#featuring ty dolla $ign

[hiphopvibe1]

Quavo, Ty Dolla $ign and Are We Dreaming - "If I Fall"

Continue reading Quavo, Ty Dolla $ign and Are We Dreaming – “If I Fall”

[thenerdsofcolor]

'Transformers: One' Shares New Single from Quavo and Ty Dolla $ign

'Transformers: One' Shares New Single from Quavo and Ty Dolla $ign @transformers @ParamountPics #TransformersOne

I’ll be the first to admit I’m not hip to the music of today’s generation. I’m a movie guy, not necessarily a music guy. But even an old square like me has heard of Quavo! So it’s really cool that he’s got a new track with Ty Dolla $ign for Transformers: One. (Dear lord I sound old). Continue reading ‘Transformers: One’ Shares New Single from Quavo and Ty Dolla $ign

[lightscamerabitchsmileee]

*and X Ambassadors

Vote for your fave, reblog & share your thoughts and other faves (even outside of this list) in the tags I would love to hear it 😊😊

Check out my masterpost for the other artist polls 😊😊 thank you and have fun 😊😊

[thesinglesjukebox]

KELSEA BALLERINI WITH NOAH KAHAN - "COWBOYS CRY TOO"

It's time to be a cowboy nooowwwww / and cowboys DO cry...

[5.78]

Julian Axelrod: Noah Kahan's email inbox must look crazy these days. After securing a string of Stick Season features from his famous friends, I can imagine him slowly working through a stack of requests for verses like he's Ty Dolla $ign in 2016. Kelsea Ballerini is among the first to cash in on the Kahanaissance, and she's not fucking around: Nothing says "I, too, would like to sell out arenas in Vermont" like an earnest folk ballad about fragile masculinity and the complicated relationships between fathers and sons. Unsurprisingly, Noah rises to the challenge, and their voices come together beautifully. But coming off a year of promoting her most "personal" work yet, it's telling that Kelsea feels most comfortable fading into the background. [5]

Katherine St. Asaph: A surprisingly tender, nuanced lament on toxic masculinity. Both Ballerini and Kahan are credited; perhaps they're to thank for the empathy? [7]

Will Adams: A comment on the lyric video by one darrensawyer-ju9bn: "Thank you for bringing attention to the fact that men have emotions too." I genuinely cannot tell if this comment is facetious or sincere. My cynical, too-online brain wants to cast off "Cowboys Cry Too" as obvious and self-serving, but there's a little seed in there that truly believes Ballerini and Kahan pull it off. It helps that their take on toxic masculinity acknowledges the generational aspect ("I grew up wishing I could close off the way my dad did") and the woman's perspective ("when he's showing his skin... that's when he's toughest to me"). It's pretty, too, which also helps. [6]

Jonathan Bradley: “Cowboys Cry Too” would like to signpost changing expectations of masculinity, but it underestimates the terrain: country music since its inception has offered an arena in which men were permitted to be more emotional and more sentimental than they can outside the honky tonk. Cowboys are complex: as well as weepers, they are creatures mommas should not want their sons to grow up to become, but they’re also frequently secretly fond of each other. Noah Kahan is not a cowboy or a country artist, but his folk ballads offer something like a Vermont corollary to the genre’s implicit Southernness. Kahan can’t deliver a melody as expertly as Ballerini, who here attempts empathy but ends up sounding stunted (boys have feelings -- who knew?), but his first-person narrative of fathers and burning “too many miles trying to ride out the sadness” paints a more nuanced portrait. But there’s also the ghost of Reba McEntire; if cowboys cry, Brooks and Dunn told us cowgirls don’t, and using that song’s motifs puts into relief how emotionally austere this one is. There’s too much Yankee stoicism here and not enough tears. [6]

Taylor Alatorre: I'm okay with country music existing in this imaginary space where everyone's either a cowboy or cowgirl, regardless of their suburb or exurb of origin. But when used in a song title like this, and especially when paired with "I never knew," the effect is rather infantilizing, like your therapist giving you advice from a Pixar movie. However, Ballerini's decision to buck the Western imagery and reach all the way to Vermont for a duet partner was improbably the correct one. If Noah Kahan has any misgivings about being typecast as a weepy folk balladeer, he doesn't show them here, as he pins down the kitschy platitudes into a more concrete narrative about fatherhood and fears of abandonment. Notably, though, he doesn't make any reference to rural life in his lyrics, suggesting that he too might be quietly ashamed of working under this banner. A good illustration of a case where keeping one's feelings bottled up really is the best option. [6]

