We close the week with some selections from the best of New Music Friday: we begin with Drake ‘s long – awaited album , Certified Lover Boy , followed by Little Simz ‘s fourth production and the debut of Chilean Princesa Alba . Also, we will listen to Duckwrth ‘s new EP ; Loona shares the video for Not Friends and Anderson .Paak gives us a new solo song. Let’s get started!
1. Drake, Certified Lover Boy
After months of hype, Drake finally drops his new album, Certified Lover Boy, today, his first since his 2018 double LP, Scorpion . The project features collaborations from JAY-Z, Travis Scott, Lil Wayne, Kid Cudi, Future, Young Thug, Lil Baby, 21 Savage and Rick Ross, among others. Additionally, Nicki Minaj makes a spoken word cameo, and the album opens with a sample of The Beatles ‘ Michelle . The record also inexplicably includes a songwriting credit to R. Kelly on the song TSU due to him being one of the songwriters on the track Half on a Baby from 1988, sampled on the track. Choices , Drake !
2. Little Simz, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
Little Simz released Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, their highly anticipated new album and fourth studio LP. The production consists of 19 tracks in total, including the early Rollin Stone singles , the magnificent battle cry Woman , and the first track from the album Introvert . The British-Nigerian rapper seems to sound much better on this production, as she’s been leveling up every year, but with this record, Little Simz have established themselves as a mainstay on the UK hip-hop scene.
3. Princess Alba, kisses, take care
The Chilean Princesa Alba is taking an important step in her career today with the release of her debut album, besitos, cuídate , with the collaboration of producers such as Nico Cotton, Evlay, Alizzz and Pablo Stipicic . Regarding the album itself, Trinidad Riveros prepared us a delicious cocktail of genres such as bossa nova, trap, pop and much more. Enjoy it above.
4. Lady Gaga – Dawn of Chromatica
It’s a new day for Lady Gaga’s Chromatica era as the pop superstar released Dawn of Chromatica: The Remix Album today. The album includes revised versions of each of Chromatica ‘s tracks (minus the three instrumental interludes) featuring artists such as Rina Sawayama, Charli, XCX, Ashnikko, and Arca , among others.
5. Anderson Paak, Fire In The Sky
As we wait for the release of Anderson .Paak ‘s next album featuring Bruno Mars as Sil k Sonic, we can revel in .Paak’s latest solo track, Fire In The Sky, a passionate tale of falling in love and what happens afterward. . The theme is one of 18 songs from the newly released soundtrack for the Marvel movie, Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings . The project also features contributions from Rick Ross, Earthgang, Swae Lee, Jhene Aiko, Guapdad 4000, and Rich Brian , among others.
6. Duckwrth, SG8
If you need feel-good sounds, look no further than Duckwrth’s new studio effort, SG8* . The new EP comes a year after his 2020 album SuperGood . With this new collection of songs that houses eight new tracks, the singer/rapper adds another masterstroke to the collection of R&B sounds that have come our way this year. Instead of leaving you the embed of the album we leave you with all the visualizers of the tracks, directed by Alex “Grizz Lee” Loucas and Barney Bones . Focusing on the vibrant energy felt by many at this time when in some places things seem to be slowly returning to a new normal, Duckwrth. It appropriately kicks off the EP with We Outside , and the mood continues from there.
7. Loona, Not Friends
South Korean girl group Loona shared a music video for their new single Not Friends , a collaboration with South Korean producer Ryan Jhun, who has spent the last 10 years writing hits for K-pop groups like TWICE, SHINee, and Red Velvet. The song features the participation of four members of Loona , namely: Heejin, Kim Lip, JinSoul, and Yves . In the action-packed music video, the girls face off in a fight to the finish. JinSoul and HeeJin silently chase each other with sniper rifles, while KimLip andYves mow down hordes of armed combatants as they attempt to engage in hand-to-hand combat.
8. Sasha Keable + Jorja Smith, Killing Me
Sasha Keable and Jorja Smith team up on their chilling new single titled Killing Me , Sasha’s first collaboration of the year. Both have a deep knowledge of soul and R&B, so they give a vintage touch to this heartbreaking song that deals with a breakup and gives space for each artist to tell their own story, very personal, that arrives drenched of feeling. Sasha explains that the union was entirely natural, as the two songwriters met at a similar time in their lives. “Jorja and I hadn’t written together for a long time, so we met at Ben’s house (our guitarist), who wrote Killing Me .with us and in four incredible hours we had the song, it was crazy how easy it was. We’d both been through tough breakups, and Killing Me was the result of that and helped both of us move on.”
9. Sigrid, Burning Bridges
After sharing her new track Burning Bridges last month, Sigrid is now revealing its accompanying cinematic video. Directed by Sophia Ray, she notes: “The track explores the bittersweet cathartic nature of cutting a destructive relationship from your life, and the concept of the video reflects this theme metaphorically, functioning as a surreal race between Sigrid and a mysterious character.” “It was fun making this video,” adds Sigrid, “it’s a very emotional song, so of course we needed a video that would reflect that energy with running, dancing, and chasing.”
