We Speak Music

Ken-C drops “Rap Your Age” single

Published

1 year ago

January 29, 2025

St. Paul, MN emcee Ken-C is tired of the posturing in new single “Rap Your Age.” Amplified by Kidd Called Quest’s soulful production Ken-C is a grown man on a lyrical mission.

Listen to “Rap Your Age”: https://kiddcalledquest.bandcamp.com/album/rap-your-age-produced-by-kidd-called-quest

This is the first new collaboration between the two since the Kidd produced The Kendrick Cole EP (released in 2023). Kidd Called Quest, who is currently readying a new producer LP, Put Your Headphones On to feature a ton of potent emcees.

Ken-C has been releasing music over the past decade with a massive back catalog (available via Bandcamp). Kidd Called Quest in addition to his work as part of the duo Young Black And Gifted (with emcee Azariah) has been dropping soulful boom-bap work with such notables as Big Shug, Kool G. Rap, Pretty Bulli, Jae Hussle, Curtis Coke and many more.

More Info:

https://www.instagram.com/kentageous651

https://www.instagram.com/kiddcalledquest

We Speak Music

Mané’s ‘The Goddess in the Room’ Turns Self-Discovery Into Sonic World-Building

Published

5 hours ago

June 2, 2026

Philomena Marie

There is a remarkable sense of intention running through The Goddess in the Room, the latest project from Swiss artist Mané. Blending alternative electronic pop with ritualistic percussion and spiritual symbolism, the album presents itself as both a personal statement and a carefully constructed narrative. Across its nine tracks, Mané explores identity, healing, queerness, and empowerment with impressive clarity of vision.

The opening track, “The GODDESS in the Room,” functions as both invitation and thesis statement. It introduces listeners to a world where intuition and self-trust become guiding principles, while establishing the atmospheric production style that shapes much of the record. The song’s spacious arrangement creates room for reflection, a quality that becomes one of the album’s defining characteristics.

That introspection deepens on “perles de sang” and “sappho.” The former grapples with inherited pain and bodily experience, while the latter offers a moving celebration of queer identity. Throughout these songs, Mané avoids reducing complex themes to slogans, instead allowing emotional nuance to emerge through carefully crafted songwriting and evocative imagery.

Musically, the album reaches some of its most intriguing moments on “)O(” and “moonstones.” Both tracks highlight Mané’s growing confidence as a sonic architect, blending electronic textures with organic rhythmic elements inspired by shamanic practice. The resulting sound feels immersive and transportive without losing its emotional immediacy.

Meanwhile, “j’serai tjr là” and “chocolate con sangre” provide some of the record’s most vulnerable moments. Here, Mané strips back some of the conceptual grandeur to focus on connection, memory, and emotional endurance. These songs reveal an artist equally capable of intimate storytelling and ambitious world-building.

The penultimate track, “Witches,” injects a surge of collective energy into the album’s narrative. Drawing on themes of resistance and feminine power, it stands as one of the project’s most direct statements while retaining its atmospheric sophistication. It is both politically resonant and emotionally charged.

By the time “ALIGNED” closes the record, the journey feels complete. Not because all questions have been answered, but because the search itself has become meaningful. The Goddess in the Room succeeds through its commitment to authenticity and vision, establishing Mané as an artist unafraid to follow her own path, wherever it may lead.

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