Nortey Dowuona: Alysa Vanderheym once co-wrote a song called "Talk You Out of It" for Florida Georgia Line. Hence why, when she got to be part of a good song, she went hard in the paint with the steel guitar. [9]

Ian Mathers: "This Whole Thing Smacks Of Gender," i holler as i overturn Kelsea and Noah's overpriced-sounding milquetoast pop country song and turn its Jukebox score into the 4th of Shit [4]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Give me my "Dawns" back. [3]

Alfred Soto: The fusty tropes don't smother Kelsea Ballerini's lack of affect; she knows how to weigh her feelings by sticking to the script. Noah Kahan isn't there yet, but in a fictional world where a song about cowboys a-weepin' enters the Hot Country Airplay top five his pathos is a glass of fresh iced tea.  [6]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

Kanye West seems to think that him hooking up with a Jewish woman absolves him on his antisemitic past -- at least that's what we can glean from this new song snippet that leaked.

There's a clip floating around online right now that appears to show a guy listening to Ye playing a track super loudly in the distance -- this as he continues to work on his new Ty Dolla $ign album out in the Middle East ... where this footage was recorded.

The video and audio were recorded by a content creator who goes by @mansorash on IG -- in a couple different recordings, you can hear a song that features Ye rapping ... "I just f***** a Jewish bitch," which comes right after something to the effect of "How can I be antisemitic?"

So, basically ... Ye's rhetorically asking in this new track of his -- how can I be antisemitic if I just banged this Jewish chick ... which is problematic, and doesn't wash anything away.

[gxbtx]

SiR's newest album HEAVY is pushing the boundaries of R&B in all the right ways (QT)

Today I was on a long shift at work. I had finally made it to my lunch, and I popped in the car and opened Spotify to see what was new. HEAVY by SiR pops up, a familiar name that previously got me through hard times. I immediately press play, experiencing an immersive episode of music that I hadn't expected.

The lyrics spoke doubtful thoughts I discern vividly, finding the perfect elements to pair with SiR's soulful voice. Combining aspects of guitar, bass, samples, and beats, SiR resounds his timbre into a fresh track. There were minimal skips and minimal misses with the features in the album. With surprise accompaniment from Anderson .Paak, Ab-Soul, and even Ty Dolla $ign, this track did not let me down with the combination of emotions merging into this sophisticated project. The pure, raw feeling felt through the speakers spoke directly to me, reminding me of my first time listening to Lahai by Sampha (see below for review!)

Going from what resembles a male SZA project in HEAVY to a shocking southern country folk song in SIX WHOLE DAYS, this album kept me on my toes for what came next. NO EVIL had genuinely one of the hardest beats I've heard this year, the bass absolutely shredding. IM NOT PERFECT was a dazy ode to admitting his troubles, which resonated deeply with me. KARMA was what sounded similar to JID's flow, bleeding the lyrics "It's a little late to save the old me, oh." SATISFACTION has a satisfying guitar riff over some of those lyrics that attracted me to SiR in the first place.

The album has its ups and downs, encompassing what a week frequently feels like for me. All the while, I forgot that the core genre was R&B. SiR's implementation of relaxing rock band, samples/beats, and even trumpets here and there, all combined to push what we consider R&B. This was a fresh album that left me content, reminding me of how I felt after Let's Start Here from Lil Yachty last year. Definitely recommend!

[izzidane]

Killer mike - MICHAEL [2023]

Hip-Hop | 53 : 44

Down by Law (with CeeLo Green)

Shed Tear (with Mozzy)

Run (with Young Thug & Dave Chappelle)

Nrich (Feat. 6lack & Eryn Allen Kane)

Talk'n that shit!

