Yahoo News Anitta, Cardi B, Sam Smith, BlocBoy JB and More Top Songs of the Week
SO. MANY. SONGS. As lockdown lengthens the thicket thickens, so with a nod to Alicia Keys on her excellent new album “Alicia” — which features “Me x 7,” a killer tag-team with Philly’s Tierra Whack that would have been on this week’s list if we hadn’t already reviewed the album — let’s get it.
Anitta (featuring Cardi B and Myke Towers) “Me Gusta” Brazilian-born Anitta has been a superstar in South America for years, and even without the pan-cultural assists she gets here from Cardi B and Puerto Rican rapper Myke Towers — both of whom in Spanish — this one sounds like a worldwide smash. The song, like her forthcoming album, are executive produced by hitmaker supreme Ryan Tedder, who also lent his touch to the cast of thousands that wrote this song.
Sam Smith “Diamonds” Sam Smith’s last album was a little too sad-sack for our tastes, and thankfully he’s flipped the script a bit for this lead single for his retitled, rejiggered and rescheduled new album, “Love Goes,” which is now due Oct. 30. While it definitely starts off a bit melancholy, “Diamonds” quickly shifts into a driving midtempo groove with a powerful melody — and unlike his last album, the focus is on the song, rather than placing his voice on a sonic pedestal. Let that boy boogie! (although maybe not like he does in the video…)
Blocboy JB (featuring NLE Choppa) “ChopBloc Pt. 3” The Memphis duo return with the third “ChopBloc” in just over 18 months and it’s the hottest yet — the spare musical backing stays out of the way as Blocboy and Choppa’s powerful flows provide the song with all it needs, and at just under three minutes, they make their point and bounce. However, there are waaaay too many dudes waving around assault rifles in the song’s video for our taste — but at least some of them are wearing Covid masks, which is both hilarious and tragic at the same time.
Moneybagg Yo (featuring City Girls and DaBaby) “Said Sum Remix” Between Blocboy, Choppa and Moneybagg, Memphis is definitely in the house this week. This song came out earlier this year but Moneybagg has amped it up with powerful and foul-moufed verses from City Girls and DaBaby. NSFW, even if you’re WFH.
Lany “Cowboy in L.A.” Feeling out of place in a metropolis is hardly a novel emotional angle for a song, but damned if Oklahoma native Paul Jason Klein doesn’t make a heart-tugging melody out of the concept on “Cowboy in L.A.” Neither a ballad nor a banger, the song is about exactly what it sounds like it’s about, and coasts along softly while Klein delivers the killer melody in a bittersweet voice that suits it perfectly. The L.A.-based trio’s third album, “Mama’s Boy,” is out Oct. 2.
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