Best Songs of the Week
With so much good music, it's easy to miss out on some great tracks. So we've rounded up the best songs from the past week. Here are the songs you can't afford to skip, in no particular order.
Kendrick Lamar - "The Heart Part 4"It always feels a little premature and futile to attempt commenting on a Kendrick Lamar song within hours of its release, but here's some context: "The Heart Part 4" is the latest in a four-part series, picking up after "Part 3" dropped back in 2012. And it's either the first taste of his fourth studio album or the whole thing was written specifically to announce the project—highlighted by a closing line which hints at a possible release date: "Y'all got till April the 7th to get ya'll shit together."
If the song is on his next album, it doesn't make it much easier to predict what direction he's heading in. After a velvety opening 80 seconds featuring smooth vocals from Khalid, Kendrick changes course with a nasty beat switch-up before rattling off hard-edged verses that make it difficult to argue with his assertion that he is, in fact, "the greatest rapper alive."
So, some questions remain. Will this land on his next project? Who is he targeting in some of these lines? Is it Big Sean? Sounds like we'll know a lot more on April 7, but in the meantime—like most Kendrick releases—there's plenty to chew on here.—Eric Skelton
Drake - "Passionfruit"Sometimes Drake's best moments come when he fully embraces that soppy side, ignoring the boastful rap persona and looking to his feelings. This isn't exactly a hot take or a shocking revelation, especially when some of his most successful tracks see him doubling down on this aspect of his music, but it does help to explain why "Passionfruit" might be the best pop moment on More Life. With its gorgeous, soft instrumental, "Passionfruit" is one of the prettiest songs Drake has ever released, and that's saying a lot.—Joe Price
Mura Masa ft. Charli XCX - "1 Night"When it comes to the topic of a one night stand in pop culture, the storyline usually involves two strangers and a decent amount of morning-after regret, or the alternate scenario that finds two friends coming to a "friends with benefits" agreement. Mura Masa and Charli XCX's latest collaboration "1 Night" falls somewhere in the middle.
In both one night scenarios, the result can be rather awkward. However, Charli takes a rare and mature route on this addictive single by not allowing one experimental evening to ruin the strong friendship that stood before it. If you can relate but don't have the courage to bring up the conversation, just send your friend this song so Mura Masa and Charli XCX can get the point across for you.—Adrienne Black
Gorillaz ft. Popcaan - "Saturnz Barz"Kendrick's new track is incredible, but it's been seven years since a Gorillaz album. For a Plastic Beach zealot like myself, it's been a long wait. "Hallelujah Money" dropped last month, but we didn't know details until Thursday, when the band's long-simmering social accounts started to boil with "Saturnz Barz" content, and an album title: Humanz. The short film released yesterday also previews a jaw-dropping collaboration with Vince Staples ("Ascension").
But "Saturnz Barz" is the main event. Popcaan handles lead vocals and delivers a star-affirming performance over one of the biggest, fuzziest bass lines in the band's history. Damon Albarn's vocals appear halfway through, just as 2D is orbiting Saturn in the haunted house's alternate universe. A demon pizza (Popcaan) has the band trapped in this spirit house, each member succumbing to their respective temptations of food, sleep, music, and bathtubs. The visuals are perfect, the music is next-level—it's incredible to think we've been saying it for more than 15 years, but Gorillaz are still finding ways to innovate.—Graham Corrigan
Drake ft. 2 Chainz & Young Thug - "Sacrifices"Drake's More Life has plenty of signature Drake moments (shouts to the made-for-Instagram-lyric "My heart is way too frozen to get broken"). But his track "Sacrifices" is one of the playlist's bests because Drake actually takes a step back, and lets his guests lead.
First is frequent collaborator 2 Chainz, who effortlessly floats his melodic, boisterous verse over the steady, somber beat. Then Young Thug comes in, and sets the whole thing on fucking fire. He starts off with an almost unrecognizable clarity before shifting back into his usual register, and delivering some of his best lines.—Katie K.
Mount Eerie - "Seaweed"Phil Elverum has always been quite flowery with his lyrics, piling on metaphors and looking to create a sense of a scene rather than tell an explicit story. It's not that he doesn't tell stories with his lyrics, it's just that he tends to keep things a little vague on purpose. With A Crow Looked At Me, any pretense of metaphor is thrown away, as Elverum discusses the passing of his wife in painstaking detail. It's a rough listen, but a necessary one. "Seaweed," the second track of the album, sets the tone by singling in on little details, achingly coming to the conclusion this jar of dust contains his hanging love.—Joe Price
Mike WiLL Made-It ft. Future - "Razzle Dazzle"Mike WiLL Made-It's new album is star-studded, of course, and man-of-the-moment Future delivers one of the standout moments. Melodies and memorable bars, boasts and deeply personal moments make this another peak Future song, and proof that he's not slowing down since his back-to-back No. 1 albums.
"My little sister dealing with sickle cell... I can only imagine what she going through," Future admits at one point. " 18 karat gold on my fangs," he says a little later. Powerful stuff.—Alex Gardner
LOYAL - "Tower Over All"LOYAL started the year with "Moving As One" and blew me away with stellar vocals and expansive, intricate production. This week the collective released "Tower Over All" and it was more of the same. They haven't missed a beat since arriving on the scene and by the sound of this new track, it doesn't seem like they will be starting anytime soon. —Eric Isom
Goldlink - "Pray Everyday (Surivor's Guilt)"GoldLink's got styles on styles. He can make bouncy party tunes, no problem, but there's depth to his writing too, and songs like "Pray Everyday" should serve as a reminder of that. It is the final track on GoldLink's new album, At What Cost, and ends the project on a reflective note, taking on both self-medication and how far the artist has come in his life already.
The production evolves through the song's runtime too, with a chorus of voices joining the crisp programmed drums for the second half, helping lift GoldLink's vocals over the finish line. The DMV artist has come a long way from rapping over Soulection beats, and his new album At What Cost is out now.—Alex Gardner
Drake - "Free Smoke"Drake went off on this one. I wasn't too sure what I was going to get from More Life but a couple bars into this one and all of my doubts were gone. Taking jabs at Jay-Z and Kanye West is a bold move, but Drake didn't half-ass this one, he came with solid bars and clever wordplay. The energy on this one is crazy and by the time it's done you almost forget that Views exists and you will definitely be locked in for the rest of the playlist.—Eric Isom
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