Slummer (with Jagged Edge)

Scientists & Engineers (with Andre 3000 featuring Future & Eryn Allen Kane)

Two Days (with Ty Dolla $ign)

Spaceship views (with Curren$y, 2 Chains & Kaash Paige)

Exit 9 (with Blxst)

Something for Junkies (with Fabo)

Motherless (with Eryn Allen Kane)

Don't Let the Devil (with El-P & Thankugoodsir)

High & Holy (with Ty Dolla $ign)

[hiphopvibe1]

Post Malone meets his wax figure for the first time [VIDEO]

Post Malone meets his wax figure for the first time   They say the greatest form of flattery is imitation, and this wax figure is the perfect gesture of appreciation. Recently Grammy nominated artist Post Malone met his wax figure for the first time. With pure shock and excitement all over his face, Post Malone was in awe at the resemblance. Created by none other than Madame Tussauds, video of…

[brooklynislandgirl]

Spell Out Your URL Using Song Titles! tagged by: @echoestm tagging: anyone who still remembers audio cassettes

Blank Space ~ I Prevail Radio Gaga ~ Queen Objects In The Rearview Mirror ~ Meatloaf Oceania ~ Smashing Pumpkins Kamakura ~ The Maccabees LA ~ Ty dolla $ign featuring Kendrick Lamar, Brandy, James Fauntleroy Y'all Boys ~ Florida Georgia Line ft. Hardy Namaste ~ Beastie Boys I Couldn't Ask For More ~ Edwin McCain S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W ~ My Chemical Romance Landslide ~ A Thousand Horses A Farewell to Kings ~ Rush No More {Paddy's Lament} ~ Flogging Molly Dance and Shout ~ Shaggy Galaxies ~ Owl City If I Were King ~ Queensryche Rain Dance Maggie ~ Red Hot Chili Peppers Last Train to Trancentral ~ The KLF

[driptape]

mix tape for kennedy and cash 📼

𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝟎𝟏 — HONESTY by PINK SWEAT$

𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝟎𝟐 — CAN'T HELP BUT WAIT by TREY SONGZ

𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝟎𝟑 — NIGHTS LIKE THIS by KEHLANI featuring TY DOLLA $IGN

𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝟎𝟒 — FAVORITE SONG by TOOSII

𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝟎𝟓 — WHATSLOVE by MAJORNINE

𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝟎𝟔 — CROOKED SMILE by J. COLE featuring TLC

LINK TO PLAYLIST

[lightscamerabitchsmileee]

Vote for your fave, reblog & share your thoughts and other faves even outside of this list in the tags I would love to hear it ☺️☺️

Check out my masterpost for the other open artist polls ☺️☺️ thank you and have fun ☺️☺️

[thesinglesjukebox]

KEHLANI -"AFTER HOURS"

We're staying out late tonight...

[6.89]

Katherine St. Asaph: An immaculate vibe, a great hang, a simmering build; the feeling of realizing you'd love to linger indefinitely, transmuted into sound. [8]

Alfred Soto: At ease in ruminative mode, Kehlani hasn't recorded many club bangers these days. The Nina Sky interpolation gets them to shake the mopes, or, rather, coaxes them to put their fluttery wishcasting into a kinetic mode that occasionally suits them. [7]

Taylor Alatorre: "In a room full of strangers... it feels like we're alone." Okay, pretty standard club dichotomy there. So then why would you foreground the former over the latter by turning the chorus into this communal come-hither chant? Makes me feel like I'm being courted by a hive mind or polycule or both. Maybe that's part of the weirdness that comes with adapting the "Coolie Dance" riddim to a song about one-on-one intimacy; it didn't have to be, though. [5]

Jackie Powell: It’s difficult to know Kehlani’s true intent with “After Hours." Are they trying for a dark horse R&B hit with hints of afrobeats? Is this a reggae track? Or are they paying homage to Destiny’s Child? (They released a remix of the song that plops their vocals on top of the instrumental to Destiny’s Child’s “Cater 2 U.”)  Kehlani tries to accomplish all of the above, but it’s hard to say whether they execute. The song features a sample within a sample. The first sound is the percussive rhythm that rose to popularity via Nina Sky’s "Move Ya Body," but that sound is a sample in itself, a beat originally made by Jamaican artist Cordell 'Scatta' Burrell in his song "Coolie Dance Rhythm." "After Hours" could have easily begun after that eight-second sample, which prompts the question as to why they needed it. Were they trying to bring in more mainstream listeners who would recognize the first seconds immediately? It isn’t clear. The track becomes most compelling when Kehlani gets to their refrain and then the subsequent pre-chorus. Kehlani has an overdubbed call and response that builds and builds and is quite sexy, but disappoints by the time the chorus hits. The payoff is weak, and the supposed hook sounds like an extended version of Tyla’s “Water,” especially with the echoing backing vocals that aren’t Kehlani’s. In the original “After Hours,” there is a trace of Destiny’s Child's signature sauce: the harmony on the call-and-response sections. But the “Cater 2 U” remix slows the song’s tempo and completely changes the vibe of the song. Is this a song for the club or for the hotel room they take their lover to the night of the ensuing hookup?  [6]

