Thought I’d check in and give a little insight on what’s been coming out my phone speakers recently. Always a pleasure to give my feedback/thoughts of recent music or just music in general. I was actually thinking about doing a throwback album review series on this website but we shall see. With school and its activities that comes with it, it’s hard fitting everything in. However, when the inspiration comes I become extremely determined to let my ideas flow on to the screen. Now let’s get into it.
1. Still Yours – Bryson Tiller ft. Big Sean
As many of you know, Bryson Tiller is in my top 10, maybe five, favorite artists of all time. In my humble opinion, he just doesn’t miss. With the announcement of the deluxe version of his latest project, “Anniversary” Tiller added five extra songs. This song right here is my favorite because of how the vocals blend so well with the feeling and vibe of the song. Big Sean’s verse is also rightfully place in my opinion and adds a new layer to the track that was needed. Tiller seems to be going for a theme of time in these projects with tracks like, “Timeless Interlude”, “7:00″, & Like Clockwork”. Even in the, “Like Clockwork” video he is surrounded by clocks that seem to be quote-on-quote running out of time. Since he dropped his debut album, “Trapsoul” in October of 2015 he is now an experienced veteran of the music game and has been talking about his long awaited third album titled, “Serenity” in his interviews. In an interview with Apple Music Tiller said that Serenity will be released as a three-part album. One side r&b, rap, and then a new sound in pop. I’m excited to see the new sound that he goes with and to see if he drops any more classic songs on there like, “Right My Wrongs“, “In Check“, or “Keep Doing What You’re Doing“. And just like he said in the interview with Apple Music (18:20), “the r&b one I can do in my sleep.”
2. Leave the Door Open – Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic
The beauty of music to me is that when you listen to certain songs you can immediately find a place in your head and picture what that certain song feels like. Whether it’s thinking about driving at night with the windows down, watching the sunset at a beach, or sitting in an airplane about to take-off, to me music has always taken me to a certain place whenever I listen. When I listened to, “Leave the Door Open” for the first time I just felt at peace. I felt like I was walking across water. Both Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars fit perfectly on the song and everything sounds amazing. Their two-man group “Silk Sonic” is getting ready to release an album titled, “An Evening With Silk Sonic”. This was their first single and I can’t even imagine what the rest of the album is going to sound like. Both of them are highly respected in the music industry and I’m assuming they are going to get some big names for their album as features. This song is just something to listen to in the shower to start off your day on the right foot.
3. Forever Ever – Trippie Redd ft. Young Thug & Reese LAFLARE
This song is a throwback to the summer of 2018 when Trippie Redd dropped his album, “LIFE’S A TRIP”. Both Trippie and Thug are known for incorporating melody and different sounding ad-libs in to their music so this collaboration was an expected hit. I have two main playlists that I listen to every day and one of them is called my, “Late Night Drive” playlist. About three or four days ago I was listening on shuffle and this song came on. I hadn’t listened to this song in forever ever (pun intended) and I’ve been listening at least once every day. Although I wasn’t a big fan of Trippie’s last album, “Pegasus” I still think he’s a very talented artist that will remain relevant for a very long time.
4. Wants and Needs – Drake ft. Lil Baby
Drake is the music industry. Unless I’m reading this tweet wrong, he approximately sold 970K first week off of a three-track EP. Almost every artist in the world is basically putting their albums on hold until Drake drops so that they don’t have to worry about a surprise drop by the OVO leader himself during their own album week. “Scary Hours 2” didn’t have a bad song and if these songs didn’t make, “Certified Lover Boy” then I can only imagine what’s going to be on the album. At age 34, Drake is still dominating the rap, and music, industry with complete ease. He’s an artist that has reached about three different generations of teenagers growing up. From “So Far Gone” to “Certified Lover Boy” the Toronto artist seems to never fail. This song was the highlight from the EP for me because of the catchy hook and Lil Baby absolutely murdering his verse. Both artists have collaborated on songs before with their well-known hit, “Yes Indeed” and Drake’s feature on the Drip Harder project, “Never Recover“. In my book they are definitely 3/3.
