Mai ft. Lazii: “Đố A Bít”
The title seems to be a translingual pun on “Đố anh biết”, which Google says means “guess what?” Options include bún bò, bún riêu, pizza, bún chả, cháo lòng—oh let’s go with that, looks like the nearest Vietnamese offal congee joint to me is in… Houston. Well, if food isn’t as universal a language as is sometimes claimed, funk-lite is.
Drake & Central Cee: “On the Radar Freestyle”
Now that Drake’s permanently full of shit (“6’2” in the right shoe”, didn’t know platforms were back Aubrey), he’s funnest when he gives the impression that he’s just tossing off a rap, though he or his ghost did their research for this like they were cramming for the London taxi drivers’ test. Central Cee continues to be a British rapper.
Tamara Stewart: “The Orphan”
Childlessness, whether by one’s own choice, someone else’s, or biology’s, allows freedom, but is freedom something you can have too much of? If your answer is sometimes yes, as is Stewart’s, it doesn’t necessarily mean you should sprint to the IVF clinic. “The world don’t know what to do with a woman who’s just a woman”, but what to do with yourself is an existential question you can work on.
Pabllo Vittar, MC Carol, Jup do Bairro: “Desacontrolada” (Cyberkills remix)
Vittar cedes most of the song to trans activist Jup and Communist electoral candidate Carol, who together construct some of the most fluid-drenched (and not always the fluids one might prefer) group sex in recent memory. Out of control indeed.
Bia: “Millions”
The pride of Medford, MA continues to be the best ersatz Cardi around. The verses are okay but the most fetching attraction is the way she purrs the title word, which is just as well given how many times she says it. Next: a collaboration with the Count.
Bas Jan: “At the Counter”
Acquaintances of Pulp incorporate an incisive violin part, an unnecessary trumpet part, and a neat melodic shift into an anti-chorus, while the lead singer asserts “I’m living my best life” as convincingly as Jarvis would.
HiTech ft. JMT: “Shrimp & Grits”
Oh cool, ghettotech’s back. The kick is deep, the trebly percussion elements scamper, the synth is well-bent, no one feels a need to drag this out to the two-minute mark.
King Promise ft. Young Jonn: “Terminator”
One of the year’s big Ghanian hits. I don’t understand Pidgin well enough to know why he’s like the Terminator: he’ll be back, maybe? But the donk is universal, the little drum roll into it culturally specific, and King Promise’s voice can slink down long, rhythmically complex lines like it’s made of liquid metal.
Maisie Peters: “Body Better”
Peters’s pinched voice makes her seem more like one of the girls than comparable post-teenpopers—like she stumbled into (deserved) minor celebrity rather than being destined for stardom from birth. It means she can be very direct about expressing her insecurities and her audience’s without anyone getting too embarrassed about it. To be more than cult in America, however, she might need a touch of cringe, or at least a less used-sounding boom-synth.
Karol G: “Mi Ex Tenía Razon”
She puts on a transparent cowboy hat and a Selena T-shirt and bops along to a featherlight Tejano groove, conceding her ex’s contention that she wouldn’t find another man like him—because, in fact, she found someone better. Don’t know who her old guy was to be throwing out trivially falsifiable statements; an op-ed columnist, probably.
Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion: “Bongos” (live at the VMAs)
A semi-flop (debuted at #14 then sank), and semi-rightly so: Megan’s opening “This ass sit like the stallion” is very weak (though she does get better), while Cardi hardly constructs her verses at all, though she does chorus-like things better than the ersatz Cardis. Still, even if it’s a mid single, a heck of an event.
I shared the Mai video with a Vietnamese friend who suggested I share this regional jingle with you: https://youtu.be/Hfm_I-Tf1mo?si=HF6SgRLOWfBS78bb
I prefer the Mai song, but this one is rather catchy.