I have to say, as this quarantine continues to get longer and longer and as it starts to seem like the world will never go back to how it used to be, I have really been missing going to concerts. Seeing live music is literally one of my favorite things to do; I am one of those people who will just go to any and every concert in my area I have time to go to regardless of the genre, just because I love to see people perform live. The deeper we get into this Lockdown, the more it seems like our society will never actually go back to how it used to. From the way that the news media talks, it seems like there is a chance that live sports and live music will never be the same because of social distancing. I do wonder how long people are going to put up with this, especially in a place like the United States. I mean, the whole appeal of living here and the reason that so many people move here is because of the constant amount of opportunities there are everywhere; if you live in a big city in this country, there is literally so much to do(during normal times, I mean) that it is kind of impossible to get bored unless you are lazy. It honestly does seem like people are starting to get fed up, though. I mean, at least where I live, I have never seen more people walking around outside and congregating in parks. Eventually, for better or for worse, it feels like people might start fighting back and just opening up their businesses. Okay, I am done rambling, let us talk about some music. Here is a list of a few songs that I have really been loving a lot over the last couple of weeks or so. Let me know in the comments below if you love some of these tracks too, or if there are some other songs that came out in the last couple of weeks that you think I should have included!

MALIBU – KIM PETRAS

Over the last couple of years, Kim Petras has quickly become one of my(and so many other people’s) favorite Pop artists who is on the come up. She reminds me a lot of Charli XCX in the way that she is very experimental with her sound and is not afraid to think outside the box. Her debut album, Clarity, received critical acclaim upon its release last year, and her Halloween themed EP, Turn Off the Light, was one of the coolest creepily-themed albums I have ever heard. I still bump so many songs off of Turn Off the Light whenever I want to feel spooky even though we are not in the spooky season. ‘Malibu,’ the latest single from Kim Petras, is a very perfectly named song. Everything about the instrumental and the overall sound and feeling of this song makes me want to drive a convertible with the top down on the way to the beach. ‘Malibu’ is like a mixture of modern Bubblegum Synth-Pop and 80s funk music; in fact, when I first heard this track, it kind of reminds me of early Michael Jackson(particularly, it reminds me a lot of the song ‘Don’t Stop ‘Til I Get Enough.’ One of my favorite things about this song is all of the random sound effects sprinkled throughout the song; one of my favorite sound effects is flute sounds that keep popping up in the back that remind me of weird 80s songs like ‘Africa’ by Toto. ‘Malibu’ by Kim Petras is such a fun and light-hearted track that makes me want to chill and party at the same time; please add this song right away if you love upbeat and happy Pop music.

MAGIC – slowthai AND KENNY BEATS

If someone could pick one rising artist and one rising producer to make a real hype and intense track that will make you either want to punch a garage or go to an underground rave(or both). slowthai is one the hottest rappers from England who has been on the come up over the last year or so. He burst onto the scene out of nowhere, captivating listeners with his harsh and honest lyricism and super intense and brash and in your face delivery. Kenny Beats has also made a name for himself for the intensity and heaviness of his music; although he definitely has the ability to make a great Pop-Trap instrumental(listen to ‘Phone Numbers’ by Dominic Fike for proof of this), he is known for super bass-heavy and super tough beats. If you want to know what I mean by this, listen to ‘Rage’ by Rico Nasty or ‘Foot Fungus’ by Ski Mask the Slump God(or even better, search “Kenny Beats” in the search bar on this site and read the article I wrote about him last year). ‘Magic’ is probably exactly what someone would expect from a collaboration between these two. The bass on this song will rattle your floor and the beat just goes so hard. slowthai’s performance is just as tough as the instrumental is. On this track, slowthai is rapping about how even though he came from the dirt, he is better than all of those people who grew up around him, and that he going to stop at nothing to get to the top. If you need a super-tough Trap track to add to your workout and/or party playlist, please add ‘Magic’ by slowthai and Kenny Beats.

LAWD JESUS – cupcaKKe

Speaking of intense and tough Trap songs that would be perfect to add to your workout or party playlist, ‘Lawd Jesus’ by cupcaKKe is another very hard Hip Hop song that came out last week. If you do not know who cupcaKKe is, I would assume that you are not a big fan or Underground Drill and Trap music. cupcaKKe made a name for herself years ago with her hyper-sexual and liberating lyricism that shocked and awed listeners when they first heard her music. Two of her songs, ‘Vagina’ and ‘Deepthroat,’ went super-viral on YouTube four years ago; these tracks were the first introduction that a lot of people had to cupcaKKe. Unfortunately, cupcaKKe was ridiculed and harassed online for years because of her expressive lyricism, almost causing her to quit making music for good. Honestly, the way that she was treated by people online was not fair at all, as she is known to be a major influence for artists like Megan THEE Stallion and Rico Nasty, both of whom make explicit music that is pretty similar to what cupcaKKe blew up making in a way. Thank god that cupcaKKe did not actually quit, though, because she is one of the most interesting artists to come up over the last few years, and she really is such a talented rapper. ‘Lawd Jesus’ is cupcaKKe’s newest song, and it goes just as hard, if not harder, as one would expect her comeback track to go. If you are a fan of speed rappers like Eminem, Twista, or Ski Mask the Slump God, you will love cupcaKKe’s flow on this song. The lyricism on this song is nuts as well. I love sophisticated and super boastful lyrics, you will definitely love what cupcaKKe has to say on ‘Lawd Jesus.’ The instrumental for this song is super bass-heavy and hard, similar to the one from the aforementioned song ‘Magic.’ If you are a fan of high energy Trap music, please add ‘Lawd Jesus’ to your playlist as soon as possible.

