Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak are still enjoying the success of their sole Silk Sonic single “Leave The Door Open”: The song recently returned to No. 1 on the charts for a second week, and on the latest Billboard Hot 100, it’s still in the top 5. Still, the song was released three months ago now and fans are craving more from the duo. Well, today, they’ve gotten more, albeit in a form they likely weren’t expecting: Mars and .Paak have collaborated on a new jingle for SelvaRey Rum, a rum brand that Mars co-owns.
The duo also got James Fauntleroy on the track, which was produced by “Leave The Door Open” producer Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II. As would be expected from a commercial jingle, it’s a brief and jaunty tune, although it ends with some smooth, Silk Sonic-style soul.
Mars says in a statement, “Rum is really synonymous with joy. Anyone holding a good rum cocktail is exactly where they want to be. That’s what I wanted people to feel with this campaign. And SelvaRey Coconut delivers the ultimate drink every time. It’s hands down the best coconut rum you’ve ever tasted. Who wouldn’t be happy with a SelvaRey Piña Colada in their hand?”
He also wrote on social media, “My friends and I are Co Owners of this delicious rum. Us being all musicians it’s only right that we put together the official jingle for @selvareyrum .This was fun!”
Check out the jingle above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Prince recorded his final album Welcome 2 America over a decade ago and now, it’s finally about to be released. Prince’s estate first announced the exciting project back in April with the title track, which is a spoken word reflection on the pitfalls of mass media. Now offering another look at the album, Prince’s funk-forward track “Born 2 Die” is officially here.
As noted by Prince’s team, the song was conceived over a decade ago as Prince reflected on issues of racial justice:
“The song was recorded during a flurry of studio activity in the spring of 2010, when President Obama was just a year into his first term and Prince was reflecting deeply on the issues affecting the Black community and the role he hoped to play. As happened countless times throughout his career, Prince ended up shelving the song and the rest of Welcome 2 America in his legendary vault.”
Prince’s collaborator and longtime music director Morris Hayes recalled how the musician wrote “Born 2 Die” after being compared to Curtis Mayfield. “We got to ‘Born 2 Die,’ and Prince said, ‘I’ll tell you how that came about,’” Hayes said. “He had been watching videos of his friend Dr. Cornel West on YouTube, and during one speech Dr. West said, ‘I love my brother Prince, but he’s no Curtis Mayfield.’ So Prince said, “Oh really? We will see.”
Listen to “Born 2 Die” above.
Welcome 2 America is out 7/30 via The Prince Estate/Legacy Recordings. Pre-order it here.
Vince Staples hasn’t released much new music over the past couple of years but he’s set to break his silence later this month, according to a new interview in W magazine. In addition to talking about the two projects he has coming out this year, Ramona Park Broke My Heart and Vince Staples, which is partially produced by Kenny Beats, the feature also revealed the release date for the first single from his upcoming self-titled project: June 18.
Addressing the upcoming Vince Staples project with Kenny Beats, Vince said, “[Kenny] sent me a beat that I recorded on, and it just went from there. We didn’t go into it intentionally thinking that we would end up with as much as we had. We ended up working two days a week for a month, from after Thanksgiving until before Christmas in 2020. A couple of weeks in, we looked up, and we had some stuff.”
Recently, Vince let Killer Mike hear one of the two projects, prompting the Atlanta rap vet to compliment the Long Beach native as “gifted.” While we don’t know which of the two projects Mike heard, given the groundbreaking quality of Vince’s last two efforts, 2019’s FM! and Big Fish Theory, it’s just about a sure bet that he’s going to deliver something that sounds fresh and innovative, yet true to his California roots.
Vince’s next single drops on 6/18. Until then, you can check out some of Vince’s features from the past year, including Tiana Major9’s “Real Affair,” Lil Yachty’s “In My Stussy’s,” and The White Tiger soundtrack cut, “Jungle Mantra.”
It’s been nearly a year since Chloe x Halle released their standout sophomore album Ungodly Hour, but the two are still making sure there’s enough music to go around. They’ve been holding fans over with a number of fun covers, and they’ve now taken a stab at a rendition of TLC’s classic song “Waterfalls.”
Chloe x Halle take the sultry cover as an opportunity to once again showcase their impressive vocal range. “This song speaks so much to who we are as artists and human beings,” the duo said about the song. “We always say music is therapy to us because the lyrics are healing. There’s something about singing these words to yourself—it turns into an encouraging mantra that makes you feel inspired after listening.” This isn’t the first time the duo have covered “Waterfalls.” Back in June of 2020, Chloe x Halle shared a medley of covers to their YouTube page featuring songs by Lauryn Hill, Aaliyah, and TLC, saying they are three artists who have “inspired” them immensely.
