Megan Thee Stallion and RM – ‘Neva Play’
After her ‘Butter’ remix caused such a storm in 2021, it was only a matter of time before Megan Thee Stallion teamed up with BTS for another heater. This time she’s only playing lyrical ball with bandleader RM, but his newly-gruff register is the perfect foil for her braggadocious bounce, promising that you will never mess with her, her money or indeed, her man.
Ashe – ‘Ashe’
It’s a bold swing to self-title a song, but in the closing track of her third album Wilson, it seems only fair that singer-songwriter Ashe openly accepts that she’s finally starting to like what she sees in the mirror. Over a laid-back, road trip melody that will please fans of both Lizzy Mcalpine and Maggie Rogers, she makes her peace with leaving California in favour of new paths, reconciling with the wider record themes of self-care and growth.
Laila! – ‘Want 2’
Stretching out the last days of summer, Yassin Bay/Mos Def’s daughter builds her name with the eclectic warmth of Gap Year. A 17-track skit-laden mixtape that captures her transition between high school and college, ‘Want 2’ is a particular highlight, all dreamy Y2K synths and moody sexual tension, underwritten by an easy confidence; “Cute in the face and I make hard beats”
Mxmtoon and Kero Kero Bonito – ‘The Situation’
Putting pay to the idea of ‘peaking’ in your early twenties, mxmtoon and Sarah Bonito of Kero Kero Bonito are an indie-pop dream-team on ‘The Situation’, shrugging off societal pressure: “We get older and then we die/And there’s nothing you can do about it.” This refusal to indulge industry sexism gains even deeper resonance in the context of mxmtoon’s forthcoming album liminal space, purposefully created with an all-female team of producers, writers, and engineers.
Hinds & Grian Chatten – ‘Stranger’
Not content with dropping his own album of the summer, Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten keeps the romance going with a cameo on Hinds latest. Feelings of depersonalisation and depression aren’t exactly the most chipper of subjects, but if you’re feeling blue, the jangly guitar work on show might just buoy you along.
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