PICKS ALBUM

Kaytramin

Kaytraminé

(CLBN LLC / Kaytranada Music)

Release Date: May 19, 2023

Written by Brandon Roos

“Kay sent me free beats back in 2015 / Now it’s 2023 and we got racks in our jeans.” This couplet brag midway through “UGH UGH” captures the spirit and context of producer Kaytranada and rapper Aminé’s new collaborative album, Kaytraminé, well. It’s a carefree, 11-track set ready to invade summer playlists that shouts out the pair’s collective success but often dwells a bit too much on carnal pleasure.

Opener “Who He Iz” and single “4EVA” pair Kaytranada’s signature bounce with double-time flow, Aminé effortlessly confident. “STFU3” shows Kay is still completely comfortable delivering a new age hip-hop knock behind the boards, while “Eye” features an impressionistic verse from Snoop Dogg wishing to push through relationship struggles. His bars about reconciliation appear in stark contrast to Aminé’s repeated boasts of sexual prowess, no matter the female. While the subject matter is rapper cliché at this point, he revisits the topic enough across the project’s 33-minute runtime to sound one-dimensional lyrically at times.

Despite this gripe, it’s clear the duo has solid chemistry. Based on Aminé’s receipts on social media, they’ve been fans of one another for years. It’s evident Aminé has listened to Kay long enough to confidently ride his beats of varying tempo, whether it’s half-time trap, soulful sampled hip-hop, percussive afrobeat or midtempo steppers.

“Can’t be your true self while seeking validation / Gotta learn to let go, that’s infatuation” Aminé repeats on standout “K&A.” It’s a nice slow-burn closer, with Aminé spitting until the volume slowly fades on him, proclaiming “Y’all bought the same fit but couldn’t buy the steeze.”

Effortless cool is the game plan from start to finish. It’s edgy enough to not feel sanitized and never jarring enough to warrant repeat skips. Ultimately, it’s a fun project made by eager collaborators that never rises high enough to be considered more than good.

Favorite Track: “K&A”

KAYTRAMINE.COM

Social media: kaytramine

Chow Mane

AZN Dragon: Cake Long

(Five Spice Entertainment)

Release Date: May 19, 2023

Written by Esther Young

In 2017, an unorthodox track rose up on SoundCloud’s algorithm. It blasted through frat party playlists, racked up reblogs on Tumblr, and received 400k views for its music video on YouTube. That song “ABG” incidentally launched a music career for San Jose’s own–Chow Mane, or Charles to his friends. He just had to swerve around some boxes.

As a child of divorced, low-income immigrants, his representation of “third culture” experiences is prevalent. Across international hip-hop markets, he stands out with his ability to rhyme Mandarin, Cantonese, and English together into well-timed jokes. Yet his prolific storytelling also resonates with anyone grieving a breakup or facing off their own ego. Mining through the material that is his own life, Chow Mane has churned out a robust discography that bolsters him from folding into an “Asian Lil Dicky.”

If versatility is Chow’s superpower, his latest full-length album, AZN Dragon: Cake Long, declares the courage to use it. With a cover inspired by American Dragon: Jake Long, the early ’00s Disney show about a Chinese-American teen who’s half-dragon, the project pairs new tracks with loose singles. Familiar collaborations like “San Jo to K-Town” and “BEYBLADE” shine light into a world that is distinctly West Coast Asian-American, while “Bing Ji Ling” celebrates the rewards of the hustle—served with classic Chow Mane humor that leans into cheeky translations.

As on most of his albums, he switches sounds often. “Last Dance” floats a simple club beat over spacious synths, but its driving bpm complements halting melodic line breaks in the chorus. This new song is preceded by its sonic opposite, “ABG 2: The Revenge of Kevin Nguyen,” a rainbow-bubblegum-pop take on future-bass EDM that playfully recontextualizes the archetype in its 2020s era. Chow closes out with “Shanghai Summers.” an intimate portrait of his mother’s journey.

A listen through Chow’s latest project reminds you he doesn’t fit a mold, and neither do you.

Favorite Track: “Shanghai Summers”

Instagram: chowmane

Jonah Yano

Portrait of a Dog (Innovative Leisure)

Release Date: January 27, 2023

Written by Taran Escobar-Ausman

Jonah Yano’s strained and vulnerable jazz croon inhabits the quiet forgotten corners of a dusty bedroom. On his sophomore effort, Portrait of a Dog, this almost whispered vocal approach seamlessly glides over meandering yet controlled arrangements played by long-time collaborators BADBADNOTGOOD. Yano leans heavier on the jazz sounds of his backing band and leaves out the soul and electronic elements found in past recordings. His introspective and sentimental lyricism stays intact, however, painting a heartfelt meditation on family and loss.

Portrait’s lyrical themes were born out of Yano’s effort to preserve the past in order to move forward. As his grandparents started to lose their memories and he dealt with a heavy breakup, Yano traveled to British Columbia to collect family stories. Recorded conversations from these visits are sprinkled throughout the proceedings, adding to the reflective meditation on reconciling the past to find identity. The title track circles around familial grief as Yano sings, “Thе tide doesn’t change thе sea / But it sure sinks its teeth in me / If I’m holding on to you.”

