#Digga D

[reallydothissince47]

Digga D by Jack Bridgland for British GQ

[seacountrycity]

[st3fan00]

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 14/10/2023 (Drake's 'For All the Dogs', Nines' 'Crop Circle 3', Lovejoy)

Content warning: mentions of sex, violence, anxiety and SO. MUCH. DRAKE.

Kenya Grace’s first chart hit is also her first chart-topper as “Strangers” hits #1! It’s a pretty big week, with or without Drake, and this is REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

As always, we start the episode off with our notable dropouts, which as I always explain are always the songs exiting the UK Top 75 - which is always what I cover - after spending five weeks in the region or peaking in the top 40. “Always” by Bon Jovi is not included, but we do see the loss of some 2023 hits like “TRIPLE THREAT” by Headie One, K-Trap and Clavish, “Slime You Out” by Drake featuring SZA (thanks to the three-song rule - though it’s a toss-up whether this one will actually come back), “Tension” by Kylie Minogue, “Feel It” by Jazzy, “TELEKINESIS” by Travis Scott featuring SZA and Future, “Speed Drive” by Charli XCX and “Little Things” by Jorja Smith, as well as some old songs that won’t go away temporarily going away, those being “Dog Days are Over” by Florence + the Machine and “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi.

What’s always infinitely more interesting are the gains, of which there aren’t all too many this week. We do see the biweekly return of a Fleetwood Mac song with “Dreams” at #73, and then for our notable gains, we see boosts for “Escapism.” by RAYE featuring 070 Shake getting what must be a third or fourth wind at #54, “Back on 74” by Jungle at #30, “I Remember Everything” by Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves at #29, “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan at #28 and “ecstacy” by SUICIDAL-IDOL at #26. I’m not really complaining either, most of these are great songs. Finally, in the top 10, Sonny Fodera and Clementine Douglas grab their first ever top 10 hit with “Asking” at #10, also granting MK’s his second as a credited artist - it did surprise me how he’d only grabbed one before.

This week’s top five on the UK Singles Chart consists of two Drake songs at the tail: “IDGAF” featuring Yeat at #5 - yes, seriously, Yeat is in the top five - and “First Person Shooter” featuring J. Cole at #4. Otherwise, we have “greedy” by Tate McRae at #3, “Prada” by casso, RAYE and D-Block Europe at #2 and of course, “Strangers” at #1. Now to run through the new songs, of course finishing with Drake but starting far from it.

NEW ARRIVALS

#75 - “Lil Boo Thang” - Paul Russell

Produced by Sean Cook

I am getting older. Not too quickly, and I’m still young but I am aging gradually like everyone does. I also feel like I’m getting a tad more sociable, a bit more willing to put myself out there. This song samples “Best of My Love” by the Emotions, a classic disco track that is used extensively and liberally in this new song. It peaked at #4 in 1977, and I’m not THAT old, not that being old enough to remember the hits of 1977 would make my criticism less valid or anything. Hell, this song does have some new things about it - it’s not two minutes thanks to TikTok attention spans, and he makes references to the NBA 2K games - though even those are 24 years old now. Yet despite that… I think I want to hug this guy at a wedding we’re mutual invitees of, ask him about how his life has been since I last saw him a couple years ago, and make 15-year-old in-jokes we’ve had since we went to school. Everyone has an inner middle-aged person in them, I think this song takes it out of me. It’s been bubbling up for a while and it is pure joy. The guy can barely sing but it doesn’t matter because of the fast, rap-like melodies and the delightful jazzy soundbed, as well as that undeniable groove that may be very plastic, but still gets me excited. If I heard this at an outdoor party full of those 35 and over (and sadly, their kids), I’d have to go to the back and to the front. The bridge with him interpolating the Emotions sample and the computer-esque vocoder just to tick of all the boxes is adorable too. This song is cute, it’s a jam, you young whipper-snappers just wouldn’t get it.

