Top Song of the Week
Song of the Week: All Hail Florence + The Machine’s “King,” a Complicated Coronation Anthem
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Florence + the Machine assume their rightful place on the throne. Florence Welch has assumed a wide range of identities over the past 15 years. Since she first formed Florence + The Machine in 2007, Welch has been a punchy indie rocker; an empowerment anthem siren; a beguiling chanteuse; a dancefloor diva; a witchy woman; a poet. Like David Bowie before her and contemporaries like St. Vincent, Welch isn’t only writing and recording music with Florence + The Machine — she’s developing personae complete with richly-imagined aestheti...
Rap Song of the Week: Conway the Machine Brings Out the Best in Lil Wayne and Rick Ross on “Tear Gas”
Our new music feature Rap Song of the Week breaks down the essential hip-hop tracks you need to hear. Check out the full playlist here. This week, Conway the Machine links up with Lil Wayne and Rick Ross on “Tear Gas” from his long-awaited Shady debut, God Don’t Make Mistakes. Conway the Machine’s tenure on Shady Records has been the latest case study for exactly what a major label can provide for a rapper who was already well-respected and making good money from merch and touring. Back in 2017, our former Artist of the Month signed on to make Eminem his ostensible boss as part of a package deal for Griselda, the label and collective founded by his brother Westside Gunn. In the five years since then, both rappers (along with Benny the Butcher) have continued to operate outside of the lines...
Song of the Week: Troye Sivan and Jay Som Step Into the Sun with “Trouble”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Troye Sivan and Jay Som provide the first look into the music for the upcoming film Three Months. Troye Sivan has been creating dreamy, addictive pop music for the better part of a decade. He expanded into the on-camera world when he appeared in the 2018 film Boy Erased in a supporting role, and has now stepped into leading man territory for the upcoming Paramount+ original Three Months. The trailer for the film gives a first look at Sivan as the focal point of a coming-of-age narrative and promises original songs from the artist....
Song of the Week: Doja Cat Manages to Make a Taco Bell Collaboration Genuinely Great with a Hole Cover
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Doja Cat elevates what could have been a forgettable Super Bowl team-up and makes it a must-hear cover. Ahead of Super Bowl Sunday, Doja Cat has *checks notes* teamed up with Taco Bell for a cover of “Celebrity Skin” by Hole. No, it’s not an edition of pop culture Mad Libs — it’s somehow a really great cover, and boasts some reworked lyrics in partnership with Courtney Love herself. The thing is, if anyone knows how to Live Más, it’s Doja Cat. Let’s not forget that her first breakthrough into the zeitgeist was “Moo,” a completely ...
Rap Song of the Week: Pusha T Makes His Triumphant Return with “Diet Coke”
Our new music feature Rap Song of the Week runs down the hip-hop tracks you need to hear every Friday. Check out the full playlist here. This week, Pusha T shares “Diet Coke,” the lead single from his upcoming fourth album. In recent interviews, Pusha T has been talking up his fourth studio LP, reportedly titled It’s Not Dry Yet, as “the album of the motherfucking year.” It’s a pretty standard boast for any upper echelon MC, but he’s added fuel to the fire by describing it as “one thousand percent rap superhero shit.” Whatever that actually means, the drug rap king is back with a vengeance after taking roughly two years off to spend time with his son. Despite running in circles with the likes of Pharrell and Kanye West while having been long considered one of the best rappers alive, King P...
Rap Song of the Week: Actually, Megan Thee Stallion’s Branded Cheetos Song “Flamin’ Hottie” Is Kind of Good
Our recurring feature Rap Song of the Week breaks down the hip-hop songs you need to hear every Friday. Check out the full playlist here. This week, Megan Thee Stallion secures the bag with “Flamin’ Hottie.” Considering Megan Thee Stallion’s complicated record label situation, the H-Town Hottie is hardly bringing in the money that she should be for an artist of her stature. So no one begrudged her for teaming up with Popeyes last year, and now she’s partnered with Frito-Lay to promote Flamin’ Hot Cheetos (leaving Lil Xan in shambles) and Doritos. Later this month, Meg will be starring in a Super Bowl commercial alongside Charlie Puth, but today she’s given fans an idea of what to expect with “Flamin’ Hottie.” Meg at least put in more than a minimal effort into making the branded track...