Yano’s poetic and graceful delivery holds the listener in a suspended state as the genre-fluid arrangements manifest lo-fi, folk-infused chamber jazz improvisations, perfectly extending the breadth and emotional currency of Yano’s lyrical themes. The mesmerizing Vashti Bunyan cover, “glow worms,” highlights the psychedelic guitar workings of Leland Whitty as the track builds over a simple, repetitive bassline. On “haven’t haven’t,” acoustic guitar highlights the quiet passages giving in to a dream-like saxophone solo.

Portrait of a Dog is a warm and inviting jazz-vocal album beautifully recorded as an introspective journey scored by ethereal and bittersweet lullabies. While some fans may find the heavier jazz leanings subdued and vanilla for Yano, the album successfully expands his art form into a more deliberately executed space, while retaining the experimental and dream-like ambiance that makes his songwriting so special.

Favorite Track: “in sun, out sun”

JONAHYANO.BANDCAMP.COM

Instagram: jonah____________

billy woods and Kenny Segal Maps (Backwoodz)

Release Date: May 23, 2023

Written by David Ma

His words resonate like the silence following a dud grenade. The command of his voice is currently unmatched in the rap sphere and the imagery in his sentences is as writerly as they come. His gifts have recently been venerated by the likes of Rolling Stone and NPR, but the span of his career is far greater. Billy woods might be the best writer working in rap music at this very moment.

Maps is billy woods’ second collaboration with Kenny Segal, an LA producer who’s lurked in the modern underground for the last few years. Their 2019 release, Hiding Places, is a masterwork of words coupled with appropriate moods and imagery. Since then, woods has been on a productive spree that’s garnered him praise, but even then, it feels as if listeners are still playing catch-up. Maps was able to chart Billboard, a celebratory moment for Backwoods, an independent record label also by woods. On “Blue Smoke,” woods remains skeptical of the industry he’s made inroads on. “Over time, symbols eclipse the things they symbolize. / I sympathize, but read the contract before you sign,” he says.

In the last five or so years, woods has been able to attract a wide number of the current rap coterie, both famed and under-heralded, such as Alchemist, who’s the most consequential producer of the last decade. Alchemist produced woods’ album as Armand Hammer, a duo of him and artist Euclid, another art rapper off woods’ aforementioned label, Backwoods. The label has been able to sell out merch and vinyl presses in mere minutes online, validation for such a longtime stalwart of a scene that seemed washed away with the volleying disinterest and changing tides of rap in the last decade. With Maps, however, woods has proven himself to be an ever-relevant and formidable presence in the indie-rap realm.

Maps is 17 tracks deep and most of the tracks aim to be profound and wordy, envelope pushing in the most natural sense minus the pretention. Guests include the legendary Aesop Rock, Quelle Chris, and the overtly boisterous Danny Brown. Woods closes out the final track on the album with “As the Crow Flies,” a song about his son and wife, by lamenting: “Tear-streaked apologies, balled fists, it’s a trip. / That this is something we did. / I kiss her on the lips. / I watch him grow, wondering how long I got to live.”

Favorite Track: “Soft Landing”

BACKWOODZSTUDIOZ.COM

Instagram: backwoodzstudioz

Contributors

The production of CONTENT MAGAZINE would not be possible without the talented writers, editors, graphic artists, and photographers who contribute to each issue. We thank you and are proud to provide a publication to display your work. We are also thankful for the sponsors and readers who have supported this magazine through sponsorships and memberships.

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Contact us at: Editor@content-magazine.com

Danae is a writer, editor, and theater practitioner invested in creative storytelling and intentional community. She has a fondness for niche, macabre, and experimental art.

Instagram: danaexgloria

Ethan is a freelance journalist based in San Jose. Ethan covers topics ranging from culture to social justice and their intersection with surveillance and policing in the 408.

Twitter: egd_io

TOVAH

Tovah is an illustrator, printmaker, and art preparator based in the South Bay. As both a creator and conduit for other’s artistic visions, they enjoy crafting stories that reflect the small, intimate niches of life.

Instagram: three.legged.cat

Justin is a San Francisco-based poet and writer whose work surveys the beauty and cumber of Persian American existence. His second poetry collection, ‘Birdsong From Nowruz,’ is available on Amazon.

Instagram: mr.babaaganoush

KATHERINE

Katherine is a freelance copyeditor and practitioner of the healing arts. She offers people pockets of rest and rehabilitation through Yin yoga, Restorative yoga and Yoga Nidra. She finds much freedom and play within the world of words and sound ~ check out her meditations on Insight Timer.

Instagram: katherinehypes

INSIDE COVER ARTWORK

Persian Blue, marbling pattern by Pantea Karimi, 2022.

Instagram: karimipantea

MIGUEL

Miguel is a storyteller, father, husband, brother, son, and man of the community who has a passion for capturing sacred moments, freezing time so that it can be relived by anyone who chooses.

Instagram: _MiguelOzuna

TROY

Troy is a writer and creator with a unique voice and passion for storytelling. Raised in the Southside of San Jose, Troy has worked in music, sports, and fashion for almost a decade now and wants to promote more originality and creativity in art.

Instagram: trizzyebaby

The City of San José Arts Commission and Office of Cultural Affairs are pleased to announce the recipients for the 2023 Cornerstone of the Arts Award!

October 19, 2023

5:30pm – 8:00pm

Hammer Theatre Center

RVSP for the event at:

Cornerstone of the Arts Honoree:

Creative Impact Honoree:

Community-Based Organization/ Business Support for the Arts Award Honoree:

Congratulations to the recipients for this year’s Cornerstone of the Arts!