#60 - “TLC” - Digga D

Produced by P YouGotThat

Now we have a streak of four songs somewhere in the middle of the chart which I honestly don’t think I’ll have a lot to say about, not because they’re bad but because these are chart regular appearances just doing business as usual, and isn’t the album entries from Nines and Drake we have coming up, or a newcomer like Paul Russell, or a general oddity like a heavy rock song charting, which we will see later. It’s just business as usual, and this is especially true for Digga D. He is still on his whole late 90s-early 2000s US rap throwback style, this time directly sampling “Bumpy’s Lament” by Soul Mann & the Brothers, probably better known as the loop Dr. Dre used in “Xplosive” featuring Hittman, Six-Two, Nate Dogg and Kurupt, which appears on the iconic 2002. Whilst never released as a single, it’s a pretty iconic beat, and is still certified silver in the UK. Is it a good song? Well, not really in my opinion, at least outside of Nate Dogg, who improves every track he’s on tenfold, so maybe Digga D’s more subtle use of the sample under extra layers of horns and a particularly gross-sounding drill beat can do something more interesting with it? Yeah, not really, the hi-hats sound like fruits sticking to each other in the fridge, and Digga D is usually at least a bit more energetic than this. God, he’s actually one of the more lively UK drillers, but he says in the chorus how tired he is of fame, and it shows. This is a pretty depressing song if you consider that… well, it would be if he did anything interesting outside of that chorus which adds less potency to his flexing, sex bars and mockery of dead teenagers than I think he wants it to. This is just sad in a pathetic kind of way. At least the sample’s cool.

#59 - “Hey DJ” - Joel Corry

Produced by Joel Corry, Neave Applebaum and Punctual

Hey, Joel, I think you missed a feature credit somewhere. You may have dropped it on your way to Spotify, I believe you mean to credit Roc Star on the vocals? No? Okay, well, she’s about as faceless as she is nameless in her performance anyway, in a pretty typical Euro-trance throwback that at least has the cheesy synth builds and a pulsing Cascada-esque feel to it all, even if the washes of white noise and ambiance get a bit much since they’re not very aptly blended into the song, it just feels like the synth pads are full of flat air. In fact, flat would be a pretty apt way of describing this entire song. It’s a shame because I have a fondness for this kind of sound, yet this feels a bit too tight to work in that context, and way too unabashedly cheesy to work in any other.

#41 - “Me & U” - Tems

Produced by Guilty Beatz

Those of you who read my 2006 episode will know I am a big fan of the Cassie song of the same name, which of course isn’t sampled here, it’s just a coincidence. This is a much more chill Afrobeats single from Tems, and one thing that stands out to me at first is the opening line to the first verse: “For me to come out, it must mean I am at the door”. The continued sense of agency surrounding her relationship in the first verse and intro seems to erode in the second verse, as she makes herself a blank canvas for her lover. The sliding guitars and fluttering percussion, feeling almost manic in rhythm, really accentuates that something is deteriorating… but not necessarily in a bad way. Tems’ agency and self-consciousness dissolves not as a result of manipulation but simple comfort over hours and hours of being together with them, inferred by the constant chanting backing vocals intertwined into the beat and the really perhaps-too-repetitious lyrics. He still needs to prove himself though - she needs faith and he needs to show her some substance before she can fully be part of his “matter”. It’s a hypnotisingly cute mutual love song and of course, whilst I’d prefer a more climactic bridge or a chorus that consists of more than four words repeated ad nauseam, I completely get why the song is that way, and it kind of works for me. Not fully, but it’s close - this is good.

