The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
RINI deserves to be championed for the way he writes about love. The 23-year-old Australian-born singer released his official debut album, Constellations, this past Friday, three years removed from his beautiful 2018 EP, After The Sun. Both projects focus on the dealings that occur after sundown, but Constellations takes an out-of-this-world touch to RINI’s music, offering a beautiful love story that any hopeless romantic would die for 00 even though it seems far too good to be true. The young singer also receives help from Wale, a wordsmith certified to speak about the ups and downs of love, and Maeta, a newcomer who also has a fresh takes on romance to share.
Constellations leans heavily on brute honesty. RINI shows no fear, with the confidence that the woman he desires so much is the one. It’s no surprise that he lays all his cards face-up before her. “Red Lights,” the first song of the album, evokes the hair-pulling wait that occurs en route to a new flame. It’s clear that the relationship is new and fresh as his eagerness makes a routine stop at a red light far more grueling than usual. Backed by production that amplifies RINI’s lusty cries, you can feel his urge to cut corners and break rules to reach his desired destination.
Behind this song’s literal meaning comes a metaphor as well. The “red lights” RINI bemoans also signify the necessary breaks one should take as a relationship grows. RINI obeys these procedures, going from the realization of falling in love on “Over Some Wine” and “Butterflies” — so much so that it even surprises himself — to surefire commitment on “For Days” and “Craving.” RINI trusted the process and it got him all he wanted and more.
An impressive aspect of the album is RINI’s ability to spend so much time on the “cloud nine” period of love without sounding redundant. From “Butterflies” to the outro track of Constellations, RINI falls down a neverending tunnel of love. It helps that he also slightly pivots his focus through each track. “Mimosa” and “Need It” present a warm yearning for his partner’s return during their time apart while “Bedtime Story” begs to make their moments of intimacy last forever. “Talk To Me,” as on “Out Of The Blue,” seeks the reassurance to confirm he’s that he’s not the only one head-over-heels four times over in this relationship. Listeners are given just enough to understand nearly all of RINI’s feelings in romance without becoming suffocating.
It makes perfect sense that RINI named his debut Constellations. The way he presents it through the album’s 12 songs, love is as beautiful as the stars in the sky. In both cases, when you truly fall for it, you’ll crave its return throughout the day, immerse yourself in its beauty at nightfall, and dread its departure as the sun returns to begin the next day. He also believes love’s best moments occur once the sun goes down. Whether it’s the vulnerability that the darkest hours present or the inactive state of the world that allows for uninterrupted intimacy, it’s ironically the time where his romance blooms.
Constellations is out now via Warner Records. Get it here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
When Inglewood rapper D Smoke says that hip-hop isn’t violent enough, I know exactly what he means. See, D Smoke is an old soul — and old enough to remember the times in rap when voices like NWA, Ice Cube, and Tupac Shakur ruled the airwaves. So, he isn’t talking about mainstream rap’s obsession with “opps” and the near-constant threats and menacing in lyrics promising bloody retribution against hazily defined, likely hypothetical enemies.
Instead, his philosophy can best be summed up by his aggressive single “Shame On You,” from his newly released sophomore effort, War & Wonders. “Two times for n****s that ain’t gon’ lose,” he barks on the song’s militant chorus. “Three times for n****s that break wrong rules / One time for n****s that paid those dues / Listen, if you ain’t getting it, then shame on you.” See, D Smoke comes from a different vein of rapper, one more focused on using his influence to do good in the community than on being a billionaire. Think early Cube, “Changes” Tupac, or more recently, Nipsey Hussle.
It was evident from his opening bars on the Netflix series Rhythm + Flow (which helped launch him to the level he’s since reached) that he had a peculiar outlook and wasn’t going to take a typical rap journey. It became even more evident on his soul-washed, family-focused, Grammy-nominated debut album Black Habits. It’s rare to see a new artist nominated so quickly for a prestigious award — yes, the Grammys are still prestigious until further notice — but Smoke, an industry veteran as a producer and songwriter with a musical family that includes TDE crooner SiR, took the changes in stride.
Now, on War & Wonders, he aims to bring that violence back to hip-hop; not the gangbanging, opp-pack-smoking, shootouts-over-drug-money type violence, but the roll-up-your-sleeves, hitch-up-your-pants, defend your turf from encroaching outsiders and internal degradation variety. Over lunch at The Farm of Beverly Hills, D Smoke laid out his world view, including how it’s changed on the album, the work he hopes to see in his hometown as massive developments threaten seismic social upheaval, and whether or not he’s switching teams with the Los Angeles Clippers moving in down the street.
I would love for you to expound on what the title means to you, how you came up with it, and how that relates to the music that’s going to be on the project.
War & Wonders is my body of work that captures the struggles and the battles that we go through, both literally, like the war in the streets in Inglewood, and also just the internal battles that we fight. And then the wonder is for those of us who are strong, that stick it through, what we experience on the other side of that. The bliss, the joy, the love that we experience. So it’s going to capture the duality of what it means to be D Smoke — the D Smoke that grew up fighting in school, but also the D Smoke that had a 4.0. The D Smoke that went to UCLA but was rapping and handing out mixtapes his freshman year. So it allows me to just be all of who I am, and the music is just, it’s dope. What can I say? I’m in love with this project.
Yes, sir. I love that you spoke about the duality of growing up in the hood and getting out and going back to the hood and taking in the differences. We have so many examples of that. Why do you think that resonates so much with rappers who come from LA?
Man, it’s a lot that people don’t understand about how the hood operates, right? People, they see the gang bang and they see the red and blue. They see Crenshaw and Manchester versus Crenshaw and Slauson. But what they don’t know is that the same ones that’s in the streets will also push the talented few or the talented many, but they’ll push the gifted ones into whatever they’re gifted at.
If you’re a baller in the hood and you pull up with a basketball, asking for a pistol, they’re going to be like, “No, this ain’t yours. The ball is yours.” Right? If you’re a scholar in the hood, they’re not going to let you put a gun in your backpack, they’re going to be like, “No, fill that up with books.”
So part of War & Wonders is painting that all-around picture of what it means to come up in the hood, giving the OGs and the gangsters more love than this one-dimensional depiction of them, that music sometimes gives. Because the gangsters are the mentors too. A lot of times gangsters are more attentive than some of the professionals. The professionals ain’t got time for you. The gangsters are present and they’re not just the mentors to young gangsters. They’re the mentors to the young scholars, too.
