Best Songs of the Week

Anderson .Paak is on. fucking. fire. Forget the appearances on Dre's Compton—every release the California native has put together, before and after his mainstream break—has been on point, a subtle blend of hip-hop and soul music that'll have your head bobbing and shoulders shaking in a matter of seconds.

But .Paak's not the only reason for listening: "Make It Work" also signals the return of Asher Roth relevant again, who uses his sonorous pipes to spit a little romance.

Paak's EP with Blended Babies is proving to be a laudable offshoot of the smooth, classic sounds of A Tribe Called Quest and The Social Experiment. Donnie Trumpet brought the comparison to mind with his perfect, subtle appearance on "Make It Work."

To put it simply, this feels good. Press play when, and only when, you're ready for an aural massage to work out those pop knots.—Graham Corrigan

It's time to stop pretending MTJ is a joke.

After a successful crowdfund (which was originally intended as a joke), El-P and Killer Mike enrolled some of hip-hop's finest to take Meow the Jewels from a Kickstarter goof to a piece of high art.

The latest cut is the best yet. Just Blaze took "Oh My Darling Don't Cry" and flipped it into a feline freakout, mashing the original verses together with a haunted house of drum samples and suspicious mrrrows. The real win, however, is that the cats fit perfectly within Blaze's beat—words I wouldn't have anticipated typing when news of MTJ broke.

Then again, if anyone could pull this shit off, it's Mike and El. As Joe Price pointed out yesterday, "It says a lot about Blaze’s considerable production talents that he’s able to create something so good out of such a stupid idea."—Graham Corrigan

Thanks to the internet, it’s much easier for artists to be influenced by music and sounds from all over the world, rather than just their own surroundings. That seems to be the case with ZHU’s latest single “Automatic,” featuring AlunaGeorge.

Within the first few seconds, there’s already a noticeable mix of cultures—a fusion of Middle Eastern sounds with deep house beats. Aluna Francis soon enters, armed with her very sweet, distinctive voice to provide an instantly infectious chorus.

Then halfway through, something starts to change: the house beats begin to fuse with classical piano, bits of hip-hop and jazz hanging off the side. It might sound like a mess, but let's not forget who's in the driver's seat: ZHU produces a gorgeous melting pot of sound, and a new power couple in musical collaboration is born.—Adrienne Black

Two days ago, I wasn't sure if I was even going to post this song. It seemed too basic, too obvious, and too poppy. But it was so good. The best pop music has that addictive quality to it, and sometimes, no matter what your initial feelings are, you're going to go back to it. For the past few days, I convinced myself that I was listening to "New Bohemia" on repeat because I was trying to decide if I liked it or not. Now I realize that I was already hooked.

Transviolet's new EP is out today.—Confusion

Here's the bottom line (no pun intended): when Jon Tanners calls a song a "soulful ode to ass" you absolutely must listen to it. It's a rule. I don't make them, but I do abide by them. That is why I initially listened to Tobi Lou's "Pretty Please," but the reason I kept listening had nothing to do with Tanners (no offense, love you Jon).

While the track does have some pretty humorous, almost ridiculous lyrics, the beat is so smooth and Lou's voice is so soulful that everything fits in to place. Put simply, this is one of the most fun tracks you'll hear this week, and sometimes that's exactly what you need.—Katie K.

It might be a bit late to be dropping a summertime anthem, but young rapper Max Wonders has given us exactly that with "Party In The Hills." Over a buoyant beat from frequent collaborator Sowle, Wonders makes it feel like the good times will never end and we'll all stay young forever.

Listen to his debut EP You Will Never Find here.—Constant Gardner

Best Songs of the Week - Sep 18 2015 | Listen for free at bop.fm

Ghostface Killah and MF DOOM, two rap legends, don't need to team up as DOOMSTARKS. They don't need help generating interest in their music and both have unimpeachable legacies, so this seems like a true passion project, two gruff, vicious rappers having fun making dark, bombastic music.

"Lively Hood," part of Adult Swim's singles series, is an ode of sorts to New York, in all its gritty, grimy, glory. What could be better?—Constant Gardner

First off, this Cairo Mayeson beat is fucking crazy. Anyone would sound good over this beat. Let's get that out of the way.

But this isn't to discredit Ta'East, because what he does on this beat is what makes "WithTheShit" such a special song, and one of the strongest introductions to a new rapper in 2015 so far. Ta'East is sharp and precise with his words, completely aware of the space that surrounds each one.

A lot of rappers can tag along with the beat, but few seem to be comfortable in the negative space; for Ta'East, that seems to come naturally. My only complaint is that he didn't rap during those last 40 seconds.—Confusion

"Wanna Be Me" is called a bonus track Young Thug's new Slime Season mixtape. A bonus track on a free mixtape doesn't really make sense, but maybe it's just an acknowledgement that this song is like nothing else on the project.

It almost certainly won't be a fan favorite—"Wanna Be Me" is a bittersweet, weird, melodic, unintelligible, Auto-Tuned song, reminiscent of when Wayne was making brilliantly unfocused pop like "Prostitute Flange" in the mid-2000s. But Young Thug is better than Wayne at writing pop songs—or, at least, he could be.

Thug's ear for melody is an underrated weapon. It's easy to focus on his voice, his absurd ad-libs, or the millions of other distractions, but he's got a gift for structuring a song (even when it only takes him 10 minutes) and when London On Da Track supplies the production, there is potential for something really special. That's the key though: potential. "Wanna Be Me" sounds clumsy and unfinished, but that's part of its charm for now, and it's a sign of things to come from Thug. Remember, less than a year after Wayne made "Prostitute Flange," he released "Lollipop."—Confusion

Unfortunately, it seems like most of the best songwriters in music end up pandering to the masses. When you can write a song so perfect that anyone with a sensible ear will appreciate it, the tendency is to make as many people as possible appreciate it. By doing this, most great songwriters avoid risks, experimentation, and being weird. Thank God, Autre Ne Veut embraces these things.

His album Age of Transparency comes out October 2 on Downtown Records, and it's shaping up to be one of the year's best.—Confusion