Song of the Week: Red Hot Chili Peppers Welcome Us To a “Black Summer”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, the Red Hot Chili Peppers signal the arrival of their new era with the triumphant “Black Summer.” From the first warm tones of the guitar, two things are clear: Red Hot Chili Peppers are back, and John Frusciante has rejoined the legendary rockers. “Black Summer” marks the Chili Peppers’ first single since 2016’s lackluster The Gateway, and with Frusciante back, they sound renewed and refreshed. His signature guitar sound is heavily highlighted on “Black Summer,” linking perfectly with Flea’s energetic bass work and stepping out f...
Song of the Week: Charli XCX and Rina Sawayama Aren’t Going to “Beg For You”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Charli XCX and Rina Sawayama put their pop powers together in their first collaboration after years of friendship. There’s a strong chance Charli XCX and Rina Sawayama have dropped the first big bop of 2022. Maybe they were also feeling the void in explosive dance hall tracks — how long it’s been since we had the cathartic joy of “Rain On Me” — and came to the rescue. “Beg For You” is fine-tuned, almost to a fault (the song is barely over two and a half minutes) but it’s a worthy collaboration between two artists who know what pop...
Rap Song of the Week: Benny the Butcher Recruits J. Cole for “Johnny P’s Caddy”
Our new music feature Rap Song of the Week breaks down the hip-hop tracks you need to hear every Friday. Check out the full playlist here. This week, Benny the Butcher recruits J. Cole for his new single, “Johnny P’s Caddy.” Hip-hop fans who haven’t been paying attention might be surprised to hear Benny the Butcher landed a J. Cole feature on his latest single, “Johnny P’s Caddy,” but they’ve actually known each other for nearly three years. The Buffalo rhymer was one of the artists hand-picked by Cole for the mythical Revenge of the Dreamers III sessions, and he clearly made a strong impression despite not making the final cut. It was part of the formerly insular North Carolina MC stepping outside his inner circle by handing out rare features to trap rappers like 21 Savage, Offset, a...
Rap Song of the Week: Key Glock Pays Tribute to Young Dolph with “Proud”
Every Friday, our new music feature Rap Song of the Week rounds up the hip-hop tracks you need to hear. Check out the full playlist here. This week, Key Glock remembers the late Young Dolph on “Proud.” After Memphis icon Young Dolph was shot and killed last November, thoughts turned to his cousin and protégé Key Glock, who stayed silent for a week before revealing on Instagram that he was struggling with the death of his mentor and frequent collaborator, who he called the Phil Jackson to his Michael Jordan. A few months later, the 24-year-old rapper appears to have picked up the pieces. Today (January 21st), Dolph’s label, Paper Route Empire, has released a tribute album titled Long Live Dolph, which features “Proud,” Key Glock’s tribute to Dolph. Over menacing trap production fr...
Song of the Week: Lana Del Rey Casts Her Spell with the Melancholic “Watercolor Eyes”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Lana Del Rey’s cut from the Euphoria soundtrack captures all the glitter and drama of the hit television show. HBO’s Euphoria is a lot of things — trendy, absurd, moving, disturbing, a cinematography dream — but, above all, it is the moment. In an era often dominated by binge-watching, it’s a rarity to see people dutifully tune into new episodes of a show on a weekly basis for fear of missing out on the social conversation. Season 2 of the addiction drama seems just as strong (if not stronger) on that front. Sunday evening trendin...
Rap Song of the Week: J.I.D Goes Toe-to-Toe with 21 Savage on “Surround Sound”
Every Friday, our new music feature Rap Song of the Week breaks down the essential hip-hop tracks you need to hear. Check out the full playlist here. This week, J.I.D recruits 21 Savage and Baby Tate for “Surround Sound.” For the past several years, it’s felt like Dreamville’s J.I.D has been on the precipice of stardom. His last album, 2018’s DiCaprio 2, spawned a pair of Gold singles, and his performances on “Down Bad” and “Costa Rica” (from the compilation Revenge of the Dreamers III) exhibited his knack for crafting a catchy hook while still being an explosive, technically gifted rapper. Among a stacked roster of MCs, J.I.D stands tall. 2022 is shaping up to be the kind of year that will bring the Atlanta spitter to the next level. J.I.D’s on the easily visible third line of the po...