And all of us have those who look out for us. So when we’re talking about Inglewood and we’re talking about duality, it’s not just the duality of being D Smoke. It’s the duality of being anybody from the world because nobody is one-dimensional. I know gangsters that’ll make you laugh like they’re Kevin Hart. And then if shit go down, they’ll turn around and be more ready than any soldier. So that’s why I love War & Wonders. It just puts things in perspective in a way that I think music should.
Yes, sir. In terms of growth or… I don’t want to say growth because it’s never growth, right? It’s change. Change is the key. How would you say things have changed for you since Black Habits to now? And how would you say that change has expressed itself on Black Habits versus War & Wonders?
First and foremost, the world has changed. This music is coming from a place and a time where everybody in the world is experiencing an unprecedented degree of new challenges, right? How everything operates is different from how we move through the world. Whether it be the mask-on/mask-off argument or how we approach prioritizing our health. We’re in a completely different world altogether.
So, whereas Black Habits was a family story, War & Wonders is a community story. And I always view myself starting very close to home and slowly expanding. So, War & Wonders has moments where we talk about Inglewood. One song, I’m talking about a youngster that I lost while I’m in the classroom, and then I find out he passed. And I tell that story of me growing up with him and then having to find out that he got lost to the streets. But then, of course, having recently gotten married, there are moments of just love on my project. And even J. Cole, at one point, said, “This is the part that the thugs skip. Young n**** never had love.”
And you know what’s funny? They don’t.
They don’t skip it! They don’t skip it.
That’s the thing they want more than anything.
So War & Wonders is that project where they get bits and pieces of both sides. But we’re in a very different place. We’re in a different world than we were in when Black Habits came out. And so I also think, with the world changing so fast, if we don’t take on an attitude of resistance, or an attitude of strength, or a willingness to fight if things don’t work for us, we will be on the losing end of that.
King Los told me, “Embrace your darkness.” Because showing people that is what will make them accept and embrace your light. They know you have the light to offer. Be all the way honest with them.
Royce da 5’9″ — and I understood exactly what he was saying — was like, “Rap music is not violent enough anymore.” And you think about violence in the broader sense of the word. It’s not just walk up and slap somebody. At its root, it’s the willingness to go against something that’s opposing you. And so War & Wonders has that kind of energy on it.
The people who are more critics than listeners might be like, “What’s D Smoke doing?” But the people who listen for the intent and follow through here in the project, they going to respect the fact that we took that stance and made that approach to this project because the world needs it. People don’t need to shrink. This ain’t a time to shrink. It’s time to grow and get big in the midst of everything we’re experiencing in the world. Because when these things happen, everybody needs an advocate, and you’re your first advocate.
I got a sense of that on one of the recent singles, “Shame On You.”
“Shame on You” got that energy.
What are some of the things that maybe you wouldn’t have expected or that other people wouldn’t have expected to have changed since Rhythm+Flow?
I don’t think that people expected my success on the show to automatically amount to a successful career in music. And that’s because there hasn’t been evidence of that with the exception of American Idol.
Show’s been on the air for 20 years.
Exactly. Exactly. And we could probably name five that we still know. Clay, Fantasia, Kelly, Ruben, and that’s where my list stops.
My mom loves Fantasia!
But from The Voice or Making the Band, we know funny moments.
We know cheesecake.
Right. Exactly. So Dylan, Dylan, Dylan.
Dylan, Dylan.
So one thing that people didn’t expect is that amounting to what we had. I always knew that it was the work, the plan, and the vision that would result in that. And nobody had to tell me that, it’s just me being older and having had really big looks and moments of success, and then having gone back to being like, “Okay, I’m back in the classroom teaching again, because I got to call somebody and ask them to put a song I produced on an album,” versus me stepping outside and being like, “I’m going to plan another tour.”
So all of those experiences led to me choosing to be my own artist. And that’s how we got here. Some of the unexpected things that I experienced personally, I’m grateful for the amount of attention that comes. That’s cool. That’s what young artists aspire to experience. It’s just little stuff: like sometimes people don’t know how to have respectful boundaries of a human being. So getting physically grabbed. I don’t respond well to that. And it’s not big dudes that will do it, it’s older women who be like, “Boy, ain’t you…” Like they your auntie. But grab you physically.
They’ll be excited.
And you’re like, “Ma’am, God bless you, but please don’t grab me, because…”
Where I’m from, I react different.
It’s like you got to relearn how to live. You live differently, you move differently. And that’s the part that you don’t see, people making those adjustments, even within their family. I’ve had to teach family members how I prefer us as a family unit to behave on social networking. We no longer post vibes. We no longer say, “We’re over here right now.” Because people follow my family members.
There’s lots of talk about Inglewood in the news lately because of certain developments coming from organizations like the Clippers.How do you feel about some of the stuff they’re doing, as someone from Inglewood?
The thing is, I wish they connected with me a little more on those things. I have some ideas, and I hope… I can’t wait to get with Ballmer about this community. If there’s a stadium being built, then there needs to be a center being built. Every stadium should have a center for the youth. Within three miles, two miles of it.
Close enough to walk.
Close enough. Because there’s so much money and it’s just a small fraction of what it takes to operate that, to build something like a YMCA, or like a Boys and Girls Club, that’s also run by somebody from that community. And so that’s a conversation that I’ll continue with me and David Gross, having the boxing gym close. It’s not far, it’s outside of Inglewood, but it’s within the vicinity, to kind of initiate. So it’s just socially and culturally responsible to put something there for the youth. And that’s a conversation I’m going to push for. But I’m open to being informed on what they are doing in the community.
Which LA team do you root for the most? Because you’ve performed for one, but I need to know.
I’m a Laker fan, a Laker fan. But put it this way: I grew up a Laker fan, and I’m still a Laker fan. But I’m an all-teams LA fan, all-LA teams fan for basketball. I happened to be in the stadium the night that the Clippers beat the Heat. They came back from like 25 points at half-time. I performed that night and I witnessed one of the greatest comebacks I’ve ever seen live in person. When I performed, I didn’t know that that was going to happen. I’m performing at half-time at a time where the score is so bad some people are leaving at half-time.
Those are the long-time Clipper fans.
Exactly.
We’re still traumatized.
It’s like, “I don’t want to witness it today. I’m trying to spare myself.” But I said, “How many of y’all know this game ain’t over yet?” And then, the song was “No Commas.” I said, “Ain’t a dollar sign tag on some peace of mind, jack / We could take a loss, we gon’ get it right back.” And they went on to win the game. But just to experience that upfront personally, you just got to have respect for that degree of heart that goes into it, and feeling like I contributed something to that game.
Oh, they definitely took something out of that.
So, I have to root for them.