Ahead of sharing their rendition of “Waterfalls,” Chloe x Halle have taken on a number of other hit songs. They recently released a moving cover of “Georgia On My Mind” for the 2020 Masters Tournament. Before that, Chloe Bailey took on a cover of Cardi B’s “Be Careful,” Silk Sonic’s “Leave The Door Open,” and Rihanna’s “Love On The Brain.”
Listen to their cover of TLC’s “Waterfalls” above, exclusively on Apple Music and iTunes.
Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
In 2019, Drake announced the launch of his cannabis company, More Life Growth Company. Today, a little over 18 months since, Bloomberg reports that More Life’s partnership with Canadian cannabis producer Canopy Growth Corp. to distribute in global markets has ended. Canopy filed to terminate the partnership in March this year. The company reportedly “derecognized” almost C$33.7 million in remaining minimum royalty obligations to More Life. Although both parties expressed excitement at the partnership in 2019, somewhere in the past year, it would appear those feelings cooled.
BlogTO, a free afternoon newspaper in Toronto, reported that Canopy’s CEO David Klein expressed discontent with the lack of attention to the brand from Drake, who was splitting his time between recording his new album Certified Lover Boy and running a pro-am basketball tournament out of his house (which may have resulted in him reinjuring his knee, causing the CLB release to be pushed back). “[More Life] has not been progressing as originally intended and we’re still working on details to determine where it goes… [and] it may be something that can’t get to where we all want it to go,” Klein was quoted in BNN Bloomberg.
Klein also wasn’t impressed with More Life’s business plan, noting that, “In many regards, at its essence, it’s almost a real estate play where More Life is going to do a lot of activity on cannabis destinations. I don’t know if that still fits anybody’s way of thinking, at least in the COVID world.” He would know: Canopy is also the business partner for both Seth Rogen and Snoop Dogg‘s weed brands. Meanwhile, the market gets more and more crowded by the day, with Jay-Z, G-Eazy, Ice Cube, and Russ all jumping in the marijuana game in the past few months. Drake’s property was apparently a low enough priority without planning to compete in destination spots, which would have looked cool, but likely struggled to sell. This leaves Drake on the outside looking in for now, as many of his peers and contemporaries look to cash in on the lucrative cash crop.
The best song on DMX’s recently released, posthumous album Exodus is “Bath Salts.” It’s the song that best summarizes the album’s purpose, that gives us the best glimpse of DMX as an artist hitting middle age, taking stock, and quietly contemplating the future while celebrating his accomplishments. It’s probably no coincidence that the featured guests are Jay-Z and Nas at their absolute best, as the three rappers have been peers, rivals, friends, and the rear guard of hip-hop’s turn-of-the-millennium boom era, three of the last men standing.
It’s hard to say whether the rest of the album clears the high bar set by just its second track because it’s been so long since DMX released new music on his own accord that there’s no telling whether the rest of his guest features are the result of natural evolution or algorithmic calculation. I don’t know that the DMX would have especially wanted to work with someone like Bono on “Skyscrapers” or Moneybagg Yo on “Money Money Money.” In fact, in a recent interview, the album’s executive producer Swizz Beatz even admitted the latter was a replacement choice after the desired Pop Smoke verse turned out to be unavailable.
Swizz is as much responsible for the album’s direction as anyone, the navigator to X’s driver. There are times when it feels like Swizz’s desires dictate the sound and collaborators as much as X’s did — like in Goofy Movie when Max changes Goofy’s map so he can attend the Powerline concert instead of visiting his pop’s sacred fishing hole. When Alicia Keys pops up — bless her — it smells strongly of Swizz doing favors for people in his circle. It’s a circle that had grown to include pop-favorite multi-millionaire R&B stars like Usher, but not so much the purveyors of the gritty street sounds that informed Swizz and X’s earliest work.
And yet, there are allusions to that work all over the album, making it feel less like the slapdash, stream-baiting efforts on other posthumous releases that have come out over the past few years — way too many. Way. Way. Too. Many — and more like a DMX album proper — maybe a more mellow Grand Champ. Swizz certainly sets things off properly with “That’s My Dog,” which features X’s Ruff Ryders compatriots The LOX, each member in rare form. Then, there’s the aforementioned “Bath Salts,” on which Nas makes a rock-solid case that Swizz Beatz should absolutely executive produce as many of the next albums the Queens icon cares to make (seriously, they are batting like .800 in the past few years, why hasn’t this happened yet?).
