Slime Season, Flu Season, Season of the WitchBass god Stephen Bruner, known the world over as Brainfeeder mainstay Thundercat, who has been playing his thunderbroom all over lately. I know I wrote about how much I loved his "Them Changes" already, but the video for that jam—in case you missed it—is some high-pro melancholy that's perfect for your October gloom-trip. I love in just one track off of To Pimp a Butterfly, Thundercat, Flying Lotus, Kamasi Washington, and George Clinton brought the vanguard of rap, jazz, beat, and funk to the same table—or just illustrated how they're all just points in the continuum of black music. (Attempting to define these things for those people whom it was not created to free and nourish is just not anything I'm interested in, so funk dat.)
Speaking of the power of collaboration, sleep not upon the Adult Swim Singles 2015 compilation up for free download. Not only will you find the new Shabazz Palaces loosie "The Mystery of Lonnie The Don"—you'll get "The Lavishments of Light Looking," the first and hopefully not last single from WOKE, the certifiable supergroup of Flying Lotus, Thundercat, and Shabazz Palaces—with no less than George Clinton guesting on the track. No big deal. The possibilities inherent in those guys being in the same creative zone are endless—endless as the horrors of our sick society's quickening meltdown. (Raise your hand if you need a mental-health month.) Any ol' ways, go see 'Cat when he lands here—and for the love of god, don't let him go back to Lost Lake.
To a lot of trad rap heads—who historically keep the finger they would otherwise keep on the pulse of what's going on right up their fuckin' asses—most ATL rap is identical gibberish with triplet hi-hats (and being only half-right is not being right, IMO), and rap's keynote weirdo Young Thug is pretty much the Antichrist, given his fuckless gender-flouting gangster persona. His latest GQ interview, where he explains how he's been wearing women's clothes since his teens, should only reinforce that. Go see him unhinge his snake jaws and drool pure Mars water onstage at Showbox Sodo on Thursday, October 8. Also appearing: Tory Lanez, DJ Famous, and Seattle/Tacoma rapper Huey P, who's currently readying his 206253 release.
That same night, though, is the album release party and tribute show to the dearly departed Jesse "Byrdie" Watson up at Nectar—featuring a roster of heads who collaborated with or just had love for the man. Grynch, Clockwork (reunited for their first show in, like, years), Certified Outfit, Jazz Digga, Jewels Hunter, DJ Roc Phizzle, and the night's host D-Sane, who assembled and produced the posthumous Byrd's Eye View album, will all be honoring the memory of one of the 206's most beloved figures.
Meanwhile, if you're looking for some new Seattle voices to excite your ear holes—you should be checking the smooth tunes of one Nyles Davis, a rapper/producer (check his SoundCloud page) who's been water-bending his true-to-here wave into something coherent and cool. Be safe out there, kids. 
