New Music of the Week! Last Week of February Edition

Hey Queers and everyone who loves us! Welcome back to a new week of music! This week we have a lot of comebacks, some debuts, and revivals! Read until the end for my hot music takes and some underground love!

Skrillex, who has been relatively silent for a few years, other than a few singles here and there, hit us with a double release this week. First, with Quest For Fire, which was teased, and his latest singles were released, then two days later, he surprise released Don't Get Too Close.

This is not 2010 Skillrex anymore, don't be mistaken; he's grown and capitalized on his sound. It is noted that with all the music he has released, his creative throughline is hard to trap down, but we are still head-bopping and ass-shaking in front of the DJ booth.

Key Tracks: "Ratata" feat Missy Elliot on Quest For Fire, A verse for the ages from the newly minted Rock and Roll Hall of Famer & "Way Back" feat PinkPantheress and Trippie Redd, a track that welcomes on PinkPantheress whose continued rise in music is a blessing to the ears. Hopefully, she continues to work with other DJs and collect them like infinity stones, Kaytranada and Skrillex down… whose next?!

Jai' Len Josey, y'all have no idea how excited for this one I am, released her newest single, "Good Soup." A friend showed me her Pearl run in the SpongeBob musical in 2017 on Broadway; after that, I had a bit of an obsession. She released Illustrations in 2020, much to my acclaim; please listen to "Can You Do It For Me" and lend her pen to Ari Lennox to co-write "Pressure." Since she has been gearing up to release her debut album, she hopes to have a much more mature sound than her 2020 release. If there is an upcoming artist who has a firm grasp on whom she is, it is Josey. Keep the hits coming cause that was some good soup!

I haven't genuinely listened to Lana Del Rey in a long time. I took a break after NFR, a gem; though friends have told me to go back, which I have been apprehensive about doing, this f*cking SONG might be the culmination of her eras. "A&W" utilizes the folky, guitar-assisted vocals she grew into then we enter the second half of the song, which sees a return to her trap-influenced track days, Pepsi Cola taste indeed. This return to form. The breakdown between "A&W" and Jimmy Cocoa Puff is where I live right now! I was freaking tickled! Lana has been photographed in aesthetics reminiscent of her Born To Die days, so hopefully, we get more of the duality, and she's got me.

Janelle Monae over horns and afro beats? Someone get me off the floor and to a dancefloor. On "Float," she triumphantly spits about the rooms she walks in. No one can touch her because she floats now. If you have been paying attention, Janelle has grown and glowed over the past few years. Controlling the narrative for their queerness, releasing a book, and her critical acclaim performance in Glass Onion. She jokingly said she wouldn't release new music because of the comical discourse online about her suit-wearing days, thank goodness she was lying.

I haven't listened to Omar Apollo; I know this for sure because I have nothing liked or saved on my streaming apps, but Sza tapping him to join her on tour put him on my immediate radar. "3 Boys" is a beautiful ballad about being open to an open relationship, a growing commonality in the gay community, but not being able to go through it because you are so enamored by your boy. I can relate to Omar cause a girl does not share well. I will run his debut album, which garnered positive reviews, back once to get more into it.

Bbno$ made my list for releasing "Still," a swooning ballad that evokes the same feelings as "Visions of Gideon" by Sudan Stevens for the film Call Me By Your Name.

Rema, our Afrobeats king is back with "Holiday," taking the time to be thankful for his blessings, journey, and every day feeling like a Holiday.

Flo Milli continues her "main character" inspired type tracks with "Nasty Dancer," she spits over the beat, "My sh*t just like coco, makes all the nig*gas go loco," the perfect bar as we start to close out Black History Month.

Mother Shea Coulee continues to gear up for the release of her debut album, 8, with "Material." Shea has a tight grasp on the era she is living in with the disco and groove tracks.

Lastly, rounding out my list for the week is an oldie. Baby Tate has capitalized on the resurgence of her track "Hey Mickey," released in 2016 by Tiktok. She dropped a cheerleader-inspired official dance video by Nicole Kirkland, where "Mickey" eats all the girls up in their routine. It further solidifies Tate has been in the game and had it in her hand.

Follow me to the underground:

Since we have been here for two weeks, I want to give me a more in-depth look into my musical taste outside of the mainstream. I want to start off small with two Soundcloud mixes that get me moving, grooving, and feeling all of my oats.

"Candy Girl", by Harlem-based DJ Kerry Burnett, focuses on club, house, and techno.

"SZA - Kill Bill (Ase Manual Remix)" by NY Artist Ase Manual, who has been on the scene since his debut album I in 2016, whose Spotify profile labels him "an electronic revolutionary who creates a divine approach to several genres expertly maneuvering through soulful booty-bounce bops and hypnotizing melodic jams.

Coming up

Chlöe continues to crave out her lane for her debut with heavy promotion of In Pieces, out March 23rd, 2023. The next song, "How Does It Feel," out on the 24th, teases to be another ballad, but with a feature… Chris Brown. The internet is divided on their feelings about this due to Brown's complicated past. Still, I just want Chlöe to win, so here's hoping it is a fantastic song and her last time working with questionable creatives. I'm just saying there are so many other Black R&B singers.

Cybersocket: Plug In. Get Off.
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