Ian Mathers: Just a fun, light party track, and I mean that as a compliment. I'm actually kind of glad this only uses the same riddim as "Move Ya Body" instead of interpolating it like the intro made me think might happen. But while I'll be happy to hear this come up on the radio etc., I suspect every time I hear that intro I'm going to be a just a little disappointed it's not Nina Sky. [7]

Jonathan Bradley: There are no shortage of songs in 2024 sampling the hits of the '00s, but Kehlani's Nina Sky flip sounds more like yet another take on the Coolie Dance riddim than nostalgia bait; this is how dancehall is supposed to work. "After Hours" is light and pleasant, with an ingratiating synth line that finds new use for old trop house parts. Kehlani is the least essential part, but they don't need to break a sweat to make this replayable. If it were summer here, I might bump my score up by a point. [6]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: I've long been in favor of Kehlani using as many 2000s R&B samples as possible. This is further vindication — over a vague outline of Nina Sky, they sound like they're having more fun than they have in years; the searing, melodramatic quality of their voice works much better as an invitation to debauchery than, say, a duet partner to Ty Dolla $ign.  [7]

Will Adams: The use of the Coolie Dance riddim is smart; the club is still pumping, but the soft synths and half-stepping bass suggest that closing time is approaching, and there's someone who wants to take you home. That transient moment creates heat for "After Hours," even though I'd rather have that interaction while "Move Ya Body" is playing instead. [6]

Nortey Dowuona: After Cordell and Everton Burrell released the Coolie Dance riddim in 2003, they probably had no idea that 25 artists(!!???) would flood to use it almost immediately, but they did expect it to be successful and used. When he and his brother were their most successful, most of the riddims that were produced were given directly to artists in both reggae and dancehall, who, in exchange for the song, would have "gentleman's agreements" with the producers, who would plow through their equipment to create the riddims yet depended on those agreements to work. Each song was meant for a dub plate, to be performed so the artist could eat. The producer, however, got left in the dust. Khristopher Riddick-Tynes of the Rascals, as well as Alex Goldblatt, who is the co-producer of this sweet little gem, didn't even count Cordell or Everton as producers but merely as songwriters, since they took the riddim from this little gem produced by Lionel Bermingham and Elijah Wells. Cordell does get a songwriting credit and a cameo in the video, as well as Diovanna Frasier, choreographer, and Daniel Church, who can rock a pretty solid Jeremih impression. Now, Kehlani does deliver quite handily in the vocals department (with assistance from Jaycen Joshua and his trusty sidekick, Mike Seaberg), but the creation, completion and delivery of one of the best songs of the year depends on at least seven other people who you don't know and couldn't pick out of a lineup unless you're a Mixed by the Masters fanboy. They're the ones who create the spellbinding songs we're listening to while we miss last call to keep on talking, and I think they deserve just as much lucre and recognition as the Bay's worst-kept secret. [10]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 02/03/2024 (SZA, Central Cee, Pozer)

Beyoncé may have the #1 for a second week with “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” but the real winners on this UK Singles Chart are songs benefiting from songs above them plundering, partly thanks to everyone’s favourite arbitrary rule, Accelerated Chart Ratio (ACR). I am never explaining that rule, look it up, but you’d think maybe we’d get a surge of new songs, right? No, it’s a pretty minimal week, and I’m not complaining. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

As always, we start with our 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, and we have… unless I’m missing something, surprisingly little of note here? We bid farewell to “BACK TO ME” by Hitler, Goebbels and an uncredited Freddie Gibbs, “Ophelia” by The Lumineers, “Toxic” by Songer (thank God), “Sprinter” by Dave and Central Cee and of course, Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved” but that’ll be back soon enough.