Where do you see D Smoke being next year, a year from now? Are you looking at another Grammy nomination? Are you looking at a world tour? What’s the ultimate goal? Where do you find yourself?
Gosh, the Grammy nomination is outside of my hands. We are submitting ourselves for consideration. So we’re confident that the project is beautiful. If they respond to it, cool. If for some reason they see a different group of people that are qualified, or they connect with different bodies of work, that’s cool too. Because I know fans are going to feel about this project. I know it’s something that they’re going to want to experience in person and we will get back outdoors, both in the States and abroad. We’re excited about that. And that’s within our control. So if it happens, that’s dope, super dope. It was dope when it happened this time. But I feel like this project competes with anything that I’ve heard and anything that I’m going to hear, for the year to come.
War & Wonders is out now via Woodworks and EMPIRE. Get it here/
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
In the lead-up to the release of his debut album, Montero, Lil Nas X was confronted with a question. The question’s method of delivery and its questionable messenger failed to undermine its import — although it also likely highlighted a different problem than the inquirer intended. Pointing out the Montero tracklist’s lack of Black male artists, our concern trolling, gay panic conspiracy theorist wanted to draw attention to the project’s so-called “agenda.” Instead, they only threw Nas’ historical position within hip-hop into stark contrast.
Hip-hop has always had a homophobia problem. From its very inception, the genre has touted an image of Black masculinity that left little room for alternative expressions of manhood. Words like “gay,” “homo,” “f****,” and more have been slung indiscriminately for decades in the music of giants like 50 Cent, Big L, Diplomats, Eminem, Jadakiss, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Meek Mill, Nas, and Tyler The Creator. Even so-called conscious rappers and seemingly progressive allies, including Chance The Rapper, J. Cole, and Nicki Minaj have peppered their ostensibly innocuous bars with language that undermines their positive messages.
It’s even more astonishing that Tyler The Creator eventually came out as queer on his 2017 game-changer Flower Boy. It cast his prior offenses in a new light, while also muddling the impact of his admission. Why, if Tyler was gay or bi, would he spend so much of his early career flinging this specific species of invective? It was never haphazard either — the intentionality of his jabs was seen in the unapologetic way he handled the question in interviews, even before coming out. Was this the only way he felt he could establish his credibility in a genre that so often rejects queer people, let alone artists seeking their fortunes within it?
And is this why Lil Nas X, whose first attempt to breakthrough in the industry was the rap-focused Nasarati mixtape, built himself as more of a pop star now? Never mind how he defines himself, though, because the backlash he’s drawn has come much more from rap mainstays like Dave East, Joyner Lucas, and Lil Boosie than it has from pop circles. His music, though it’s pop-influenced, is grounded in hip-hop’s production, vocal delivery, and flair for braggadocio, even as he takes tremendous steps away from pure rapping on Montero.
This is where the crooning, grungy closer “Am I Dreaming” lives. As Nas duets with Miley Cyrus, he implores the listener to take his stories and experiences with them. It’s the most outward-facing song here, the one time the album truly acknowledges what Nas is doing for the rest of the album: Creating a space for artists like himself to flourish in a hostile environment, simply by being too talented to ignore. If no other Black male artists will work with him, he won’t just make do, he’ll jump the entire pop music hierarchy, tapping mega stars like Miley and icons like Elton John (who appears on the sobering “One Of Me,” on which Nas addresses the pressure to fit in and serve the whims of a fickle audience) to validate himself instead.
Elsewhere, Nas nods to the wave of female talent currently tipping hip-hop’s scales away from its hypermasculine origins, employing Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion, two of his fellow No.1 record-holders from 2020, to replace artists who couldn’t or wouldn’t show up. If rap fans are so miffed about Jack Harlow’s placement on “Industry Baby,” then that ire should be directed at all the other rappers who could and should have jumped at the chance to rock along with Nas on what would assuredly be a massive hit. Of course, if those fans kept open minds, they would hear razor-sharp verses from the atypical trio of rap guests — especially from Doja, who delivers a witty missive on “Scoop.”
But the star remains Lil Nas X and his unique perspective — at least within hip-hop. Perhaps the most telling aspect of his stature is the fact that songs like “Call Me By Your Name” and “Sun Goes Down” have resonated so deeply within the audience, despite departing so sharply from the usual content and texture expected of rappers in the modern era. Even when he treads familiar territory such as depression on “Tales Of Dominica” and “Don’t Want It” and alienation on “Life After Salem,” his most relatable material is informed by two things: 1. The fact he is a gay Black man, and 2. His clearly defined pop sensibilities.
Old school hip-hoppers have always rejected rap’s categorization as pop… but sometimes I wonder why. Is it because pop is seen foremost as the domain of women, especially young white women? Is it because relating too closely to those sounds and sentiments can be seen as feminine, and therefore as gay? I can certainly see why that would feel like a threat, even boys are taught games like “Smear The Queer” before they are even old enough to know what “queer” means (see: Moonlight). Being different means being a target… but it also means standing in the spotlight. It means being seen for better or worse. By embracing pop and hip-hop and all the parts of himself he’s always been told not to, Lil Nas X sets an example. He makes space for the next generation. He moves the balance ever so slightly toward acceptance.
Montero is out now via Columbia Records. Get it here.
Some of the artists mentioned here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
“Let’s break the rules.”
These are the words singer Kyle Dion blares out on the opening track to his third album Sassy. This idea of negating the world’s expectations isn’t a newly-discovered concept for the Los Angeles-based singer, he’s been doing that from the very start. From his 2016 debut Painting Sounds through his 2019 sophomore effort Suga, Kyle Dion has made his uniqueness very clear. He possesses the energy of a rockstar, has one of the more impressive voices in the R&B world, carries an impenetrable confidence like most rappers do, and he does all of this while traversing the world like an indie act. It’s these qualities that helped the singer craft his last album, Suga, one of the most impressive R&B albums in 2019. The album’s 13 tracks detailed the rise and fall of love filled with equally climatic and crushing moments. Each was accentuated by the singer’s ability to excellently portray the raw passion needed for whatever emotion was at hand.
With that being said, his invitation to break the rules is more so for we as listeners, and maybe even his contemporaries, to join him in moving against the expected flow of the world. It comes with the hope that we’ll find an exhilarating freedom in doing so. But how does a rule-breaker continue to break the rules in a way that’s still attention-grabbing rather than recycled, repetitive, and even exhausting? Well, for Kyle Dion, he does it by simply having fun. His third album Sassy taps into a different side of his personality, one he describes as “an exaggerated version of myself.” However, even Dion has set boundaries for his anti ways. “I’ll never make the same song or album twice,” he says over a Zoom call. “That just doesn’t stimulate me at all and I don’t want to hear that, so I wouldn’t make it.”
