Top Song of the Week
Song of the Week: Drake, Future and Young Thug’s “Way 2 Sexy” Is Here to Soundtrack Labor Day Weekend
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Drake’s Certified Lover Boy brings a wildcard banger. In a welcome reunion with Future and Young Thug, Drake gets weird with “Way 2 Sexy,” a playful romp sampling Right Said Fred’s 1991 classic, “I’m Too Sexy.” Egged on by Hendrix and Thugger, our Certified Lover Boy makes a slight departure from his sad boi vibes for a collaboration sure to ring out at Labor Day weekend cookouts. Future sets the tone with the chorus, which will probably go viral on TikTok. Stating the obvious, Hendrix tells listeners that not only is too sexy for...
Rap Song of the Week: Kendrick Lamar Issues a Warning Shot on Baby Keem’s “Family Ties”
Rap Song of the Week breaks down the rap and hip-hop tracks you need to hear each week. Check out the full playlist here. For our latest installment, Kendrick Lamar makes a roaring comeback on Baby Keem’s “Family Ties.” It’s no surprise that Kendrick Lamar’s first guest appearance since announcing his final album on TDE is on Baby Keem’s new single. Not only are the two rappers cousins, but Keem is the flagship artist on Kendrick’s company, pgLang, which will logically be the Compton rapper’s focus after leaving his label of 17 years. Besides that, 2021 is shaping up to be Keem’s mainstream breakout year. After teaming up with Travis Scott on “durag activity,” the 20-year-old rapper was featured on a track played at one of Kanye West’s early DONDA listening parties. Advertisement Rela...
Song of the Week: Halsey Delivers an Explosive Pop-Punk Jam in “Easier than Lying”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Halsey refuses to hold back with pop-punk jam “Easier than Lying.” Halsey lets loose in a multitude of ways on their new album If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, but nowhere more so than on “Easier than Lying.” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross co-wrote every song on the album, and “Easier than Lying” offers the perfect spot for their industrial sensibilities to reach full throttle. It’s wildly energetic and cathartic — and Halsey, who has proven to be adept at bouncing from genre to genre, truly shines in the pop-punk chaos of it al...
Song of the Week: Eddie Vedder Delivers a Faithful Cover of R.E.M.’s “Drive”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder takes on R.E.M. for the new drama Flag Day. A flag is more than cloth and dye. A flag is a symbol — a vessel of fear or hope — weighed down and lifted up by the actions of everything done in its name. Some of that fickle glory has rubbed off on Sean Penn’s character in his new film Flag Day, a solemn drama getting mixed reviews. But in judging the cultural impact, we won’t just look at the script, or the acting, or the sometimes bizarre statements the leading man has made when he’s os...
Rap Song of the Week: Big Boi and Sleepy Brown Declare “The Big Sleep Is Over”
Rap Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the rap and hip-hop tracks we just can’t get out of our head each week. Check out the full playlist here. For our latest installment, Big Boi and Sleepy Brown share the latest single from their upcoming collaborative album. Ahead of Big Boi and his longtime collaborator Sleepy Brown’s upcoming joint album, The Big Sleepover, the duo have recently teamed with affiliates like Killer Mike and Cee Lo Green on singles like the swaggering “lowercase (no cap)” and silky smooth “Intentions.” This time around, Big Boi and Brown link up with Jamaican singer Kay-I on “The Big Sleep Is Over” for a Caribbean-influenced jam combining laidback production with booming 808s. Nearly 30 years after joining forces with André 3000 as OutKast, Big Boi h...
Song of the Week: Lizzo and Cardi B Confidently Confirm All of the “Rumors”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Lizzo and Cardi B team up to set the record straight with “Rumors.” Stop the presses: Lizzo has finally returned with new music for the first time since 2019. “Rumors” is a bop featuring Cardi B, who sails in with one of her best verses in recent memory. Neither of these women can be bothered with people trying to tear them down, silence them, or make them smaller in any sense, and the song fits neatly into Lizzo’s discography as an unapologetic anthem. The accompanying music video could serve as Lizzo’s audition for one of the ic...
Rap Song of the Week: Denzel Curry Plays “The Game” on Expert Mode
Our newest feature, Rap Song of the Week, breaks down and talks about the rap and hip-hop tracks we just can’t get out of our head each week. Check out the full playlist here. For our first installment, Denzel Curry returns with his first solo release in over a year. With one of the most versatile and technical flows out there, Denzel Curry has a multitude of ways to approach production like G.O.O.D. Music affiliate Charlie Heat’s lowrider beat on “The Game.” Choosing a carefully measured flow so listeners can hear every word, the Carol City rapper assesses the current state of hip-hop culture and tips off his contemporaries to lessons he’s mastered over time. Zel comes in hot from the start, setting the record straight to people who call him a sellout (“I told the hood that I’ma come back...
Song of the Week: The Weeknd Returns With the Heart-Pounding “Take My Breath”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, The Weeknd successfully leaves us breathless. “Take My Breath,” the latest from The Weeknd, confirms it: the disco resurgence that’s been permeating the airwaves since early 2020 isn’t going away any time soon. Over the past year, smashes like Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia and beloved collections like Jessie Ware’s What’s Your Pleasure? have leaned into the sounds and aesthetics of a sparkling dance floor. Even as recently as last week, Silk Sonic shared yet another track that doesn’t shy away from the ’70s energy — and why should t...
Song of the Week: Silk Sonic’s Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak “Skate” Through With a Summertime Jam
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, the dynamic duo Silk Sonic returns with a summery sophomore single. It feels like forever since March, when Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars teamed up to create Silk Sonic and dropped the sultry debut smash “Leave The Door Open.” We’ve been long overdue for more music from the disco-drenched duo, but the result is worth the wait: Silk Sonic has finally returned with “Skate,” another flashy, ’70s jam. Impossibly more upbeat than “Leave The Door Open,” “Skate” is a euphoric groove with an absolutely unstoppable string section. Anticipa...
Song of the Week: Lil Nas X Proves He Can’t Be Locked in With “Industry Baby”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Lil Nas X proves once again that in spite of controversy or haters, he will always break free. Lil Nas X is very good at his job. He’s one of the most fearlessly fun pop stars in recent years, remarkably adept at wielding social media to his advantage, and creates on an unrestrained wavelength as young, Black member of the queer community. While his extremely online persona is often what catches attention, he manages to back it all up by dropping bops along the way, and his latest effort with Jack Harlow is no different. “Industry...
Song of the Week: Clairo Questions the Expectations of Womanhood, With Some Help From Lorde, on “Reaper”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, a highlight from Clairo’s sophomore album, Sling, has us swooning. When announcing her sophomore LP, Sling, last month, Clairo shared a note admitting the album was inspired by her dog, Joanie, who made her consider themes of care, motherhood, and responsibility. These subjects all appear on the excellent late album cut “Reaper,” which features Lorde on backing vocals. Clairo ponders life with and without a child throughout the song, employing a gently-strummed acoustic and ethereal harmonies to create a comforting environment. Ho...
Song of the Week: Big Red Machine and Taylor Swift Debut a Stirring Summer Collab With “Renegade”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, a tender new track from Big Red Machine and Taylor Swift is a welcome summer listen. For someone in a seemingly vibrant and loving relationship, Taylor Swift still knows exactly how to write about heartbreak. “Renegade” reunites Swift with folklore and evermore collaborators Aaron Dessner (of The National) and Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver), who have recently joined forces to create Big Red Machine. Swift has been honing her craft for more than a decade, exploring different production styles and avenues of storytelling, but she...
