2 Chainz, Rhye and February’s 5 Best Songs
Kendrick Lamar isn’t going away in 2018 and 2 Chainz scores twice.
Here are the 5 best tracks I heard in February:
1. Lamborghini Truck, 2 Chainz
Before you ask, yes a lamborghini truck is a real thing. I looked it up. 2 Chainz’s 4-song album release reads like a obnoxious party boy’s Saturday night, with tracks titled “Ok Bitch,” “Proud,” and “Land of the Freaks.” But the finale, “Lamborghini Truck,” is the most sentimental and unapologetic connection to his hometown roots, grown in Atlanta. (“Atlanta Shit” is included in “Lamborghini Truck’s” title.) Chainz slows it down considerably with a ballad feel, and for some, the song drones on too long at over five minutes. But there’s a beauty to 2 Chainz’s frivolity. He’s using a flamboyant symbol of absurdity — a tricked out automobile, in this case — to show affection to the town that raised and made him, even praising its strippers. #LamborghiniTruck
2. Blood Knows, Rhye
The soft, sleepy vocals produce a lullaby feel to a song about the physical trepidation that accompanies the boil of new love. Spoiler: The singer is a man(!) Mike Milosh’s androgynous voice purrs along over delicate infusions of a jazz guitar, steady but subtle percussion and light horns. A flash of brief urgency appears about two-thirds the way in via an anxious set of strings before returning quickly to its delightful melancholic mood.
3. X, Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, 2 Chainz & Saudi
Kendrick Lamar, who produced the blockbuster “Black Panther” album, sneakily left himself off the credits of this high-speed heater. But there’s no hiding his voice which delivers the song’s hook over a circuitous squeal right at the top. This song is all about the free-flowing rap experiment. Saudi is dropping lines in Zulu, his native language. Schoolboy Q co-opts a line from Kendrick’s smash-hit “Humble.” And then 2 Chainz takes it home, paying homage to his favorite Hibachi chain. “Are you ten yet?” With “Black Panther’s” success, Kendrick sure is.
4. Everybody’s Somebody, Don Diablo, Bullysongs
Dutch electronic maestro Don Diablo’s 16-song album, “Future,” includes a stream of tracks with characteristic but still alluring chord builds and intense synths. “Everybody’s Somebody” stands out as the motivational pep talk to provide a lift after a down day but also doubles as a pleasant club banger. It’s an “anthem for those who are searching for their identity . . . and being proud of your own personal achievements,” Diablo said.
5. Motherlove, Bea Miller
Nineteen-year-old Bea Miller exudes all the angst of a . . . 19-year-old. In “Motherlove,” she’s saddled with a boy who toys with her heart and only becomes available when its convenient for him and his libido. Except, unlike a typical 19-year-old, Bea isn’t falling for it and decides to call him on it. “Motherlove” is pop-rock empowerment; the next iteration of Avril Lavigne but with even more unnerving spunk. She earns bonus points for earning a block from The Chainsmokers on Twitter.
Listen to my full February playlist HERE.