Okay, so as for returns, we just get Ye’s “Runaway” featuring Pusha T back at #48, but our notable gains are where this week gets actually interesting, because we actually have quite a few, particularly in the top 40, thanks to ACR as mentioned but also potentially some TikTok-related industry politics that probably act in parallel with each other, but we start with “Thank You (Not So Bad)” by way too many brain cells at #68, “Soaked” by Shy Smith at #51, “vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo at #44 and “Evergreen” by Richy Mitch & the Coal Miners at #41. Then the top 40, where all Hell breaks loose, though most of these songs are actually pretty good: “Birds in the Sky” by NewEra at #40, “Made for Me” by Muni Long at #37, “Never be Alone” by Becky Hill and Sonny Fodera at #35, “Whatever She Wants” by Bryson Tiller of all people at #31 (and yes, I think I get it now), “On My Love” by Zara Larsson and David Guetta at #28, “Scared to Start” by Michael Marcagi at #22, “Nothing Matters” by The Last Dinner Party at #16, “Lovers in a Past Life” by Calvin Harris and Rag’n’Bone Man at #13, and finally - unfortunately - we have “CARNIVAL” by Adolf Hitler and Ty Dolla $ign featuring Playboi Carti at #9. Yes, it’s Rich the Kid’s first top 10 hit and no, you should not care.

Our top five should sound pretty normal, apart from a new entry into the top 10 at #5 as Djo gets his first with “End of Beginning”. I guess Steve Lacy can be a one-hit wonder twice. Aside from that, well, it’s all pretty expected: “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan at #4, “Beautiful Things” by Benson Boone at #3, “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims at #2 and Bey at #1. I like how this top five is a herd of angsty indie rock-adjacent white dudes led by the queen of the hive.

NEW ARRIVALS

#61 - “Love On” - Selena Gomez

Produced by The Monsters & Strangerz and Isaiah Tejada

Man, one of the few times that a mainstream artist releases a well-received and popular album that I think is absolutely brilliant, if not perfect, and none of it charts in the top 75. I’m not revealing who that is, if you know, you know. No worries, guys, we have Selena Gomez instead! God… to be honest, I like to give Selena the benefit of the doubt more than often, and I actually really like this song for its quirks as I’ll discuss later, but it’s pretty funny that this song starts with the French language only for all of that effortlessly seductive aura to be replaced with “Wait ‘til I get my love on”. What? In fact, this song is incredibly clunky in its sexiness or lack thereof, and if you think it’s to fit an already constructed rhyme or construction… why does it sound this awkward and almost improvised? “Screaming yes in quotations”, “night shift but with all the perks” (or Percs?), “why are we conversating over this steak tartare”? Yes, Julia Michaels, I knew you wrote this song before I checked the credits, you didn’t need to make it too obvious. Now I actually love this song, it’s so artfully stupid in execution: Selena sounds Auto-Tuned to Hell as always but it doesn’t grant her any rhythm with that robotic hook slipping over itself, as if the verses don’t embarrass her enough: Isaiah, listen, why leave her only with the clipping bassline and add all those accentuative vocal effects? It’s almost cruelty. She doesn’t even sound like herself on the strained falsetto pre-chorus, especially not those backing vocals which you could easily convince me are Toro y Moi of all people, and the chorus promising that you should just wait until she has her love on before she loves on you, which is… what? Asexuals could write better songs about intimacy, but in all its goofiness, the song ends up winning me over on pure silliness. The production has a straightforward groove but a lovely disco swell to the strings, detailed vocal layering and those phased synths acting as stabs that make Selena’s rhythmic bruising in the chorus sound almost normal are the icing on top. This is an adorable little failure of a song, I kind of admire it. Push it in the same category as “Feather” by Sabrina Carpenter in being loveable nu-disco messes.

