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Kanye West feat. XXXTentacion — “True Love”
After teasing the track in a variety of ways, Kanye West finally unveils the streaming premiere of “True Love,” a highly-anticipated collaboration with the late XXXTentacion.
“True love shouldn’t be this complicated / I thought I’d die in your arms,” Tentacion eerily sings on the somber cut, which was produced by Ye, John Cunningham, Oji Volta, and Mike Dean. Here, Yeezy seemingly vents about the hardships of co-parenting and the challenges of divorce.
“Wait, when you see the kids, I’ll see y’all tomorrow,” he raps. “When I pick them up, I feel like they’re borrowed / When I gotta return them, scan them like a barcode / No hard feelings, but these feelings hard, though.”
“True Love” was initially teased as a song off West’s DONDA 2 LP. Eventually, it was released through Ye’s stem player. Now, it’s out officially on streaming platforms and it can be heard below.
Eminem — The Eminem Show [Extended Edition]
Marshall Mathers celebrates two decades of The Eminem Show with the celebrated album’s 20th anniversary extended edition.
This high-selling and high-streaming LP is, of course, one of Slim Shady’s most lauded albums, featuring hit singles like “Cleanin’ Out My Closet” and “Without Me.” It also boasts the Nate Dogg-assisted “‘Till I Collapse.” The latter two cuts have been streamed one billion times apiece on Spotify alone, making the album a successful juggernaut in the Detroit emcee’s catalog.
Fans can also expect surprises on this 20th anniversary extended version. The extras include several cuts, including the storytelling song “Jimmy, Brian, and Mike” and mixtape cuts like “The Conspiracy Freestyle,” and “Bump Heads,” featuring G-Unit’s 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo.
Beyond this, the extended edition features live versions of fan favorites like “Brain Damage,” “The Way I Am,” and “The Real Slim Shady,” among others. It also comes bundled up with a series of instrumentals from this album, including “Sing for the Moment,” “Superman,” and “Business.”
Listen to the extended Eminem Show below.
Chance the Rapper — “A Bar About a Bar”
Chance the Rapper continues an experimental and art-driven theme with the release of his newest single, “A Bar About a Bar.”
The song begins with Chance’s longtime friend Vic Mensa announcing an assumed writing exercise has just taken place. “That’s 10 minutes,” Mensa explains, before delivering the prompt. “What you got?”
Over DexLvL’s production, Chance takes off from there. “I’ve got a bar about a bar. It’s not a joke. It’s just a bar,” he raps. ““There was a line inside the bar / The line was so long, it wrapped behind the bar / and exposed moonshine and wine inside a jar / It kept going to the alley and the trash behind the bar.”
He goes on, describing this line and this bar before stopping abruptly. “That’s what I’ve got so far,” he finally announces, ending the presumed exercise. The song’s music video seems to document this exchange.
Much like he did with “Child of God,” this single arrives with a corresponding art piece. This time, Chano collaborates with Nikko Washington, whose “A Bar About a Bar” piece is currently on display at the Art Institute of Chicago.
The visual, directed by Chance, featuring Mensa and Washington, is available to view below. The clip also teases “The Highs & The Lows” by Chance and Joey Bada$$ — a collaboration that will be accompanied by artwork from Yannis Davy Guibinga.
Calvin Harris feat. Young Thug & Dua Lipa — “Potion”
Calvin Harris gets wavy once again. The global powerhouse producer teams up with Young Thug and Dua Lipa for a genre-bending bop on “Potion,” a single off CH’s forthcoming album, Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2.
Dua kicks things off on this track. “Late night conversations, electric emotions / Sprinkled with a little bit of sex, and it’s a potion / Late night, body’s achin’, mental stimulation / Sprinkled with a little bit of sex appeal and it’s a moment.”
Young Thug follows with his own contributions. “I’ve been catching love off the backboard,” he sings. “Running for your love, that’s what this track for.” This collaboration follows “Heatstroke,” Thugger’s Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 collaboration with Ariana Grande, Pharrell Williams, and Harris.
Vol. 1 dropped back in 2017 with appearances by ScHoolboy Q, Migos, Future, Frank Ocean, Travis Scott, Snoop Dogg, Nicki Minaj, and more. Vol. 2 is expected “soon.” Listen to “Potion” below.
Logic feat. Like, Blu & Exile — “Orville”
Logic continues the journey towards his upcoming Vinyl Days LP with the release of another single. This time around, the Def Jam emcee drops “Orville” featuring Like and Blu & Exile.
Over longtime production partner 6ix’s instrumental, Logic delivers the first verse. “Family is the only thing that matters,” he raps on the track before barking at those he views as lesser spitters. “I never went to college, b / Made millions while you pissed like you majored in urology / Logically, I’m the top emcee / Ain’t no stoppin’ me / Even if you stand on my grave, you never toppin’ me.”
Following Like’s hook, Blu unleashes a multi-syllabic rhyme scheme filled second verse. “From irrelevant back to relevant in the matter of seconds / Shattered misconceptions misdirected and headed in my direction,” he raps. “Intelligent and I’m tellin’ it / Droppin’ heavy shit and still heaven sent / The freshest prince and most definite deadin’ it.”
Exile follows up with some of his signature scratches.
“Orville” follows “Therapy Music,” “Tetris,” “Decades,” and the title track from Vinyl Days. The album is scheduled to arrive June 17.