Best Songs of the Month

Baauer is not playing with his new album Aa. The guest list is stacked with awesome artists from around the world (M.I.A.! G-Dragon! Novelist! Future! Pusha T!) and the tracks we've heard so far have all been superb. The LuckyMe producer followed up "Day Ones" (and its incredible video) with "Kung Fu," which sees Future deliver an instantly memorbale hook and Pusha T giving us those vicious coke rap bars that he is the king of.

Welcome to the wide world of snort.—Constant Gardner

After a breakup, there are several different emotions a person can experience. The results of those emotions are constantly displayed in music. There are far too many somber or bitter breakup songs to count. However, Nao seems to take a different route with her latest single “Fool To Love.”

For her new single, Nao admits that her past relationship wasn’t her best decision but this song isn’t full of regret. Instead, she creates one of empowerment and growth. Nao delivers a confidence booster with meaningful lyrics that may be exactly what many people need to hear. Her words—“Self-assurance is taking me over”—combined with the rhythm transform this single into a feel-good song. As a result, “Fool To Love” becomes a great pick-me-up—encouraging listeners to work on a better self, rather than dwelling on the past with lyrics like: “It’s time for a stronger me.”—Adrienne Black

Rome Fortune's studio album JeromeRaheemFortune was released today, but the Atlanta rapper blessed us earlier this week with one of the singles, "Blicka Blicka."

The album is largely produced by Rome's longtime collaborator Cubby, and you can hear their kinship on this collaboration: Rome is supremely comfortable rhyming over Cubby's arpeggiated synths and dusty drums. When it comes to lyrical delivery, Rome possesses a unique set of skills, and "Blicka Blicka" is case in point. His vocals swoop across the track, swinging from whispered bars to impassioned diatribes. Don't sleep on Rome Fortune—with this tape out, you'll be hearing his name a lot in the coming months.—Graham Corrigan

Scandinavia does it again, and this time it's a duo from Norway who have us under their spell. Smerz, the duo of Henriette and Catharina, conjure up pop with a dark twist on the eminently danceable "Because." Gentle, hypnotic vocals glide above a bass-heavy loop, the influence of club music creeping into this modern song of love and heartbreak.

"I'm lonely babe when you don't read my mind. I want you to feel blue, and if you ask maybe I'll come on back," Smerz sings, staring unflinchingly at the camera in the video. "We tried to capture both the lazy and the restless feeling of the song," they told us, and the result was a fantastic introduction.—Constant Gardner

While all eyes were on Kanye West's The Life of Pablo extravaganza last night, James Blake popped up on his BBC Radio 1 residency to debut a new song. He has a habit of premiering music on the show—from friends and 1-800-Dinosaur affiliates—but when it comes to his own sounds, it has often been covers or instrumental tracks.

"Modern Soul," however, is a fully formed James Blake song, fluttering vocals, clanking production and all. No word if this is a single from his upcoming album Radio Silence, but I wouldn't be surprised. Blake season approaching?—Constant Gardner

Lust trumps logic in Rodney Tenor’s slice of old school romance, “Prognosis Hypnosis.” In his temptress he finds a wavelength many bandwidths apart from his own, yet he’s blinded by infatuation. The 20-year-old singer/songwriter, stranded in a familiar stupor, sacrifices time and money for a fling destined to fail.

The song's appeal is accessible in that sense, but it's Tenor's voice that begs for a replay, rising and falling to say more than words could. With a little help from the unequivocally talented JOBA, who handles production here, Brockhampton's secret weapon just got a little less secret. Don't even think about resting your head on what might just become the young voice of pop.—Alex Siber

The third full-length project from Sweden's Yung Lean represents a lot of things for the young artist, but what resonates the most is his desire for growth. Leandoer has shown a commitment to self-betterment, and Warlord really is an impressive step-up from 2014's Unknown Memory. It's definitely not as colorful a record, but he's taking the idea of what it means to be sad a little more seriously.

There's some inventive braggadocio on "Immortal" alongside impressive bursts of aggression on lead single "Hoover," but the album also features some sly evolutions of the dead-eyed melancholy that got him here. The hypnotic misery of "Stay Down" might not be the most immediate track on the album, but it's easily one of the best showcases of how far he's come. Aesthetically speaking, it's not too far from the mumble-rap found in the deeper recesses of his YouTube and SoundCloud accounts, but it's considerably more polished.

