Hello and welcome! Remember how we said last week was too hot to handle? Well, this week….puts it into a lot more perspective. Need some cooling off music? We’ve got your back! Welcome to V’s new music round-up, where we tune you into some of the week’s biggest and best releases, whether they be singles or albums.

Here are this week’s top picks:

Planet Her (deluxe) by Doja Cat

Welcome to the extended universe of Doja Cat’s Planet Her, featuring five additional tracks, including an extended version of her collab with the Weeknd. While a majority of the tracks make sense as ones that didn’t make it onto the final cut, it’s astounding to think that utter bops like “Tonight,” a Latin-infused repartee with Eve, and the R&B-pop jam “Ride” didn’t find a place on the main record. A good listen, if for those two alone.

“Renegade” by Big Red Machine ft. Taylor Swift

This collaboration with indie Swift co-conspirators Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon’s band is the kind of direction you’d expect her to take. It’s exactly the kind of song you’d find on evermore (it’s too upbeat for folklore), and it’s just as impeccably written and produced with the same nuances of string and heart. Maybe when we see the evermore re-release, we can see this track included? Just a thought.

“Wasting Time” by Brent Faiyaz ft. Drake

Produced by The Neptunes, “Wasting Time” is a kind of homage to the 90s that we can be really down with. Faiyaz brings in the warbly vocal runs from the Boyz II Men-era R&B jams that make the track a smooth ride, and Drake comes in with the harder 90s rap bars to balance it all out. It’s a nostalgia trip that feels like it could only happen in 2021.

“ME PASE” by Enrique Iglesias ft. Farruko

How long has it been since we’ve had new music from everyone’s favorite Latin lover-archetype, Enrique? Too long is the answer (2019, to be exact). “ME PASE” is perfectly the fun and effortlessly nonchalant sort of track that fits the season and makes it feel like Enrique was never gone. And given his upcoming tour with Ricky Martin, there’s a lot more to be excited about.

“Life is Like a Dice Game” by Nas, Cordae, and Freddie Gibbs

For hip-hop history heads, this might be a milestone track, Nas finally finishing the song he promised to from his 1993 Illmatic sessions. Adding on a verse from Cordae and Freddie Gibbs, plus a verse from the rapper himself, the track is the kind of throwback that fans can find comfort in, reminiscent of the album and the music that made Nas such a legendary artist.

“Wrecked” by Imagine Dragons

“Wrecked” is probably one of the most emotionally vulnerable songs the group has ever produced, and they’ve dipped into some heavy stuff before. A track about loss and heartbreak, inspired by Dan Reynolds’ sister-in-law’s passing, there is heavy cry-rock energy in this song that just has you feel the anguish pulsing through. It makes great use of the softer moments, only letting the harder bits come in sparsely, making it more effective.

“In Da Getto” by J Balvin ft. Skrillex

“In Da Getto,” built around an interpolation of the 90s club hit, “In De Ghetto,” is way more silly club-pop than you’d think either J Balvin or Skrillex would be into. But by no means is that a bad thing, it’s the kind of fun track that you can just dance to without actually doing any specific steps and lose yourself in for a brief two-minute run.

“Like a Virgin” by YUNGBLUD

Who saw this coming? Only Spotify Singles could achieve something like this, having English rocker YUNGBLUD completely drive the bass up on one of Madonna’s biggest classics. That was a seemingly innocent person in the 80s showing she was more than what met the eye, this is someone from 2021 who’s listing off an escapade that struck as particularly aggressive and interesting. It’s…it’s really a hell of a ride, over anything else.

“Vaccine” by Logic

Ever since Logic announced his retirement, he’s been releasing a lot of music in quick succession. Since announcing his return with “Intro” just a few weeks ago, he’s already released a compilation of some of his Young Sinatra tracks. Now he comes back in full-throttle, teasing more of what’s to come, showing off like he’s been here all along, although it doesn’t feel much out of place.

“Celebrate” by Isaac Dunbar

It’s hard to listen to Isaac Dunbar, with the maturity of a person who’s seen all the heartbreak and the voice of a MAN, and remember that he’s only 18 years old. Dunbar encourages listeners to let go of the negativity and celebrate the pain instead, using it to boost yourself up. There’s incredible polish with each syllable and synth-drum machine combo on the song, it’s only a matter of time till Dunbar is performing this on world stages.