Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.
This week saw Roddy Ricch bless the mostly barren December album release calendar with a new LP and The Weeknd pop up on a couple of big collaborations. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.
For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters.
Roddy Ricch — “25 Million”
Roddy Ricch’s album arrived in December 2019, after the hype surrounding year-end lists died down, and he gave his new album, Live Life Fast, the same release schedule. The LP features highlights like “25 Million,” a braggadocios number that comes with a fun video, which sees the rapper living life as a high-power businessman in an office that has plenty of hip-hop culture still firmly in place.
FKA Twigs — “Tears In The Club” Feat. The Weeknd
It feels like we’re always getting something new from The Weeknd, and sure enough, he popped up last week to guest on a new FKA Twigs tune, “Tears In The Club.” While FKA Twigs can often skew experimental, her latest is a relatively straightforward neo-R&B smooth burner, the kind of environment in which The Weeknd’s talents can be well-utilized, as they are here.
Aaliyah — “Poison” Feat. The Weeknd
It was a big week for The Weeknd guest spots, as the FKA Twigs collab isn’t his only one from recent days. Aaliyah’s estate dropped a new posthumous album from the late singer and The Weeknd features on “Poison,” a smooth collaboration that brings two of their respective generation’s biggest R&B stars together on a tune that sounds both classic and fresh.
Flatbush Zombies and RZA — “Quentin Tarantino”
Flatbush Zombies and RZA linked up on a new collab called “Plug Addicts” earlier this month, and last week, they doubled down with yet another joint effort, “Quentin Tarantino.” RZA shared some high praise of the group, too, saying, “I’ve had my eyes on the Flatbush Zombies for some time now. Their style of dark hip-hop lyricism is reminiscent of my days in the Gravediggaz.”
Big Thief — “No Reason”
Big Thief is bringing to 2022 a new album that is long in both title and content: Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You is set to be a 20-track double LP. That means they have a lot of material to share and they unveiled a couple tracks last week, including the warm and serene “No Reason.”
6lack — “Rent Free”
6lack has stayed relatively under the radar since his 2018 debut album East Atlanta Love Letter, but he popped up last week with a pair of new tracks, “Rent Free” and “By Any Means.” Uproxx’s Wongo Okon notes both cuts “are right in the pocket of what we expect from 6lack and why he’s become such a beloved artist” and that “Rent Free” sees the artist admitting “to his pride getting in the way of love.”
Rvssian and Future — “M&M” Feat. Lil Baby
Rvssian earned himself some love among Atlantans last week with “M&M,” which features two of the city’s finest hip-hop exports, Future and Lil Baby. Atop a synthy backdrop, the rappers flex about just how capable they are when it comes to earning money and doing so at an impressive clip.
Tierra Whack — “Heaven”
Tierra Whack is working her way across the musical spectrum, as her EP from last week, R&B?, follows Pop? and Rap?. A standout from the latest dispatch is “Heaven,” a downtempo tune in line, understandably, with the EP’s titular genre. The lyrics are sobering and heartwrenching, as Whack sings, “Heaven has all of my favorite people, I wanna go there.”
Cat Power — “I’ll Be Seeing You”
While Cat Power has an esteemed library of original compositions, she’s also one of our finest cover artists, as she has shown over the years. She’s putting that on display again with her new album, the appropriately titled Covers. She shared a slice of the LP last week with her cover of Billie Holiday’s “I’ll Be Seeing You,” a tender take on the song that’s comforting enough to put you to sleep (in a good way, I must stress).
Jhené Aiko — “Wrap Me Up”
Now is the time of year that Christmas songs are just about at the apex of their complete takeover of the music landscape, making Aiko’s latest single, “Wrap Me Up,” a fitting new release. While it’s not strictly a holiday tune, it certainly shares aesthetic elements and gift-giving themes when them. In fact, if you slid it into a holiday music playlist, nobody would raise their voice, except maybe to comment on how warm and pleasant the tune is.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