This is definitely the same kid who was behind "Ginseng Strip 2002" and "Greygoose," but it's also clearer than ever that he is finally ready to grow up, too.—Joe Price

Florida rapper Kaiydo masters the art of simplicity on "Arcade." A lot of teenage artists take years to learn this—it can be tempting to give in to ambition and try to do too much, but Kaiydo succeeds by keeping "Arcade" stripped down to the essentials: great production, an effortlessly infectious chorus, and a relaxed, confident delivery.—Jacob Moore

Arriving just a little bit too late for Valentine's day, FKA twigs' latest is full of clear-eyed romance. With some of her most straightforward production (this time alongside Rick Nowels, who has serious songwriting/production credentials) and a lack of vocal effects or other experimental flourishes, this is twigs at her most pop. And she does it so well.

"Good To Love" was released with another engaging video, and she followed it up with a performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Keep killing it, twigs.—Constant Gardner

Following the release of last year’s Say It Here, While It’s Safe EP and a couple of one-off singles, Kweku Collins is back with the release of “Ghost.” The self-produced song is a shift from the brightly tinged Say It Here, painting an ominous scene with skeletal percussive elements and melodic yet mournful vocals. Not only does Collins demonstrate his abilities as a producer on “Ghost,” but he also shows just how versatile his style can be.—Joyce

When we asked Boston rapper Vintage Lee about her influences, she cited three rappers that she started listening to when she was just a child: Pimp C, Eazy-E, and Snoop. These influences don't tell you a lot about Lee's music, but they do hint at the one thing Vintage Lee has that makes her immediately stand out from the pack: charisma. Throughout her laid back, slightly melodic flow on "Hennythings Possible," she sprinkles in plenty of personality and style, making her one of the most engaging new rappers we've heard in a minute.—Jacob Moore

Read our interview with Vintage Lee here.

While my love for the music of J Dilla doesn't solely live during that week in February that houses both his birthday and the day he left this Earth, it is the week that I listen to Dilla's material almost exclusively. This is how we mourn.

Not too long ago, I found the Pay Jay bootleg on an old hard drive; this was the solo album he'd reportedly recorded for MCA, but they ended up shelving, causing him to go on an aural trek that turned into classic Dilla material including Ruff Draft, Jaylib's Champion Sound, and the mighty Donuts.

Word dropped this week that the album, fully mastered and now titled The Diary, is set to be released in April. The first track, "The Introduction," hit me like a ton of bricks. And while I could care less how many Dilla beat tapes you've consumed, if you don't pay homage to DILLA on the mic, you're lost. The homage to Q-Tip in the beginning of the first verse? The "J Dilla like Inspector Gadget, cause I pull out the tools to eliminate the extra baggage" lines? The forever repping the D?

Dilla wasn't spitting the lovey dovey shit that many of the MCs who picked his beats wanted; he was more aggressive by nature, letting the inner demons and swagger flow into the mic. "The Introduction" might be the perfect jumping off point for heads who want to explore how underrated Dilla truly was with the pen. Just saying.—khal

Bonkaz come up has been swift and unstoppable, driven by regular releases, fire freestyles, and impressively varied cosigns. He started 2016 quickly, dropping Mixtape of the Year, which comes with a Stormzy feature, a lot of quickfire rapping, and really cohesive feel. The highlight is "Run Out The Ends," on which Bonkaz provides a warning to snitches over a crazy beat from Show N Prove. There's so much talent in the UK right now, and in South London specifically. Don't sleep.—Constant Gardner

I haven't lived with, or even near, my parents for the past 10 years. I'm not talking like an hour train ride far away. I'm talking like 3-hour-plane-ride-away-see-them-once-a-year far away. At first, that was fucking hard because there were days when nothing went right at work and I had no money to get dinner and my heat was off in my building and I just wanted to see my Mom and Dad and cry and have them hold me and tell me everything was going to be okay. And I couldn't, because they were in a different state and that was no longer my home.

Eventually, though, you realize home isn't a city, or a house, or a state. Home isn't a place. The people you surround yourself with become home. It's this idea Raury and Take A Daytrip explore on their new collaboration, "Home." Over sultry, slow-building production from the NY duo, Raury gets nostalgic about that one person he's missing that to him, feels like home. It's a narrative that doesn't rely on complex lyrics or glitzy production to get it's point across, but rather honesty, and Raury and Take A Daytrip deliver that perfectly.—Katie K.