It’s a line of thought that Dion said multiple times to me during our conversation. Even without him saying it, one might have guessed it as his mantra after listening to Sassy. The 17-track album is lively in ways that even the most energetic moments of his previous two projects hadn’t reached. “Parmesan” welcomes your best dance moves while Dion sings of his saucy ways and “Drip” with Duckwrth picks up the pace for an infectious number that commends a woman’s spotlight moment during a night out. “Money” is a cut-throat record that happily accepts the idea that cash ruling everything around him while “Fix Vision” with Channel Tres praises a woman’s beauty on the beautifully constructed track.
Kyle Dion’s change of emphasis on Sassy came after he discovered a falling point with his 2019 album. “I remember going to my friend’s house and they couldn’t play a song of mine on Suga at a kickback or something because it was not the wave,” he says. “I want to be played at a kickback, I want girls to be twerking and sh*t. I want to be played at different things.” So after touring the United States and Europe, all while having a blast with friends as he created moments like partying and “peeing in a lake and sh*t” in Amsterdam as well as the “lit as hell” experiences of Chicago, Dion set his mind on making a more outdoor-friendly album. While some may have not caught on to his versatility yet, the singer is very aware of his Rolodex of talents. “I can do many things and I’m not scared to show people that I can do many things, I don’t want people to expect things.”
And there it began. Sassy and all its beauty slowly came together, and as Dion worked to put the pieces together, there was one thing he was sure of. “One thing that I’m always gonna be able to do is sing my ass off,” he proclaims. “I’m always going to incorporate that into everything that I do, but there are no rules in what I’m able to do. I can do whatever I want as an artist.” It’s this refusal to conform that also welcomes a surprising, unexpected, but pleasant guest appearance from Ja Rule on “Placebo.” The New York rapper’s appearance came after Dion jokingly mentioned him after Ja Rule and Jennifer Lopez’s “I’m Real” came to mind while recording “Placebo.” “We just felt like it was funny and kind of a stretch, but we put it out there to my team,” he says. “A member of my team knew Ja Rule’s camp, and we sent it out to them.” Well, it turned out to be a great move as they received more than was asked for. “We were so excited when he sent a verse back instead of adlibs and I was like, ‘Yeah, man, this shi*t’s crazy.”
Furthermore, Dion loved that I labeled Ja Rule’s guest appearance as unexpected because it plays into the random and freeform artist he strives to be. “Like you said, You didn’t expect the pairing and that’s what I love,” he boasts. “I don’t want anyone to expect anything from me because I’m ever-changing, I’m ever-growing, and evolving. That’s what it is.” For some, change is dangerous as it promises an equal chance of rejection as it does praise. It’s something Stormzy alluded to during an interview with Billie Eilish. “Your spirit sometimes wants to stick to what you know,” the British rapper said while speaking about the pains of a sophomore album. “But then you want to venture out and like you’re just trying to figure out… the world really loved me for everything I did the first time around, so how do I approach the second one?”
So in a world where many, understandably, cringe or shudder at the idea of sharing something completely different than what they’ve found great success in and have been typecasted to, Dion practically begs his peers to throw caution into the wind and show their full palette of colors. “People are scared bro, people are so scared to show the range [and] do different sh*t,” he says with a bit of frustration in his tone and later adds, “Do what you want in the moment [and] be unapologetically yourself.” It’s sound advice from the singer who’s spent half a decade doing this. Being a musician is founded on constant leaps of faith as you repeatedly subject yourself to criticism or acclaim with every release. However, there’s a reason the saying “you miss every shot you don’t take” exists.
One of my favorite aspects of Sassy comes right after Dion’s collaboration with Ja Rule. Following “Placebo,” the flashing lights and pyrotechnics that come with the show that Dion puts on throughout the album are replaced with a single dim light as the singer’s tender touch returns to the forefront. “Comfortable” provides a warm blanket to a lover in hopes that the gesture will provoke them into opening up and showing him their true self. “Kiss Me Back” uses an endearing collection of guitar chords to beg for reciprocation and his “Good Bye, Good Luck” interlude lets go of a love he so desperately hoped would last forever. This versatility, and mastery in controlling it all, is truly impressive. It’s sequenced perfectly into the album making it a smooth transition into this relaxed moment as well as one out of it as the singer laughs off his sad-boy moment to return to the fun and bring the album to a close.
Sassy is filled with color from top to bottom and Kyle Dion is aware of it. The album isn’t painted within some imaginary lines that were set for it. That would quite literally go against the boundary-breaking agenda that the singer set for it. Instead, it contains splatters of vibrant coloring all over the canvas, and even if it doesn’t amount to a beautiful work of art in society’s eyes, it’s elegant enough for Dion and he’s happy that he did it that way. “I just threw up on this album and [it’s] like, “What do I do now? What’s next?” he ponders as our conversation nears an end. “Just as a young man growing into myself, I’m so curious as to where I’m gonna be next and where I’m gonna go next, but I’m happy that I let that out.”
Being a rule-breaker requires you to put up blinders to how people may respond to you. Going against the grain is rarely applauded, and it’s something the singer understands with his third album. “I did this one unapologetically, this is how I’m feeling, take it, love it, or don’t,” he says to me. However, even this rebel can’t help but hope for one thing from the world that consumes Sassy. “Do what you want and f*cking respect people that just put their sh*t out there and be f*cking free, unapologetic, and exactly who they are,” he declares. “If you don’t like it, that’s fine, but you got to respect it. That’s what I want, people should do whatever they want. That’s it.”
I think we can all agree with that.
Sassy is out now via Kyle Dion/AWAL Recordings. Get it here.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
In all the noise and chaos of the rollouts for Drake and Kanye West’s new albums, it might have been easy to miss the release of one of the best albums of the year. That’s a shame, because while one of the more infuriating debates surrounding those albums was their lack of female voices, Little Simz’s new album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert should have been sufficient to satisfy any desire for a feminine presence — ironically, as it gave ample evidence that a woman, by herself, can be enough.
That may have been its goal all along. Simz elucidates the internal world of a woman pursuing her dream of rap stardom in defiance of her own discomfort at the idea of fitting into a world where women aren’t always welcome. She does this by way of narrative skits peppered throughout which highlight the introversion suggested by the album’s title; Simz is no star-chaser or glory hound, prompting one of the characters in the interludes, a character that seems to reflect Simz’s inner voice to question why she’s even here. It’s a question that I think every artist has wrestled with — or at least, one that perhaps they should.