DMX proves he can still hang with his contemporaries lyrically, and his flow, despite being worn by time, still connects like an aging NBA player polishing his finesse game as time robs him of his explosiveness. It’s when he tries to get it back that the seams begin to show. Of course, again, it’s difficult to pinpoint the issue on the missteps. The yell-raps on “Money Money Money” and the Griselda Records- featuring “Hood Blues” sound rushed and off-kilter — is this intentional? Is it the result of rust? Did DMX have trouble adjusting to these beats, which are a bit unusual in his catalog as they feature Swizz’s more recently developed swing-style drums? Or is it Swizz and his engineers being in too big a hurry to finish this project before the spotlight swung away, flying vocals onto mismatched production to take advantage of the name recognition of guests?
It certainly feels like this on the pop reaches, “Hold Me Down” and “Skyscrapers.” Fortunately, another Ruff Ryders appearance — this time from oft-overlooked members Cross and Infrared on a hilarious, hyperviolent skit — sets things right, setting the stage for the more confessional, emotive back half of the album, featuring the songs that X most likely had more of a hand in. His flow, subject matter, and voice certainly seem better suited to “Walking In The Rain” — the fact he performs the hook himself suggests that it was certainly one of the songs he finished before he passed. It’s classic DMX, a ruminative track that looks inward and backward, with X and Nas reflecting on life changes.
Likewise, on “Letter To My Son,” DMX speaks to the titular Exodus from the perspective of an elder addressing his son on the cusp of manhood — an opportunity robbed from him by his addiction. It’s a sobering thought, that X could foresee a world in which he wouldn’t have the chance to have the grown man chat with his son. Moments like this album closer suggest that maybe X wanted to use this project to say all the things he wouldn’t get a chance to say. Perhaps if he had been alive to see it finished, little would have changed from the product that ultimately came. That’s always the tragedy, isn’t it?
It’s funny; for all the dog imagery DMX has embraced throughout his life and career, he resembles nothing here so much as an old lion. He’s battle-scarred, he’s tired — but he’s no less noble and beautiful for it. He has the authority and lived experience that his advice rings true, yet he has little interest in holding the throne. Leave that for the cubs. He’s earned his place, he’s left his legacy. The only thing left is to say goodbye. The fiery father figure somehow found a way to do that, leaving behind a flawed but fitting testament to a flawed man.
Memphis rapper Yo Gotti is a year removed from his most recent album, Untrapped, which also saw the end of his previous record deal with Epic. Today, he’s returned with a new single, “Drop” featuring DaBaby, just a day after announcing his Collective Music Group’s new deal with Interscope Geffen A&M. The deal will see support for CMG’s roster of burgeoning stars which includes 42 Dugg, EST Gee, and Moneybagg Yo, who recently scored his first No. 1 album.
Meanwhile, Gotti’s new single finds him teaming up with one of the biggest artists of the moment, DaBaby, for a strip club-friendly anthem featuring a digitized loop and a head-bopping, skeletal kick-snare combo perfect for inspiring hip-shaking and booty dropping. The two rappers deliver boastful verses about their appeal to the opposite sex littered with punchlines like “Her ass make a whole lot of noise when I f*ck from the back / And it clap, it’s annoying.”
While Yo Gotti has spent much of the past year laying low musically, he has been busy in other areas, like pursuing prison reform alongside Jay-Z. Filing a lawsuit against the state of Mississippi last February, they saw a big breakthrough in August as Mississippi’s Department of Corrections ended its contract with healthcare provider Centurion over insufficient and neglectful practices.
Listen to Yo Gotti’s new single “Drop” featuring DaBaby above.
Today, Amazon revealed the dates for their annual Prime Day, which this year will take place on June 21 and 22. The day features significant Black Friday-like sales on items from across the website, but the Amazon Music wing of the site is getting in on the fun, too: Starting on June 17, a “Prime Day Show” will be streaming on Prime Video, and the three-part special will feature performances from Billie Eilish, Kid Cudi, and HER.
Amazon describes Eilish’s performance, “Billie brings a timeless, Parisian neighborhood to life with a series of cinematic performances. Set in the city known as the birthplace of cinema, it was directed by Billie Eilish and Sam Wrench, and features new music from Billie’s upcoming album, Happier Than Ever. This breathtaking musical tribute was inspired by Billie’s long-time admiration of a long gone era.”
Of Cudi’s show, they note, “As he embarks on his biggest mission to date, Kid Cudi departs Earth to establish a new community on the moon in this intercosmic performance. Featuring music from his album Man On The Moon III, Cudi collaborates with the International Space Orchestra, the world’s first orchestra composed of space scientists from NASA Ames Research Center, the SETI Institute, and the International Space University as his backing band, in a musical collision defying sight, sound, and space.”
