Just a quick reminder that there's a Spotify playlist at the bottom with 65 new singles from last month, including all of the ones mentioned in this post!
Little Simz - “Introvert”
Wow, this is one of the most cinematic tracks of 2021, hands down. The track starts with a live orchestra and choir sounding like they’re ready to go to war. It eventually comes back down into a fantastic drum beat, but the little elements of the orchestra are still there to help make the production feel so detailed. There’s also a nice little hook from Cleo Sol, who is the singer of the anonymous group SAULT that had some of my favorite projects last year. If you know Little Simz, you know I don’t have to say that the bars on here are amazing. Her flow, pen, ability to touch on social topics, and everything else she does with a mic is special. She’s the textbook definition of what a hip hop artist should be, and this track shows how she’s elevated her sound into something larger than that label. The only negative I will throw at this is that her album doesn’t come out until September 2021. You can’t drop something this cinematic, amazing, and grand and make us wait for 4.5 months to drop the full album. But at least now I have something to look forward to helping me through my first week at a four year university.
Listen: Spotify
Lil Nas X - “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”
The video has overshadowed the song by a lot, whether it was the religious response to Lil Nas X giving Satan a lapdance in the video, or the extreme similarity to FKA twigs’s "Cellophane" masterpiece (she recently cosigned the video and confirmed that he reached out about the similarities). The song itself has been teased for almost a full year, and it finally came out at the end of March. “Montero” is named after Lil Nas X’s given name and is a traditional relationship track. The hook is easily the best part and actually shows that Lil Nas X has a bit more talent than I originally thought. The actual construction of the song is a bit scant, minimalistic, and follows the new pop formula of having almost comatose verses so the chorus can come in and pop. So after the song finally came out, the chorus is still easily the best part and hopefully Lil Nas X can put a bit more work into the full song creation next time. But for now, it’s still a good track that fans will love.
Listen: Spotify
Freddie Gibbs - “Big Boss Rabbit”
“Big Boss Rabbit” is just another example that rapping is way too easy for Freddie Gibbs. The production is a bit lackluster for a Freddie song though. The drums hit where they’re supposed to, the hi-hat sputtering is there, and the subtle melody in the background makes it just good enough for a decent beat. But as usual, Freddie takes this beat and makes it way better than it had any right to be. He flows in double time for most of the track and makes it seem effortless. The subtle flow switches during the verses too are just as insane. I do kind of hope that this song isn’t on his new album because from what he’s said about it, it’s going to be one of his best yet. He said there will be production from Pharrell, Madlib, Hit-Boy, The Alchemist, Mike Will Made-It, and more on his upcoming album, SSS. I feel like this track would stand out as a sore thumb among producers like those. But as a stand alone single, yet another Freddie Gibbs banger.
Listen: Spotify
Junior Varsity - “Cold Blood”
Junior Varsity has apparently both been around for years and only just started. “Cold Blood” is their first ever single, but they have been performing shows across the world without any music out alongside artists like Jean Dawson. Even to promote this single, they vandalized the Hollywood sign by putting a cow over the first “o”. With all that promotion and hype around them, I was worried that it was all an act to make up for some ok music. Luckily, the song is actually really great. It does give off a Jean Dawson vibe, especially with the alternative/indie rock sound that he does, but Junior Varsity don’t sound like a copycat. Don’t get me wrong, these guys aren’t creating a whole new subgenre in this style, but it’s still a really entertaining track. Hopefully they follow this up with a full project sooner rather than later so they can actually blow up.
Listen: Spotify
Sonder - “Nobody But You” (Feat. Jorja Smith)
Sonder is a collaborative group with Brent Faiyaz providing vocals and production from Dpat and Atu. I’ve always been a bit more critical of Brent’s work than most people, but Sonder has connected with me more, especially with their 2017 EP Into. They kind of released a new EP called Too Late To Die Young a couple days before this single, but it’s only available in a continuous Youtube video. This single was officially released just after that EP and it’s a beautiful, acoustic duet. They don’t put any percussion on this track, which allows them to go hard with the vocal layering. There are points where I wish there was percussion, but all the vocal layers in the chorus are easily one of the most beautiful moments in 2021. Jorja’s slightly more powerful and deep voice pairs nicely with Brent’s airy vocals. Hopefully the Sonder EP gets an official release and maybe even some more music from Sonder soon.
