Fall is finally upon us, but if cardigans and crunchy leaves aren’t your thing, DijahSB wants you to remember ‘SummerTime’ sunshine. That’s the premise of the rapper’s new single. “I wanted this song to embody the feeling of summer,” the artist — born Kahdijah Payne after Queen Latifah’s Living Single character, of course — said in a statement. “We are about to get hit with some cold weather out here in Toronto, but I want this song to remind people of the good times and weather that the summer and sunshine bring. With the lyrics and smooth, soothing production, I hope you catch that vibe.” Hot off a busy and successful 2021, it makes sense that DijahSB would come back with ‘SummerTime.’ The breezy single offers a chill beat as the rapper boasts, “Room full of mirrors/ Still see no flaws.” It’s the type of self-assurance you’d want blasting in your earphones as you walk home after a long day, just as the single’s artwork beckons. [via Consequence]
British-Ghanaian rapper ShaSimone trades in an exuberant form of confidence. Just this year she has mixed party-starting afrobeats and classic hip-hop on her Simma Down EP as well as turning the BPM way up and jumping on jungle producer Clipz’s ‘No Time’ alongside Beenie Man. Across genres she always appears unflappable, always ready to get her bars off and keep building her name higher and higher. Her ‘Top 5’ video, then, resembles something of a victory lap. The opening track on Simma Down comes with that trademark ShaSimone energy as she declares, “I’m top five dead or alive” and tops it off by stating, “They’re gonna miss me when I’m gone, the heavens will cry.” Behind-the-scenes footage of ShaSimone performing at Glastonbury and an appearance at Rolling Loud set the scene for a video, that also includes the moment she joined Dave on stage at a huge London show, performing their We’re All Alone in This Together track ‘Both Sides of a Smile’ together. “The video for ‘Top 5’ reflects my achievements and my music journey this year, along with meeting some amazing people – it’s like a music diary for me,” ShaSimone tells The FADER. “There’s been so many ups and downs, but every moment has been steps taken for me to be in the position that I’m in today” [via The FADER]
This past August, a 22-year-old Bronx artist named Ice Spice came out with ‘Munch (Feelin’ U),’ a fizzy and divisive two-minute drill anthem in which she clowns some guy for being good for nothing except giving head. That song got on a whole lot of people’s nerves, but it was a hit. Ice Spice made fans out of stars like Drake and Cardi B, and the word “munch” entered the lexicon. Now, Ice Spice has come out with her follow-up. Like ‘Munch,’ ‘Bikini Bottom’ is a two-minute drill track with a catchy hook and a whole lot of presence. Ice Spice raps in quick, darting little bursts, and even if she doesn’t perfectly enunciate every word, she still radiates charisma. [via Stereogum]