Simz is also not a shrinking violet either. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert is her fourth album, building on the critical acclaim and momentum of her highly-praised 2019 project, Grey Area. On that album, she showed a propensity and a gift for both clear-eyed introspection and sharp observation. Here, she refines those skills, offering broad-ranging commentary and experienced insights on the world’s perceptions of Black women and her own defiant reactions to them.
On songs such as “Woman” featuring Cleo Sol, Simz lists women by nationality and occupation, offering a counterpoint to the often negative stereotypes that exist in the mainstream hip-hop world. In the interlude “Gems,” she details those struggles in conversation with the fairy godmother-esque inner voice (played by Diana, Princess of Wales actress Emma Corrin) both encouraging her and interrogating her doubts. “But understand you’re human,” she advises. “Be proud. Your light will shine in the darkest hour. Pressure makes diamonds.”
“Standing Ovation” continues this line of questioning but adds a boisterous dose of braggadocio, reminding the audience that Little Simz is one of rap’s foremost technicians as well. A beat switch reflects the duality of womanhood, swinging between the extroverted confident delivery of a traditional rapper and the somewhat muted, but never dimmed, introverted calm at the center of the storm. The latter is a swirling, shimmering instrumental breakdown, allowing Simz to pause and reflect on the personal sacrifices it takes to earn the boasts.
Throughout the album, Simz tries on different styles, inhabiting each with a calm confidence born of her hard-won self-possession. On “Point And Kill” she executes afro-pop as assuredly as Nigerian native guest artist Obongjayar, keeping the vibe every bit as strong on “Fear No Man.” Sometimes I Might Be Introvert is a sweeping experiment that operates with an astonishing level of sonic breadth, but it never loses its sense of structure and direction. Simz is completely in control, keeping the melange of sounds and styles from ever feeling as chaotic as Kanye’s Donda or artificial as Drake’s Certified Lover Boy. When she chooses to address complex parental relationships on “I Love You, I Hate You,” it’s with a grace that neither has ever completely mastered.
It’s cozy and cohesive, more revealing than either of the aforementioned, but also much more genuine and honest. Simz is speaking from her experience but speaking for so many women who might feel voiceless in the current context of hip-hop, where spectacle seems to outweigh substance. Don’t get it twisted; Sometimes I Might Be Introvert takes some big swings too, but it never lets go of its message for the sake of an impressive stroke at expanding its sound. Simz has evolved, album by album, into the kind of artist who can push boundaries and remain both relatable and universal at the same time. It’s a balancing act that so many artists could take lessons from as hip-hop pursues its contemporary aspirations at making “high art,” because Simz already is.
Sometimes I Might Be Introvert is out now via AWAL Digital Limited and AGE 101. Get it here.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
The angel number “333” is a reassuring sign that confirms the path one currently charters is the correct one. All fears, worries, anxieties, or anything else that undercuts confidence at the knees, are acknowledged, but the beam of light that this triple-digit figure shines towards is optimism rather than pessimism. In short, “333” not only begs for faith but also induces it. After all the chaos that the world endured in 2020, it’s no surprise that Tinashe’s fifth album carries the title of 333, but a pandemic year barely scratches the surface of inspiration for the singer, that is, if it’s even for the table she sits at.
To understand why Tinashe might need faith instilled in her future, you have to understand her past. After gaining popularity for a trio for 2010s mixtapes, In Case We Die (2012), Reverie (2012), and Black Water (2013), and breaking through mainstream walls with her debut album Aquarius and top-30 Billboard single “2 On,” things would veer off-road for Tinashe. Struggles with her former label would result in an unpromoted sophomore album Nightride and a well-overdue third album in Joyride. Tinashe would reclaim control of her career as an independent act for her fourth and fifth albums, Songs For You and 333, but for many of her fans, and quite possibly the singer herself, questions of what-ifs and maybes swarmed the mind.
333 encapsulates Tinashe’s eye-popping versatility like no other album in her discography has done. Through 16 songs and collaborations with Jeremih, Kaytranada, Kaash Paige, Buddy, and more, the singer dives headfirst into the idea that trusting what’s in front of you will lead to what’s also destined for you. It’s the hidden message that lays underneath the drawn-out and steady snaps on the album’s opening track, “Let Go.” “It’ll be alright,” she sings softly. “When I let go.” The gadgets and gizmos that we believe we can control to steer our lives in the desired direction are mere placebos that appear as such we end up at a different destination than expected — whether it be an enchanting heaven or a bottomless ditch.
So with that, Tinashe keeps faith in what she can do well, and in all honesty, it’s a lot. Between R&B that arrives as gritty on “I Can See The Future” or bouncy and sensual on “X” as well as pop-leaning records that come alive through “Undo (Back To My Heart)” and “The Chase,” Tinashe’s palette bears many different colors for brushes of all sizes. For some, this never-ending availability of options may be too much to handle, but for Tinashe? She’s cut front the cloth that doesn’t simply beg for freedom — she requires and demands it. A lack of boundaries for some leads to aimless roaming and wasted times, while for others, it provides the perfect space for discovery and inspiration. Tinashe is the latter.
Roaming free helped the singer produce several examples of attention-seizing records on 333. “Unconditional” begins with uptempo dance-ready production before dialing the tempo back in its second half into a relaxed state that sees Tinashe expanding on her request for love without restriction as she plans on giving the same. “Last Call” arrives as a somber goodbye to a relationship that once was and the hope that a friendship can be salvaged. The song’s climatic production from verse-to-chorus accentuates Tinashe’s true pain towards a departed love while a similar structure on “The Chase” presents a woman who’s moved on and won’t beg for a former lover’s presence.
For the career Tinashe has endured, two quotes from her come to mind. “I realized that it was my turn to get back into the driver’s seat as far as curating every move I made from there on out,” which she said following the underwhelming success of “Flame,” a lead single turned promo release for Joyride. The second comes from a 2017 interview with Lena Dunham. “I learned that if I couldn’t trust in myself, and my own opinions, I lost all of my value as an artist,” she said. Both statements from Tinashe are worth keeping in mind while traversing through her latest body of work.
Tinashe deserves the spot she stands in right now. She was due for this position years ago, but maybe the bumpy road she walked on was intentionally laid for her. The trials and tribulations the singer went through are certainly examples of the faults within an often unsupportive music industry, this and the accompanying high moments she experienced all contributed to the success she has now. Control what you can and let go of what you cannot as hindsight is 20/20 and foresight is as blind as a bat, but faith in continuing forward should bring Tinashe all she wants and more. The angels have spoken, now it’s time to listen, trust, and believe.