Listen: Spotify
Deb Never - “Sorry”
Deb Never released an early highlight of this year with “Someone Else”. It combined her brand of depressing indie music with hip hop influences in the drums, but it showed her potential fully realized. “Sorry” is her new single and comes with the news that she has a full project coming out sometime this summer. I’m not sure if this single is as good as her previous one, but it continues down the road of her fully realizing her potential. The hook is instantly catchy and rather profanity laden for an indie track. The production doesn’t quite build like “Someone Else”, but it helps fit the style that Deb is going for here. The song is fairly simple in structure too, with it just being the traditional verse-chorus format. It really relies on the chorus to help it stand out, but I think it works as a whole. Hopefully Deb’s album is as great as these singles.
Listen: Spotify
Nez - “To The Money” (Feat. Flo Milli & 8AE)
Nez is someone I’ve been a fan of in the background since last year. His song with ScHoolboy Q called “Wild Youngster” was one of my favorite songs of the first few months of the year. It’s a lowkey, house banger and “To The Money” is a more upbeat take on house. 8AE takes the vocals on the vast majority of the song and kills it. Nez provides the production and even a verse that has the most standout line on the song, “Sip a lil liquor, leave the drugs to the dummies.” Flo Milli shows up on the back half of the track and doesn’t mess it up, but doesn’t add too much. The main reason isn’t even because of her, but the production change to a generic bridge just doesn’t hit hard. Her flow is still great and the lyrics still walk the line of empowering and funny. Nez also released an EP with two more songs a couple weeks after this, both of them in the same hard techno sound. They’re worth a listen if you like this song, but probably not if you don’t. Hopefully Nez continues to put out new music and work with putting hip hop artists on house tracks.
Listen: Spotify
Tkay Maidza - “Syrup”
After a Pixies cover for a label compilation last month, Tkay Maidza is back again with another single from her yet-to-be-announced Last Year Was Weird Vol. 3 project. The beat on this one is so dark, thick, and fuzzed out. It still manages to be pretty understated, especially with the simple drums and synths. It sounds like something that Missy Elliott would’ve rapped over during her heyday. Her flows are pretty normal for her, which is still good overall. The lines aren’t anything special either, but the line, “I’m going hard, I’m a boner” is kind of hilarious, but not necessarily in a good way. This single isn’t really sticking with me the way “Kim” did, but I’m sure the rest of the project will be full of great songs. The really long rollout she does is kind of annoying, but it also will allow me to just put this song to the side, knowing that it will be a part of the project later.
Listen: Spotify
Tierra Whack - “Link”
Tierra Whack is always someone to look out for and even though this new single is a collaboration with LEGO, it’s still entertaining outside of that. There’s no way of ignoring the collaboration with the video, as everything in the video was originally created by kids with LEGOS. They were told to build what they thought the song’s visual would be, and that ended up being the video. It ironically still has a lot of the same energy her other videos have. The song itself does have a pretty product placement hook, “You should come and build with me. I think we should link up,” but if you’re not watching the video, it ends up sounding pretty normal. It’s a pretty straightforward song with a pretty generic trap influenced hip hop beat. Tierra breathes life into this beat with her eccentric vocal performance. I just need Tierra to finally drop a full length project after all these years of just singles and her 15-minute Whack World extravaganza.
