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 pair of very different collaborations: Wale and J. Cole, as well as Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett. 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.
Wale — “Poke It Out” Feat. J. Cole
A couple weeks ago was a big week for J. Cole collaborations and he continued that trend last week, too. A few days ago, he reunited with Wale on “Poke It Out,” which interpolates the beat from J. Dilla’s 1999 single “Vibrant Thing.” While the pair deliver updated lyrics here, they honor the original track by keeping the themes similar to those of the original.
Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett — “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”
“I’ve Got You Under My Skin” is one of the most enduring classics of the 1930s, so it was a natural inclusion on Love For Sale, the second and final collaborative album between Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett that was released last week. On the jaunty rendition of the track, Gaga and Bennett go back and forth like the unparalleled vocal pair they are, showing how much both singers still have left in their respective tanks.
Skylar Grey — “Last One Standing” Feat. Polo G, Mozzy, and Eminem
Eminem and Skylar Grey go together like… well, Eminem and Skylar Grey are actually an established and beloved enough team to be their own “peanut butter and jelly”-like cliché comparison. The pair linked up yet again last week on Grey’s triumphant single “Last One Standing,” which also features contributions from Polo G and Mozzy.
Meek Mill — “On My Soul”
After a few years of waiting, Meek Mill fans got to eat last week when he dropped his latest album, Expensive Pain. Alongside the album’s release, he dropped videos for a couple of its highlights, including “On My Soul,” which Uproxx’s Wongo Okon describes as “a song laced with the rapper’s Auto-Tuned vocals that delivering brief stories about life’s hardships with the promise that these anecdotes are nothing but the truth.”
Megan Thee Stallion, Maluma, and Rock Mafia — “Crazy Family”
Before providing an Austin City Limits highlight with a surprise Miley Cyrus appearance, Megan Thee Stallion had another collaboration, linking up with Maluma and Rock Mafia on “Crazy Family.” It’s a song for the animated family feature The Addams Family 2, yes, but that doesn’t mean anybody involved dumbs down what they’re good at, instead bringing their best for the fun, colorful track.
Grimes — “Love”
Grimes’ latest song, “Love,” is more diaristic than most, a claim further boosted by the fact that she only shared it on social media and not on streaming music platforms. The two-minute was written, as she says, “in response to all the privacy invasion, bad press, online hate and harassment by paparazzis I’ve experienced this week.” She opens the synth-driven tune, “It f*cking sucks to be awake / Oh Lord I pray my soul to take / nobody understands because / everything they hate / is everything I love.”
Kali Uchis — “Fue Mejor” Feat. SZA
Uchis’ 2020 album Sin Miedo (Del Amor Y Otros Demonios) has enjoyed some renewed interest as of late thanks to some of its songs blowing up on TikTok. To capitalize on the moment, Uchis dropped a new version of album highlight “Fue Mejor,” this time featuring fresh contributions from SZA. Taking PartyNextDoor’s place, SZA achieves a personal first on the song: singing in Spanish.
Courtney Barnett — “Write A List Of Things To Look Forward To”
While making her upcoming album Things Take Time, Take Time, Courtney Barnett found herself in a rut. A friend came in clutch with the recommendation that Barnett “write a list of things to look forward to,” and that’s just what Barnett did. She did it in song form, though, yielding a track that optimistically highlights some of life’s positives.
Burna Boy — “Want It All” Feat. Polo G
Burna Boy is a shining light in afropop and he made a new friend in hip-hop last week by securing one of his biggest collaborations yet, recruiting Polo G to feature on “Want It All.” For Burna, this one has been a long time coming, as he noted, “I’ve been watching him for some time, and I just knew this had to get done, but it had to get done in the perfect way where the whole world gets to feel the reality of both of us.”
Phoebe Bridgers — “That Funny Feeling”
On her current tour, Phoebe Bridgers has taken to covering a Bo Burnham song from his comedy special Inside: “That Funny Feeling,” the song from the special that sounds most like it could be a Bridgers song. Now, it sort of officially is, as she has shared a studio recording of the cover, which runs for nearly 7 minutes and has a comedic voice that’s a natural extension of Bridgers’ personality.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