#39 - “You & Me” - JENNIE

Produced by Teddy Park

Oh, how I wish these two songs weren’t separated by “Calm Down” on the chart. Regardless, JENNIE may not seem like a chart regular but she is from the group BLACKPINK, of which we’ve heard solo efforts from before, with LISA, ROSÉ and JISOO all charting solo songs, and I actually liked all of them, some more than others, so I was excited to hear JENNIE’s addition to the BLACKPINK solo canon. Well, again, it’s not close to another song of this title I much prefer - this time by Disclosure - but it’s still okay. Perhaps stuck in 2019 given the vocaloid sample that provides much of the backing melody alongside the charmingly dated synths, snap percussion and JENNIE doing a bit of a Selena Gomez impression, but that’s not my least favourite era of pop, and the shimmering slide into the pre-chorus is a smooth, inspired transition that… oh, my God, they did it again. This is just like when I heard ROSÉ’s “On the Ground” - it starts off as an above-serviceable pop song before dropping into chaotic, almost industrial synths that have no reason to be there but elevate the song to really interesting territory, especially given the screech of those synths, factorial percussion and glass smashing that transforms this chorus from sounding completely sincere to either being a falsehood - kind of implied by the lyrics about not wanting to fall in love - or just grimy and sexy, and given the rap bridge about not blocking his “shots” and promising that she’ll be his last love that just looks better on her, yeah, I’m guessing it’s the second, and the bass-heavy devolution into a swinging screech not dissimilar to a bad squeak really sells it. This is a pretty damn great song, definitely not what I was expecting and whilst it won’t last, I think at least I’ll keep listening to this one.

#37 - “Toxic” - Nines featuring Bad Boy Chiller Crew

Produced by ProdByDizzy, I Don’t Rap I Dress and Babycashy1

Those have got to be some of the worst producer names I’ve seen in recent times. Anyway, UK rapper Nines released his second album of the year with Crop Circle 3 - it reached #2 on the albums chart and we have two consecutive songs from it year. This one… well, it has the Bad Boy Chiller Crew on it for some reason. This does mean that they bring their style of blissful bassline production, with that wispy pitch-shifted vocal and twinkling keys shifting over the 2-step production. It’s a jumpy, bouncing beat with some cute sound effects and popping intricacies I can appreciate. The BBCC guys are just as they always are, but they fit the beat and ride it well, with their typical laddish delivery. Nines, however, still has a single flow and takes himself too seriously, so he is completely out of place despite carrying the hook! Every time the song gains momentum leading into the chorus, you get this sloppy rendition from Nines instead of any of the BBCC fun translating from the verses. That’s not to mention his droning, off-beat verse either. “I went jail and got bigger, like when Mario jumps on the flower”. Really? You make words sound good for a living, how is that what you come up with?

#35 - “I Do” - Nines featuring Tunde and Mugzz

Produced by Show N Prove, Jacob Manson and RJ Cherry

The amount of features on this album should be telling of what purpose Nines serves in UK rap. This is also much more typical Nines fare, with the whispery ad-libs, quick trap skitter, bad vocal mixing and dull deliveries from everyone involved, especially Mugzz who has nowhere near enough character to handle a basic chorus like that. To be fair to the producers, the wiry G-funk synths are pretty unique, and to be fair to Tunde, his flow is a bit better and more energetic than the others, but I’m picking at straws. There are no surprises to be heard here.

#27 - “Normal People Things” - Lovejoy

Produced by Psylla

Indie rock band Lovejoy are back with their newest single, and it’s probably their most concise, heavy claustrophobic jam yet. The song starts with the words “panic attack” and continues to sound just like you’d expect a British panic attack to sound like, with that tedious riff rinsing its anticipation over frustrated drumming, as Mr. Wilbur Soot delivers one of his least kept-together performances so far, with anxious lyrics, odd sampling and a lower-register moan that digs him well below the ground. The chorus propells the song further into anxiety, as despite the initially cathartic riff, Soot ends up gravelly whining the “hold your breath” mantra before a rapid screeching acceleration that brings us to the… kind of cringeworthy bridge. There’s one thing I don’t like about this song and it is the distracting nature of the lyrics, which is to be expected with Lovejoy but still doesn’t work nearly as well as it did in their EP from earlier this year, not because of a lack of subtlety but because there’s less to the song’s progression here. It’s difficult to swallow when it’s further contained in a two-minute single, but it’s still not far enough to make this song not click. It’s still good, still give it a chance, but I feel they have better stuff coming soon.

