had my family, friends, and, most importantly, my Bigma involved in the video to bring the visual to life. Everything just went right with entire process of this song, and I’m so thankful for that.”
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