After his excellent 2021 year, Blxst seems set on making sure that his 2022 is just as good, if not better. Last year, the California native enjoyed the success of his late-2020 debut project No Love Lost as it granted him a spot on the 2021 XXL Freshman Class list. He also landed collaborations with Nas, YG, Mozzy, Russ, and more. Elsewhere, he and Bino Rideaux reconnected for their joint project Sixtape 2. However, that’s all in the past now and Blxst is back in action this year with his new song, “Sometimes.” The track is yet another collaboration from him as it finds him paired beside TDE singer Zacari.
Together, Blxst and Zacari describe a relationship that’s proven to be a bit distracting to them. Questions from their lovers and temptations from outside sources make it hard for the singers to stay focused and do what they need to do in their day-to-day lives. Blxst delivers the new song after he teamed up with Buddy for their single, “Wait Too Long.” Prior to that, he went solo and dropped his heartfelt song, “About You,” which was later released with a video that featured Paige Audrey-Marie Hurd from 50 Cent’s Power series.
As for Zacari, he released his Sol EP to conclude 2021 and it delivered four new songs and a lone feature from Justin Nozuka.
You can listen to “Sometimes” in the video above.
Buddy is back and on his new song “Wait Too Long” he brings West Coast crooner Blxst along for an upbeat overture to a potential romantic partner. However, the woman in question is taking things slowly, and Buddy and Blxst offer plenty of reminders that they’re both in high demand with plenty of options, warning, “Don’t make me wait too long / Five liquor shots, I’m way too on / Time tickin’, I’ma bring my phone.”
The video opens with the aftermath of a party at Buddy’s place, with the Compton rapper taking a dip in the pool as guests sleep off their respective hangovers on the deck. Buddy grabs an old-fashioned phone (did you kids know phones used to have cords?) and uses it to stay in contact with an unseen paramour. Then, the video flashes back to the night in question, where a dinner party grows more debauched as the night continues, but Buddy remains unlucky in wooing any of the female guests.
“Wait Too Long” is the first single from Buddy’s newly announced album Superghetto, which is due March 25 on RCA Records and Buddy’s own Cool Lil Company. Superghetto will be the Compton rapper’s first full-length solo release since his 2018 debut Harlan & Alondra. Since then, he’s been a standout on Dreamville’s Revenge Of The Dreamers III and released the joint mixtape Janktape Vol. 1 with fellow Los Angeles native Kent Jamz.
Watch the video for “Wait Too Long” above.
Superghetto is due 3/25 via RCA Records. You can pre-save it here.
Nigerian singer Fireboy DML took a huge step in crossing over to US success in 2021 with his tropical single “Peru” — especially after adding British singer Ed Sheeran to its remix earlier this year, launching the single onto the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Today, Fireboy gave the single a shot of added adrenaline with another new remix, this time tapping trap rap superstar 21 Savage and emerging West Coast crooner Blxst to contribute similarly optimistic verses to the upbeat single.
In his verse, 21 Savage brags about his success over the past few years, boasting that he’s accumulated “twenty million dollars in a year and that’s with no shows.” Meanwhile, Blxst offers a romantic stanza of his own, pining for the company of a woman who makes him ponder changing his plans. “I’ve been wanting you so bad / That you might make me backtrack,” he rhymes. “Might just fly away / Just touched down from MIA.”
Fireboy’s toehold on US pop culture has steadily increased over the past year after collaborating with burgeoning talents like D Smoke on “Champion” and established stars such 6lack on “Sere.” By this time next year, he could very well be one of the can’t-miss talents from his home country who are leading Afrobeats’ mainstream takeover, joining such stars as Davido and Wizkid at the forefront of the genre’s globalization.
Listen to Fireboy DML’s “Peru” remix 21 Savage and Blxst.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if the first thing that pops into your head watching Blxst’s new video for “About You” is the Netflix romantic drama Malcolm & Marie. The two works share a similar aesthetic and theme — a couple’s night in (with Blxst and Power‘s Paige Hurd), shot in classic black-and-white — and feature their leads shifting through the various patterns of a well-worn relationship. They argue, they sulk, they make up, and they cuddle. However, on the whole, Blxst’s version of this tale seems a lot less fraught and toxic — as long as you don’t listen to the lyrics of the song.
“Girl, I know my selfish ways be OD,” the LA-bred singer croons. “But I just express in ways you don’t see.” Of course, he cleans it up by the song’s end — which might actually strengthen the connection between Blxst’s video and the Netflix critical darling.
And just like the streaming giant, Blxst’s career has been flourishing ever since the COVID-19 pandemic caused a lockdown that gave plenty of people way more time for music discovery. Since releasing his debut EP, No Love Lost, Blxst has featured on tracks with Nas, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, Wale, and more, becoming an R&B playlist mainstay — as he illustrates in his new video. With live entertainment slowly but surely returning, Blxst is quickly climbing the ranks to become one of the game’s most sought-after stars.
Watch the video for “About You” above.