#6 - “Virginia Beach” - Drake

Produced by 40 and Harley Arsenault

Drake’s latest #1 album For All the Dogs is a bloated feature chock full of corny, misogynistic lyrics, depressively murky production and song ideas so frail they have to be confined to obsessive beat switches. It’s also my favourite Drake album. Outside of being comically pathetic and largely an embrace of that gross side of Drake he’s always at least tried to put up a guise for in the past, it’s also a damn good pop-rap album with unexpected turns, infectious hooks, smooth feature performances and hard beats as well as some genuinely touching lyrical moments, at least when he wants to bring them in. I won’t talk about the album at length here because this isn’t an album review show and we don’t know what else may be coming to chart in the coming weeks from it. So I’ll keep it pretty brief for these tracks, especially since they’re all good but not particular favourites off of the record. This is the opening track, generating much of its buzz from the fizzy Frank Ocean sample off of the filtered guitars and strings that coalesce into one melodious murk quickly snapped into place by a weirdly-mixed trap skitter and Drake’s loose, desperate complaining about this girl probably half his age who he, for whatever reason, is not with anymore. He’s off the lean and refusing to treat her better, despite the fact that she already has a boyfriend at the point she’s seeing Drake. He’s a complete douchebag in full nasal whining mode until the second verse which actually does a pretty cool switch-up  by filtering the Frank sample further and introducing a looming synth as Drake continues to rap some of his corniest relationship bars yet. It’s “on sight like WWW, on site like dot com”? Sure, Aubrey.

#5 - “IDGAF” - Drake featuring Yeat

Produced by BNYX and Sebastian Shah

This is barely a Drake song. Most accurately, this is a Yeat song with a lengthy intro using warping progressive electronics wired behind a sample of trinkling pianos, beautiful sax and mystifying vocals provided by jazz band Azimuth, that has little purpose other than to be subverted as soon as Yeat comes in talking about having sex over a completely alien rage beat. Yeat’s vocals are modified beyond coherency at some points, he’s showered in ad-libs, and most importantly, he’s not Drake, who delivers a completely serviceable, one-take verse that quickly gets overshadowed by Yeat… kind of going off, in a uniquely Young Thug way, where you’re not impressed by any lyrics or flows but you are impressed by just the continued violent refusal to stop rapping. Nothing is said of any interest - of course not - but it goes hard enough, it has that extraterrestrial tone to it, and the completely incoherency of Yeat is actually quite a fascinating refresher from the track that precedes it, that being…

#4 - “First Person Shooter” - Drake featuring J. Cole

Produced by Coleman, Vinylz, Tay Keith, Boi-1da, FNZ and OZ

The two heavy-weights team up for the first time in over 10 years and of course, Cole runs away with the fantastic feature verse you always expect, rarely actually get but is never a surprise to hear. I’m far from a J. Cole fan but the man can rap, and rap he will, especially when he has something to prove, rapping about how he, Drake and Kendrick are the undisputed GOATs of their respective generation. Cole doesn’t even wait for the beat to come in, delivering some deadpan wordplay over the soul sample from Joe Washington as soon as the song starts. Drake then gives a respectful warm-up, essentially acting as Cole’s hypeman, though with an odd focus on child-related wordplay, and then over the explosive trap beat, Cole just chugs on in what feels both endless and effortless, making good use of silent moments to switch between flows, delivering punchlines honestly not that far away from Drake’s and with the increased energy the beat deserves. Of course, we then got what is now a typical Drake beat switch into an even harder Memphis rattle, as if Drake knew he got bodied and added an extra verse from himself so he’s not completely embarrassed. He holds his own pretty well though, with one of his more technically proficient and aggressive verses on the whole album, as well as stepping up his punchlines and flexes a bit thanks to Cole’s presence. It’s a rapid fire rappity-rap track so I have no expectations of it actually staying, but it is still a killer track.

