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 Cardi B drop off a summer banger and Calvin Harris continuing to roll out his new project. 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. Also find our Uproxx HQ Spotify playlist, which is updated weekly with the best new music, at the end of this post.
Cardi B — “Hot Sh*t” Feat. Kanye West and Lil Durk
It has now been over four years since Cardi B released her first and only album, 2018’s Invasion Of Privacy, but with how well she’s managed to consistently keep herself in the pop culture conversation, it doesn’t feel like it. Part of that has been dropping new singles, which she did last week with “Hot Sh*t,” an in-your-face banger that sees big-time contributions from Kanye West and Lil Durk.
Calvin Harris and 21 Savage — “New Money”
Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 came out all the way back in the summer of 2017 and now Harris is finally following that up with a second volume. Per usual, the tracklist is star-studded and he showed off a bit of it last week with “New Money,” a groovy, relaxed, and summery tune on which 21 Savage’s chilled-out rap is a perfect complement to the aforementioned qualities.
Rina Sawayama — “Catch Me In The Air”
Rina Sawayama is a versatile force in pop, which she’s shown, as she has on many occasions, over the past couple weeks. Mid-June brought the pop banger “This Hell” while last week yielded “Catch Me In The Air,” a more ethereal and soaring tune that’s an appealing and delightful bit of pop rock.
City Girls — “Good Love” Feat. Usher
Usher’s had himself a bit of a moment towards the end of last week, first with a terrific (and widely meme’d) Tiny Desk Concert and then with a feature on City Girls’ “Good Love.” Usher provides the hook here, letting JT and Yung Miami crush the rest of the song with braggadocios bars.
Fred Again.. — “Jungle”
Fred has been previewing his latest song at festival sets before its release and indeed, “Jungle” sounds fitting for that environment, as it’s an exciting and anticipation-building number that takes its time teasing a bass-heavy drop made for throwing hands in the air. Uproxx’s Alex Gonzalez describes the track as “a wild tune, rife with grimy dance breaks and infectious vocals by Elley Duhé.”
Steve Lacy — “Bad Habit”
Steve Lacy has Gemini Rights coming out on the 15th and ahead of that, he offered “Bad Habit” last week, a new tune that further teases what’s shaping up to be a diverse and compelling album. Uproxx’s Adrian Spinelli calls the track a “sweet, groovy love song where Lacy ranges his voice a la Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes” on “the soul-bearing hook.”
Joey Badass — “Where I Belong”
Joey Badass has earned his spot among hip-hop’s favorites, a reality he solidifies on his latest, “Where I Belong.” Uproxx’s Wongo Okon notes of the tune, “Joey takes a moment to reaffirm his position in hip-hop, a well-timed decision with his third album on the horizon. He takes a quick trip through time to account for and remind others of all that he’s accomplished.”
Momma — “Motorbike”
In a recent interview with Uproxx, the words Momma chose to describe their music were “loud, personal, shiny, bright,” and they noted of how they want their output to be remembered, “Just hooks that get stuck in your head forever. Clever songwriting and purposeful production.” Those interest and proclivities are super apparent on last week’s “Motorbike,” a nice mid-tempo rocker with just enough edge to it.
Earthgang and Smino — “Ambeyoncé”
Earthgang dropped Ghetto Gods towards the top of the year and in case you had forgotten, the duo just shared a deluxe edition of the album. One of the new tracks is “Ambeyoncé,” on which they and Smino make use of a subtle groove to show love to Beyoncé and even more to themselves, a confidence they’ve clearly earned.
Thundercat — “Fly Like An Eagle”
Minions: The Rise Of Gru is good, clean fun for anybody who’s into watching little yellow dudes say “banana” and other silly things for 90 minutes, but for some, the soundtrack may be a more appealing prospect. A bunch of artists covered ’70s classics for the album, including Thundercat, who put his funky, psychedelic twist on the enduring Steve Miller Band staple “Fly Like An Eagle.”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
