The Weeknd has been keeping his fans very happy during quarantine. After releasing a deluxe edition of his new album After Hours on March 23, the singer has surprised fans by expanding the track listing with three new bonus tracks, “Nothing Compares,” “Missed you,” and “Final Lullaby.”
Abel had recently deepened the LP, by adding on five tracks to the album. The album’s new additions included The Weeknd’s live Saturday Night Live performance of “Scared To Live,” as well as four remixes from Chromatics, Oneohtrix Point Never, Vapor Wave, and The Blaze. The deluxe album version also includes a new slasher-styled music video for “In Your Eyes.”
“Nothing Compares” which is produced by Abel, Ricky Reed and DaHeela, gives fans a taste of a roaring electric guitar line paired with 80s styled electro synths and percussion. The track finds Abel coming to terms with feelings that he has for his lover. We’re presented with classic The Weeknd vibes on “Missed You,” where he reflects on feelings he still has for a past lover over a trap-clad R&B beat. It all comes full circle on the soothing “Full Lullaby” where Abel sings to his past lover in an attempt to put both of them to sleep.
Listen to the bonus tracks and the deluxe version down below:
Stephen Bruner, better known as Thundercat, put his bass and songwriting skills on full display on his new album It Is What It Is. This is the follow up to his 2017 album Drunk.
The LP spans 15 tracks and is produced by frequent collaborator Flying Lotus. The album includes features from Steve Lacy, Steve Arrington, Ty Dolla Sign, Lil B, Childish Gambino, Kamasi Washington, BADBADNOTGOOD, Louis Cole, Flying Lotus,and comedian Zach Fox. Although it’s loaded with guest Thundercat remains the star of the show.
It Is What It Is is light and uplifting, and pushes back at a passing darkness. The record also features a tribute to the late rapper, whom Thundercat said he never “missed the chance to tell the guy I loved him.”
“This album is about love, loss, life, and the ups and downs that come with that,” he said of the record. “It’s a bit tongue-in-cheek, but at different points in life you come across places that you don’t necessarily understand… some things just aren’t meant to be understood.”
Prior to the release of the record, Thundercat dropped the music video for “Draganball Durag,” which includes cameos from HAIM, Kali Uchis, and Quinta Brunson.
Acclaimed 1970s soul singer, Bill Withers died on Monday in Los Angeles at the age of 81. His death was announced in a statement by his family, which said he died of “heart complications.”
Withers is known for his smooth baritone vocals and soulful arrangements. He was already in his 30s when he released his first album, Just as I Am, in 1971. The album included the hit “Ain’t No Sunshine” which reached the Billboard Top 10.
His hit “Lean on Me,” an anthem of friendship and support, hit No.1 in 1972. Withers is also known for hits like “Use Me” (1972), “Lovely Day” (1977), and “Just the Two of Us” (1981). After his 1985 album Watching You Watching Me, Withers stopped recording and performing due to frustration with the music business.
“He spoke honestly to people and connected them to each other,” the statement by his family read. “In this difficult time, we pray his music offers comfort and entertainment as fans hold tight to loved ones.”
Frank Ocean unexpectedly shared the previously vinyl-exclusive singles “Dear April” and “Cayendo” on all digital platforms, and has us deep in our feels.
Frank premiered both “Dear April” and “Cayendo” back in October during his PrEp +club party in New York City. Last week, after a lengthy wait, the singles were made available as double A side vinyls via his website, along with remixes of the tracks by Justice and Sango.
Frank croons in Spanish on the heart-wrenching “Cayendo,” while on “Dear April” the singer, who is backed by an organ instrumental, explains to his lover how their relationship will never be the same.
Frank released several singles last year including “In my Room,” which he dropped in November, and “DHL.” It’s not yet clear whether the singles will appear on his much-anticipated third album.
In an interview with Rolling Stone last year, Frank said that his upcoming album was being influenced by “Detroit, Chicago, techno, house and French electronic” and that it would be a “full motion picture fantasy.”
During his “183rd day of quarantine” Bad Bunny made the announcement on Instagram that he would be dropping the visual for his song “Yo Perro Sola” on Friday (March 27). The Puerto Rican artist dressed in complete drag in an effort to defend women’s rights.
The song which translates to “I twerk alone” is about a women who likes to dance reggaeton alone and doesn’t need anyone’s company at the club. The song features vocals from up-and-coming singer Nesi. “I wrote this from the perspective of a woman,” Bad Bunny explained in an interview with Rolling Stone. “I wanted a woman’s voice to sing it–‘Yo Perreo Sola’– because it doesn’t mean the same thing when a man sings it. But I do feel like that woman sometimes.
Directed by Stillz and Bad Bunny himself, the colorful music video starts off with him dressed in a red latex skirt and knee-high boots, as he brushes off a group of men trying to dance with him. Other women dance freely on their own as he sports a kilt and chains, “Te llama si te necista/Pero por ahora está solita/ Ella Perreo Sola (She’ll call you if she needs you/ But for now she is alone/ She twerks alone).”
The final frame reads a necessary public service announcement on sexual harassment: “If she doesn’t want to dance with you, respect her, she twerks alone.”