They also say of HER’s performance, “Once known as the hub of Los Angeles Black culture in the 1930’s and ’40s, the iconic Dunbar Hotel hosted some of the most prominent figures of its time, including musicians Duke Ellington, Lena Horne, Billie Holiday, and many more. In a modern day musical tribute to this legendary and important piece of history and culture, HER imagines what The Dunbar Hotel would be like if it existed in 2021 featuring new music from her album, Back Of My Mind.”
All performances will run for about 25 minutes.
Ryan Redington, VP of Music Industry at Amazon Music, says of the shows, “Working with Billie Eilish, HER, and Kid Cudi to bring their music to life through these imaginative experiences has been incredible. Watching these globally renowned artists create three shows from the depths of their imagination has been unlike anything we’ve ever done before. We’re thrilled to bring fans along with us to celebrate these three remarkable artists and Prime Day.”
Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios, added, “These iconic artists have not only broken new ground in music but are inspired storytellers, culture creators, and visionaries. We’re thrilled to partner with Billie, HER, and Cudi to bring these authentic and deeply personal specials to fans around the world as we celebrate Prime Day.”
Things are starting to look up for all of us. As we venture out of our homes and (hopefully) to shows for the first time in almost 18 months, we’re reminded of the ways that music served, perhaps more than ever before, as a lifeboat during this extended time of unease. Stuck at home like the rest of us, with very few creative distractions, many artists had time to really focus on their craft and deliver some of their best music to date.
Sure, albums are great – but an album is nothing without its songs. And 2021 has been nothing if not full of great songs. From Olivia Rodrigo’s mega-smash “Drivers License” to Taylor Swift’s continued pivot to indie-folk, these songs inspired hope, they felt our pain, or they helped us transport to a different place entirely. Presented below in alphabetical order, here are the best songs of 2021 so far. Please note that songs released in December 2020 are eligible to be included here, as they came out too late for our 2020 lists.
Beabadoobee – “Last Day On Earth”
UK songwriter Beabadoobee has been credited with reacquainting Gen Z with the flannel-loving aesthetics of ‘90s grunge music. Her debut album Fake It Flowers was inspired by feel-good rom coms but with her track “Last Night On Earth,” the singer issued a more nostalgic ode. The song was released as the lead single to the 1975-produced EP Our Extended Play and features pop-leaning hooks that imagine all the things the singer would have done differently if she had known her life was about to be put on pause for over a year due to the pandemic. – Carolyn Droke
Bebe Rexha – “Die For A Man” Feat. Lil Uzi Vert
Don’t overlook Bebe Rexha’s freaky, eclectic second album, Better Mistakes. Anchored by singles like “Die For A Man,” which is basically the exact inverse of most heartfelt feminine songs about breakups, this misandrist assertion of self-worth is a spooky trap-pop statement. Bebe basically says no matter how in love she is, the breakup will never kill her. When Lil Uzi Vert comes through for a smooth verse of Autotuned braggadocio, that’s just the cherry on top. It’s a refreshingly tough alternative to some of the more vulnerable themes that have been tearing up the charts lately. But Bebe has always been marching to the beat of her own drum, and that’s why we love her. – Caitlin White
BIA – “Whole Lotta Money”
Massachusetts-bred Bia has finally arrived after spending the last half-decade paying dues as a cast member of the Oxygen reality television show Sisterhood Of Hip Hop and a string of underground mixtapes and EPs. “Whole Lotta Money” is her first Billboard-charting solo track, buoyed by a viral trend blowing up — where else — on TikTok. With its flossy boast about putting on all her jewelry for a bodega run, the burgeoning hit has backed videos of lip-syncing users mugging the camera, twerking, and showing off their own swaggering displays of confidence. – Aaron Williams
BTS – “Butter”
Every time it doesn’t seem possible that BTS can top themselves again. And every time, they manage to. Following up the record-breaking heat of “Dynamite,” their new single “Butter” stays in the same incredibly upbeat, joy-inducing range, but comes in even smoother. “I’ve got the superstar glow” goes the pre-chorus, only to be followed up with an even better gem: “Let me show you ‘cuz talk is cheap.” It’s a dance anthem for a world ready to shake off its malaise, a declaration of love sans any fear or hesitation. It’s smooth like butter, like we all want to be. A BTS mood has officially become the aspirational peak, all summer long. – C.W.