5. Hellcats & Trackhawks – Lil Durk
Lil Durk, in my opinion, is one of the most important and impactful artists in the rap game right now. HIs last project, “The Voice” is currently charting at #5 on the Billboard 200 after peaking at #2. This specific project was a compilation mixtape by his label OTF (Only The Family) and Hellcats & Trackhawks was the highlight song for me. Durk’s energy is unmatchable and it just gets you in the zone to either start your day or go crazy in the gym. I’m interested to see what Durk does next in terms of music. All I know is that I cannot wait for the song with Durk x Meek x Lil Baby (snippet is in the first 20 seconds).
6. Everyday – SoFaygo
I recently discovered SoFaygo from a twitter video and this was the first song that I found. “Everyday” is a catchy song and since I first heard it I’ve been listening everyday (pun not intended this time). I can definitely see him getting a lot bigger this year and I’m excited to hear more from him.
7. And This Is Just The Intro – Tory Lanez
Tory Lanez has always been a staple in my musical library since about 2015 when I first heard the song, “Say It“. After hearing that I started to dive deeper into his catalog and discovered songs like, “N.A.M.E“, “LA Confidential“, and “Initiation“. He then proceeded to drop incredible projects like, “Memories Don’t Die” and “Chixtape 4 & 5”. He was off to a great start in 2020 with the success of his impromptu show on IG Live, “Quarantine Radio” but it all spiraled downhill when the scandal with Meg Thee Stallion happened. With the situation aside this song is incredible. I am hoping that he didn’t do what he is accused of but until the truth comes we all are clueless to the situation. The talent is definitely undeniable and even through all this he still was top of the r&b album charts on Apple Music. We’ll see what is next for the Toronto artist in 2021.
8. All To Me – Giveon
When Giveon decides to release his debut album it is going to make his already rapid-growing fanbase reach unimaginable levels. Since his rise to stardom early last year Giveon has not stopped. After releasing two projects of his own in, “Take Time” and “When It’s All Said and Done”, he is now preparing to release his debut album this year. This song is an ode or a continuation to the themes he’s been painting in his past two projects. An anthem to reflect on a break-up or a failed relationship. With his songs Giveon tells a story, unknown if it’s his own, with stages of love. From the beginning of his first project being, “THE BEACH” as a calming intro to love and emotion and the last song being, “VANISH”. “When It’s All Said and Done” is the closer and the project dedicated to reassuring one’s self that they are still the other’s best and eventually finding their way back to each other. The way that he is able to illustrate and detail this situation into his song with the incredible vocals and production is truly astounding. In addition to his own music it has been recently announced that he will be featured alongside Daniel Caesar on Justin Bieber’s upcoming album, “Justice”. The Long Beach native is just reaching the surface on what he can truly achieve and I’m really excited what is in store for him.
9. Situation – Don Toliver
Since this song wasn’t on either of Don Toliver’s first two projects I feel that it is very under appreciated. I get notifications whenever he posts something on YouTube so I remember vividly clicking this immediately and I didn’t regret it at all. From June 2019 to now I still listen to this song like I’m hearing it for the first time. Don has an incredibly unique sound and the cool and calming beat in the production in the background makes it sound like perfection to my ears. The amount of times I’ve been driving with the windows all the way down to this song is insane. The end part when it goes into a chopped & screwed sound is my favorite part. His career is also just scratching the surface as just a couple of weeks ago his debut album, “Heaven or Hell” surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify. His next album, “Life of a Don” is on the way and I couldn’t be any more excited.
10. Street Runner – Rod Wave
This man does not miss. Rod Wave’s upcoming album, “Soulfly” is scheduled to drop on March 26th. “Street Runner” is the albums first single and it already has 6.6 million views on YouTube only four days after its release. After I gave him the album of the year title last year with “Pray For Love” I knew that he was going to go even crazier on the next album. “Soulfly” is 19 tracks with the lone feature being rapper Polo G. My most anticipated tracks are the song with Polo G, Blame On You, Tombstone, & Gone Till November. I’ve been listening to “Street Runner” on repeat so I can’t wait for the album. Only 11 more days left.
And that will wrap up this article. It seems like we as a world are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel right now. The world is slowly opening up again and COVID-19 vaccines are being distributed by the thousands every day. I sure hope by the time summer comes around we will be out and about without worry. The music lineup for 2021 looks insane with artists like Drake, Meek Mill, J Cole, Travis Scott, and Lil Uzi Vert all looking to drop. It’s time for a summer with nothing but positivity and great experiences. See you next time, this is YSN, signing out.