333 is out now via Tinashe Music Inc. Get it here.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
There’s a webcomic, one of those relatable, simply-drawn four-panel stories, in which a little cartoon dog sits at a table sipping from a mug of tea. The house he’s in is on fire, and in the second panel, he finally reacts to his situation: “This is fine,” he insists, although things around him are most certainly not in any way “fine.” The comic, a 2013 strip of the gag-a-day comic Gunshow has since been stripped down to these first two panels and re-shared into cultural ubiquity, a meme detached in many ways from its original context to describe most of our everyday existence in the era of Trump and COVID.
Isaiah Rashad’s new album, The House Is Burning, is very much the audio equivalent of this comic, with Isaiah playing the role of Question Hound, and his lyrics reflecting both of the juxtaposed states in play in the comic. On one hand, there is a creeping, nauseous sense of paranoia and dread. On the other, there is the Chattanooga rapper’s bemused insistence that everything is fine, the denial of the disaster in progress that threatens his very existence. The appeal of The House Is Burning is, yes, in its relatability, the tension between that sense of helplessness in the face of certain doom and our own (pardon) dogged need to press forward as though this is all normal, even though we know it’s not.
In the five years since we last heard from Rashad on the fan-favorite The Sun’s Tirade, the Tennesseean native has lived through his own version of this hell, in part of his own making. In the lead-up to his latest release, he’s been candid about the fires that burned around him; his twin battles with anxiety and addiction led him to nearly imploding his own career, spending nearly all his rap money, and returning home to Chattanooga, where family and friends couldn’t believe that Rashad, a Top Dawg Entertainment employee, was running on fumes and drinking himself to death as a result.
Tracks throughout the album augur this sense of weary, doomed resignation. “Some n****s gon’ die in the cardboard, some n****s gon’ die in the feds,” he observes on the hook to album opener “Darkseid.” On single “Headshots (4r Da Locals),” amidst seemingly celebratory fare about cars with bass and his indefatigable sex appeal, Rashad sneaks in the cutting line “I got a crib bigger than Budapest / And the shots ain’t bringin’ my soldier back,” making the double entendre and stiletto slice of the grim reflection slide by behind the cool glamor of his stolid facade.
However, these gloomy ruminations share equal time and space with party tracks like “Wat U Sed” with TikTok star Doechii and Kal Banks and “From The Garden” with Lil Uzi Vert, where Rashad indulges in the excesses and flexes expected of rap stars of his stature. On “Lay Wit Ya,” the first song he promoted as a single from the album, he calls himself “a cold piece of work” and smears his sweaty come-ons with a fine layer of affected disaffection — some might call this pimping — as he works hard to appear like none of this is work. In reality, all the water rolling off his back may not look like it affects him, but underneath, he’s treading for dear life — a lot like the rest of us.
So there is relief and release in the pure R&B songs that smatter the tracklisting. “Claymore” with Smino finds Rashad finding solace in the temporary company of a string of women — and even that can’t keep him from heeding the siren call of his addictions. He gets even more vulnerable on “Score” with 6lack and SZA as he details his “war scars and more sh*t” for a potential paramour, warning her before she gets too close how likely he is to run. As is usual in Rashad’s discography, the album is sprinkled with references to hip-hop classics and figures like Chad Butler (aka Pimp C) of UGK, for whom a track is named, and callbacks to Goodie Mob’s “Cell Therapy” on “THIB,” reinforcing that relatability factor that has so endeared him to fans.
What results is a portrait of a man on fire, struggling to find inspiration and hope in dire circumstances and coming out on the other side by the sheer will it takes to stop pretending everything is fine. In that comic I mentioned earlier, the part that often gets cut in its ongoing meme-ification is the final two panels, in which Question Hound eventually just melts away from the heat and his own refusal to take action. That’s the key difference here; recognizing that he needed help, Isaiah sought and received it with the support of his TDE cohorts and leadership. The real takeaway from the album isn’t even really on it: The house is burning, but the choice to burn with it is entirely up to you.
The House Is Burning is out now on TDE/Warner Records. Get it here.
Isaiah Rashad is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
Phabo can’t fail at anything. That’s what the San Diego-born singer will tell you when you ask about his career, and it’s far from an egotistic or overly confident statement when you think about it. Failure is derived from expectations and in a world where anything can happen at any given moment, these hopes and beliefs can alter your progress, or the lack thereof at a given moment, to appear as if success lies further away than the horizons that stand in front of you. Luckily for the neo-soul-inspired singer, he learned to let go and let God when it came to his future.
“I’ve worked hard, God has allowed me to get to this point, so I know God wouldn’t allow me to get up there and fail for real, it’s not really a thing,” he says to me during a Zoom call. “I’m embracing the moment. Like I said, palms up. I’m embracing it for whatever it is, it’s fail-proof, I can’t fail.”
Our conversation comes shortly after Phabo released his debut album, Soulquarius. The new project is dipped in neo-soul gold — a genre that the singer holds near and dear to his heart — through 16 songs and features from Alex Vaughn, Destin Conrad, Mntra, and Rexx Life Raj. During a conversation with Uproxx, Phabo spoke about Soulquarius, his relationship with music and driving, and what he seeks the most for his career.
In your own words, because Soulquarius isn’t a new word (shoutout the Soulquarians), what does a Soulquarius mean to you?
Obviously, the end part is derived from Aquarius, with me being an Aquarius. I tie that in with my love for neo-soul music, the Soulquarians. I knew people would get that part, but deeper than that, it ties into everything that I stand for as well. It ties into astrology in terms of Polaris meaning my brand and stuff. It ties into following your North Star at all times. It’s a deeper meaning than “what’s your sign?” or whatnot, it’s not even like that or like me trying to do a carbon copy because I wasn’t trying to sound like it. I wasn’t trying to sound like that, I wanted to create my own sound but I still wanted that essence and that raw feeling to still be as if I recorded it at Electric Lady Studios in New York.
It’s clear that you’re very much affected and inspired by the neo-soul genre as a whole. From D’Angelo to Erykah Badu and everyone else that contributed to it, what pulled you into it the most?
So I was brought up around like a bunch of eclectic music. My dad wasn’t somebody who limited himself in terms of musicality because he was a songwriter too. My dad had a tape of affirmations and he had a tape of affirmative songs and it’d be the same five songs that would play every morning. Those five songs would be like Eric Benet’s “True To Myself,” Bobby McFerrin’s “Friends” was on there, and so on and so forth. Being able to read the lyrics, and I’m learning them at like six and seven, and just the different parts that go into that, it’s always been a feeling. I was able to understand spiritually what that meant and what that was and why I was tickling my gut right here when I listened to it, the chords when they do something. I can’t really explain it, I can’t put it in no other words other than you just know what it feels like when you hear it.