Burial – “Dark Gethsemane”
Despite Burial’s last album, Untrue, arriving in 2007, the reclusive UK producer has actually remained pretty active, as they’ve released a bunch of EPs over the past decade. On one of the most recent, they teamed up for with Blackdown this year for the Shock Power Of Love EP, a split project to which both artists contributed a pair of tracks. The beefiest one of the lot is Burial’s 10-minute “Dark Gethsemane,” which starts as a kinetic dancefloor banger before shifting into more experimental territory halfway through. – Derrick Rossignol
Cardi B – “Up”
Cardi’s first new single since “WAP”-ageddon not only kept her streak of smash hits alive, but it also drew more than its share of controversy, just like her prior table shakers. Once again, she was accused of copyright infringement over its Crime Mob-homaging hook, and this time, she even took flak over the track’s TikTok popularity as critics sniped at the dance craze that popped up seemingly overnight. None of that prevented the song from becoming Cardi’s fifth No. 1 Hot 100 hit or from becoming one of the most talked-about performances of the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in March. – A.W.
Cassandra Jenkins – “Michelangelo”
Cassandra Jenkins wrote her sophomore album An Overview On Phenomenal Nature during a time of grief. She was reeling from the death of David Berman, who she was set to tour with just days later. Much of the serene album is Jenkins telling the story of others, like a museum security guard or a bookkeeper. But her breezy album opener “Michelangelo” instead directs her attention inward, creating a space to murmur meditative reflections about the process of healing over folksy instrumentals. – C.D.
Coi Leray – “No More Parties”
“No More Parties” has ruffled its fair share of feathers, but if you’re one of those detractors who think it’s Coi Leray’s only noteworthy work to date, you haven’t been paying attention. If anything, it’s a coronation, the culmination of the Jersey-bred rapper’s past three years of hustle, which included appearances on the Spider-Verse soundtrack, a pair of impressive mixtapes, and cultivating a massive social media following with her counterintuitively catchy twerking videos — a legitimate marketing technique in a post-Megan Thee Stallion connected rap universe. It follows, then, that the song’s warm reception — including multiple remixes and freestyles from peers and predecessors and a late-night debut on The Tonight Show — is a confirmation that it’s all coming together. – A.W.
Darkside – “The Limit”
Nicolás Jaar and Dave Harrington haven’t done much with Darkside a near-decade after releasing their sole album, 2013’s Psychic. That is, until recently, as they announced they will bless this summer with a new full-length album, Spiral. They’ve offered some early tastes of the record, and “The Limit” stands out. The hypnotic and rhythmic track shows the two artists haven’t become musical strangers during their extended time apart, as only two partners who are completely locked in could make something this compelling. – D.R.
Doja Cat & SZA – “Kiss Me More”
This long-awaited collaboration between SZA and Doja Cat did not disappoint. “Kiss Me More” scales back from the raunchier aspects of modern music and delves into an old-fashioned kind of intimacy that’s punctuated by both women alternating between rapping and singing. While we wait for both of these superstars to drop their albums, “Kiss Me More” is another reminder that these two are as versatile as artists come. Both of them refuse to be put in a box when it comes to pop, R&B, and hip-hop, and that ambiguity has only made their work in all three genres better. Let the insistent, funky beat sink into your skin, and get ready for a very physical summer. – C.W.
Drake – “What’s Next”
Drake knows what kind of global rap superstar powerhouse he is and he reminds everyone of this with a message on his rambunctious Scary Hours 2 hit song “What’s Next.” Produced by Supah Mario, The Boy takes us on a ride to share what he’s been up to since Certified Lover Boy’s release date got pushed back. “Well, summer, all I did was rest, okay? / And New Year’s, all I did was stretch, okay? / And Valentine’s Day, I had sex, okay? / We’ll see what’s ’bout to happen next,” he reveals. And it’s fine, Aubrey can take as much time as he needs to get CLB right, but boy are we thankful we have “What’s Next” to hold us over until then. It’s not like he’s missing out on being on top of the “Hot one hundo, numero uno,” he puts it. Afterall, “What’s Next” did land at No. 1 on the Hot 100 charts upon its release, dethroning bubbling pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo’s “Driver’s License,” with the rest of the Scary Hour 2 tracks falling right behind at No. 2 and No. 3 (and it didn’t even come with a bundle). “What’s Next” is the lyrical embodiment of Drizzy’s cultural dominance. No matter when or where he chooses to release new music, it always gets a little scary when a Drake release is near. – Cherise Johnson
Dua Lipa – “If It Ain’t Me”
Robbed of what would’ve been a gigantic, glittery tour around her epic sophomore album, Future Nostalgia, Dua Lipa did what all great pop stars do when faced with a challenge — pivot. Instead of a tour, she poured her creativity into the Future Nostalgia remixes, and followed that up in early 2021 with the Moonlight Edition. “If It Ain’t Me” is one of the new songs off that version, a song about being happily in love and wondering what it would be like to lose that feeling. It’s more glitchy, disco-pop from the new queen of the dancefloor, dancing her heart out even as the fear creeps in. – C.W.
