Holiday Gifts For The Dance Floor
By Jimmy Newsum
So you’re planning your annual holiday bash and you’re still not sure what new tunes to cue up for the big celebration? Rest assured, our friends at Nexus Dance Radio have ya covered with the season’s hottest beats. In fact, we’re worried their list of party tunes may be so hot it might cause your floor to spontaneously combust in an explosion of pure joy and body-moving ecstasy. That’s how good we think it is.
“¡Spicy!”
Cazwell
Every so often, a song comes along that is so innovative; it not only gets clubbers to shake their bootays, it changes the shape of the musical landscape. That would describe Cazwell’s latest, an ode to the Latino culo. Pitbull meets MIA in this explosive new party jam, laden with heavy percussion and horns and sharp, lyrical rhymes that are as clever and dirty as you’d expect from Cazwell. Inspired by a guy he was seeing who was passionate in bed but also quick to snap, ¡Spicy! is couched with a hook that is tailor-made for the club, performed by side chick Cherie Lily. So go ahead: shake what you got, turn that crown upside down and relish every deliciously spicy move you make on the dance floor this holiday.
“Keyboard Courage”
Kelly Mantle
The latest pop track from this fan favorite of RuPaul’s Drag Race is an anthem for all who have fallen victims to cyberbullies and internet trolls. Produced by Steven Phillips, who also produced Mantle’s Satellite Baby album, the song is undeniably catchy. It bathes in a cross-appeal bolstered by Kelly Mantle’s surprisingly impressive vocals and the track’s ’80s pop-synth muscle. Mantle wrote the song after meeting young fans being victimized by kids in school. In the song, she recounts some of the vicious tweets she has received, including one that called her so ugly, she looked like a burn victim going through chemo. Well, who’s laughing now, troll bitches?
“Cali”
Ralphi Rosario vs. Ashley J
Sometimes, Ashley feels like throwing her hands up in the air, as she says in the first line of this dance anthem. And the minute that Ralphi Rosario’s beat kicks in, you will feel exactly the same way. That’s the power of brilliant club music. Ralphi’s infectious vibe – the synthy swooshes and digitized loops – are front and center in Ashley J’s frenzied, high-energy romp about how they do things in California. Let’s just break it down: this track is smoking! It is hard pounding, sweat dripping, non-stop party madness; exactly what dance floors need to keep temps up through winter. Ralphi and Ashley deserve major props for presenting a slickly produced blockbuster that is truly big room dance music at its finest.
“Lithium”
Athena
With the passion, aggression, ennui and insouciance that can only come with being implausibly young, the explosive new track from this 17-year old dynamo is an artful blend of pop music with exciting dance elements. It’s about going out at 3 a.m. and partying ‘til the sun comes up; a bit ironic coming from a girl who likely hasn’t stepped foot inside a real dance club yet. It also might strike some as odd that the song is about a drug you can’t actually get high from. Lithium’s a mood stabilizer that turns people into zombies. But that’s not the point! The point is lithium is something some people need, just like letting loose in the club is a drug some other people need. Also, Razor & Guido and Dan De Leon provide remixes that are engineered to make the most inhibited listener lose their mind.
“Werk Out”
Andre Xcellence
You’re not simply encouraged to dance in this new jam, you’re ordered to hit the floor and werk up a sweat. Given the song’s thumping beats that are bouncier than flubber and its ridiculous collision of rapid-fire rap verses and super poppy, husky-voiced lyricism, it’s pretty much impossible to ignore the request. There are several reasons Andre Xcellence has managed to soar above all the other gay rappers that have hit the scene in the last year. For one, his style is cutting edge. Two: he’s not afraid of gimmicks (did you catch his collaboration with Manila Luzon on Ice Cream?). But most importantly, while he may play with his lyrics, he doesn’t his production is serious business. The catchy riffs and heavy bass on “Werk Out” might very well classify Andre’s latest as his greatest.