In a previous interview, you mentioned that you were ready to release Soulquarius years ago, but after an engineer took the masters with them on tour, you couldn’t drop it so we got your 2016 EP Free instead. Since then, how has Soulquarius and the story you aimed to tell grown, changed, or even stayed the same?
To be transparent, the only songs that remained from that project that was supposed to drop were “Beam,” “How’s My Driving?” [and] “Slippery.” Everything else was recorded after I thought that that project was done. It’s kind of crazy cause even in those moments where I was close to giving up, something would happen where God’s like, “Alright, he’s not getting it? We’re just here n****, chill.” The project changed a lot, but the integrity remained the same. Me and bro, that’s my brother, mind you, like I said, he did those three songs that I just named. We produced those, except for “Slippery,” but “How’s My Driving?” and “Beam” were with bro. He’s responsible for that noise that comes out right on “Beam,” he did all that. Nothing happens by chance and I’m grateful that we’re able to get to this point and I was grateful for all the changes that took place and the sound of it from then to now. If I listened to the original, what it was to be, as opposed to where we’re at now, it just sounds a little bit dated, so I’m grateful for it all.
I can assume this moment and all the frustrations that came with it were probably the hardest example of following your North Star right?
Yes, a million percent. Yeah, relinquishing all control to just the powers that be, like hands up, palms up. You’ll really take yourself through it, beating yourself up trying to force things to go a certain way at a certain time. I rushed that project to drop and then it’s like it’s just, yeah, no. I look back at how things could have been and I followed my North Star for sure, or the North Star led me. Like I said, I couldn’t even f*ck up if I wanted to, it wasn’t even happening. So I start getting to the point where I’m just talking to God every morning — moving with a different type of divine power. Even when I was f*cking it up, it wouldn’t [work]. Went to upload the joint, the joint bounced back, you know what I’m saying? Yeah, it’s divine bro.
There are a lot of songs and scenes that take place in a car on Soulquarius. There’s “LNF,” “S550,” and “How’s My Driving.” The sounds of an engine starting appear at the beginning of “Slippery.” What’s the relationship between music, cars, and driving for you?
Before it was Soulquarius, it was How’s My Driving?, that was the title of the project with “How’s My Driving” being the lead single on that project. I was born in San Diego, California, I moved to St. Petersburg, Florida when I was eight years old, then relocated to Long Beach when I was 16. I spent half of my junior year and senior year in Orange County completing high school, [then I] moved back to the heart of LA. I’m learning the culture out there, the backstreets to take, what not to say, all that stuff. All that is just like me maneuvering, working a full-time job, and I’m putting miles on my car just trying to make things happen. The way I made a name for myself on the writing side of things is me being available and dependable, and that comes with a lot of driving. All my ideas are coming to me on the road, I remember I used to write in between lights. I’d write at each stoplight on the way to the studio. I was on the road that much, I wasn’t at the crib, I would write like at a stoplight. LA, you could sit for a minute, so by the time I get to the studio, I got a song and it’s fresh because I just did it on the way here. The different routes that I took in life painted that picture for me.
You’ve done a lot of songwriting for artists like Kehlani, Kyle Doin & Jahkoy. What are some of the things you learned in this process that helped you grow as an artist as you were working on your own music?
Mars Today, he’s the homie, he’s a dope everything, I don’t even want to limit bro to anything he’s a creative, artist, producer, he got all that sh*t going. I remember early on, the first two artists I was writing for were Jahkoy and Kyle Dion. Before this, I kind of knew the structure of songs just based on what I was hearing on the radio and whatnot. When I went to write, that’s when I learned what each section was called. This the post, this the pre, we need this and we need that. Double that so it comes through [like this]. Everything has just happened to work hand-in-hand, there’s been nothing that’s been further along than anything. I feel like I was building on my artistry and my writing at the same time, always. I definitely learned more about the business from the writing side as well. How things work in terms of placing and whatnot. So in the future, when I do decide to work with other writers, I know how it works and how the business goes. I learned more of the business from the writer’s side than I did from the artist’s side for sure. On the artist side, there are still things that I’m learning.
Going off the point of you being a fairly new artist yourself, I wanted to ask: What are some artists that you’ve worked with, or that you’ve seen or interacted with, that you feel deserve more attention?
Destin Conrad, Ambré, let’s see, Jean Deaux [too]. It’s really like people that I rock with tough. I feel like Rexx Life Raj is another n**** that gets it. He understands life on a molecular level. It’s coming to him already, he’s already manifested it, but he’s one for sure. Really, AJ Saudin from Degrassi. He’s like — that’s scary because he can act and he’s in his R&B bag. We’re building that camaraderie to be able to get sh*t going. That’s a n**** I believe in 100% for sure. Lyfe Harris and Alex Vaughn [too].
We spoke earlier about just following your North Star. Wherever it leads you, you’re confident that it’s bringing you to a good place and somewhere that you can handle. However, if I could give you control for one moment, if there’s one thing that comes as a result of Soulquarius, what do you hope it is?
Longevity. I live by this principle that everybody gets like one earthquake in this game and everything after that is just maintaining the aftershocks. For me, I was kind of on the fence cause everybody wants to hold off this whole “album” word because it’s a game to [guess]. “Was it an album? Was that the one?” Nobody wants to bet on themselves and the labels don’t feel like these artists are ready to even say that yet. Following my North Star, I just went with whatever was coming naturally and what it felt like. It did not feel like an EP, it did not feel like a project. It felt like something that would set me up for the next 10-20 years. It felt like my Nostalgia, Ultra, it felt like my So Far Gone. I’ve seen some sh*t out here trying to finish this project, just trying to get this sh*t out. I know that shows and I know n****s feel that. I know the work that I put into this shows and I truly feel like this is the one, even with the next project’s success and the project after that’s success. This is gonna be the one that sets me up for the next 20 [years] to really run the game.
Soulquarius is out now via Soulection. Get it here.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
“I tell my fans we’re all alone in this together.” These words arrive from Dave towards the end of the intro track on his sophomore album. They’re delivered on a plate that presents equal parts blunt honesty and comforting, yet unorthodox reassurance. It’s a unique way for the British rapper to console those who wake up every morning to take a swing at life with the hope that they can return to bed with things less broken than they were at sunrise. “We’re all in this together” is already reassuring in itself, but the addition of “alone” uncovers something many of us hope to avoid amid life’s greatest qualms: reality.