Foxing – “Go Down Together”
Foxing just officially announced their follow-up to 2018’s art-emo masterpiece Nearer, My God, though they have begun teasing music from their forthcoming fourth LP for a few months. “Go Down Together” finds the St. Louis outfit leaning more into their pop sensibilities than the emo-tinged roots they built a career upon. It’s an interesting pivot for the band, but also makes for what Derrick Rossignol called for Uproxx “the band’s most accessible work so far.” – Zac Gelfand
Griff – “Black Hole”
Griff is going to be one of the next big things in pop, so keep an eye on her for the back half of 2021. Right now she’s blowing up off the strength of “Black Hole,” a bouncy, funk-flecked song about missing someone so much it annihilates your heart. The London-based songwriter channels heartbreak into sleek synth-pop just like Julia Michaels — and has the voice to back it up, too. Olivia isn’t the only one writing epic breakup songs in 2021, this is a pop subgenre that just keeps on giving, and Griff is on the cusp of being another breakout star. – C.W.
IDK and Offset – “Shoot My Shot”
The hope is that DMV rapper IDK is just a few months away from sharing his sophomore album, U See 4 Yourself, the sequel to his debut effort, Is He Real?. While it remains to be seen what his second album will sound like, IDK might have delivered a preview of it with “Shoot Your Shot” featuring Offset. The charismatic banger is laced with the duo’s impenetrable confidence as they compare themselves to basketball players like Steph Curry while shooting some shots of their own. – Wongo Okon
Isaiah Rashad – “Lay Wit Ya” Feat. Duke Deauce
The nearly five years without music from Isaiah Rashad finally came to an end with the TDE rapper’s single, “Lay Wit Ya” with Duke Deuce. The effort found a balance between mainstream assimilation and a continued display of Rashad’s artistry that we love. The added contribution from Deuce also provided a jolt of raucous energy to the track. With The House Is Burning on the way, “Lay Wit Ya” promises more great music that’s set to come from Rashad. – W.O.
Japanese Breakfast – “Be Sweet”
Japanese Breakfast’s first two albums were Michelle Zauner’s synth-infused reflections on the feeling of grief. But with her new project Jubilee, Zauner takes inspiration from unbridled joy. “Be Sweet” mirrors the same kind of euphoria. Zauner belts optimistic lyrics about the prospects of love underscored by a groovy bass guitar and buoyant keys, and the catchy tune is exactly the bop we wanted from Japanese Breakfast’s new album cycle. – C.D.
Jazmine Sullivan – “Pick Up Your Feelings”
After years of undeniably great songs and albums, Jazmine Sullivan kicked off 2021 with yet another excellent project thanks to Heaux Tales. Her most popular track at the moment, “Pick Up Your Feelings,” can be found on that record as the song once again puts her roaring vocals on display as she asks her ex-lover to pack up their affection and physical belongings, which may or may not be in the box to the left, before exiting her life. – W.O.
Koreless – “Joy Squad”
For about a decade now, Koreless (Welsh producer Lewis Roberts) has been building up clout with both fans and his peers; He got a track of his own on Perfume Genius’ remix album from last year. Now, he’s finally putting out a debut album, and alongside that announcement from May came “Joy Squad.” The track might send anybody who grew up on AM radio running for the hilliest of hills, but it’s a complex and lush three minutes of music, filled with sounds that could be described as unsettling, catchy, harsh, and other seemingly disparate adjectives that play nice together under the tutelage of Koreless. – D.R.
Lana Del Rey – “White Dress”
Even if a latent annoyance over Lana’s willfully obtuse commentary about herself, certain other women, and their place in the music industry might be lingering, “White Dress” is self-reflective enough to show another side of Del Rey. As she looks back on her early days as a nobody, male-dominated music industry looming over her idyllic time as a waitress, the song’s nostalgia and mystical glow take over any logic. “White Dress” is pure feeling, and nobody captures that like Lana. – C.W.
Lil Baby – “Real As It Gets” Feat. EST Gee
Lil Baby and EST Gee revel in their rap star lifestyles on their menacing ATL Jacob-produced song “Real As It Gets.” Two street dudes who happen to rap, on a song together, just makes sense and it was an inevitable collab that was waiting to happen. Lil Baby’s signature hyper-flow is tempered by Gee’s suave mode of lyrical delivery, giving us a reason to want to hear this duo more often. In the song, Baby takes the opportunity to explain how it all started for him: “To the streets, I’m the voice, I’m an advocate / Ask the plug, this the most he done ever sent,” before Gee shares his own story of he came into the rap game. “All this sh*t started off in the kitchen / Showed me once and I was payin’ attention / Ask the trenches, they gon’ say I’m the realest,” the rising Louisville rapper spits. Between Baby and Gee’s hood star power and the track’s ominous production, “Real As It Gets” is everything the song implies. – C.J.