#49 - “Showtime” - Catfish and the Bottlemen

Produced by Dave Sardy and Ryan McCann

It’s been a five-year hiatus, but indie rock band Catfish and the Bottlemen are back to music, though with some departures and line-up changes, and oddly enough, all of that ties into the fittingly titled comeback single, “Showtime”. Yes, this song is about the strains of touring and life on the road as part of a band, but how that’s all ultimately worth it for how gratifying it is to make an impact on listeners and be performing to audiences, as well as being with the band members he loves to record and perform with. I love the breakneck pace of the bass and post-punk rhythm of the verses and pre-choruses with that soaring guitar lick, and I think that the lead singer Mr. McCann (of no relation to that one) has a solid control of his distorted nasal tone until that disappointing chorus comes in which doesn’t feel nearly as ambitious or arena-ready as it wants to be, mostly because McCann is mumbling and it halts the momentum of the entire song. Also, it starts really shoddy lyrically, it’s hard to sound profound when half of your chorus is moaning “fuck that shit, get on this”. It does end up contextualising itself better on repetitions, mostly because of the warm finger-snaps in the bridge that eventually evolve into a heartland rolick that gives the final chorus space to breathe in a muddy mix… then seems to never fully get its power back, replacing it with a gross basic synth that parades around a befuddled Bottlemen, until eventually the song is just a lo-fi piano recording that doesn’t feel like it’s entirely warranted its inclusion, though it wraps up the narrative nicely as he comes back home after touring. I really like the sentiment of this song and parts of what it’s going for but the chorus, which really makes or break an anthemic song like this, just loses me, which is really disappointing as the rest of the song focuses entirely on building up to it. I’m sure it’ll be a killer live, but that’s also with the caveat that when performing live, they can mess with the structure, the lyrics and the performance, as well as most importantly for this one, the mix… so I don’t think this song will ever sound as good on record as it could do at a festival, which considering the song’s content, is kind of beautiful.

#29 - “Kitchen Stove” - Pozer

Produced by Young Madz

It’s pretty weird that this is not the first time in recent memory that I’ve never heard of the lead rapper on a track but have seen a dozen or so credits for his producer. Unlike Rich Amiri, this is far from rage however, it’s a drill track, of course, with Young Madz being a New York producer who’s worked with Fivio Foreign, the 41 collective and sadly, Lil Mabu, as well as having produced a previously charting track from Russ Millions. Pozer, on the other hand, has no other songs, with this being a breakout track on TikTok as well as his debut single… that’s being distributed by Sony. Yeah, slick one there. To fully understand this, we need to look back two years for another fluke viral hit, “snowfall” by Øneheart and reidenshi, a Russian space ambient track with over 500 million streams on Spotify - yes, really. It debuted nearly exactly a year after release and eventually peaked at #57 in 2023 whilst Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” was #1. Øneheart’s follow-up was another ambient track, “this feeling”, which is not nearly as successful and also not as good, mostly because it lacks as sticky of a lead as “snowfall” and falls more into a vaporwave-esque filter of hopelessness which resonates a bit less. It does sound ripe for sampling though, especially that tiny vocal lead at the tail-end, so I guess it makes sense that for a manufactured viral hit, Madz took a sped-up version of the Russian ambient song and put it over some of the most rote, typical Jersey drill percussion possible. He doesn’t do much chopping, mostly because you don’t need to - like I said, that vocal sample would be perfect under Jersey drill, and Madz had the exact same idea, I suppose. Pozer, despite the name, isn’t exactly a bad rapper, his flow is pretty typical but solid and his second verse goes into more introspective and paranoid territory, pretty befitting of the haunting production… my problem is his delivery and the way he’s mixed: he just sounds too obvious. For production as potentially eerie as this, the production needs to be way more textured and dynamic, and Pozer himself needs to be quieter in the mix - as do the bed squeaks. This feels like a perfect lay-up of an idea that would make both a great song and an easy hit just fumbled in execution. It’s still a functional song for sure, but it doesn’t hit the way it absolutely could have.

#18 - “I Will” - Central Cee

Produced by John Alexis and LIOHN

Cench has another single out as he seems to drip-feed these - if he keeps them all on the record, that debut studio album will be more like a greatest hits compilation. As for this new one… first of all, I need this guy to step away from women: he’s awkward, condescending, and has strange fixations on this girl’s mother, how “young” she makes her feel, as well as just the extents of the capabilities of his penis… as well as a song-long hyperfixation on her shaving her privates. Over an Ed Sheeran-sounding beat? The acoustic guitars don’t mesh with the distant vocal loops, his vocal mix sounds horrifically unprofessional as does his complete lack of melodic understanding or personality when trying to sing on the chorus. You’d think he’d try and pick up the rapping to make up for it but he sounds half-dead. Speaking of Ed Sheeran, even he raps better than this - and yes, that includes about sex and relationships. There’s so little in the beat to distract from Cench’s terrible performance and content, so this is just an embarrassing display of everything that he cannot do properly. The second top comment on Genius, so you know, the fans, is asking what the Hell this is, and I can’t say I disagree with the fans in this case. I know you love Drake, it doesn’t mean you have to be him.

