New music from SZA, Lil Durk & Selena Gomez, let's unpack this week's drop:
CENTRAL CEE - 'I WILL':
the UK trailblazer drops his first song of the year:
First things first, Central Cee made his first drop of 2024 with the new single "I Will" The melodic rap song shows a new side to the rapper, contradicting the typical upbeat fast-paced tracks he has been releasing recently ‘I will’ is a breath of fresh air for Central cee.
The catchy pop-rap chorus is mixed perfectly to give this song the perfect mainstream feel. The lyrics are light and stay on theme for the vibe that the song is trying to create.
Central Cee is becoming a trailblazing force within the UK rap scene, his most recent release ‘I Will’ helps solidify this. The track was given minimal promotion in the run-up to the song, letting the music talk for itself Central Cee dropped the track on a Thursday night, alongside the video:
Proving his influence and popularity the song faired well given its release circumstances, Central Cee is also the only credited writer.
It has a different vibe to his recent TikTok viral song ‘Doja’ but still holds the same potential to become a hit. ‘I Will’ has clean wordplay with perfectly mixed delivery, the video is also clean to help provide a visual for the track and make a statement with Central Cee’s first song of 2024.
LIL DURK - 'OLD DAYS':
Lil Durk gets reflective with new track 'Old Days'.
The rapper recalls important moments of nostalgia for him during his time on his come-up, as well as taking time to be reflective of his career and the state of the world currently. Lil Durk melodically delivers this over a simple yet effective beat that helps the lyrics be the main focus of the track.
An admirable drop from the rapper as he takes a less glamorising approach to talking about his lifestyle. A more insightful look into the things the rapper has endured.
from speaking on his issues with substance about as well as dealing, as well as the rapper admitting to getting a pacemaker.
The hard-hitting lyrics offer a more personal view of Lil Durk by showing a more humane and emotive side of the rapper. The track features a spoken outro which relays the message of ‘praying for the streets’ while other topics touched on include his history with substance abuse and dealing with health issues within his family, Lil Durk also speaks on the state of the world and how he ‘wishes he could stop the war’.
The video suits the vibe of the song as it doesn't show off much, leaving the visual as a supportive aid to help focus on the lyrics of the track and convey the key theme the rapper is trying to push with the song.
The track is perfect for seeing a more vulnerable side to the rapper, this is exactly what the rap scene needs with the come-up of so many underground rappers, showing them that the lifestyle is not always what the mainstream media suggests.
SZA - 'SATURN':
SZA surprise drops 'Saturn' in the build-up to the album 'LANA'.
Following the viral performance of the track at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards on the 4th of February during the Mastercard commercial break. After fan reception and overall great reviews, the track was surprise dropped this week.
The track is used as a potential lead for the RNB singer's upcoming album 'LANA' which poses as the deluxe album reissue for 'SOS'. After teasing the drop of this album for many months via Instagram, fan hype is at an all-time high with an insight into the sound of the album with the track 'Saturn'. The many teasers and snippets of tracks featured on the 'SOS' tour setlist as well as private shows from the singer suggest the album is going to be crafted in a perfectly cinematic way to build on the legacy that SZA has within RNB as a genre and the music industry as a whole.
the lyricism and mixing of the track, produced by Carter Lang & Rob Bisel, create a perfectly cinematic listener experience. SZA's effortlessly talented tone creates a catchy chorus and a perfect song to resonate with when worrying if you are on the right track or at the right point in your life.
SZA has a perfect way of articulating different situations and highligting them in a way that makes it appliable to many different situations, helping her relatability and further strengthens the bond her fans and audience have with her.
SELENA GOMEZ - 'LOVE ON':
The singer makes a pop return in response to public relationship with Benny Blanco.
After the singer recently went viral for confirming relationship with producer Benny Blanco, the song is a perfect summer track to get listeners in the mood for the summer 2024!
'Love On' serves as the lead single for the singers upcoming album set to be released around the summer.
This track is the perfect pop disco style beat sampling the chords from The Beatles ‘its Only Love’ to deliver the perfect radio friendly track.
With cheeky wordplay and flirty undertones Selena seems to be having fun with the singles in the run up to her third album, which is set to be released soon. Following on from track ‘single soon’ the singer is taking a more fun pop route with this album in comparison to previous albums ‘revival’ & ‘rare’ which featured more of an RNB pop style routes.
When asked on the direction for the album Gomez says the main themes include "freedom — freedom from relationships, freedom from the darkness." explaining why both 'Love On' and 'Single Soon' are both fun upbeat pop songs that do not require much thought, just vibes.
The video is just as fun as the song, providing the same fun loving flirty vibe thoughout the visual to the song.
DDG - 'GOING TO THE TOP':
DDG is growing and ‘Going to the top’ is the perfect example of this.
The song is a perfect playlist filler, the subtle melodic flow of DDG is performed perfectly on the low maintenance beat, the catchy flow of the chorus repeating the phrase ‘going to the top’ improves the tracks replay value.
The verse flow is heated and fast, DDGS raps effortlessly to create a catchy head bopping song, while still being under 2 minuets the song has a clear structure, featuring great delivery of bars during the verses, a catchy repeated chorus and an intro. The track is a must listen for anyone looking for a new hiphop track for their playlists.
DDG takes a confident stance on the song as he bigs himself up in the sense of he believes he is going to the top, he also holds himself to high standards as he is ‘doing things they said that he couldn’t’.
Highlighting his achievements DDG is constantly growing and reaching new peaks for his career, after recent publicity of having a child with RNB singer & little mermaid star Halle Bailey, DDG improves on his unique rapping style, suggesting that track ‘Going to the top’ is just the beginning for the new era for the rapper.
The music video is similar to any DDG video, which makes perfect sense for the song as it isnt a compelte reinvention of the artist, a perfect visual to go with the track.
QUAVO - 'HIMOTHY':
Quavo is reminding people he's him in new track 'himothy'.
The drill beat goes perfect with Quavo’s ability to change flow on the same beat, the song is short and sweet, but Quavo brings the heat…
Catchy repeated bars ‘everybody know that I’m him’ give the song insane replay value, the lyrics carry this idea that Quavo is really him, the delivery over the drill beat is produced so cleanly the song makes the perfect addition to any rap or hiphop hype playlist.
The lyric ‘I’m tired of you talking bout ‘em, please let my nephew rest’ claps back at the media constantly bringing up the recent loss of rapper and migos member Takeoff. Quavo is getting it off his chest during the song.
Th build up in the intro creates a level of hype the song manages to maintain from start to finish, with no gaps or no dragged out verses the structure of the track is great at keeping the momentum and hype alive throughout the song.
KASABIAN -'CALL':
an alternative indie smash record builds anticipation for the band's upcoming album.
This song is fire, the beat and structure to it are incredible, the replay value this track has is more than anything from Kasabian in a long time, the beat follows a simple yet very effective dance style build-up structure which finalises on a bouncy explosive beat that creates an energetic listening experience, the quiet low produced verses and explosive chords make the song the powerful track it is.
The lyrics follow a structure that has a catchy yet repetitive chorus that makes for the perfect earworm.
The track is featured as the second single from the new album ‘Happenings’ releases July 5th. following on from Number 1 album ‘The Alchemist’s Euphoria’ which was released in 2022.
As well as being twenty years on from the band's debut album.
The upcoming album features 11 tracks including ‘Call’ and the previously released track ‘Algorithms’
The music video features a phone playing the vertical video while falling from the sky, portraying a high-energy feel, a perfect song and track for the summer vibes.
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