Lil Nas X – “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”
“Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” has transcended its two minutes and 17 seconds of audio and become a cultural moment. The song and its controversial, hell-set video pissed some people off, aroused others, and elevated Lil Nas X beyond a one-hit-wonder status. That said, none of this could have happened if “Montero” wasn’t a great song, and it genuinely is. It proves that “Old Town Road” wasn’t a one-time fluke and that Lil Nas X is a master of catchy hooks, packaging them for the masses, and dealing with the attention that generates. – D.R.
Mac Ayres – “Nothing Else”
An R&B act you should absolutely get familiar with is Mac Ayres. The New York native shared his latest project, Magic 8Ball, back in January. While it’s an effort that went under the radar, the EP’s eight songs, in combination, made for one of 2021’s best R&B projects and “Nothing Else” is one of its brightest moments. Backed by hypnotizing keys and stuttering drums, Ayres promises to work out the problems with his lover rather than run from them like he used to. – W.O.
Olivia Rodrigo – “Drivers License”
Arguably the most influential song of the first half of 2021, “Drivers License” struck a nerve with a bunch of cooped up kids who were feeling the pain of losing a whole year — and potentially losing relationships in the wake. But “Drivers License” is about so much more than a breakup, it spans the whole gamut of grief, from the everyday minutia to the broken dreams of future plans, to the specific kind of loneliness that only hits when you’re driving past a place that used to feel like home. To be able to get all that into a song at the tender age of 17, well, that’s a phenomenal feat by a songwriter just beginning her journey. – C.W.
Polo G – “Rapstar”
Ever since Polo G popped up on the scene, the Chicago rapper has been nothing short of himself and his No. 1 hit song “Rapstar” is a great representation of that. “Rapstar” is actually Polo’s first solo Hot 100 No. 1 and he didn’t even have to switch up his sound to make it happen. Always introspective, Polo spits, “Every day a battle, I’m exhausted and I’m weary / Make sure I smile in public, when alone, my eyes teary / I fought through it all, but that shit hurt me severely,” while also showing gratitude towards all the luxurious things that his lifestyle brings. The track also features Einer Bankz on the ukelele and was in great anticipation among his legion of fans after they teased the song back in 2020. Polo stayed consistent, stayed true and landed a huge hit that will no doubt see his star rise even higher once his third studio album Hall Of Fame is unleashed on June 11. – C.J.
Pooh Sheisty – “Back In Blood” Feat. Lil Durk
Whew. There have been few straight-up trap records that have been as well-received and explosive as “Back In Blood.” A propulsive, gritty, straight-from-the-gut banger, Pooh Shiesty’s breakout hit received a huge boost from the efforts of Lil Durk, who was in the middle of an incendiary comeback of his own thanks to Drake and “Laugh Now Cry Later,” among other works. The sheer amount of goodwill the song’s engendered led to the duo making an appearance on The Late Show and Pooh Shiesty becoming one of the most exciting new voices in street rap today. – A.W.
Saweetie – “Best Friend” Feat. Doja Cat
At this point, hating on Saweetie is like fighting the tide. It was one thing when her formula almost solely included hijacking 2000s hits. But “Best Friend” is all original, a succinct, saccharine summation of everything the Bay Area artist represents with her Icy image. Doja Cat’s verse — misinterpreted though it may have been — is the icing on the Icy cake, lending one of pop-rap’s most enervating presences to a song high on energy and nearly impossible to nitpick. – A.W.
Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen – “Like I Used To”
It’s hard to believe that indie legends Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen haven’t collaborated on music until now. The duo’s first-ever joint release, “Like I Used To,” channels the best of both veteran songwriters into what Derrick Rossignol called for Uproxx a “bold Americana” track. – Z.G.
Silk Sonic – “Leave The Door Open”
Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars first formed Silk Sonic one drunken night after touring Europe together in 2017. They kept the project under wraps since, but their debut single “Leave The Door Open” was worth the wait. Leaning on each musician’s strengths, .Paak delivers playful percussion (he even recorded the drums in one take), while Mars croons soulful harmonies about wooing a significant other. The song has already topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart a couple times, so it’s safe to say the project’s forthcoming debut album will be just as enticing. – C.D.
