REC Philly’s Dave Silver gives love to (mostly) Philly artists for Ears We Trust

Dave Silver co-founded REC Philly his longtime friend Will Toms back in 2014. His work was integral is helping us here at WXPN and our friends at WRTI launch Black Music Philly, which allocated more than half a million dollars to Black creators in Philadelphia.

He and Toms were also named to Forbes list of 2021’s 30 Under 30 for social impact from their work with REC Philly.

As Silver enters a new era of his career, we hit him up to see what he’s been listening to for this week’s Ears We Trust. Check out what he chose and what he had to say about his picks below.

“I feel honored to get to share what I’ve been listening to lately,” he said. “Music is such a big factor in my life, and my career, and I’ve really never really had a chance to share — so this is fun. I like to think the WXPN family is already familiar with some of the local names I am going to include, but I figured there is nothing wrong with doubling down on how awesome these artists are and how much I’ve been enjoying their music.”

Tierra Whack — Whacks Museum

Tierra’s latest rap project was released June 19. She started with a single that accompanied some incredible visuals, and then the full project dropped. There was zero surprise when it was easy to listen straight through and be truly entertained by Tierra’s wordplay, melodies, and my favorite part — her consistent name drops of some of my favorite Philadelphia people. She always shows love to Philly, whether it’s the people creating the art or it’s representing them within the music. My favorite name drops are Jane from Mural Arts, Gianni Lee, and Wallo267. My favorite songs from the album, which is not easy to do, would be “TOTEM,” “GODDA,” and “SIREN,” but honestly all the tracks are special on this project. Major shoutout to Tierra and her whole team for this release.

Noah Kahan — The Great Divide

Noah has grown in stardom very quickly over the past five to six years. His last album Stick Season is what won me over, and I have been a massive fan since. In late April, Noah released his newest album The Great Divide and it’s a 20-plus song album, without any bad songs on the album. Each song brings out a beautiful emotion, and Noah’s songwriting is top in the industry — and his rise in popularity is very well deserved. I had the opportunity to see him perform in Philly at Citizens Bank, and it was one of my favorite concerts ever. My top songs from the album, which is very tough to decide, are “Staying Still,” “Willing and Able,” and “Orbiter.”

Zinadelphia’s — “Call Up Nancy”

I don’t know Zinadelphia‘s full catalog, but I have really caught on to her song Call Up Nancy, probably because of the great marketing and videos she creates online. She is growing a great fanbase and I really love her sound. I’m diving more into her new album that was released in April, The Boutique. I am personally a huge fan of Olivia Dean, and Zinadelphiphia gives that similar vibe, yet completely unique in her own sound.

Mt. Joy’s — “Is Joy Easy”

This song, released late March, caught me at the right time. I’ve been in a big life/career transition, making sure to prioritize joy and love in life — and I feel like this song just spoke to that very nicely. It puts me in a great mood, as does most of Mt. Joy’s music honestly. They have consistently been one of my favorite bands, local or not, for several years now — I love how Matt Quinn and the band have consistently been able to release this quality of music.