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Desiigner Spontaneously Dropped New Mixtape ‘New English’

By Jeremy Winslow
Published on: 05:16 PST, Jun 26, 2016

Desiigner literally came out of nowhere. Like Randy Orton, this Brooklyn MC RKO’d the music industry when his single, “Panda,” not only topped the charts, but also saw him signing with Kanye West’s G.O.O.D Music. This breakout hit, a track that had some confused whether it was an unreleased Future banger, was released in December of 2015. And since that time, it was re-released under G.O.O.D Music in February of this year; had an official music video drop in March of this year; was sampled on Yeezus’ “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 2” from his seventh studio record, The Life of Pablo; and has remained on the Billboard Hot 100 for several weeks. That’s quite an accomplishment, to receive that many accolades for a guy with just one single—and nothing else—under his belt. Well, it now seems that the last statement is defunct: Desiigner, unexpectedly, released his debut mixtape titled New English in the middle of the night. (Yes, “Panda” is still featured on the tape. It’s at the end.) And guess what: it’s exclusive to Tidal. (For now.)

It should come as no surprise that Desiigner’s project would be exclusive to Tidal. As we know, Tidal is owned by Jay Z, and Jay and Yeezy are best buds. Beyoncé released her sixth studio record, Lemonade, exclusively to Tidal. Kanye released his seventh studio record, The Life of Pablo, exclusively to Tidal. Even Rihanna released her eighth studio record, Anti, exclusively to Tidal. Although these exclusive periods didn’t last for too long, it isn’t shocking that Ye’s label mate is taking the same route. (Whether this was by choice or by contract is yet to be seen.) Whatever the case, this project from the “trap” artist is highly anticipated: the world—myself included—wanted to know whether Desiigner was a one-trick pony, or if he could hold the attention of the listener for the duration of an entire record.

Though “Panda” is the track that most people identify Desiigner by, he has been in the game for approximately five years. Full name Sidney Royel Selby III, 19, embarked on his music career at the age of 14 after being shot and dropping out of high school. At that ripe age of puberty and angst and hormones, the rapper began his career under a different pseudonym: Dezolo. Later, he started working on tracks under the name Designer Royel. After being convinced to drop his middle name and add the extra “i” by his sister, Desiigner released his first official debut track, “Zombie Walk,” in December of last year. No more than a week later, Desiigner put out “Panda” for commercial consumption via YouTube, SoundCloud, and iTunes. And, well, the rest is history.

Currently, the project only has two G.O.O.D. Music artist features: Pusha T and King Savage. (I know! Where’s Kanye West, CyHi the Prynce, Big Sean, Q-Tip?) And though it has a total of 13 tracks—14 if you want to count his famous (or infamous, however you want to look at it) single, “Panda”—it is a quick listen, with tons of trap flavor and some smooth orchestral interludes. Of course, if you thought “Panda” sounded like a Future b-side, then this entire mixtape is going to sound like a collection of unreleased Future tracks. Still, Desiigner has an aesthetic he is going for, and his live shows are crazy. (Or perhaps they are crazy because he goes wild on stage. Either way, he’s entertaining to watch.)

You can stream his new mixtape in its entirety on Tidal. (If you’re like me, you’ll wait until it either hits DatPiff—which it has—or iTunes.) You can also check out his XXL Freshman Freestyle above. (Because, if you didn’t know, Desiigner also made it to the ranks of the 2016 XXL Magazine’s Freshman Class.)

[Photo by Jess Baumung/Invision/AP]

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