Conclusion

With all that said, JENNIE gets Best of the Week for “You & Me”. Yeah, it’s not what I expected but it’s a fantastic track that really digs at what I like about K-pop whilst also just being a brilliantly constructed love song. And despite me loving that Drake album, not even “First Person Shooter” can get the Honourable Mention. Nope, that’s going to Paul Russell for “Lil Boo Thang”. Seriously. As for the worst, I mean this was a pretty good week - not even the Nines songs were that bad - so Digga D gets it handedly for “TLC” but Joel Corry grabs the Dishonourable Mention for “Hey DJ” mostly on just being lazy. Next time, we’ll see if any of this actually sticks the landing for a second. I have doubts about nearly all of it doing so but for now, thank you for reading, rest in peace to Rudolph Isley, and I’ll see you next week!

[1000-year-old-virgin]

Digga D ft. Latto - Energy

[rogueish]

I wasn't super into Caprisongs, but I did like "Thank you song", and this (maybe just the mention of Walsall triggered my West Midlands solidarity).

Another nice drill interpolation of a 90s dance classic on Digga D's "Why"; I feel like there's a similar kind of dreamy R&B vibe to "CYBAH" by Syd, and Nneka's "Love Supreme".

[siriusfilm]

Digga D

Photographed by Danika Magdelena

[hiphopvibe1]

Viral TikTok star, WhyDee, drops debut single, "Jack In The Box" [AUDIO]

TikTok Sensation WhyDee Transitions to Music Stardom with “Jack In The Box” Continue reading Viral TikTok star, WhyDee, drops debut single, “Jack In The Box” [AUDIO]

[daveiwonder]

TOP DAWG | Burna Boy x Digga D Type Beat | 2024 (Dave Kizzle Beats)

[rayjuss]

bACK ONLINE - All sorts of music, here, read the tracklist

Tracklist

Ray Juss - Brixton Radio - 11pm 25.03.2024

Special Herbs Vol 8 - Mandrake The Doobie Brothers - What A Fool Believes Pressure - Love & Affection Mono/Poly - For Progressive Minds Action Bronson - Subzero King Kashmere x Letherette - G-Cell Digga D - Pump 101 Ft Still Brickin' Merky Ace - Lockstock More Fire Crew Feat Dean Chohan - What's The Point? The Alchemist Sandwich - E. Coli Feat Earl Sweatshirt Devonwho - Nimbus Moonchild - Hideaway Jamie Lidell - All I Wanna Do Alfa Mist Feat Kaya Thomas-Dyke - Aged Eyes Robohands - Wildflower Feat Aleh Ferreira Crackazat - It's All Different Galcher Lustwerk - I Neva Seen Sunshine Bros vs MC Ward - I Need Someone (Just Like You)

[itsbyruben]

[ghanaplug]

Digga D and Potter Payper Unite in Epic Collaboration "Facade"

Two powerhouse worlds collide as Digga D and Potter Payper join forces in a thrilling new musical collaboration and its accompanying video titled “Facade.” Representing distinct sides of the same coin, the pairing showcases their unparalleled synergy. Despite their musical differences, they seamlessly find a sweet spot here. Against a backdrop of high-octane rap beats, they skillfully exchange…

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 07/10/2023 (Jung Kook/Jack Harlow, Ed Sheeran's 'Autumn Variations', 163Margs/Digga D)

Content warning: Brief mentions of violence, sex and... corpses (last two only loosely related)

For a fifth week, Doja Cat reigns on top of the UK Singles Chart with “Paint the Town Red”, and it’s a semi-busy week ahead of us so welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

As always, we start the episode with this week’s notable dropouts, songs exiting the UK Top 75 - which is what I cover - after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. For this week’s goodbyes, we bid adieu to “Single Soon” by Selena Gomez, “Rave Out” by Turno, Skepsis and Charlotte Plank and some big hitters like “Barbie World” by Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice and Aqua, “Padam Padam” by Kylie Minogue, “Relax My Eyes” by ANOTR and Abel Balder and finally, “REACT” by Switch Disco featuring Ella Henderson and the late Robert Miles. These are honestly mostly a shame, I like the vast majority of these songs.