Listen: Spotify
Doja Cat - “Kiss Me More” (Feat. SZA)
Doja Cat has gone from meme artist to full fledged superstar in only a couple years. After milking all the life out of her 2019 album Hot Pink, it was time to follow up with a new single and this one features none other than R&B icon SZA. Doja pulls SZA into her 70s, disco influenced sound and they fit together perfectly. It’s pretty obvious from listening to this that she’s trying to recreate the success of “Say So”, but I’d argue that this one is actually better. The guitar line on here is so much tighter than the previous song. The drums fit in directly where they should be. Doja’s vocal performance feels a lot more authentic to herself here compared to the pure homage “Say So” was. SZA fits so well on here that I’m kind of worried that her next album could be mostly songs like this. Doja Cat has another hit with this song, so hopefully the summer is good enough for us to fully experience these summer anthems.
Listen: Spotify
The Weeknd - “Save Your Tears (Remix)” [Feat. Ariana Grande]
We’re on something like the sixth remix The Weeknd has done to extend this After Hours era. This time, it’s a remix to his new hit “Save Your Tears” with pop diva Ariana Grande. Luckily, this one ended up being one of the best remixes yet. Ariana and Abel have had some really great chemistry before, mainly on the 2014 anthem “Love Me Harder”, and it comes through well on here as well. Ariana just adds another verse after Abel’s first verse and chorus, and hers doesn’t add much. What does add to the song is the little harmonies that Ariana adds to the background of the chorus and outro. It’s not a big change, but her voice can add a lot to a song with just a bit of work. But of course, the remix was likely just put out to try and make this song go number one next week on the charts. Either way, I suppose it’s cool that he’s trying to extend this era long enough for the tour in early 2022.
Listen: Spotify
Chloe x Halle - “Georgia on my Mind”
This is a bit of a weird one, but the sister duo has covered the Ray Charles classic for an ESPN commercial advertising The Masters golf tournament. I’m sure this is an ESPN thing that paid them to cover the song, but I’m sure they consciously picked two young, Black women to provide the audio to cover up Augusta’s past. Some of those things they’d cover up would be not allowing a female member until 2012 and requiring all caddies to be Black until 1983. As for the cover itself, they both sound as fantastic as ever. The old school feeling still comes through in this cover, especially with the lush string section that’s all over this track. To single out one of them, Halle kills it with her vocals on here, as her higher pitched voice fits this sound better than Chloe’s. If you’re a fan of the original, it will be cool to hear it repurposed by some fantastic up and coming singers.
Listen: Spotify
H.E.R. - “Come Through” (Feat. Chris Brown)
We’re on what feels like song 50 from H.E.R. with no official album, just compilation EPs. Even throughout 2020, she dropped a lot of singles that are still unassociated with a project. It seems like there is an album coming sooner rather than later, but the only evidence of that is a cryptic social media post a few days ago. Either way, this is her second song of 2021, but the first single unassociated with another project. This song does feel a bit plain compared to “Fight For You”. “Come Through” just feels like a traditional R&B tune that anyone could make. It’s just a simple guitar melody, slow drums, doubled up chorus vocals, a verse from each artist, and a layered outro. I just wish that H.E.R. would take more risks with her music, or at least putting in more live instrumentation. Also, having Chris Brown on a song still rubs me the wrong way, mainly because he hasn’t shown any proof that he’s changed from the person who almost killed Rihanna. I guess it’s too late now, but H.E.R. seems to be working with everyone in the industry. I just want her to release an album at this point.
Listen: Spotify
Audrey Mika - “Chivalry”
I’ve seen Audrey go from someone who just covers songs on Youtube to a full blown artist in two years. With her early material, I thought she had a lot of potential to make great pop songs. Making songs like “Blueberry Skies” and “Y U Gotta Be Like That” before you graduate high school means you have some level of talent. Unfortunately, most of her new songs have left me underwhelmed and this falls into that category as well. The authenticity that came through on her early material is gone. It now feels like a label is just trying to make her into a certain artist instead of just letting her evolve. This trap-influenced production under her voice does not work. Her voice isn’t powerful or unique enough to make that sound work. The upbeat, dancy production of the aforementioned “Y U Gotta Be Like That” or “Just Friends” works so much better with her voice. Hopefully she’ll end up evolving in some capacity, but the past year has not been a good sign for her career, creatively.
Listen: Spotify
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