Didja miss me? 🤗 Ya girl was traveling for work this past week and some change so I missed a week of updating these lists but I’m back, another year older, another year wiser (#GeminiSzn) and more songs to recommend. Get right to it, this week’s picks:
*Chance the Rapper voice* 🎶BLESSINGS…. Keep fallingggg innnn my lap. We have a deluxe version, fam! I love all of the new additions, and I’m sure my favorite will rotate as I keep listening, but I love a good cover moment and I’ve always had a soft spot for women covering this refrain from PND’s “Come and See Me” so this was an instant classic for me the minute I heard it.
To keep the smooth and sexy alt vibes going from SZA, we’ll make our way over to Jean Deaux, who, when teamed up with none other than Masego, accomplished my favorite vibe on this track. I love how lowkey and unassuming this song is, with a complex yet not overbearing production that compliments both Jean Deaux’s and Masego’s voices. This is a no-brainer addition to my getting ready playlist when I’m having a grown and sexy night out.
This one is very me, I know– super moody and angsty and it’s a pocket that I always love for Post Malone. This one you gotta find on the deluxe version of the album and it makes sense he saved it for the deluxe. Sonically, it carries a lot of emotion without being too overbearing with its melancholy.
Two of my favorite male R&B voices on a song together?! Sign me up again and again and again. I still need to listen to Arin Ray’s new album which released last week but I have a couple of flights coming up in the next month that will give me plenty of opportunity to properly dive into this crooner angst (there’s no better time to be moody than on an airplane), If he’s serving vocals on the rest of the album that we get here, then I’m in for a TREAT.
It’s the funk synths for me. Capella Grey has been on my lists before and is also responsible for the bop “GYALIS” but I was today year’s old when I realized this is Curtis Jackson’s son. Respect. And also my boyfriend Ty Dolla $ign is on this so it was a hit for me off jump.
Linda, honey, listen. Is the song substantive? No, I say with a laugh and eyeroll. Is it annoying? Definitely. Do you wanna be the only one in the club who doesn’t know the beat drops and punchlines? Absolutely not. So go ahead and listen to this three good times, and you will have the whole thing memorized.
While we’re on the subject of songs with little substance, Sada Baby dropped a new album today that is everything you’d expect it to be. Most of the songs are an acquired taste for me: I like them in doses, on very specific days, but I knew I’d like this when I saw Big Sean was on it. There’s something about Big Sean’s composure that always compliments a beat like this, no matter how nonsensical the lyrics are.
I feel like you can just look at this cover art and know that this is my pick for this week’s F21 bop– and that should give you an idea of what this song sounds like and why I like it. Forever 21 music to me is always pretty uncontroversial. We all can listen and agree these songs have all of the elements needed to perform well on radio play this summer, even though none of us listen to the radio anymore.
Cover art for a single can actually be really effective at letting you know what’s up with the sound. This song is sweet and simple, a cotton-candy summer bop that’s fun to listen, sing-along and dance to. I wouldn’t have guessed the Saweetie feature, and I can’t tell if it’s because she’s not doing much on the song or if she just sounds different, but Muni Long is also serving something a little different here and I’m not mad at it.
The riffs and vocalizing at the start of the song solidified this one for me. So pretty and solemn all at once, with a no-bs message in the lyrics. I’m going to love just about anything we get from Sam Smith, and this song has made me a Cat Burns fan, too.
And as a BONUS and to say sorry for missing last week, peep these extra five songs that I recommend this week:
Am I a little ashamed that Sada Baby gets the badge for the first artist/ album to be featured on my blog twice in one week? Maybe. But Nicki was really gliding on this beat in the intro so this whole thing just slaps all over again.
I wholeheartedly believe that you can’t judge a book off its cover, but honestly, I can sometimes judge singles and albums off theirs. When I saw this album cover in a list of new releases, something told me to listen to it and I was really onto something, because I really enjoy this sound. This is the kind of song that magically increases my productivity these days. I turn this on and somehow everything I needed to finish within the hour is mysteriously done on time.
Every now and then I just like good, wholesome, uplifting music, and this Princess Nokia track really sums up how I feel basking in the glory of all the powerful women that came before me. I saw my guy best friend lowkey bopping to this song too, so it’s not just for women, I promise.
I know y’all don’t expect me to add rock or even pop rock in my lists as often as I do but I love Jimmy Eat World! This song is fun and when I’m in a punk mood, my rock playlist always brings me utmost joy, so listen to this one with an open mind and let yourself be delightfully surprised.
I’ve been adding more and more gospel music into my regular repertoire lately, and even if faith and spirituality isn’t your cup of tea, these vocals should be! It’s no secret that the gospel genre is full of powerhouse singers, and as someone who does like to focus my music listening on vocal performance as well as musicality and lyricism, I can say that new age gospel artists are out here EATING, as they should.
If you aren’t following the playlists above yet, go ahead and do that to easily find all the songs on my lists week to week. Share with me your top picks for the week and put me on too! ‘Til next week ✌🏼
-T