New Music
Polo G Reveals New Single “Epidemic”: Stream
Earlier this week, Polo G made his TV debut on The Tonight Show. Now, he’s returned with “Epidemic”, his first single since dropping The GOAT back in May. Despite its suggestive title, today’s offering is not about the coronavirus outbreak. Instead, the Chicago rapper focuses on another widespread occurrence that continues to take lives, especially within his own community: gun violence on the streets. “Every day a gamble with your life, all we know is risk,” Polo G rap-sings on the track, which is produced by Tahj Money, DMAC, Londn Blu, and Karltin Bankz. Later, he vows to be more careful for the sake of his family. “Promise to my son that the streets won’t get no more of me/ Remember every line from that obituary poetry.” Editors’ Picks Frequent collaborator Ryan Lynch d...
Vin Diesel Goes EDM on Debut Single “Feel Like I Do”: Stream
With quarantine still in full swing and Fast & Furious 9 delayed until next year, what’s Vin Diesel to do with his spare time? Apparently get really into EDM. Today, the 53-year-old actor has released his debut single, a clubby track titled “Feel Like I Do”. Though it may be amusing to think about Groot hitting the dance floor, Diesel’s new song is more in line with Kygo and Flume — it’s a forever summer tune for the celebrity Coachella crowd. And it makes perfect sense given the personnel working behind the scenes; “Feel Like I Do” was written by Kygo collaborator Petey Martin and released via the Kygo co-founded Palm Tree Records. “For so long, I have been promising to release music… encouraged by you, to step out of my comfort zone,” Diesel wrote on Instagram. “Thank you for believi...
Zayn Unveils New Single “Better”: Stream
Zayn has returned with his first solo single in two years, “Better”. This is the first preview of his forthcoming third album, the follow-up to 2018’s Icarus Falls. “Better” is a velvety R&B love jam about the sexiest thing there is: open communication. Zayn asks his lover to express her negative emotions now, rather than waiting for the problem to get worse. “Why? Why wait to fight?” he croons, later wondering, “Can we save tears in your eyes?” The music video was directed by Ryan Hope and the concept seems simple enough: Zayn starts out shirtless, and then he gets dressed in slow motion. But there are also brief cutaways to people watching him through binoculars or listening to tape recordings, which suggest that the pop star might be under surveillance. Paparazzi? Foreign ...
Kanye West Teases New Song That Samples Lauryn Hill
Ten days after calling record deals “modern day slavery” and literally pissing on a Grammy, Kanye West used Twitter the same way most artists do: to promote music. On Saturday morning, the presidential hopeful shared a snippet of a new song titled “Believe What I Say” that not only gives off Old Kanye vibes but also features a sample of Lauryn Hill’s iconic “Doo-Wop (That Thing).” The 38-second-long clip is accompanied by footage from a boat ride in Haiti. The rapper arrived in the country yesterday to meet with president Jovenel Moise about building a city. Preview “Believe What I Say” below. The new track follows “Wash Us In the Blood,” a collaboration with Travis Scott that Yeezy dropped in June. That song will be featured on his upcoming album God’s Country. Last ye...
Reason Pops Off on New Song “Sauce” Featuring Vince Staples: Stream
While some people might prefer a plain life, Reason is living for the “Sauce” on his new song featuring Vince Staples. “Sauce” is a summery track, perfect for driving along the California coastline with the windows down and the volume up. It’s built over a relaxed piano refrain, stunting drums, and a subterranean bass. During the chorus, Reason raps the way a schoolkid skips, with a couple syllables to gather momentum followed by a moment of suspension. “I might slip, I don’t fall, if I slip, I might crawl,” he spits. As he’s been doing his whole career Vince Staples steals the show with an exuberant guest verse. Here, he takes aim at the police. “Hit the block, chip the bars, yuh/ Catch a pig, Randy Moss, yuh/ I don’t rock with the police none/ Don’t ditch the Glock when the police ...
Tory Lanez Releases Ill-Advised Album About Megan Thee Stallion Shooting
Until today, Tory Lanez had remained largely silent about allegedly shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot back in July. Now, though, the rapper born Daystar Peterson has finally broken his silence on the matter, but not by publicly apologizing or even issuing a simple statement. No, instead the Canadian MC has released a whole damn album denying Megan’s claims and bemoaning their impact on his career. Quick recap: Tory Lanez was arrested in mid-July on concealed weapons charges. A few days later, Megan revealed she’d actually been shot in the foot prior to his arrest. About a month after that, the “WAP” rapper confirmed rumors that it was indeed Lanez behind the trigger. Which brings us to last night. After disappearing from social media following the arrest and shooting, Lanez ret...
