I know that I say this a lot, but one of my favorite things about most of the music being made today is there really seems to be no genre boundaries or anyone. I feel like a huge reason why is the ease in which people an make and release their own stuff online now for people to see; up until pretty recently, you would have to get noticed by and get signed by a label to even be able to get your music out there to be heard. People could not just go in their Discover Weekly playlist on Spotify and find random music that is similar to what they are into; you would have to get your music on the radio and make television advertisements for our albums, which obviously costs money. It was pretty rare for an artist to rise organically by word of mouth unless they had friends or connections to the industry already. Because of this, artists would typically have to make sure their music fits into a genre; labels were not really willing to take a risk on signing artists that were not making music similar to bigger established artists since it would be impossible to know if those artists would sell records. These days, because anyone can upload any kind of music at any time, there is no pressure to make sure your songs fit a certain label, so people are just mashing up all of their favorite sounds and seeing if they work together, which is so rad. Say what you want about how streaming has affected the music industry from a revenue basis, but as far as the advancements that are being made in music compared to the ones that were made in the early 2000s, streaming has been monumental and essential for the music industry. With all of that being said, let’s get into this list! Let me know what your favorite songs from the list are, or if there are any dope ones I missed that ya’ll think I should check out next!

FMU – BROOKE CANDY FEAT. RICO NASTY

‘FMU’ is the latest single off of Brooke Candy’s upcoming album Sexorcism, which comes out this week. I am definitely pumped for that record, not only because Brooke Candy has made some of the strangest and most unique fetish electronic hip hop music that I have heard, but also because this album is said to feature so many of the top women in hip hop right now. An album that showcases all of the best women in rap is totally something that the world needs right now. ‘FMU’ is produced by the EDM produce Boys Noize, and features one of my favorite artists Rico Nasty. This track is just as off the wall and fresh as you would expect from a collaboration from these three artists. It has a very 90s techno and house music feel to it, and it just makes me want to dance and party. I love the bells that come into the instrumental when Rico’s verse comes on. I would love to hear more music from Brooke Candy and Rico Nasty together because Brooke’s low voice and commanding demeanor sounds really dope next with intensity and energy of Rico’s verses. ‘FMU’ makes me feel like the new Brooke Candy record is going to be pretty damn awesome.

PROOFREAD – FAMOUS DEX FEAT. WIZ KHALIFA

Famous Dex is one of those artists that I will hear songs from once in a while and dig it, but for some reason, I never actually look up his music on my own like I should. We will see if ‘Proofread’ is the song that gets me to really get into this guy; I do like this song a lot, so I probably should, right? ‘Proofread’ is a dope and chill R&B trap track that features Wiz Khalifa, who has been a pretty frequent collaborator for Famous Dex. It is definitely a good thing that these two like to make music together a lot because their sounds and styles just mesh so well. Some of my favorite music from Wiz is his smooth R&B type stuff; I honestly wish the dude would make a whole album of that kind of music. If you need a new song to listen to on your burn cruises with your homies, pick this one. It is just really a easy and nice to listen to and it sounds extra great when you are zooted.

REDLIGHT – NGHTMRE FEAT. A$AP FERG — JUSTIN JAY REMIX

I have always dug how willing members of the A$AP Mob are to try being in different types of songs than what would be expected of them. Rocky and Ferg have done multiple collaborations with EDM producers over the years that have been super rad, and this latest track, ‘Redlight,’ is no different. The original version of this track produced by NGHTMRE is pretty dope do not get me wrong, but I really want ya’ll wooks out there reading this to hear one produced by Justin Jay. This track is that sort of British deep house that is impossible to not immediately start grooving to. The beat on this song is just so good. I love Ferg’s contribution to ‘REDLIGHT’ as well. He brings so much charisma and energy to every song he raps on, and this song is no different. This is definitely the best party track in this article, so check out ‘REDLIGHT’ if you need a new song to get turnt to.

