We've rounded the summer corner, people. We've still got quite a bit to go, but we can see the end of the bright tunnel and into the dark depths of the Months of Death. Luckily we have Drake and a bunch of other crap to keep us going. This is a bit of a transition week, but a lot of jams are holding strong:
Hot Jam of the Week: "Frozen" by Wu-Tang
This is the first uh...public Wu-Tang track launched in a while, and of course the band holds up. I really just hope some kid searches for Queen Elsa and gets this instead. It's more Method Man-driven, who remains reliably amazing and no group like the Wu laces lyrics around some of the most intelligent artists in group rap.
"Meant to Be" by Bebe Rexha ft. Florida Georgia Line
Yep this track is back. It crept up on me this week and I found myself not quite hating it tremendously. That's good enough to be an all-star track. Bebe is trying damned hard to launch herself from this big track, but nothing else has had quite the crossover chillwave appeal.
"God is a Woman" by Ariana Grande
This track isn't quite the "No Tears Left to Cry" showstopper or even the "Bed" sex-a-thon or even the "Light is Coming" brilliant track, but it IS a track that exists and is popular at the moment. Regardless of how things shake out it's clear that Ariana is having a great summer and this track does have room to climb.
"Nice for What" by Drake
Another week, another chance for "Nice for What" which actually is building a solid resume for itself. The jam has legs and continues to pop up in our lives. It's charted higher than I think its actual popularity, but it's still a pretty decent jam that's endlessly listenable. It's superb background music, people. It's had enough #1 landings to threaten a little bit and put in a good bid for King of Summer at this point.
"I Like It" by Cardi B
Same as the previous entry, "I Like It" suddenly is making a case for itself. Out of all the Cardi B tracks dropped this summer, this one has emerged as the possible contender. The spicy salsa beat paired with Cardi's latina heritage helps it out (think "Despacito") and at this point it might challenge one of those top spots if it stays consistent. It really needs to gain a few more #1 spots to get up to Ariana or Camila's lead but it's possible.
"Taste" by Tyga ft. Offset
I mentioned this track a little bit ago as a possible Hot Beat but this week it emerged as tracking pretty damn well on Billboard and Spotify. It's one of three rap songs to round out the top three this week. I'd like to think that this song is all about chomping on private parts, which I'm going to roll with. The beat is chill and matches Tyga's cadence pretty well. I don't think it can seriously threaten Summer Jam status, but it's good enough this week.
"SAD!" by XXXTENTACION
We're just going by the music here - a true artist lost. Alright, whatever, but this song is more decent than most would give it credit for. It's emerged as the key identifying XXXTENTACION song who unfortunately couldn't choose a better name before his tragic passing. It continues to gain traction and serves as a tough reminder of a voice we perhaps lost too early.
"In My Feelings" by Drake
The second Drake jam of the week - this one is much less great, but also #1 on Billboard and Spotify and for some reason the most popular song in the country. Cool. It's definitely not great but at this point I'm kind of glad he's emerged relatively unscathed from the Pusha-T beef. All it really takes is great music. Or at least popular music. Just make some popular music and that'll speak for itself. We've talked at length about this being the Summer of Ariana but this could surely be the Summer of Drake, too. 2018 sucks.
Next week...
There were some intriguing jams dropped by G-Eazy, Bebe Rexha, Becky G, and the 1975 that all almost made the cut this week. Becky G is definitely trying to make the word "zooted" happen. I don't know why. We've got six weeks left and getting to the point where any new track would really have to surge right to the top and make a huge splash to make a difference. Tracks with some previous momentum such as "I Like It" and even possibly "In My Feelings" may stand a chance, but we'll have to see. Happy Summer!
Hot Jam of the Week: "Frozen" by Wu-Tang
This is the first uh...public Wu-Tang track launched in a while, and of course the band holds up. I really just hope some kid searches for Queen Elsa and gets this instead. It's more Method Man-driven, who remains reliably amazing and no group like the Wu laces lyrics around some of the most intelligent artists in group rap.
"Meant to Be" by Bebe Rexha ft. Florida Georgia Line
Yep this track is back. It crept up on me this week and I found myself not quite hating it tremendously. That's good enough to be an all-star track. Bebe is trying damned hard to launch herself from this big track, but nothing else has had quite the crossover chillwave appeal.
"God is a Woman" by Ariana Grande
This track isn't quite the "No Tears Left to Cry" showstopper or even the "Bed" sex-a-thon or even the "Light is Coming" brilliant track, but it IS a track that exists and is popular at the moment. Regardless of how things shake out it's clear that Ariana is having a great summer and this track does have room to climb.
"Nice for What" by Drake
Another week, another chance for "Nice for What" which actually is building a solid resume for itself. The jam has legs and continues to pop up in our lives. It's charted higher than I think its actual popularity, but it's still a pretty decent jam that's endlessly listenable. It's superb background music, people. It's had enough #1 landings to threaten a little bit and put in a good bid for King of Summer at this point.
"I Like It" by Cardi B
Same as the previous entry, "I Like It" suddenly is making a case for itself. Out of all the Cardi B tracks dropped this summer, this one has emerged as the possible contender. The spicy salsa beat paired with Cardi's latina heritage helps it out (think "Despacito") and at this point it might challenge one of those top spots if it stays consistent. It really needs to gain a few more #1 spots to get up to Ariana or Camila's lead but it's possible.
"Taste" by Tyga ft. Offset
I mentioned this track a little bit ago as a possible Hot Beat but this week it emerged as tracking pretty damn well on Billboard and Spotify. It's one of three rap songs to round out the top three this week. I'd like to think that this song is all about chomping on private parts, which I'm going to roll with. The beat is chill and matches Tyga's cadence pretty well. I don't think it can seriously threaten Summer Jam status, but it's good enough this week.
"SAD!" by XXXTENTACION
We're just going by the music here - a true artist lost. Alright, whatever, but this song is more decent than most would give it credit for. It's emerged as the key identifying XXXTENTACION song who unfortunately couldn't choose a better name before his tragic passing. It continues to gain traction and serves as a tough reminder of a voice we perhaps lost too early.
"In My Feelings" by Drake
The second Drake jam of the week - this one is much less great, but also #1 on Billboard and Spotify and for some reason the most popular song in the country. Cool. It's definitely not great but at this point I'm kind of glad he's emerged relatively unscathed from the Pusha-T beef. All it really takes is great music. Or at least popular music. Just make some popular music and that'll speak for itself. We've talked at length about this being the Summer of Ariana but this could surely be the Summer of Drake, too. 2018 sucks.
Next week...
There were some intriguing jams dropped by G-Eazy, Bebe Rexha, Becky G, and the 1975 that all almost made the cut this week. Becky G is definitely trying to make the word "zooted" happen. I don't know why. We've got six weeks left and getting to the point where any new track would really have to surge right to the top and make a huge splash to make a difference. Tracks with some previous momentum such as "I Like It" and even possibly "In My Feelings" may stand a chance, but we'll have to see. Happy Summer!
No comments:
Post a Comment