This week is literally PACKED full of new, with the screening of Frank Ocean’s new album Project Orange, and new videos from favorites Mac Miller, Rick Ross, and Stalley alike. So wipe your eyes and plug in your earphones people – it’s Music Monday.

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First up we have Stalley, who is honestly one of my favorite new artists right now. What can I say, the Ohio native who’s part of Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group just seems to stand out from the crowd; and I’m not talking about the Castro-beard that dude insists on rocking. It’s just his style and lyrical creativity that sets him apart to me: not to to mention that he tells a story in nearly every flow. With his debut mixtape Lincoln Way Nights dropping last summer, he has been making big moves ever since; a cosign to MMG being one of them.  So here we have a video for the song “Live At Blossom” from his latest mixtape, Savage Journey To The American Dream. You may remember his video for “Go On” from earlier this year, and this one compares in its dopeness. Peep the Swag and let us know what you think.

So nice, we gotta feature twice. That’s right, Stalley gets TWO features on this week’s Music Monday, because I’m feeling him that much right now. There’s just something about creative individuals that resonates really well with me. This track here is called City of 30,000 wolves, and if the title alone doesn’t make you want to listen, just wait til you hear the bars he spits at about 1:05. I mean, this guy is nice. Seriously, DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS ARTIST.

Next up we have Stalley’s mentor, Rick Rozay, and fellow MMG member Meek Mill in their newest song “So Sophisticated.” This joint is fire, as Ross somehow manages to switch his flow with every new beat. This is easily the coolest music video he’s ever done too. There is clearly a mob aesthetic going on here: complete with the round-table scenes, expensive cars and jewelry, and Rick Ross’ bra-less breasts for reaffirmation. But this is all so well done that you can’t help but watch. (This one really makes up for that “Work” music video in my opinion.)

Now we have what I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for, Channel Orange. This is Frank Ocean’s highly-anticipated debut album, which is tentatively due out on July 17th of this year. Ocean previewed the album in New York last week; playing through the album’s seventeen tracks with no pauses or introductions. The Swag Section wasn’t lucky enough to be in on this hearing, but the Internet has been graced with one track from the album; called “Pyramids”, which in our opinion, is 9 minutes of solid gold. In it, Ocean describes a vixen (cleverly named “Cleopatra”), who is instrumental in running the world – whether it’s her world or yours. You’ll have to hear it to understand it, which is why we have featured it below. Check out, “Pyramids” from Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange.

Last up, we have an American rock band called Chester French: who have a very, very,  interesting history. First up, they (were) Harvard students. Second, when they graduated, their band was in a bidding war between Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. Pharrell won. I can’t make this shit up. Anyways,I’ve been giving them a listen, and they’re actually not half bad. Being the fan of progressive rock that I am, Ican appreciate a band like this, but even more, I love the integration that these guys have into hip-hop. You might remember the lead singer’s vocals from the song “Play Your Part” off of Maybach Music’s first album, and now they have teamed up with even more rap artists for the duo’s second album, Music 4 TNGRS. The song we have featured here is called “Next Big Thing” and features Pusha-T and labelmaster Pharrell Williams. The song is actually pretty fire – who knew rap went so well with prog? Either way, less reading, more listening. Check out “Next Big Thing” below:

Hopefully more Channel Orange on next week’s Music Mondays. Stay tuned…