Young Thug's new album I'm Up is still sinking in, but "For My People" is easily an early standout. It features everything I love about Thug: wild imagery ("My pocket look like a book with a worm in it"), a fantastically erratic flow, and melodies on melodies. But the beat on this one is next-level, too. Spacy, cascading clicks and a deep low-end act as the perfect backdrop for Thugger's wild delivery.—Jacob Moore

Toronto's Jazz Cartier impressed with his debut project Marauding In Paradise, and his live shows are already legendary, but how would he keep up his momentum? How would he handle the tricky proposition of capitalizing on his early hype with a second project? Long story short, with ease.

With his new project Hotel Paranoia, Cartier delivers an ambitious and varied body of work. If you're not feeling the raw energy and heavy beat of "100 Roses" just skip to the next song and you'll get a bouncy, melody filled jam with twinkling production. Jazz is still at the beginning of his career, but the levels are very, very high.—Constant Gardner

Despite the sheer mass of music produced by Future, he continues to reach new levels.

"Fly Shit Only" is off the rapper's EVOL tape, which dropped earlier this month and earned Future his third #1 release in just seven months. The single is a study in juxtaposition—Future's watery, rapid-fire flow is countered by methodical electric guitar and heavily filtered synths. It's a step removed from the trap beats that have become his calling card. If rock music is the next step for Future Hendrix, we won't complain.—Graham Corrigan

Elevator UP. DOWN. UP. DOWN. One listen and you'll have the hook lodged in your brain, a few more listens and you'll start to pick up some of ZelooperZ's wild bars. This is Detroit shit, this is punk shit, this is rap shit, this is dance shit. Black Noi$e killed the beat, ZelooperZ came with the raw energy, and the result is unhinged brilliance.

Look out for the Bothic album this month. Oh, and if you're at a Zelooperz show and hear the intro to this song, get ready for carnage.—Constant Gardner

With his debut album Phase out now, we still find ourselves going back to Jack Garratt's "Fire." It's an ambitious, epic track that begins with Garratt in hushed, reverential mode before a build begins. By the time "Fire" truly arrives in a cloud of arpeggiating synths, the adrenal rush is in full effect.

Garratt's interview with Zane Lowe is worth a listen too—the young artist speaks on how he's handling the pressures and triumphs of this burgeoning fame, and he has an air-tight defense for the haters: "I was fat and ginger as a kid," he told Zane, "I've heard the worse that I can hear... so I'm able to laugh it off." The music is pretty damn good, too.—Graham Corrigan

Ever since Trapo released his debut project The Black Beverly Hills back in November, he’s had my undivided attention. His ability to make personal stories of doubt and insecurity into songs that are not just relatable, but thoroughly enjoyable, make him seem far beyond just 17 years old. Though his impressive debut was just a few short months ago, Trapo returns with a new single, “Bad Gal”—sounding ready to continue his hot streak.

On his latest single, Trapo rhymes over a sped up sample of Jill Scott’s 2000 single “He Loves Me,” which seems fitting as the conclusion of “Bad Gal” is overcoming the negative energy surrounding him by learning to be more comfortable with himself. The more this song continues to play on repeat, the more therapeutic it begins to feel. I thought I was too old to relate to 17-year-olds at this point, but Trapo has proved me wrong once again.—Adrienne Black

“Fairytale” has a sweet, nostalgic feel to it—reminiscent of memories of your favorite childhood bedtime story. It’s no secret that Lianne La Havas has a velvety smooth voice, but there’s something exceptional about this particular track.

In fact, it seems more fitting to refer to it as a lullaby than just another song. “Fairytale” is performed with such a light touch that it’s nearly impossible not to feel far more relaxed at song's end. It's an instant add to the daily rotation, reassurance to help wind down from a stressful day.—Adrienne Black

Allan Kingdom and Kevin Abstract are each formidable enough on their own, but together? They're unstoppable. We first saw proof of their powers on "Already" back in 2014, and "Refresh" last year.

Kingdom and Abstract have struck again on "Potion." with an undeniable hook that's guaranteed to get stuck in your head. Most impressive, though, is that neither rapper overpowers the other. They strike a distinct balance, and you can still hear each of their distinct styles and flows throughout the entire song. It's a true testament to both their individual talent, and the way in which these two push each other ever higher.—Katie K.