"Nice For What" by Drake
★★★★★
Just when you thought "God's Plan" was going to be Drizzy's biggest hit of the year, in comes "Nice For What". It's ridiculously catchy and very uplifting, especially for the females, but do we expect anything else from Aubrey by now? Sampling Ms. Lauryn Hill's "Ex Factor", he encourages women to be who they are and to gas each other up, whether they're out at the club or hitting each other up on Instagram. The matching music video is also a wonderful treat that perfectly packages what a powerful woman is in 2018.
"One Kiss" by Calvin Harris (feat. Dua Lipa)
★★★★
It was only a matter of time that one the biggest DJ in the world collaborates with one of the biggest pop stars on the rise. The sound continues Harris' Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 and seems to be a good fit for Vol. 2. It's upbeat tropical vibes are perfect for the summer time, so the timing is impeccable. Lipa's silky smooth vocals are paired nicely with the head-bobbing rhythm that's almost reminiscent of 2015's "How Deep Is Your Love."
"Campfire" by Aminé (feat. Injury Reserve)
★★★★½
The underrated "Caroline" rapper from the PDX is back with a groovy, Bay Area-like slapper filled with braggadocio with support from Injury Reserve. The song is basically about nothing, but is filled with silly wordplay ("Dreads swinging like they did the Harlem shake") and references to "REDMERCEDES" and even Drew Barrymore's zombie-like character in her Netflix show, Santa Clarita Diet. Tasty.
"Chanel" by Slim Jxmmi (feat. Swae Lee & Pharrell Williams)
★★★
To be clear, this is not Frank Ocean's 2017 track nor is it considered a Rae Sremmurd track. It's Slim Jxmmi featuring Swae Lee and it's one of (probably) dozens of songs that will be found on the "Black Beatles" duo's triple album. It's Mike Will Made-It's production that really makes the song what it is. His use of a lazy beat is incredible with it's simplicity and extreme bass rattling. The track isn't anything new and Pharrell's verse is okay, but his high pitch for the first few bars is definitely unnecessary. It's no "Powerglide", but it'll do for now.
"A$AP Forever" by A$AP Rocky
★★★★
The first official single off of his highly anticipated TESTING. is really two songs in one. The first half, you can hear Flacko rapping with crazy-confident cadence over a synthy beat that then turns into a dreamy, 90s inspired alternative track. This is said to set the tone for the rest of his album and it creates excitement as to what that can be. Overall, it's a song about Rocky's loyalty to his A$AP Mob. Shout out to Moby for making a weird collaboration work so well.
★★★★★ Classic | ★★★★ Excellent | ★★★ Good | ★★ Fair | ★ Poor