Yes, I am aware that it is only halfway through April. Yes, I am pretending it is summer. Whatever helps you sleep at night, right? As the sun heats up, soon-to-be similarly sizzling are your Spotify playlists after a week chock-full of new releases. As far as collaborative remixes go, this week has some impressive ones; most notably Ice Spice featuring Nicki Minaj as well as SZA featuring Doja Cat. Bedroom-pop artist dv4d has released his most stripped-back track yet, while hot on the scene Nashville-based band Venus & the Flytraps are feeling fueled by heavy-hitting anti-love songs. Whether you’re headed to Indio for Coachella or hosting your own music-sesh in your bedroom, this week’s releases are sure to keep you busy.

 

 

Ice Spice with Nicki Minaj, “Princess Diana”

Ice Spice just can’t stop getting better. Tapping the best female rapper in the game, her newest version of “Princess Diana” with Nicki Minaj is a collaboration of epic proportions from two of New York City’s finest. The release may just have the best lyric of the week, if not month, with Minaj dishing out, “Bitches is ass if we keepin it crack.” Genius! The release of the single is accompanied by a music video that features Spice and Minaj dazzling in a pinked-out slumber party. If anyone has any leads on how to get invited to such a slumber party, please let me know. 

 

SZA feat. Doja Cat, “Kill Bill (Remix)”

SZA’s smash-hit single “Kill Bill” has gotten the Doja Cat treatment. Opening the song with lyrics like, “So I tried to be discreet and told her, ‘Calm your tits’ / She grabbed the kitchen knife, so I pulled out the blick / Ain’t got it all the time, thank God I did for this,” Doja Cat thickens the plot of killing her ex. SZA and Doja Cat are clearly a match made in heaven, as evidenced by their Grammy win for their 2021 song of the summer, “Kiss Me More,” and if you needed any more proof of their compatibility as musicians, look no further.

 

Venus & the Flytraps, “Scaredy Pants”

Up and coming Nashville-based band Venus & the Flytraps are hitting the scene hard with a slew of anti-love songs. Ahead of their debut EP, Venus in Love, “Scaredy Pants” acts as the band’s third single, with the group sharing, “I hope that you all are able to freak out to this song and that your pants don’t get too scared,” on their Instagram. “May it give you the emotional catharsis it gave us to make it.” The angst-propelled track features clever lyrics like “Do you feel any taller? / ‘Cause I think that I might / Got so tall I can see it all now / and you’ve got nowhere to hide.” 

 

Post Malone, “Chemical”

As the first release off of Post Malone’s upcoming fifth album, “Chemical” is a track that shows off the musician at his best. Malone is no stranger to a hard hitting lyric, best exemplified in “Chemical” with, “Now I’m sittin’ ’round, waitin’ for the world to end all day / ‘Cause I couldn’t leave you if I tried.” As Malone chronicles the end of a tumultuous relationship, the melancholy lyricism of the track is uplifted by an upbeat guitar-based production; perfect for in-car scream-singing.

 

Shenseea, “Curious”

Dancehall favorite Shenseea is back with a banger in the release of her newest single, “Curious.” With her smooth as butter vocals and infectiously catchy dance beat, the single comes a day before the Jamaican musician makes her highly anticipated Coachella debut. The track is Shenseea’s first of the year, yet sets the groundwork for the artist to evolve her sound to include more pop-influences as the year progresses. 

Pi’erre Bourne, “Grails”

Ahead of his Coachella debut this weekend, Bourne teases fans with a new release. The project beautifully blends the musician’s current aesthetic and sound with some of his older projects and themes. With this EP, Bourne re-recorded a few older works (“Honeyberry 2”) while writing a whole slew of new songs (“Love Reeks”). And this new project marks just the start–In June, he’ll hit the road as part of Don Toliver’s Love Sick tour.

d4vd, “Sleep Well”

In his most stripped back song yet, d4vd has released “Sleep Well” as a yearning-filled track that is tinged with the all too familiar sentiments of teenage heartache. The 18 year old indie-pop musician uses “Sleep Well” as grounds to show off his delicate and charming falsetto as he sings, “And the way you make me feel / Has the power to make the whole world stand still / Who’s to say that our love ain’t real?” The release comes ahead of d4vd’s debut EP, Petals to Thorns, set to release on May 26, before the young artist embarks on a European and U.S. summer tour. 

 

Diplo feat. Sturgill Simpson, Dove Cameron and Johnny Blue Skies, “Use Me (Brutal Hearts)”

What do you do once you’ve established yourself as one of the world’s most revered DJs? You make country music! In a continuation of his act as country star “Thomas Wesley,” Diplo has released “Use Me (Brutal Hearts),” featuring Sturgill Simpson, Dove Cameron and Johnny Blue Skies. As a follow up to his 2020 country album, Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley: Chapter 1 – Snake Oil, the musician is returning to the persona for a new body of work. “To prepare for this new Thomas Wesley project, I went back to my father’s house in Florida and I spent six months learnin guitar, gettin in touch with nature, working his boat when the shrimp were running on full moons at the trailer park,” shares Diplo on the release. “I tried on a lot of cowboy hats. I rode a lot of motorcycles and horses basically reflected on my whole life and career and connection with this music…there was a lot. It all started in the swamps I was raised in. This is the greatest single piece of work I’ve ever done, I can promise you that.”

 

Sugarhill Ddot, “Let Ha Go”

At just fifteen years old, Sugarhill Ddot has been nothing if not persistent in his creative pursuits. Hailing from Sugarhill Harlem, Ddot has already made quite the name for himself, from opening a Lil Durk arena show to recently signing with Priority Records. Today, the young drill rapper released “Let Ha Go,” where he talks about an old flame through impressive lyrical storytelling.

 

IVE, “I Am”

“I Am” is an infectious confidence anthem that is featured on k-pop group IVE’s most recent album I’ve IVE, which was released this week. The track is destined to be an instant k-pop classic, featuring sparkling pop production while the girls assert to any naysayers to “look at me now.” I’ve IVE is the debut album from IVE, and acts as a one-way ticket sure to send the group far into the galaxy of k-pop stardom.