STREAMED: SZA, the Weeknd & Travis Scott Team up for ‘Game of Thrones’ Track, Jaden Smith Drops ‘ERYS IS COMING’ EP, & More
SZA, The Weeknd, Travis Scott — “Power is Power”
As Game of Thrones dominates the television headlines once again, the HBO series rolls out its official soundtrack’s new single. Packed with star power, the appropriately titled “Power is Power” features SZA, The Weeknd, and Travis Scott.
Abel Tesfaye kicks this off with a poetic opener. “I was born of the ice and snow,” he sings. “With the winter wolves, in the dark, alone / The wildest night, I became the one / And you’ll know you’re mine when the silence calls.”
Meanwhile, SZA smoothly ponders life and death over the booming instrumental. “How do I ever know? Who can I trust?” she asks. “Feelings of emptiness / Only love could kill me, God bless.”
Finally, Travis Scott gets dangerous on this cut. “I wore a flag, put that on my face, ain’t nobody safe,” he rhymes. “Lift the mask, they gon’ have to see what they can’t erase…Danger’s on my mind.”
The Weeknd co-produced the track along with Ricky Reed, Jason “DaHeala” Quenneville. Season 8’s full soundtrack is due next week with features from A$AP Rocky, Joey Bada$$, Lil Peep, Ty Dolla $ign, Chloe x Halle, and more. Listen to “Power is Power” below.
French Montana feat. Blueface & Lil Tjay — “Slide”
French Montana takes a trip down memory lane with the release of his newest single, “Slide.” Featuring Blueface and Lil Tjay, the new school banger also pays tribute to classic West Coast anthems.
Produced by Montana, Mixx, and Ashton, “Slide” features an homage to Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s “Serial Killa,” “Still D.R.E.,” and “Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody’s Celebratin’).”
“Bow down to the Coke Boys,” Montana raps in an homage to “Dre Day.” “Fuck me? Fuck you, lil ho / Had respect for yo’ ass / Now it’s time for Montana to check yo’ ass, fool.” He also adds: “If you ain’t up on thangs / Coke Boys still the gang / Coke wave in my veins.”
“Slide” is believed to be a single off Montana’s forthcoming album, which is due “soon,” according to Rolling Stone. It will be his first official full-length LP since 2017’s Jungle Rules.
Jaden — ERYS IS COMING
Jaden’s back. Two years after dropping SYRE, self-proclaimed “Icon” Jaden Smith teases his forthcoming ERYS LP with a brand new three-song EP, ERYS IS COMING.
Over booming production from a series of contributors including Frank Dukes, OmArr, LAST NIGHT, and more, Jaden raps about his life and fame. “All they want is clicks on the net,” he rhymes on “Pass.” “That’s why they always coming for my head.”
He also speaks on the perception around his vision and more. “They don’t get me,” he complains on “Beautiful Disruption.” “They’re never gonna get me. They’re never gonna see the vision.” On “New Direction,” he adds: “Think it’s time to tell them who I am / Just so they can fuckin’ understand.” Listen to ERYS IS COMING below.
Kevin Abstract — Ghettobaby EP
One week after dropping three new cuts, Kevin Abstract re-ups with three more. Titled Ghettobaby, the new EP features production from Jack Antonoff and Romil Hemnani.
As usual, Kevin opens up about his personal life throughout this project. “I’ll stare at the skies until they start to fade away,” he raps on “Corpus Christi.” “Me and my cousin would play ball all day, trying to perfect that fadeaway / All our childhood dreams found a way to fade away.”
His reflective also pops up on “Baby Boy.” “Every mountain that I climb that seemed so tall / It only felt that way ’cause the valley was so small,” he raps on the track. “Excuse me while I cry.”
Abstract also finds time to focus on love with the closing cut, “Mississippi.” “Tell me all the ones you know that held you down since ’95,” he writes. “Do you wanna be my boyfriend, my Mississippi sunshine?”
The BROCKHAMPTON MC took to Twitter to explain that last week’s releases and this week’s new cuts are all part of a forthcoming album. “ARIZONA baby is an album btw I’m just slowly releasing it over time…I don’t like EPs,” he wrote. “And also like I hate how people listen to albums nowadays ppl see the song with the star or most streams and listen to that shit first I’m not talkin bout y’all I mean the majority so just wanted to try something different.”
Tech N9ne — N9NA
Tech N9ne keeps his prolific streak rolling. After dropping Planet last year, the independent Kansas City king unleashes a new album for his die-hard fanbase with N9NA.
Marking his twenty-first LP, Tech N9ne hopes to make this one even more personal than his last. “Where his previous album, Planet, was about everyone, this is more focused and introspective, honing in on what makes Tech N9ne who he is,” reads the album’s press release.
However, the rapid-fire wordsmith also says the LP will bring him back to his roots. “[On this album I am] rapping like I ain’t rich, like I ain’t sold, not a near record platinum or near gold,” he told Ambrosia for Heads. “On Planet, I was spitting. But this one is more personal.”
JL, King Iso, Maez301, Futuristic, C-Mob, Jelly Roll, and Church Boii are all featured on this outing. Frequent collaborator Krizz Kaliko also appears on a handful of tracks. Listen to N9NA below.
03 Greedo — Still Summer in the Projects
03 Greedo teams up with Mustard for his latest effort, Still Summer in the Projects. Mustard creates a soundscape for Greedo’s street-based introspection. This includes the Left Coast bounce on “10 Purple Summers” and the stripped-down guitar-centric beat for “Visions.” The 11-song project also features YG, Shoreline Mafia, and Trilliano.
Following his usual modus operandi, Greedo raps and sings about his trials and tribulations throughout this effort. “I’ve been praying on my knees since they shot me in the leg,” he sings on “Visions.” On the same somber song, he adds: “Lately I’ve been having these visions / Locked inside a cell with no windows.”
This has been a long time coming for Greedo and Mustard. “I knew Mustard since like 2009, and we always crossed paths, but we never worked,” he told Rolling Stone. “He blew up as I was in jail [on a previous occasion], but when I got out and I got my shit buzzing, he hit me up. I came to the studio to do one song and then we ended up doing 20 songs in 3 days.”
Greedo is currently serving a 20-year sentence for a series of charges, including drug trafficking and unlawful possession of firearms. Despite his legal situation, he reportedly plans on releasing a series of already-recorded projects in the future. Listen to Still Summer in the Projects below.
