On July 10th of this year, HIGHGRND/Club Eskimo artist Millic released what might be THE standout album of the year. The album features Millic’s stellar production plus some significant international talent. Never has the general label of ‘K-Pop’ being slapped on an album been more upsetting. This album contains what I’d consider to be a compilation of jazz, hip hop, neo-soul and R&B elements. In an interview about the album, Millic describes the concept behind Vida like this:

“Firstly, happiness is the concept. As I’ve said before, it’s an album that contains the happiness that began in that place. The message I want to give to the listeners is just ‘be happy’. But the thoughts towards that or the interpretation, I hope that they’ll think about that individually. Whether it’s a small or big happiness, it’s a message that I hope they’ll just feel the happiness.”

Chances are, if you’re reading this, you immediately recognized Club Eskimo, Fanxy Child, or Han on the track list. Here are some quick facts about the international artists featured on the album, accompanied by the ‘Making Films’ for each track (courtesy of HIGHGRND). Make sure to check out the other ‘Making Films’ on the HIGHGRND Youtube channel.

Ta-ku (aka Regan Mathews) is an Australian artist and producer who’s music falls into the hip hop/R&B genre. His debut EP Songs To Break Up To was released in 2013.

I had a hard time finding much about Julius online (fill me in in the comments!) but the dude’s voice on the track ‘Something’ is gold.

Rejjie Snow is a 24 year old hip hop artist hailing from Ireland. He is also a producer. He released his debut EP, Rejovich, in 2013.

Hip hop artist June Marieezy, who goes by the stage name of (((O))), is from Dallas, Texas.

‘Igloo (feat. Clubeskimo)‘ is a definite highlight on this album for me. My first time listening to Vida, I immediately listened to ‘Igloo’ again right after it ended. 

‘Vidahollywood #250’ was previously released and is the only instrumental track on the album. I presume it is named after the room of the place Millic stayed in during his time in L.A. (he mentions this in the interview linked above).

 If I have to pick favorites, ‘Something (feat. Julius)‘ and ‘Can’t Wait (feat. (((O))))‘ are two of my favorite songs on the album. 

Definitely check out the music video for ‘Paradise (feat. Fanxy Child)’. DEAN’s vocals are butter. Zico and Penomeco have great verses too.

I didn’t highlight every song on the album but I recommend listening to Vida all the way through! Which songs from Vida did you love? I’m really hoping this album gets a lot of attention. Thanks for reading!