Lil Yachty: Petra Collins; PWR BTTM: Ebru Yildiz; Mister Wallace via artist; Kehlani: Joyce Kim
1. PWR BTTM's "Projection" is a sad sing-a-long about staying inside, alone, when the world seems like too much — too scary, too mean, too judgmental. Ben Hopkins almost sounds like a country singer between crashing drums and arpeggiated riffs: Even though it looks like fun, I'd probably burn and die.
2. Watch any part of The FADER's new Lil Yachty musical documentary and you'll glean that he's got some wild energy. "Like Wassup," which features K$upreme and Bigbrothachubba, takes that energy to borderline hyperbolic new heights.
3. "It Girl," a breathlessly paced rap song about the radical potential of self-love, is the breakout track by destined-for-greatness Chicago/Brooklyn artist Mister Wallace.
4. Kehlani has been pretty quiet the last few months, but she sounds completely vitalized on "CRZY," which just dropped last week. Everything I do, I do it with a passion/ If I gotta be a bitch I'ma be a bad one, she sings over an stretchy, springy beat.
5. The latest superstar from New England's always-on Dark World crew is probably Jumpy, whose new-ish "Everything I Know" floats gloriously between wordy turn-of-the-century pop and, like, Toto's "Africa." DJ Lucas shows up at the end with a flaw-free verse that references Joni Mitchell and Blink-182 in the same breath.
6. Drugdealer is the straightforward new alias of Mike Collins, the moniker genius behind Salvia Plath and Run DMT. "Suddenly," his new album's sunny lead single, features Weyes Blood, who sounds a bit like Karen Carpenter alongside organ chords and brass.
7. "Diseasy," the new song from London trio Sälen, sounds like what would happen if Sherri DuPree from aughts indie-pop band Eisley sang over a Dubbel Dutch beat. We're gonna start saying diseasy all the time now, too.
Listen to Songs You Need in Your Life on Apple Music.
Listen to Songs You Need in Your Life on Spotify:
From The Collection:
Songs You Need In Your Life