Friday Free For All: Tink + Major Lazer covering Frank Ocean

Tink – Winter’s Diary 3

Even though she’s only 20 years old, it feels like Chicago rapper/songstress Tink has been on the cusp of blowing up for ages now.

Equally deft at rocking an R&B slow jam as she is at spitting bars, Tink caught the ear of Timbaland – the producer behind the groundbreaking work of Ginuwine, Aaliyah, Missy Elliott, and later, Justin Timberlake (I’m leaving out tons of his credits, but just know this: the dude basically ran the table for a solid 10 year period from 1996-2006).

Timbaland signed Tink to his Mosley Music imprint late last year and later declared that Aaliyahcame to him in a dream and told him that Tink was “The One.” High praise from Aaliyah’s ghost, huh?

Tink’s proper debut album is supposed to drop sometime this year, and last month she released her Winter’s Diary 3 mixtape. Backed by production from Timbaland and up-and-comers, Cookin’ Soul, among others, Tink’s impeccable ability for crafting lyrical narratives shines throughout.

The last track on the mixtape is one of my favorite songs of 2015 (no exaggeration).

[youtube width=”500″ height=”344″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLWXexZrlic[/youtube]

“The Afterparty” has a nice freestyle/disco throwback feel to it, and a melody that’s catchy as fuck.

In a perfect world, “The Afterparty” is the Summer Jam of 2015.

Get Winter’s Diary 3 for free by clicking here.

Major Lazer – “Lost” (ft. MØ) [Frank Ocean cover]

Despite Frank Ocean’s dropping hints pointing to a July release for the follow-up to his Channel Orange album, it’s now nearly September with no new album (or even single) in sight.

A lot of fans expecting to see Frank Ocean debut a bunch of new material at FYF Fest last weekend were left disappointed when Ocean dropped out less than 48 hours before the festival’s opening day. Luckily, FYF organizers more than made up for Ocean’s cancellation by booking the greatest musical artist of this generation (that’s right I said it — #TeamYeezy!!!!).

For now, if you’re on the hunt for new Frank Ocean material, you’ll just have to make do with this excellent cover of “Lost” by Major Lazer and MØ.

Major Lazer boys and the Danish singer (the first being Top 3 Song Of The Summer contender “Lean On“; I believe I had that) this summer.

As you might expect, Major Lazer bring a summer-ready, reggae-tinged twist to Ocean’s soulful original. The result is equally impressive on it’s own as a single and as a creative tribute to the Frank Ocean version. THIS IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

There’s a few hoops you need to jump through to get it, but Major Lazer’s cover of “Lost” is available as a free download HERE. It’s worth it. Go get it.