POP SHIT – REASON FEAT SCHOOLBOY Q

REASON is a rapper that I have to admit that I have heavily slept on as he has been on his rise. He is the latest signee to TDE, and he has been killing it over the last couple of years and gaining a lot of popularity because of his intense delivery and very honest, introspective, and raw lyricism. Normally, I would listen to any artist that signs to TDE since their reputation has been so stellar, but somehow REASON slipped through the cracks for me and I really have only been listening to his for a couple of months now(if you do not know who TDE is, they are the label that Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Isaiah Rashad, Ab-Soul, and SZA are signed to. Obviously, this label knows what it is doing). ‘Pop Shit’ is Reason’s newest single, and it is a precursor for his new album which is supposed to be coming out very soon. This track features Schoolboy Q; if you know me or have been following this blog for a while, you should know how much I like Schoolboy Q, so obviously, any contribution he has to any song usually makes it even better to me. ‘Pop Shit’ has a hard, old school Trap instrumental that reminds me of the sort of stuff Three 6 Mafia used to spit on back in the day. This instrumental is perfect for both of these artists separately and combined because both REASON and Schoolboy Q rap with such intensity that it just adds to the dark and scary nature to the song. I love how they both rap with equally harsh and gruff and off-kilter flows, and both include the kind of “real” lyricism that you will not hear from most other rappers. If you love TDE and have not really gotten into REASON yet, stop sleeping because he is next up and ‘Pop Shit’ is a damn banger.

SUNRISE – KENNY ELROD

One of my favorite things in the world at this point(especially when I am stuck inside all day anyway with not a lot to do) is to search for new music on YouTube. I feel like a lot of people wouldn’t keep refreshing their home page on YouTube over and over again until some song that I have never heard pops up on my feed, but I am the kind of music-obsessed weirdo that will do that for an hour straight. From what I understand, ‘Sunrise’ by Kenny Elrod originally started to gain traction on Tik Tok. It quickly gained enough popularity on there for a lyric video of it to start to sort of trend on YouTube(which is how I found it), and for it to pop up in the United States Viral 50 playlist. From what I have read online, Kenny Elrod is only a sophomore in High School, and ‘Sunrise’ is a self-made and self-produced track from the young budding star. ‘Sunrise’ is a chill Pop-Rock track with a funky groove that is bound to make you smile and move your feet. Lyrically, it is such a fun and uplifting song. On ‘Sunrise,’ Kenny is singing to someone that he has grown up with and loves dearly; he is reassuring this person that they will always be together and will always have each other, and even though it seems like things are rough, having each other and staying united will keep them happy and safe. ‘Sunrise’ is the type of song that any music listener can get into regardless of preference; it is just so fun and catchy and motivating. Download ‘Sunrise’ by Kenny Elrod to your playlist right now so when this song goes number one in a month, you can tell everyone you knew it way before it went number one and seem cool.

PARTY GIRL – STAYSOLIDROCKY

Unsurprisingly, the next song that I want to write about also blew up on Tik Tok. Also unsurprisingly, the fact that it is huge on Tik Tok has catapulted it to the top of Spotify’s United States Viral 50 page. This is another song that I am confident will be topping the charts in about a month or so. Really catchy Emo-Trap joints almost always end up getting huge after gaining popularity on social media, and I promise you ‘Party Girl’ by StaySolidRocky will follow that trend. ‘Party Girl’ has the kind of downtrodden and dark Emo-Pop riff that is perfect for this kind of song. It is sweet and soft sounding enough to still be able to party to, but sad sounding enough that it is still good to listen to alone crying in your room. ‘Party Girl’ is a sound that is about exactly what one would expect it to be about. On ‘Party Girl,’ StaySolidRocky is singing about a girl that he is falling in love with who loves partying more than him. He can tell that she loves the lifestyle that he lives more than she actually loves himself, but had doesn’t care because at least he gets to hang around her. ‘Party Girl’ is just such a fun and catchy song. If you are into fun, Pop-tinted Emo-Trap music, you definitely have to download this track because it is so fun and catchy. I can’t wait to hear what StaySolidRocky does next because he definitely has that “it factor” that should make him a star.