#15 - “Saturn” - SZA

Produced by Carter Lang, Rob Bisel, Solomonophonic and Monsune

SZA’s finally released a highly-anticipated song she performed at the GRAMMYs that may be connected to some form of SOS reissue and… oh, this interpolates one of my absolute favourite albums of all time. The opening track to Canadian composer Mort Garson’s peaceful, dynamic and forward-thinking 1976 electronic album Mother Earth’s Plantasia may not be iconic to everyone, but I still get goosebumps listening to it and that’s even outside of its greater context where this is the opening suite to a themed, arguably conceptual record acting as a love letter to two different pets of the musician: the myriad of plants his wife grew in the home, and his admired Moog synthesizer that he composed the entire album on. Sadly, Garson passed in 2008, before the record could gain its underground cult following amongst music fans, and before its official reissue in 2019 which particularly benefits the opening track, which has since been used in advertisements and now ends up interpolated on SZA’s new single, which released as a surprise to her fans and feels like a pretty spiritual return to some of the sounds explored on CTRL, using the sprinkling nostalgic synths of “Plantasia” as a backing for her lamenting of how dull and monotonous life on Earth can be. It’s actually fascinating to use that sample considering how celebratory I’ve always seen Garson’s album of both the natural world and human  influence or appreciation of it, but definitely not a bad one as Lang, Bisel and co. add their own cascading synths to the dejected drum mix and warm guitars that flow this song swiftly into psychedelic territory, especially on the gorgeously harmonic chorus. My favourite moment may be the pre-chorus though, where SZA’s vocal layering filters into the static of both itself and the incessant hi-hat wearing itself out over time. It’s pure escapism for sure, much like a lot of this week, really, but it’s damn effective escapism, pulling you into this forest that, despite my general issue with fade-outs, makes sense to drift out of existence. The song’s about wanting to live on Saturn, I can just imagine that as the song fades out, we pan away from SZA and the camera focuses on the scarce night sky peppered with stars. If a song ever justifies its cop-out ending, then it’s doing something really right.

Conclusion

Yeah, the girlies really won this episode, didn’t they? SZA takes Best of the Week away easily with “Saturn” but “Love On” by Selena Gomez does take the Honourable Mention. As for the Dishonourable Mention, I think Pozer just frustrates me with “Kitchen Stove” whilst Central Cee handedly has the Worst of the Week because Jesus Christ, “I Will” is almost irredeemable on pretty much all fronts. As for what’s new on the horizon in the coming weeks, I’m unsure, but it will be interesting what new stuff arises as a result of the ACR clearout this week. For now, thank you for reading, and I’ll see you next week!

[thelensofyashunews]

Rolling Loud Adds Special ¥$ (Ye + Ty Dolla $ign) Performance to Rolling Loud California 2024

Rolling Loud announces the addition of a complimentary fourth night of Rolling Loud California 2024, featuring a special "VULTURES" performance by Ye and Ty Dolla $ign, known as ¥$. The superstar artists, who just released the collaborative album VULTURES 1, will perform on Thursday, March 14th, the night before the weekend festival commences on Friday, March 15th. Ty will now be performing as “VULTURES” on Thursday with Ye.

All current 3-day pass holders for Rolling Loud California 2024 will be given access to the Thursday night performance at no cost to the pass holder via an RSVP link sent on behalf of Rolling Loud. New purchasers must purchase a full 3-day pass to receive complimentary access to Thursday night. All single day pass holders will receive an email on Friday, February 16th with a special link giving the option to upgrade to a 3-day pass. 

3-Day and Single-Day (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) passes are available now at https://www.rollingloudca.com/

Rolling Loud's unprecedented 4th night precedes three full days of nonstop performances by many of rap's biggest stars and L.A. local heroes. Y$ precedes headlining performances by Nicki Minaj on "Pink Friday," Post Malone on Saturday, and Future X Metro Boomin on Sunday. Rolling Loud California returns from March 14th-17th at Hollywood Park, on the grounds adjacent to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.

Stay tuned for many more announcements about Rolling Loud California and other upcoming events, and be sure to follow Rolling Loud on Instagram for in-the-moment updates.

Find more information at RollingLoud.com and more information about Rolling Loud California HERE

Watch clips and full performances at Rolling Loud's YouTube

Buy Rolling Loud Merch: shoprollingloud.com