Lana del Ray may have thrown major shade at her music compadres on Instagram recently when she wrote: “Now that Doja Cat, Ariana, Camila, Cardi B, Kehlani and Nicki Minaj and Beyonce had number ones with songs about being sexy, wearing no clothes, f***ing, cheating, etc — can I please go back to singing about being embodied, feeling beautiful by being in love even if the relationship is not perfect, or dancing for money – or whatever I want – without being crucified or saying that I’m glamorizing abuse??????” But when musicians get along and create music together, magic happens. Cue Bowie and Jagger, BTS and Halsey, Lil Nas X & Billy Ray and Gaga and Grande. That’s the kind of synergy that our curation for the June 2020 Spotify playlist wants to embody.
The tracks were specially selected to celebrate The Collaboration Issue which has dropped at selected stores and on digital newsstands and saw us collaborating with artist Howie Kim for our first illustrated cover. Featured in the 20-track selection are tunes boasting guest appearances or upbeat remixes. These include Teyana Taylor’s We Got Love which had a spoken word segment by rapper Lauryn Hill and the remix of Thailand-born New Zealand-raised singer Phum Viphurit’s Hello, Anxiety by DJ and track maker STUTS. With their feel-good vibes, these musicians are the kind company we all can make do with during this time of isolation. Hit play here.
