I love a video that looks like it was made with care. Everything about the “Dip” video is dope. The all white background, the catsuit mannequins, the violins playing themselves, everything. The song is also dope. Check it out below.
In the video for “Dose,” Ciara does what she does best: Dancing her ass off. The video shows Ciara and her squad rocking leotards and dancing on a high school basketball court. Keisha Lance Bottoms, the mayor of Atlanta, makes a cameo. Watch the video below.
I’m many days late, but Kyle dropped a video for “Moment” (featuring Wiz Khalifa). The song is on the soundtrack for Kyle’s Netflix movie, The After Party. Peep the clip below.
Takeoff — who was most definitely not left off “Bad and Boujee” — just released “The Last Memory,” his first single as a solo artist. Parts of the song have that heavy bassline you hear on every Migos track, but overall, I can tell he made an attempt to do something different, and I appreciate that.
I’m not sure what the video about, but Takeoff is seen in a castle with British-style soldiers, model-types in fencer gear, and cats on leashes. Peep the clip below.
His solo debut album, The Last Rocket, drops in a week.
Two weeks after the audio dropped, we now have a video for Little Mix’s “Woman Like Me,” which features Nicki Minaj. The video shows the quartet as students at a charm school (or finishing school, as the Brits would say). Nicki appears as a queen-like painting that comes to life. Watch the video below.
Major Lazer just dropped the video for “Blow That Smoke,” which is quite the chune. Like much of the group’s work over the last three years, the song has strong Afropop influences. Tove Lo provides the vocals, and the in the video, she plays a motel maid who wanders into an imaginary jungle day party while on the job. It’s lit.
Another week, another exception made. Ciara is just a year shy of the 15-year threshold that I’ve applied to my Throwback Thursday posts, but today is her birthday, so who cares? The R&B singer turns 33 today.
Her debut single, “Goodies” (featuring Petey Pablo), spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is among the most successful debut singles of all time. Her debut album would produce two more singles that peaked at No. 2, and over the next half-decade, she achieved four more top 20 hits. She isn’t the commercial powerhouse she once was, but she’s still cooking and she looks better than ever. Happy birthday, Ciara!
PS: Peep Jeezy in the whip with Jazze Pha.
Normani and Calvin Harris released a collaborative EP, titled Normani X Calvin Harris, earlier this week. The project includes two trakcs: “Checklist” (fearuring WizKid) and “Slow Down.”
“Checklist” is a new musical frontier for Calvin Harris, who has given us mainly EDM and, more recently, funk. The song showcases his range as a producer and also serves as further evidence that Afropop — more specifically, Nigerian pop — is gaining prominence in the American music market. WizKid provides an assist to Normani on the vocals. Listen to the song below.
The second of the collaborations, “Slow Down,” is the much better song. Production-wise, Calvin Harris balances EDM and R&B beautifully; in terms of vocals, Normani’s performance is significantly better (perhaps because the song is closer to her style). Check it out below.
WizKid just dropped the video for “Fever” and it features fellow Nigerian superstar Tiwa Savage playing leading lady. The internet is speculating that something is going on between the two, but I think Tiwa is just a good actress. And not that it ever prevented two people from dating, but she’s a clean 10 years older and looks like it — and that has more to do with WizKid’s boyish looks. Check the video out below.
Drizzy Drake a.k.a. 6 God a.k.a. Champagne Papi turns 32 today. He has had a record-breaking year and I’m sure this birthday will be a special one for him. I honestly believe that when it is all said and done, he will be remembered as one of the greatest artists of all time.
It was tough to pick just one, but below is my favorite Drake song, “Look What You’ve Done,” which is an album cut from Take Care. Happy birthday, King Aubrey!