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 Drake completely dominate the week and Charli XCX keeping busy as well. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.
For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters.
Drake — “Way 2 Sexy”
Two weeks ago, it was Kanye West dropping a new album and breaking a bunch of streaming records. Last week, it was Drake’s turn to do the same thing with Certified Lover Boy, which now has more single-day streams than any album ever in both Spotify and Apple Music history. The headlining track from the release was the viral “Way 2 Sexy” video, which has a lot going on, including a much-loved Kawhi Leonard cameo.
Meek Mill — “Blue Notes 2” Feat. Lil Uzi Vert
It may have felt like Drake was the only rapper who mattered last week (along with his CLB collaborators), but that’s not quite true. For example, Meek Mill popped up with “Blue Notes 2,” an upbeat nighttime track on which he’s joined by Lil Uzi Vert, who also came through to ride ATV’s and flash cash alongside him for the song’s visual.
Anderson .Paak — “Fire In The Sky”
Silk Sonic recently pushed their debut album back to 2022, but that doesn’t mean Anderson .Paak is putting the brakes on new music. As part of the soundtrack for Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, .Paak dropped “Fire In The Sky,” which sees .Paak channeling his boundless energy into a soulful and romantic bedroom jam.
Petey — “We Don’t Need To Talk About It”
After delivering an impressive string of singles and EPs over the past couple years or so, Petey has finally arrived with his debut album, Lean Into Life. While a majority of the album’s songs are one fans have heard before, some of the fresh material is among the many highlights, such as “We Don’t Need To Talk About It,” a dynamic track that further illustrates Petey’s ability to combine tender and explosive moments on impactful songs that stick with you.
Little Simz — “Point And Kill” Feat. Obongjayar
Last week, Little Simz followed her 2019 commercial breakthrough Grey Area with her latest album, Grey Area. Among the highlights is the Afropop-influenced, Obonjayar-featuring track “Point And Kill,” which came accompanied with a video that, like Simz’s others, leaves viewers with something to think about, including how much they want whatever is coming next from Simz.
Jpegmafia — “Trust!”
Good news: Jpegmafia is going on tour this fall. Also good news: When he made that announcement last week, he did so by dropping a new single, “Trust!,” a frenetic tune that packs a lot into just about two minutes of runtime, featuring moments both rapid-fire and relaxing.
Finneas — “The 90s”
The 1990s is one of the most glorified and endlessly looked back upon decades ever, and that’s the topic of Finneas’ latest song and video, “The 90s.” Instead of classic Nickelodeon cartoons and Pogs, though, he yearns for how the lack of technological advancement (relative to today, that is) was a gift, as the internet and smartphones hadn’t yet made us accessible and trackable at all times.
Smoke Bulga — “Water Whip’n” Feat. Rick Ross
Smoke Bulga and Rick Ross have history, as the two linked up on 2010’s “We Made It.” A decade later, the pair is back together, as Bulga is a new signee of Ross’s “Maybach Music Group. To mark to occasion, the pair dropped a video for their collaboration “Water Whip’n,” the video for which sees the rapper celebrating as they begin a new journey together.
Charli XCX — “Good Ones”
Charli XCX has been teasing a new album for months now, and it appears she’s kicking off a new era with her latest single, “Good Ones.” While her recent output has skewed experimental, “Good Ones” is more of an in-your-face synth-pop affair that’s a reminder of just how well Charli can occupy every corner of the pop space.
Lady Gaga — “911 (Charli XCX And A.G. Cook Remix)”
“Good Ones” isn’t all Charli got up to last week. A few days ago brought the release of Lady Gaga’s Chromatica remix album, for which she recruited a roster of talented creators to re-work her latest record. In the mix, sure enough, was Charli, who contributed new vocals to her re-work of “911,” which she made alongside A.G. Cook.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.