As for our returns, we don’t have any, but as for our gains, there is a pretty long list, all over the chart too. This week feels kind of like a rehaul, and redecorating the walls, bear with me, we have “Little Things” by Jorja Smith at #65 off of the album - more on that later - “Escapism.” by RAYE featuring 070 Shake at #59, “On My Love” by Zara Larsson and David Guetta at #57, “Mr. Brightside” at #55 (Jesus Christ), “Would You (go to bed with me?)” by Campbell and Alcemist at #48, “Feel It” by Jazzy at #45, “Calm Down” by Rema at #40, “Back on 74” by Jungle at #36 (yay), “Got Me Started” by Troye Sivan at #34 (ugh), “ecstacy” by SUCIDAL-IDOL at #33 (huh), “Liquor & Cigarettes” by Chase & Status and Hedex featuring ArrDee at #29, “Dog Days are Over” by Florence + the Machine at #28, “Used to be Young” by Miley Cyrus at #26, yes, I’m still going, “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish at #25, “Snooze” by SZA at #20, “Bittersweet Goodbye” by Issey Cross at #19, “DNA (Loving You)” by Billy Gillies featuring Hannah Boleyn at #18, “My Love Mine All Mine” by Mitski at #15(!) and all the way to her first top 10, Tyla at #10 with “Water”.

The top five of this week’s UK Singles Chart starts with a debut from Jung Kook of BTS featuring Jack Harlow at #5 with “3D” - more on that later - and the rest is standard: “Prada” by casso, RAYE and D-Block Europe at #4, “greedy” by Tate McRae at #3, “Strangers” by Kenya Grace at #2 and of course Doja Cat on top. Now it’s time to get through our rag-tag group of songs debuting in the top 75 this week.

NEW ARRIVALS

#74 - “Mosquito” - PinkPantheress

Produced by Greg Kurstin, PinkPantheress and Mura Masa

We don’t know when that next PinkPantheress full-length is coming, but for now it does make sense to keep pushing out singles and seeing what sticks. She adds Greg Kurstin as a co-writer and producer alongside more expected collaborator Mura Masa in a song about spending problems, jauntily recounting over glading acoustics and a thumping backbeat about spending a fortune out of sheer will, acknowledging how much she’s losing but becoming attached to materialism and possessions instead of finding much human connection. I do appreciate the swell of strings in the chorus and how well the guitars play off of that, alongside her nonchalant flutter in the back, but as with most of her tracks it does feel a bit underdeveloped, and in this case, a bit derivative as the verse treads the exact same lead vocal melody as her collaboration with Skrillex and Trippie Redd from earlier this year, “Way Back”. With that said, it’s still a good foundation and the increasing submerge of the song into the whirlpool of strings is a pretty good way of signifying a lost cause, yet I really feel like a bridge is needed to cement that a bit further. If there’s an album in sight, I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt given that this could work a lot better in that context but as is, it’s just good, needs that little extra to be great.

#69 - “Stick Season” - Noah Kahan

Produced by Gabe Simon and Noah Kahan

This song from 2022 by folk singer Noah Kahan has been a sleeper hit for a while and perhaps in part due to a recent cover by Olivia Rodrigo, it got one last push that resulted in it finally cracking the top 75 criteria. Kahan is a singer-songwriter in a pretty traditional sense so there’s a lot of lyrical detail here, regarding a breakup of a long-distance relationship, with that, the weather and the ongoing pandemic pushing Kahan inside, isolated from communication aside from his friends coming around for Christmas, over a sprinkling of twangy acoustics and stomp-rock percussion that’s increasingly tedious. Kahan’s jumbling of the meter is charming but dampens the impact of an otherwise pretty effective chorus, and the bridge’s solo is a tad underwhelming, so we have a pretty nonchalant-sounding song fronted by a singer whose voice I’ve never liked and still not gotten used to, and backed by a dated pounding of a drum that gives me a migraine come the final chorus. If what was inside your sandwich was great but the bread slices at the top and bottom had gone off, you sadly end up throwing away the whole sandwich.

