We coming into this month hot, fam! I thought there were hella releases LAST week. This week had even more in store. But listen, you don’t need me to tell you to stream Bad Bunny’s newest album, or that new Jack Harlow, or to watch ASAP Rocky propose to Rihanna, because all of social media is already telling you to do all of that (they told me too, and I did, and yes, they all hit)– but I’m going to be that girl and pull your attention to the less mainstream releases because they’re just as good, if not better. Some of these are from last week but let’s just get into it, Top 10 from yours truly for the first week of May:
PSA: I have found my new moody boy to love. JVCK’s On the Rocks EP had me back in my moody feelings early this week, and there’s no place I would have rather been. If I let myself float along the song without thinking too hard, I can almost hear Frank circa Channel Orange in the vibe, and I say that as a high compliment.
I’m late as hell to this single but the album dropped yesterday, so give me some slack. I love Col3trane, that shouldn’t come as a surprise. I’ll be immersed in the rest of this album this weekend, it wasn’t on my radar (thank you for Spotify for knowing to shove it in my face this morning!) Lucky Daye giving us the K-Ci & Jojo “crazy crazy crazy crazy” hook on this one sounds soooo good. And the piano moment at the end too!
Summer, is that you? This song feels like a bonfire party at the beach, or a date night at the roller rink, but I know Forever 21 got this on lock. That’s okay, because I will absolutely be jamming along as I walk by on my way to Urban, who will probably be bumping it too.
I told y’all Ella Mai was coming with heat! This was one of my most anticipated releases this weekend because I couldn’t wait to dig into a new R&B project, and from what I’ve listened to thus far, this project is a hit! Congratulations to the whole Ella Mai team for this, job well done.
Tink is back with another favorite to add to my Juicy Couture babygirl playlist. And I really welcome this Destiny’s Child sample because let’s be real, the lyrics to Cater 2 U, while sweet and genuine, represent what I like to call bird energy. And nobody makes bird energy cute like Tink, especially when she throws a little hood on it.
The confidence in this voice from the moment the song starts just pulled me in and held me in awe. Swsh ain’t nothing to be played with, clearly! I’m new to their magic but I’m HERE for it. There are so many cool tones and sounds and notes they employ on this funky bass line, you just have to listen for yourself.
One of my favorite slept-on artists, somehow always serving something new. I love how she’s loaned her pen to some of the biggest names in music– Chris Brown, Ariana Grande, Khalid, Panic! At the Disco, and my queeeeen Mariah– but this doesn’t sound like a song any of those artists would put out. Because it’s hers and that is so impressive to me.
Interpolated low rider vibes right on time for the summer! And a clever SWV sample to top it off. I personally love deep cut samples because it gives us an opportunity to revisit some forgotten favorites and for me, it quiets the R&B elitist that lives comfortably in my spirit. Respect to the whole recording team on this one, it’s a hit!
Why did it throw me off to hear how pretty this song is? It was probably the artwork that made me think we were getting twerking music and that’s on ME for being so quick to judge the single by its cover art because this song is so sweet and mellow. Lowkey, I think the fact that I expected something completely different actually made the sound even more enjoyable.
It’s the babygirl in me, but Twista has always been one of my favorite rappers. I screamt when Spotify told me he had new music out and yessss, I am not disappointed. Stank face activated as soon as he started hitting his classic staccato flow, then he switched it up and I was delightfully surprised. I can’t wait to see him at Lovers and Friends Fest next weekend!
What’s on your top 10 list this week? Put me on in the comments!
-T