Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.
This week saw a pious collaboration between Justin Bieber and Chance The Rapper, as well as debut releases from promising newcomers in pop and hip-hop. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.
Justin Bieber — “Holy” Feat. Chance The Rapper
Justin Bieber hasn’t even had the opportunity to tour behind last year’s Changes, but he’s already on to a new era. That’s how Scooter Braun described Bieber’s new single, anyway, the Chance The Rapper-featuring “Holy.” Both artists have been public about their piety, so the gospel-inspired track is a natural venue for the pair’s first collaboration.
Lil Tecca — Virgo World
The 18-year-old rapper has kept busy since breaking out with his 2019 single “Ransom.” He dropped a series of delightful videos — “Royal Rumble,” “Out Of Love,” and “IDK” — for his debut album, Virgo World, and now the record has arrived. Uproxx’s Aaron Williams describes the album as “more polished” than the project that preceded it, his 2019 mixtape We Love You Tecca.
Rico Nasty — “Own It”
Rico Nasty told Uproxx earlier this year that the pandemic has given her the opportunity to make some changes to Nightmare Vacation, but she’s still been pushing out tracks from the project. The latest is “Own It,” which is accompanied by a characteristically off-the-wall video that packs a lot of peculiar visual moments into just two minutes and change.
Busta Rhymes — “Yuuu” Feat. Anderson .Paak
Busta Rhymes has long teased a sequel to his Grammy-nominated 1998 album E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front, and now it’s finally coming. Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath Of God is on the way, and he previewed it last week with “Yuuu,” a collaboration with Anderson .Paak.
Ava Max — Heaven & Hell
A pop star on the rise, Ava Max dropped her debut album, Heaven & Hell last week. It’s led by tracks like “Heaven & Hell,” which appealed to fans and peers alike, as Saweetie and Lauv hopped on a new version of the tune.
Anitta — “Me Gusta” Feat. Cardi B
Cardi B manages to stay in the music news cycle in one way or another, and aside from drama in her personal life, she managed to do so last week with new music. She hopped on Anitta’s “Me Gusta 2,” contributing characteristically confident lyrics like, “He like to eat the cake like it’s my B-day.”
Gus Dapperton — Orca
In a recent interview with Uproxx, Dapperton described his new album Orca as being about “feeling trapped, depressed, and having these people and unconditional forces of love in your life that reel you back in.” He added, “A lot of the things I’m talking about are really timely right now. I have a responsibility to release this music.”
Sufjan Stevens — “Sugar”
The latest preview of Stevens’ upcoming The Ascension is the evocative seven-minute “Sugar.” Stevens says of the track, “‘Sugar’ is ultimately about the desire for goodness and purity (and true sustenance). On the surface the song is just a string of clichés, but the message is imperative: now is the time to gather what is good and pure and valuable and make it your own, and share it with others.”
Alicia Keys — Alicia
Keys has had one of the most beautiful and empowering voices in music for years now, and both of those qualities are on full display with her new self-titled album. She shines on her own, but assists across the tracklist from Khalid, Miguel, Sampha, Tierra Whack, and others certainly don’t hurt.
Armani Caesar — The Liz
Earlier this year, Caesar was introduced as the de facto “first lady” of Griselda, and now she has dropped The Liz, her first release on the label. It’s a diverse effort, showing off that she can thrive just as well on old-school- and new-school-style instrumentals.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.