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This week’s playlist is an entire vibe. Lil’ Nas X pushed through, both literally and figuratively, with his long-awaited album, Montero. KAINA took us back to the early 2000s with “Casita” – a beautiful tribute to the Chicago-based singer’s childhood home. Ambar Lucid popped out with “Ambar Boss Nova,” a bilingual rendition of Billie Eilish’s “Billie Boss Nova.” Michael Brun joined forces with Ms. Nina, Fuego, and LASTMONDAY for “Ocho,” a clubbanger inspired by Haiti’s club scene. Plus, Ryan Wright unloads the pain of being ghosted on “U Were Never Mine” and Arden Jones tackles the happiness facade in “SMILE.”
Lil Nas X, “That’s What I Want”
Baby Montero was born September 17, 2021 at 12:00 am and of course, Lil’ Nas X pulled out all stops to ensure that the 15-track album made a grand entrance. The fully-loaded project is one that you’ll be able to listen to from beginning to end while hitting repeat on favorites such as “Scoop” featuring Doja Cat and “Dolla Sign Slime” featuring Megan Thee Stallion. And if that weren’t enough, Nas also dropped a visualizer for his the project’s latest single, “That’s What I Want,” a song for which he gets extra vulnerable while crooning about his desire for genuine, lasting love.
KAINA, “Casita”
In her first single since 2019, KAINA returned this week with “Casita,” a tribute to her modest childhood home. Despite the fact that the dwelling is what helped to shape KAINA into who she is today, she once felt as though it was “not enough.”
“Casita’ is about all the people I miss. I miss sharing space in my home, staying up way too late talking sh*t and laughing—I miss sharing my mother’s cooking with friends and family,” KAINA shared in a media statement, according to Pitchfork. “It is heavily inspired by early 2000s pop & R&B music and I tried to lean heavily into the dramatics of the song by channeling that feel.” Even more beautiful, KAINA’s mother, aunt, and a friend are singing background on the track.
Ambar Lucid, “Ambar Boss Nova”
In collaboration with Spotify and Mixto to commemorate Latin Heritage Month, Ambar Lucid dropped “Ambar Boss Nova,” a cover of Billie Eilish’s “Billie Boss Nova '' with a bilingual twist. For the release, which is part of the Spotify Singles series, the Mexican-Dominican recording artist seamlessly glides between English and Spanish to deliver smooth and soothing vocals that give listeners no choice but to play the highly-addictive song over and over again. “I love Billie’s music so adding my own lyrical twist to ‘Billie Bossa Nova’ was lots of fun,” revealed Ambar in a statement.
Michael Brun ft. Fuego, Ms. Nina, and LASTMONDAY, “Ocho”
Recording artist and DJ Michael Brun linked up with Fuego, Ms. Nina, and LASTMONDAY to deliver the lively party track, “Ocho,” which was inspired by the reggaeton sounds that dominated Haitian nightclubs back when Michael was first learning to DJ as a teenager. The drop is the second collaboration Michael has released with Ms. Nina and LASTMONDAY this month. At the start of September, the trio released the equally fun club banger, “Sammy Sosa.”
“‘Sammy Sosa’ and ‘Ocho’ are tracks made to dance to, to bring people together,” Michael said in a statement to Teen Vogue. “People need this, even in moments of darkness and tragedy. My activism in Haiti is always ongoing, but as an artist I also want to push Haitian culture forward at a global level, and this release does this through the universal language of club culture.”
“U Were Never Mine,” Ryan Wright
Hailing from Virginia, singer and songwriter Ryan Wright pours out her heart on “U Were Never Mine.” The track traces the journey of a person who comes to the painful realization that a romance is coming to an end just as quickly as it began. The synth-driven ballad resides at the opposing intersection of coming to terms with being ghosted while attempting to reconcile the very real emotions which developed during a relationship that now feels as though it never happened.
Arden Jones, “SMILE”
Arden Jones helped us to pause and reflect while questioning why as humans many of us feel the incessant need to perform happiness – even when we are not feeling our best – with his new single, “SMILE.” “In this day and age, we choose to only show the best parts of our lives without showing the emotions behind them,” Arden says of the track in a media statement. “‘SMILE’ is about the mask we put on to show the outside world that we have everything under control.”
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