Best Songs of the Week

With so much good music, it's easy to miss out on some great tracks. So we've rounded up the best songs from the past week. Here are the songs you can't afford to skip, in no particular order.

If there's anyone who can manage to turn a classic record on its head, it's Kaytranada. He made a name for himself with bold remixes of Janet Jackson's "If" and Teedra Moses' "Be Your Girl" in the past.

This week Kaytranada shared a remix of Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force’s classic single "Planet Rock" as part of promotion for Apple Music's new documentary 808. Kaytranada brought his own unique twist and made the remix something special without eliminating what made the record a classic in the first place.—Adrienne Black

Smino doesn't make bad songs. He has an incredibly elastic voice that sounds excellent bouncing off Monte Booker's skittering percussion, but Smino's spreading his wings on "blkswn"—Sango is behind the boards this time.

Seattle and St. Louis swagger collide on the title track from Smino's upcoming album. The production manages to be both ominous and whimsical, wandering bells punctuated by a huge bass. It's the perfect spacious backdrop for Smino's acrobatics, and that devastating staccato hook is one of the young artist's finest moments to date. Especially when you listen to what he's saying. 

"Black swans are beautiful, too," Smino said of the song. "I'm not gonna let that shit make me feel sad or sorry for myself. I can't help how I am. I'm just gonna be more proud of it." 

This isn't the first time Sango and Smino have linked—check out "Lemon Pon Goose" for a decidedly different vibe.—Graham Corrigan

From the sound of tracks which Ab-Soul dropped in the lead up to the release of his new album, it seemed as though Do What Thou Wilt. would be especially abstract and experimental. "Threatening Nature," dropped this week, is a murky track packed with dense rapping, but even if you weren't feeling it, you definitely need to give the whole album a chance.

There is variety throughout—"The Law" with Mac Miller and Rapsody is a bouncy love song, "Beat The Case" sounds like an anthem, and Ab gets melodic on "D.R.U.G.S." This Friday turned out to be pretty crazy for big rap releases, but don't sleep on Soulo.—Alex Gardner

2016 has been a year of super current sounds and trends that spread as quickly as memes do. When a popular song sparks a new style, the market is soon flooded with sound-alikes, and new things get old very quickly. Cat Clyde's "Mama Said" doesn't sound like any of these new 2016 things. It's a timeless song with roots in traditional folk and blues, and as the year comes to a close, it's a reminder of the beauty of timelessness.—Jacob Moore

Read more about Cat Clyde in our interview here.

I'm still digesting J. Cole's 4 Your Eyez Only, but as soon as "Immortal" started, my ears took notice. That reversed sample and and subtle guitar plunks make for an intensely menacing beat, and lyrically Cole is at his most cutting here. He runs through a life cycle of desperation, from drug dealing and addiction to prison and death. When it comes to storytelling, J. Cole hasn't lost a step. Listen to 4 Your Eyez Only in full here.—Graham Corrigan

It’s been six years and three albums since husband-and-wife indie pop duo Tennis went on a sailing expedition that birthed their vintage, romantic sound—but they’ve managed to hold on to the magic with their new single, “In the Morning I’ll Be Better.”

Over a glittery '70s-tinged doo-wop backdrop, Alaina Moore sings comforting lines to a lover, circling around to the age-old idea that everything will be alright as long as they stick together and shield each other from the turbulent outside world. During a year in which everything appears to be in constant upheaval, it’s just the kind of reassuring song we’re craving right now.—Eric Skelton

Post Malone didn't need to branch out on his his debut album Stoney, but it's a good thing he did, anyway. Expanding upon the sound of his breakthrough single "White Iverson" while also diverging from it completely, Stoney acts as a brilliant showcase of how much more Post can build upon his immediate framework. While moments like the opener "Broken Whiskey Glass" stand out because of how different they are, "I Fall Apart" in particular stands out just because of how successfully it improves Post's familiar formula.

Backed by Illangelo production that sounds as if it's running backwards in slow motion, Post flexes his vocals a little more than we're used to on "I Fall Apart." While we've known for a long time that he's got an incredible voice when he really goes for it, there's something about "I Fall Apart" which really pushes that notion. "I Fall Apart" is just further proof that Post is here to stay.

K9 came through at the end of 2014 and blew us away with his first Mad In The Cut mixtape, and he's done the same thing as this year draws to its close. The West London rapper collaborated with some of the UK underground's most exciting producers (Dark0, Mssingno, Visionist) for Mad In The Cut 2, and they provide the perfect backdrop for his no-holds barred spitting.

"​I can only make truth, uncensored, real nigga music when I do projects," K9 told us. "No bullshit. I make anthems for my ends." Listen to Mad In The Cut 2 in full here.—Alex Gardner