#63 - “Babydoll” - Dominic Fike

Produced by Dominic Fike

And now for a particularly more modern singer-songwriter, with another sleeper hit, but this one is even older, appearing on his 2018 demo EP before he blew up to the level he is at now. I can only assume there’s some TikTok virality to this because there really isn’t much to this as a song. We have a simple riff with some cool countering over-dubs, placed beside a typical steady indie drone of percussion and Fike’s lead vocal which would be decent if he had any convincing rasp but alas, he just sounds like a prepubescent Anthony Kiedis, especially when he’s “rapping” in the completely unfitting verse, essentially acting as a bridge - or awkward insertion of a completely different song - with bizarre flows, monotone whining and odd interruptions amidst the continuation of a still tedious rhythm section. I guess this is only a demo but that’s why you don’t release everything you make, kids, because this is just nothing to speak of with a confusing mid-section seemingly grabbed from elsewhere in the drafts. Now for something probably a whole lot more finished…

#50 - “Feelings” - Jorja Smith featuring J Hus

Produced by DAMEDAME*

I have yet to listen to Jorja Smith’s newest album falling or flying but it did debut at #3 and produce a charting track here, probably thanks to a feature from J Hus. The chanting that starts the song is pretty exciting before we have that drizzling of reverb coating everything, from Jorja’s echoed vocals to the surprisingly intricate bassline, which sounds drier when placed against that pattering of Afrobeats drums. Content-wise, it’s a bit of a scuffle where Jorja succumbs to J Hus’ temptation for some Sexy Times, and interestingly enough, not only does the guest rapper stay on topic, he handles the chorus, playing a really effective back-and-forth foil to Ms. Smith, even if he’s not nearly as good or as nuanced a singer and performer. He goes for a kind of Wyclef Jean yelp that makes him sound a bit less convincing and more desperate, which is just interesting considering how well Jorja’s convinced, or at least seems to be from her second verse. As with the rest of the singles, the production details - even if a bit more minimal this time around - are impeccable and very smooth, especially with the swirl of strings after the pre-chorus and distant sound effect-esque loops that decorate J Hus’ incredibly charismatic rap verse. The disharmony between the two is actually a pretty interesting narrative touch, especially since Jorja is just echoing what J Hus is trying to convince her with, almost as if this is being played back in her mind and she might be a bit more regretful about that as implied in the first verse and pre-chorus. I might have to give that album a listen because this level of detail and interpretation, if carried across a full album, would contribute greatly to the already good year of R&B for me. This is brilliant.

#49 - “Magical” - Ed Sheeran

Produced by Aaron Dessner

Ed Sheeran released his newest album on his own label, Autumn Variations, which still went #1 but is largely an acoustic-focused album produced by Aaron Dessner of The National with decidedly very few hits. I have yet to hear it in full, but it still produced two charting songs, with this one very much in Ed Sheeran’s wheelhouse: it’s a cute, kind of staccato love song with his choired-up multi-track vocal he often delivers nowadays. However, it’s not for bittersweet purposes like it often is: it’s a love-struck track with an echoing, kind of distracting drum pattern, a really melodramatic synth and bass swell that doesn’t end up damaging the subtlety of the song mostly because there isn’t all too much to begin with. Sure, it’s a subdued ballad, but it’s one that adds odd tension through trap-influenced drums that are mixed in a muddy, kind of gross way below the very heavy vocal focus, and the lead melodies here get very saccharine and pretty infuriating quite quickly. It’s a shame, because it’s a very genuine and cute track lyically, but it’s also too simple for me to forgive the production misgivings here. Thankfully, he has a second shot later in the chart.

#38 - “Hide and Seek” - 163Margs and Digga D

Produced by SJ Beats

It’s pretty funny to me that there is a solo version that’s actually longer. Even people relying on Mr. D for hits and are otherwise unknown don’t seem like they want to have Digga on their songs too badly. Anyway, this church organ is pretty much the lead melody despite how basic and empty it is, and even then, it’s somehow clipping and the sample chop is painfully obvious and awkward. That sheer incompetence should be all you need to know because whilst 163Margs has some promise in terms of his energy, his flow isn’t new and his content is just a lot of gang violence not delivered particularly interestingly, and then we have Digga D giving so much detail I’m surprised the government hasn’t investigated him a second time. I don’t even have a problem with this kind of content necessarily, but I wish the production or delivery was in any way compelling, because I’ll forget about this very soon.

