New Music Roundup: Jaden Smith, Amber Mark, & Rexx Life Raj

Jaden Smith, “Bad Day” Feat. dyIAn

Everyone’s entitled to a bad day, especially on a Monday back to work. If that happens to be the case, leave it to Jaden Smith’s latest track to score the #mood. Aptly titled “Bad Day,” the dyIAn-featured track finds both artists delivering verses of encouragement to those who might not be at an all-time high. “Girl, I know you had a bad day, you’ll be OK, you’ll be alright,” raps Jaden. “You say you wish you could be happy, but that ain’t cool.” Listen above or here to the track.—Shante’ Merida

Amber Mark, “Monsoon”

I hadn’t heard of Amber Mark before this, but the cover art for “Monsoon,” which I assumed was a picture of the mini-musican and her mom, prompted me to press play; it just seemed intriguingly intimate. I, thankfully, didn’t cut my listen short when the song started off a bit too slowly with the sounds of falling rain and a scarce thudding piano. Eventually, Mark, equipped with a deep, warm vocal, sings over a tribal beat made up of handclaps and drums and, wait, is that a sitar? Yes, it likely is because, as the New York-based singer revealed, the song is a tribute to her late mother, who Amber used to spend months away from while living in India as a child. The lyrics are heartbreaking, but the beat provides some uplift.—Danielle Cheesman

Rexx Life Raj, “Handheld GPS”

California artist Rexx Life Raj plays on society’s technology-dependency with his latest single “Handheld GPS.” The Julia Lewis-produced track is just as addicting as social media for us. I would give this song so many likes, however, based on Rexx’s lyrics, it would be bad for me to express my affinity that way. “Two cellphones, still so disconnected/ social media disingenuous, it’s that shit that needs disinfecting,” Rexx raps. Well, hopefully my appreciation for message and song come across as genuine as possible…well, as genuine as it can be over the Internet.— Erin Ashley Simon