Best Songs of the Week

Kid Cudi lives free from almost all external constraints, releasing the music he wants to give to the world when and how he pleases. Sometimes an artist needs to venture outside of their comfort zone to continue to give longtime fans the sound they love. With Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven, Cudder took a break from spacey, adventurous sounds and delivered an uncomfortably dark, internal project that sends you down the rabbit hole.

"The Frequency" is the return to the chill nights of sex and drugs, those "Man On The Moon" vibes. Produced by Mike Dean, Plain Pat, and Cudi himself, the Cleveland native delivers the croons and melodies that only he can, and begins the anticipation for the long-awaited Man On The Moon III.—Eric Isom

Getting a sample cleared is supposed to be a nightmare, right? The original artist is supposed to demand an outrageous price, delay the record, or flat out deny the request. But for The Life of Pablo contributors DJDS, their experience with Charlie Wilson defied convention.

As DJDS explains, “When making our song ‘You Don’t Have To Be Alone,” we sampled the voice of Charlie Wilson from a record he did in 2005. What by every law of music industry bureaucracy should have ended up as a sample clearing nightmare, somehow then turned into a dream collaboration for us. We owe that to the man himself who heard the song and thought we could expand on it together. We got together in the studio in Los Angeles, wrote and recorded new vocals, and created a new version of the song. You can hear it now. Thank you Charlie.”—John Walaszek

Multi-instrumentalist and singer Moses Sumney has been evolving in front of our eyes over the past three years. When we first met him he was experimenting layering and looping his vocals, and he's also delivered minimal, gorgeous folk songs, but his latest is a little different. Of course, Sumney's wonderful voice—warm, inviting, and full of life—is still central, but the overall feel of "Everlasting Sigh" is a little poppier than anything we've heard from him so far. Now we're especially excited to hear what's next.—Constant Gardner

If there's anything Adamn Killa has proved time and time again, it's that he really knows how to ride a Blank Body beat. Few rappers are capable of going over production as colorful and vibrant as Blank Body's work on "Adamn Superstar," but Adamn made it clear he's worth of the titular nod on this one.

Taking more from the school of Yung Lean and other like-minded slack-rappers, Adamn's mesmerizing drawl is on full display here. It's certainly not the most immediate rap, but Adamn knows how to get into your head and stay there.—Joe Price

Anderson .Paak released his exquisite Malibu less than three months ago. In the time since, he has been featured on another album's worth of material, knocking out verse after verse of fiery content. This time, .Paak teamed up with British electronic duo Snakehips—they have a knack for collaborations, and "Money On Me" is no exception.

This is a song that makes you feel cool—it can turn a mundane walk to work into this, thanks to some pitch-shifting synths and .Paak's buttery delivery. "I'm working on a good one," he says in the chorus—these days, that always seems to be the case.—Graham

It's really hard to highlight just one moment from Brockhampton's long-overdue debut project, especially when everyone brings their A game. Consistently strong from front to back, it would be easy to just get carried away talking about the strengths of every single track here. However, of all the moments across the release, it's "Palace" that sticks out the most.

Combining the talents of Matt Champion, Bearface, and Joba, "Palace" shows a different side of the group, eschewing rap completely. While they've frequently flirted with other genres, All-American Trash really benefits from an overall disregard for norms entirely, shining most when detours are taken. And as far as detours go, "Palace" is one of the most rewarding routes explored thus far.—Joe Price

Download the full project here.

Ty Dolla $ign knows summer is fast approaching, and he's here for us with an easy, breezy, windows rolled down, wind blowing in your hair, cruising in the sun anthem. As ever, Ty is here to help melt away life's stresses, his laid-back drawl rolling floating over a surprisingly restrained DJ Mustard beat, and coming through with a hook that is pure radio hit excellence.

For all his success, Ty Dolla $ign is still underrated, but that surely can't remain the case for too long.—Constant Gardner

For his new track “The Artful Dodger,” Mick Jenkins pulls out all the stops. The Chicago rapper has proven before that he can create hits with both Kaytranada (“Your Love”) and THEMpeople “$3,000 Advice”, so having them all on one track—combined with a BadBadNotGood sample—was very nearly a sure thing.

As fans continue to wait for Mick’s forthcoming debut album, he delivers a possible preview of what’s to come to hold everyone over in the meantime. The production begins harmlessly enough, but quickly transitions into a rhythm that’s both haunting and enticing. Mick matches the beat with his exceptional ability to deliver razor sharp one-liners with an intense, charismatic delivery. “The Artful Dodger” is a hard-hitting track that just might blow your speakers if you’re not careful.—Adrienne Black