“Little More Love” – AJ Tracey
★★★★☆
AJ Tracey has been taking his unique sound from West London to the world since his 2019 self-titled album. Even with the global success of his synth-heavy harmonies on tracks like “Ladbroke Grove,” which was released on the album, and his 2016 single “Thiago Silva,” Tracey proves that his sound has developed. His slightly jazz-inspired single “Little More Love,” released on Thursday, is a departure from the sound of his past hits. Complementary to his lyrical agility, the melody of this song flows smoothly, and he opts to trade the synthy beats that are traditionally found on his songs for the saxophone solo that closes out his latest single. On “Little More Love,” the final single released before the debut of his latest album Flu Game, which was released on Friday, Tracey gets sentimental about his personal career growth.
Clarifying the significance of his name, Tracey raps, “My name’s Ché, the revolution leader from west / So I leveled up and got Guevara inked on my chest.”
Tracey also shows a little more love to American rapper DMX, who died on April 9, in the accompanying music video for “Little More Love,” which is reminiscent of a scene from the 1998 film Belly that starred DMX and fellow American rapper Nas.
“what it cost” – Toosii
★★★★☆
Reflective and emotionally raw, Toosii bares his heart on his latest single, “what it cost,” which was released on Friday. The artist blends his song-rap style on this single and delivers honest and vulnerable lyrics targeted at anyone who dares to challenge him. He recognizes the worth of his time and journey on the single when he sings, “I came from rags to riches, I ain’t tryna go back to the rags.”
“Midnight Boom” – Ir-Sais feat. ChocQuibTown and Afro B
★★★★☆
Ir-Sais, a Netherlands-raised pop artist, collaborates with London’s Afro B and Colombia’s ChocQuibTown to revive his 3-year-old hit single, “Midnight Boom,” released on Friday. Although all three artists come from various musical genres—from pop to afrobeat to hip-hop—the collaboration across could not be any more lucid.
Photo Courtesy of Warner Records