#27 - “American Town” - Ed Sheeran

Produced by Aaron Dessner

I’m not sure if this counts as a single push exactly, but this is the furthest Ed’s going with this rollout so the song better have some potential and yes, this is more of what I expect from Ed, especially writing wise, with the intricate details that emphasise how real the narrative is whilst also being able to detach it from a lot of pop culture - the pre-chorus has the line “live the life we saw in Friends” which I think is particularly poetic considering Ed’s place in the industry - as well as wordy but charming moments of culture shock that come with being in love with an English girl in an American town. The production is a lot less distracting here too; I wish the shaking percussion was lower in the mix or not just there but the filtered synths, kind of sounding like farty horns, make a bit more sense than I feel like people will give credit. It’s a nostalgic song that muddies the clash between past and present, or Hell, even future in the bridge, and those horns as well as the more subtle synths add a lot of detail in an honest, vintage-sounding way. It’s not perfect-sounding, but that’s much of the appeal. It’s also sadly nothing new from Ed, it’s a pretty expected pop-folk cut that sounds a tad rough around the edges but not enough to threaten its radio play. Overall, it seems pretty solid but it’s not exactly convincing me that the full album is worth checking out.

#5 - “3D” - Jung Kook featuring Jack Harlow

Produced by BloodPop and David Stewart

Well, I figured “Seven” would need its follow-up soon enough and Jack Harlow is definitely a very approachable American rapper for a collaboration, though I’m not sure if the addition of a western guest rapper is doing as much heavy lifting as how effortlessly catchy the songs can be, so I hope he doesn’t end up getting someone on every track he releases. Regardless, this song is about Jung Kook from BTS wanting to have sex with you. If that puts you off immediately, I mean, you won’t like the Jack Harlow verse. Regardless, we do have an arguably more subtler set of lyrics here, with Jung Kook wanting to get straight to the choose over a much more solid, funkier groove, backed by a simple but effective bassline and choppier drums, alongside a weird Latin guitar intrusion that kind of works--oh, this is a Justin Timberlake song. He even sounds like Timberlake a lot of the time, with about as much charisma and weird hip-hop crossover attempts. If anyone is going to produce a Timberlake lite, BloodPop is probably a good choice, and Jung Kook has the playful ad-libs, no-holds-barred commitment to the bit and more chemistry with Mr. Harlow than I really expected, given that Jack actually gives some backing vocals on the chorus and references the BTS star’s sex appeal on his verse… though not his, which is kind of funny. In fact, Jackman is oddly slippery here, and it’s largely for the best as the beat gets much more percussive, with him slipping through flows and flexes, and making good use of a corny counting conceit, as well as saying that you would have thought the girl’s body was a dead body with the way he told all of his friends to come look. I will admit, it’s a pretty corny, hard to take seriously song but I don’t think I’m supposed to, and both guys have enough fun without really overdoing it into ridiculous territory… except for when Jack Harlow ad-libs “Spy Kids” in the background, that… that was stupid. Oh, and PC Music and hyperpop pioneer A.G. Cook made a remix which makes way too much sense yet ends up way worse than you’d think considering his expertise. It’s pretty ugly.

Conclusion

This really was not the best week, though far from the worst, as we have a lot of middling tracks, but the only real great song here is “Feelings” so Best of the Week goes to Jorja Smith and J Hus, with a loose Honourable Mention to “Mosquito” by PinkPantheress, I guess? As for the Worst of the Week, I think there are quite a few snoozefests, but 163Margs and Digga D end up with it for “Hide and Seek”, with a Dishonourable Mention for “Babydoll” by Dominic Fike. Ed Sheeran’s “Magical” was closer than you may expect though, I really don’t like that one. As for what’s next, it’s Drake, Drake, Drake, so thank, thank, thank you for reading and I’ll see you next week!