BAGS – CLAIRO

So I guess it is pretty apparent from this ongoing “new songs I love series” that I have turned into a Clairo stan in 2019. It is not that I did not dig her music before; I know that I have had ‘Pretty Girl’ and ‘4ever’ for a while now. But it seems like Clairo has really come into her own in 2019. I am now realizing that it was definitely a mistake to sleep on her new album Immunity which was released in August. Forgive me though, ya’ll, I went on vacation around the time that record came out and I hardly had time to review the plethora of rap albums that came out at that time. That being said, if the rest of Immunity is anything like ‘Bags,’ I know that I will love it. I will definitely be reviewing that album pretty soon. ‘Bags’ has very quickly become one of my favorite songs of the year. The sentiment of the song is so sweet and pure, as Clairo is describing her first time trying to make a move on a girl. The melody and sound of this track match up with lyrics and meaning of the song so damn well, and honestly, this is one of the nicest sounding and prettiest songs you are going to hear this year. ‘Bags’ is a great example of Clairo’s excellent songwriting ability as well as her talent at writing extremely catchy melodies.

RACECAR – DEATON CHRIS ANTHONY, CLAIRO, AND COCO & CLAIR CLAIR

Aw shit, would you look at that, another song that I love that has Clairo in it. Surprise surprise, right? ‘Racecar’ is a dope and funky electro-R&B track by another rising artist, Deaton Chris Anthony, who has also been making major moves in 2019 in regards to music. ‘Racecar’ is personally my favorite song I have heard by Deaton so far, and honestly, that is totally because of Clairo. She showcases another one of her awesome talents on this song, as Clairo actually raps the first two verses of ‘Racecar.’ Who knew that Clairo could rap? I did not know this, and I would really love to hear some more rapping from her in the future! The other artist on this track, Coco & Clair Clair, is a rising neo-hip hop group from Atlanta that is super unique and completely has their own distinct style and sound, as you can tell from this track. I love the high, nasally, and creepy bars delivered by Clair Clair during the bridge. She sounds like something straight out of a horror movie, and I mean that in the best way. ‘Racecar’ is totally fresh and new and cool, and I would highly suggest this song to anyone who wants to hear some new dance music that is not like anything that is popular currently at all.

WYA – CARLIE HANSON

Whenever I find music from a fellow Wisconsinite, I always have to show them some love. I do not know how I had never heard of Carlie Hanson until super recently, because I am into a lot of music that is similar to hers and I am usually pretty good with being on top of rising music stars in my state since there obviously have not been many of them. ‘WYA’ was actually never a single, which is pretty weird because typically someone does not find random songs off of random EPs without hearing a single from the artist first. The way I found this song was once again from a suggested video on Youtube; if I remember correctly, it was suggested because I was watching a video by Clairo, so I knew this track had to be good. ‘WYA’ is an emo-tinted pop-rock cut that really fits in with vibe with a lot of the instrumental pop music of today. Stylistically, I would say her sound reminds me a lot of a more modern version of Avril Lavigne or pre-Disney Demi Lovato. An artist from 2019 that I would compare her to is Maggie Lindemann; in fact, I think that Carlie and Maggie should definitely collaborate because their styles would work so well with each other. If you like sad pop-rock music, you will definitely be into this track.

PHONE NUMBERS – DOMINIC FIKE

Okay, I have to admit to ya’ll, I totally slept on Dominic Fike for way too long. I remember hearing about him last year when he was the subject of a bidding war by all of the top record companies but did not hear much more about him until he was featured on Brockhampton’s new album a couple of months ago. Even after hearing him on Ginger, I still did not look up any of his music until the end of last month; and since then, I have been hooked on Dom’s music. This dude is so unique and his style is so diverse. From the hardcore rap he made early on before he got signed to the alternative rock he made on his demo tape, Don’t Forget About Me, Dominic Fike excels at every kind of music he wants to create, and he will definitely go far. ‘Phone Numbers’ is another example of Dom showing off a different kind of music he can create. I love the attitude that Dom has on ‘Phone Numbers.’ This track is seemingly a big “Fuck You” to the assholes in Dominic Fike’s life that never helped him when he was down and now want to be friends since he is up. ‘Phone Numbers’ is produced by Kenny Beats, and it has a jazzy and funky pop-rap vibe that is pretty unique. Even though he does not really rap, honestly the musician it reminds me of the most right now is Bruno Mars. Whatever or whoever you may think it sounds like, it is tough to deny that Dominic Fike is very good.