Sufjan Stevens Premieres New Album The Ascension: Stream
Sufjan Stevens has unveiled The Ascension, one of the most anticipated albums of the season. Listen in below via Apple Music or Spotify. Out through his own Asthmatic Kitty Records, the album marks Stevens’ eighth full-length to date and first since 2015’s Carrie & Lowell. In the lead-up to today’s release, the indie songwriter shared three promising previews, including epic lead single “America”. Clocking in at a very generous 12 minutes, the track is a soaring “protest song against the sickness of American culture in particular,” Stevens described in a statement. The single was originally written prior to the 2016 Election, during the Carrie & Lowell sessions, but was shelved because its “vaguely mean-spirited” tone didn’t fit in with the rest of that record. Stevens later uneart...
Deftones Unleash New Album Ohms: Stream
Deftones have unleashed their new album Ohms. Stream it below using Apple Music or Spotify. This is the hard rock band’s ninth full-length effort, and their first since 2016’s Gore. The executive producer is Terry Date, who worked with Deftones on their first four albums and the aborted Eros sessions of 2008. Ohms is ten tracks long by design. As vocalist Chino Moreno told Vulture, “We don’t… write 30 songs, then whittle it down into ten songs. We literally write ten songs.” Moreno explained that the recording process for Ohms was significantly different than Gore, in part intentionally, and in part because the pandemic allowed everyone extra time. He said, “We recorded [Gore] in Los Angeles… at the end of the day, it was like, I’m away from home. I’m not...
Public Enemy Release New Album What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down?: Stream
Public Enemy have released their first new album in three years, What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down?. Stream the star-studded LP below via Apple Music and Spotify. What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down? sees Public Enemy’s original lineup of Chuck D, Flavor Flav, and DJ Lord returning to Def Jam Records for the first time in over 20 years. The label put out the trio’s first five studio albums including 1988’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back and 1990’s Fear of a Black Planet, both of which went on to shape the history of hip-hop as we know it. The 17-track full-length sees Public Enemy linking up with rap royalty, like Beastie Boys’ Ad-Rock and Mike D alongside Run-DMC on the cut “Public Enemy Number One”. On the 2020 remix of “Fight the Power”, they team up with Na...
Travis Scott Drops New Single “Franchise” Featuring M.I.A. and Young Thug: Stream
Young Thug and Travis Scott (photos by Philip Cosores), M.I.A. (photo by Ben Kaye) Travis Scott has unleashed his latest single “Franchise”, featuring M.I.A. and Young Thug. Check it out below via its accompanying self-directed music video/short film. The song comes hot on the heels of Scott’s smash hit McDonald’s collaboration, which has been so popular that various locations are literally running out of ingredients. “Franchise” is itself something of a branding exercise, as the short film premiered ahead of select IMAX screenings of Christopher Nolan’s Tenent on Thursday night. Scott also contributed the track “The Plan” to the film’s soundtrack, leading Nolan to call the new short film “part of a Travis/Tenet/Travis sandwich” in a note he wrote the rapper. Yet despite all the cross-prom...
Sad13 Gives a Track by Track Breakdown of New Album Haunted Painting: Stream
In our Track by Track feature, musicians guide listeners through each track on their latest record. Today, Sad13’s Sadie Dupuis draws us into her Haunted Painting. Speedy Ortiz’s Sadie Dupuis has today released her latest solo album under her Sad13 moniker, Haunted Painting. Stream the whole thing below via Bandcamp. The new record comes four years after Sad13’s last full-length, Slugger, and features a bevvy of indie guests. Contributors to the 11-song collection include Roberto Lange of Helado Negro, Deerhoof member Satomi Matsuzaki, tUnE-yArDs mastermind Merrill Garbus, and Rick Maguire of Pile. Studio sessions, which exclusively featured only women engineers, occurred throughout the US, including California’s New Monkey Studio, famously cons...
Lil Wayne Releases Deluxe Edition of Tha Carter V: Stream
To mark the two-year anniversary of its release, Lil Wayne has shared the deluxe “original” version of Tha Carter V. Stream it below via Spotify. Tha Carter V originally arrived in 2018 after a massive delay caused by Lil Wayne’s contract feud with Cash Money Records. There was also considerable bad blood between the rapper and label head Birdman. Things began to settle in June 2018 when Cash Money’s parent company, Universal Music Group, settled a lawsuit for “well over $10 million” that simultaneously freed Wayne from his former label. Birdman and Lil Wayne also were able to bury the hatchet. The new deluxe edition expands upon the double-album’s 23 tracks with an additional 10. Three of the songs — a version of “What About Me” featuring Post Malone, a Gucci Mane collaboration called “In...