On We’re All Alone In This Together, Dave reminds us that rap hasn’t exempted him from life struggles. The things that money can’t solve still affect the British rapper daily and he alludes to it on “We’re Alone.” “You can trust me, all the sh*t that you been feelin’, you’re feelin’ with me,” he candidly raps. “We all the took the wrong turns in different streets / We all cry the same tears on different cheeks.” There’s a fine line between sympathy and empathy and Dave is very much aware of it. He creates a middle ground between the two in order to support his fans and quite frankly, anyone who takes a moment to hear his words. Dave may not be able to walk in your shoes but he faintly recognizes them as they’re not too different from the pair that cover his feet.
Dave does so much with cut-throat intention. Not in the sense of placing the necessary piece into a puzzle he aims to solve. The London native is responsible for the landscape that the intricate pieces unveil when connected. He’s the puppetmaster and the puppet at the same time. Dave knows what he’s trying to tell his fans and exactly how to tell it. Take this for example: the first song on the album is titled “We’re All Alone” and the last words Dave utters on it are “in this together.” Through the various topics he touches on throughout We’re All Alone In This Together, it’s clear that the rapper wants to make sure the album title is understood to the fullest capacity by the last time he says it.
In a profile with Ciaran Thapar for GQ, Dave points out that as his 2019 debut Psychodrama was centered around the element of fire, We’re All Alone In This Together shifts its attention to water through the visual representation of the sea on it’s cover. “I’ll probably go wind and then earth and then I don’t know if I’ll go anywhere from there,” he says, speaking about future albums. This is Dave’s world, and while he knows what it looks like in his mind, we as listeners slowly watch it come together with the very things that make it move.
So what is it that Dave feels like we’re alone in together? Long story short, it’s a culmination of everything. There’s the destruction of love far beyond repair on “Both Sides Of A Smile” with James Blake or the frustration with a system that operates with a racist lens on “Three Rivers.” Brighter moments arrive on “System” with Wizkid, an afro-fusion effort that sees the acts showering their partners with equal amounts of love and expensive treatments. “Clash,” the laser-sharp lead single from We’re All Alone In This Together, finds Dave calling on good friend Stormzy to ride beside him and flaunt their top-notch confidence. Lastly, the recruitment of UK rappers Fredo, Meekz Manny, Ghetts (who tears through his verse), and Giggs for a captivating posse cut on “In The Fire” provides fiery raps that render the passion the quintet have while leaving their egos unchecked for a moment. All in all, the album presents emotions and feelings that — at their simplest levels — are relatable to us as listeners as we too have experienced them in our own lives.
The word “alone” presents a negative connotation more often than it does a positive one, but Dave successfully uses both on his second album. He acknowledges and accepts the idea of being a nomad on We’re All Alone In This Together. At the same time, the London native reminds us that while we all have our own nomadic experiences, the loneliness we feel isn’t because no one cares. More times than not it’s because we all have our issues to solve, with most requiring our full attention to complete. On “In The Fire,” Giggs raps, “Can’t walk in my shoes / You could be riskin’ a bunion.” Our shoes are only our shoes to walk in as no one else can live life for us. This is the solo expedition Dave speaks about on his second album, We’re All Alone In This Together. Our hardships may be unique, but the London native reminds us that we all have our own to deal with.
We’re All Alone In This Together is out 7/23 via Dave/Neighbourhood Recordings. Get it here.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
Mariah The Scientist‘s second album Ry Ry World looked to broaden the scope of her content, positioning her in a world that operates under her discretion. While her first effort, 2019’s Master, zoomed in on her love life, the failures of her partners, and her forever-changing outlook on the wide realm of relationships, Ry Ry World zooms out to deliver a panoramic view of Mariah’s mind to illuminate her worldview.
Through ten songs and a pair of guest features from fellow ATLiens Young Thug and Lil Baby, Mariah drops the curtain that stood in front of Ry Ry World. She reveals three major things that keep it on its axis: ferocity, feistiness, and a fearless approach to it all. Mariah is uninterested in the things that occur in her orbit that don’t concern her. Her peaceful and easy-going voice creates a path that traverses the world uninterrupted as it evades obstacles or barrels through them unfazed.
On “Walked In,” one of the more upbeat records on the project featuring Young Thug, Mariah walks with her head held high and the belief that not only what’s meant for her will come to her. “Yes sir, tonight we falling in love / Want none of that cappin’ ’bout booin’ up,” she sings before adding later, “Looked in his eyes and asked him ‘What you tryna do?’” A straightforward approach is the first step towards saving time and energy, especially when the result relies on the actions of another party. Whether through heartwrenching questions to a man about a woman he left Mariah for on “All For Me” or the ravaging thoughts behind heartbreak and her sinister responses to it on “Revenge,” the Atlanta singer has no problem shooting an arrow of havoc into her problems to kill them off for good.
However, the singer is not against a good fight whenever it’s needed. She raises her guard and creates distance between herself and an unfaithful lover on “Aura” through dreamy production and contemplation of the what-ifs and perfect world scenarios. “2 You” and “Maybe” also grapple with the uncertainty that results from failed bouts with love. “Maybe we should escape / Maybe I should’ve stayed,” she sings on “Maybe.” “Maybe we should’ve ran away / Maybe I should’ve prayed.” What Mariah must come to terms with is maybe things aren’t meant to be no matter what she could’ve done.
Mariah’s fearless approach to everything in her life is what makes Ry Ry World so unique and captivating. Factor in her ferocity and feistiness and it becomes evident that the singer strives to have her way. She lays her cards on the table with her heart beside it on “Always N Forever” with Lil Baby declaring, “I’ll be your woman always.” Even when it’s time to let go, like it is on “RIP,” Mariah drops the hand of her partner knowing that she fought as hard as she could. “And if I told you, ‘The world is yours’ / You’d just wanna go to Mars,” she admits. “But I cannot sell my soul to prove, it should’ve been ours.”
One can imagine that if Ry Ry World is not a place that Mariah The Scientist traverses by herself, it’s one filled with people who might, or should at least, strive to live more like the singer. The singer proudly wears her heart on her sleeve because it’s big enough to take on whatever damage the world might inflict on it. So even with an arrow in her back and through her heart as the album cover depicts, Mariah The Scientist won’t ever change her ways because Ry Ry World continues to spin as long as she stays true to herself.
Ry Ry World is out now via RCA Records. Get it here.
