Lexical & Lyrical

Lexical & Lyrical / The Archive

The Curations.

Mixes built around editorial arguments — a country's contemporary cognition, a region's interior hierarchy, a language's permutations across borders. Each one a small essay in the form of a playlist.

Since 2022 Format Curated mix Cadence Irregular In archive 3 of many

The orderings are not arbitrary. The juxtapositions are the point. Quality is quality.

In this archive

  1. № 01

    Italy, across the lines.

    Country Cognition · Nov 2022

  2. № 02

    Subregional, not national.

    Continental · Oct 2022

  3. № 03

    Anglophilia, across borders.

    Linguistic · Feb 2024

№ 01Country Cognition · Italy 06 November 2022

Italy, across the lines.

La musica è così a noi naturalmente congiunta, che, anche se vogliamo, non possiamo farne a meno.

Music is so naturally united with us that we cannot be free from it — even if we so desired.

— Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, De Institutione musica, ca. 507

A curated selection of Italy's contemporary expression, giving a glimpse into its cognitive processes: those ways through which society understands itself and its citizens make themselves understood. The mix is organized loosely as a progression from rap to alternative to dance, disregarding the minutiae distinguishing one category from the other so that, through consumption, the listener can discern, appreciate, and take a stance on what something is or is not.

No mind is paid to dismissal on grounds of vulgarity. Quality is quality regardless of perceived obscenity.

Enjoy.

  1. Il Ghost·Te Stesso ▸ Listen
  2. Luchè · Shiva·Purosangue ▸ Listen
  3. Paky · Shiva·Star ▸ Listen
  4. Capo Plaza·So Cosa Fare ▸ Listen
  5. Rhove·Jungle ▸ Listen
  6. Guè · Geolier·Blitz! ▸ Listen
  7. Capo Plaza·Capri Sun ▸ Listen
  8. Rhove·Shakerando ▸ Listen
  9. Neimma Ezza · Rondo·Lei ▸ Listen
  10. Ghali·BAYNA ▸ Listen
  11. SALMO·L'Alba ▸ Listen
  12. Frah Quintale·Quando finisce ▸ Listen
  13. Lous and The Yakuza · Sfera Ebbasta · Shablo·Je ne sais pas ▸ Listen
  14. Pyrex · Rkomi·Per Averti ▸ Listen
  15. Rose Villain · Tony Effe·Michelle Pfeiffer ▸ Listen
  16. Claudym·Sad Love ▸ Listen
  17. Dargen D'Amico · Rkomi·Maleducata ▸ Listen
  18. Tananai·SESSO OCCASIONALE ▸ Listen

№ 02Continental Coverage · South America 30 October 2022

Subregional, not national.

La música es revolucionaria como la literatura es revolucionaria, como la poesía es revolucionaria, si es buena. Toda la belleza es revolucionaria.

Music is revolutionary as literature is revolutionary, as poetry is revolutionary — if it is good. All beauty is revolutionary.

— Gabriel García Márquez, "García Márquez y la música," Revista Opina, 1984

A selection broken down by geographic subregion — Brazil considered its own region in this edition — spanning several themes, languages, and genres. Andean-infused Quechuan rap, atmospheric indie from the Southern Cone, and drill from Brazil, among others.

The throughline is not geography but the question of what gets to count as a national cultural product when an indigenous language sits at the center of pop.

Enjoy.

Northern Cone

Colombia

  1. Quantic·Amor en Francia Español▸ Listen
  2. Lao Ra · Don Patricio·Toxica Español▸ Listen
  3. Populous · Ela Minus·Azul Oro Español▸ Listen

Brazil

  1. MC Kevin O Chris · Drake·Ela É do Tipo Português · English▸ Listen
  2. L7NNON · Tion Wayne·Kim N Kanye Português · English▸ Listen

Central Andes

Peru

  1. Renata Flores·Rita Puma Justo Quechua · Español▸ Listen

Bolivia

  1. Ángel Blanchard · Vaccix·EFÍMERO Español▸ Listen

Southern Cone

Argentina / Uruguay

  1. Valdes · CA7RIEL·Cuando Se Apague Todo Español▸ Listen
  2. Duki·GIVENCHY Español▸ Listen
  3. MESITA · REI·JET LAG Español▸ Listen

№ 03Linguistic · English 13 February 2024

Anglophilia, across borders.

The English language is nobody's special property. It is the property of the imagination: it is the property of the language itself.

— Derek Walcott, The Paris Review

This mix works with the English language and the Anglophone world, weaving together casual and non-casual listening. Through a curated selection of songs broken down by country, two things are offered: how artists instrumentalize English to create genre-bending and circle-specific listening, mainstream music with popular appeal, and political declarations that speak to collective struggle through individuals; and the intersections and divergences in artistry and stories across countries which are tied together through a common linguistic palette.

Together, the selections represent the language's permutations across societies, examples of complex relationships and identities within societies, and its fundamental use as a tool of self-expression.

Enjoy.

United Kingdom

  1. Ghetts·The King's Speech 2023 ▸ Listen
  2. Little Simz · Obongjayar·Point and Kill ▸ Listen
  3. Bakar·Alive! ▸ Listen

Nigeria

  1. Alpha Ojini · OdumoduBlvck·Vigilante Bop ▸ Listen
  2. M.I Abaga·The Guy ▸ Listen
  3. Omah Lay·Holy Ghost ▸ Listen

Australia

  1. Barkaa·Division ▸ Listen
  2. Genesis Owusu·Stay Blessed ▸ Listen
  3. Sollyy · Zion Garcia·APPLY THE PRESSURE ▸ Listen

United States

  1. Killer Mike·YES! ▸ Listen
  2. Rome Streetz · Joey Bada$$·Fire At Ya Idle Mind ▸ Listen
  3. Quelle Chris · Chris Keys·Sudden Death ▸ Listen

More forthcoming

Three of many.

The archive runs to several dozen entries; this page seeds it with three. Additional curations — country deep dives, language permutations, regional taxonomies — are being migrated and edited. Suggestions for what to surface next are welcome.