Gucci Mane ft. Travis Scott, “Last Time”
As we wait for more signs of this supposed collaborative EP with Drake, The 6’ers, Gucci Mane takes some time to revisit some choice moments from the past on “Last Time.” Teaming with Travis Scott, who delivers a syrupy hook that reminds listeners “last time I took drugs, I just took half of it,” Guwop looks back on a few select moments from his past, including his drug-binging days and more. Much like how he tackled a song like “Robbed” on Everybody Looking, the Zaytoven-laced “Last Time” finds a sober East Atlanta Santa recalling specific situations behind him. There’s the time he took a gram and a half of molly. The time he lost his mind after drinking “some lean.” The time he took a trip to Vegas and gambled over $200,000. Plus, there was also that time the internet thought he was a clone. In the end, we get a storytelling segment from La Flare. Hopefully we’ll get more stories like this explained in that supposed Woptober album.—Ralph Bristout
Sampha, “Blood On Me”
Forget The Weeknd — few artists are as reclusive as Sampha, so it’s nice to be getting new, full-length songs from the British R&B singer. This one opens with his voice sounding like chimes, then breaks into a funky drum pattern, and a beat you can actually snap to! Given the timbre of his voice and the sparse, haunting quality his music usually takes, “Blood On Me” is a (relatively) upbeat departure.—Driadonna Roland
Sylvan Esso, “Radio”
Remember when Sara Bareilles, feeling pressure from her label to write a love song, wrote a defiant tongue-in-cheek track (cleverly titled “Love Song”) that became a hit but in actuality really checked her execs and put them in her place? That’s what Sylvan Esso’s new song feels like, and it will likely have the same fate. Why? Because the ever-fluttering electro bleeps and bloops paired with percussive taps and lead singer Amelia Meath’s folksy delivery has made for one hell of a catchy alt-pop jam. Naturally, it’s sneakily titled “Radio” but she doesn’t sound too happy about it: “Gimme a new single / Make me a new baby / Gonna eat all the candy while you straddle and lay me / Gonna to know all the words before you come on top / And I sing them back at you while you try to nap… / …While the world melts on down / we’re so happy to be listening to our radio.”
Cousin Stizz, “Living Like Khaled”
Boston artist Cousin Stizz is enjoying the finer things in life with his latest single “Living Like Khaled.” Anyone who works hard wouldn’t mind living like DJ Khaled with his plants, lions and healthy meals. Such a feeling is rapped by Cousin Stizz over a repetitive, distant-sounding production work by Tee-WaTT. “High next to my bad b-tch / Another one, living like Khaled.” Major Key Alert!—Erin Ashley Simon