Syd – “Missing Out”
As far as R&B goes, Syd always delivers and she casually does it once again with “Missing Out.” It’s an expectation at this point. “Missing Out” is Syd’s first release since 2017’s Fin, which was incredible. Her futuristic handling of R&B has become signature and her soft voice flows perfectly throughout the song’s heavenly production, making it more than a listening experience by turning it into a poetic feeling experience. “Hope you finding what you need or what you seek ’cause now I’m free / And maybe in another life, you’d be mine,” she sings. “But you’re missing out.” More of this superb music-making is expected from Syd in 2021. – C.J.
Taylor Swift – “Mr. Perfectly Fine”
Leave it to Taylor to tack on one of her greatest cutting room floor songs onto the already near-perfect Fearless tracklist. “Mr. Perfectly Fine” mirrors some of Taylor’s other best songs about being jilted by a careless boy, the “casually cruel” line she later reuses to even greater effect in “All Too Well,” the golden-crush key final chorus, the ability to make a song about the worst feelings still seem dreamy and slightly upbeat. The best part about “Mr. Perfectly Fine,” though, is how space has shaped her own relationship to it — there’s no more pain or pettiness in delivery. That’s perfect. – C.W.
The Weather Station – “Tried To Tell You”
The Weather Station have been making music for over a decade. The band, fronted by Toronto songwriter Tamara Lindeman, had been a mostly acoustic project but their 2021 LP Ignorance took their sound in a new direction. Its standout single, “Tried To Tell You,” showcases the sonic shift, trading in wistful acoustic guitar for skittering snares and dance-ready rhythms. The song’s theme juxtaposes its optimistic instrumentation by detailing the importance of reaching out to a friend in need. – C.D.
Vic Mensa – “Shelter” Feat. Wyclef Jean, Chance The Rapper
Vic Mensa is back. Technically, that happened last year, with the confessional V Tape EP he released that saw him return to his pre-punk rock makeover lyrical form. Still, though, there was always a lingering doubt, the sense that it might all be temporary. Then, he reunited with his school friend and brother-in-arms Chance The Rapper for one of the most heartfelt tracks either have released in literally years (Chance’s wife-doting notwithstanding). “Shelter” feels like a reset for both its principal artists, a moment they recaptured the public’s interest and buying enough credit for us to eagerly look forward to their next move. – A.W.
Young Dolph and Key Glock – Penguins
Young Dolph and Key Glock have done an excellent job of leading Memphis’ recent hip-hop resurgence over the last few years. The protege and mentor combination delivered strong collaborations in the past, with one of their best being their recent joint album, Dum & Dummer 2. Throughout its 20 tracks, the duo show their chemistry has only improved over the years and “Penguins” is a prime example of this. The icy track captures the Memphis duo once again celebrating their well-earned success with diamonds and other jewels colder than the most brisk wind. – W.O.
Young Thug and Gunna – “Ski”
At this point, Gunna and Young Thug’s chemistry is nearly unmatched by any other pairing in rap. Recapturing the magic of their So Much Fun collaboration “Surf” on the YSL Records compilation Slime Language 2, they prove that it shouldn’t take much to make an unimpeachable rap banger. Bass, loop, snares, and the two rappers’ complementary verses all combine into a slickly versatile musical gumbo — one that also inspired a viral TikTok dance, boosting its popularity and proving that there is still plenty of fun to be had. – A.W.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
=According to the New York Post, music executive Scooter Braun has been hit with a $50 million lawsuit by a former Goldman Sachs partner, named Peter Comisar, who claimed the music executive failed to come through on a promise of a meaningful role at Braun’s new venture if Comisar departed from his current job.
Comisar says that from 2016 to 2017 Braun “aggressively courted” him while he was working for Guggenheim Securities. Braun allegedly bragged about his roster of talents and famous close friends in hopes that Cosimar would jump ship and join the music executive in launching Scope Capital Partners with business manager David Bolno.
The lawsuit says Bolno spoke highly of Braun, crediting him for “reigniting Calvin Klein underwear through a campaign with Justin Bieber and creating the Yeezy brand for Kanye West.” Comisar also claims Braun told him anywhere between $500 million and $700 million could be raised by getting close friends, like Jimmy Iovine and David Geffen, to invest in Scope. Comisar adds that Braun “personally executed contractual commitments to support the new venture,” which would have given Scope an operating expense of $7 million per year for three years while Comisar himself earned a salary of $3 million a year. However, things turned bad when those billionaire investors failed to hold up their end of the bargain.
“The truth was that Braun’s relations valued him as someone to socialize with, but to whom they could never and trust their millions,” the lawsuit read. “When it came to fundraising, Braun turned out to be a sheep in wolves clothing.” Comisar adds that he was threatened by Bolno, saying that if he pursued legal action over the breach of contract saying, “Braun would trash Comisar’s pristine reputation” and “ruin him financially.”
