What we’re listening to this week at The Shift
Published
As September nears, the last push to drop music in the summer season is now, and make no mistake, LOTS of new music has dropped for the August finale. This week, we have DJ Khaled’s long-awaited album and a new project by JID, as well as singles by Lil Tjay, Offset, Moneybagg Yo and NAV.
Need something to lift up the party or just something to channel your own vibes? Check out our official playlist on Spotify. Carefully curated by our team for everyone’s listening needs. Now, onto the music.
DJ Khaled - GOD DID
Keep going.
After months and months of anticipation and waiting, DJ Khaled returns with his 13th studio album, GOD DID.
The 18-track longplay boasts one of the most legendary lineups in recent memory, featuring collaborations by Drake, Lil Baby, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, John Legend, Fridayy, Future, SZA, Gunna, Roddy Ricch, 21 Savage, Kodak Black, City Girls, the late Juice WRLD and more. It also features a monster remix for Kanye West’s “Use This Gospel” that features production by Dr. Dre and Timbaland, complementing an all-worldly verse by Eminem.
And that’s all without mentioning a potential verse-of-the-year candidate by Jay-Z. Where most collaborators are lucky to see Hov spit for a minute or so these days, he goes for a whopping FOUR minutes of greatness on a particular track. You’ll have to listen to find out.
JID - The Forever Story
In what has been promoted as his vulnerable project to date, the Atlanta rapper continues to earn the respect of artists who paved the way for hip-hop with his latest, The Forever Story, the follow-up to 2018’s DiCaprio 2.
The album lives up to all the hype, featuring contributions from Lil Wayne, Yasiin Bey, Lil Durk, EarthGang, BADBADNOTGOOD, and Ravyn Lenae as well as production from longtime collaborator Christo. JID shows off his tight pace and energetic flow to a more diverse selection of beats that we’re used to hearing the Dreamville rapper spit to.
Lil Tjay - “Beat The Odds”
A couple of months ago, the 21-year-old rapper Lil Tjay was shot seven times in New Jersey and has been steadily recovering since. He recently took to Instagram to make his first public statement since the incident, thanking his fans and well-wishers, and now, he’s released his latest track with a fitting title.
“Beat The Odds” is a fluid and melodic track that sees Tjay reflecting on what it’s like to live through a shooting. He still indulges in the drill tradition of taunting his adversaries, albeit in a more contemplative way. The accompanying music video sees the Bronx artist writing and recording in a hospital bed and showing his bullet scars to the camera, before leaving the hospital in a wheelchair and getting up to walk.
Offset ft. Moneybagg Yo - “CODE”
Offset has been busy this past month, albeit without his Migos counterparts.
Clocking in at just a little over three minutes is his latest track, “CODE”, featuring Moneybagg Yo and produced by Money Musik, ARJI and Veyis. It sees the Atlanta rapper flaunting his talents over a hard-hitting beat in the follow-up to last week’s “5 4 3 2 1,” produced by Baby Keem. It’s also his second collaboration this month with Moneybagg Yo, who he recently teamed up with on Trippie Redd’s “Big 14.”
Offset’s been busy outside of the studio as well. More recently, as he continues to hint at the release of more solo music, he filed a lawsuit against Migos’ record label, Quality Control Music for not honouring a deal he made in regard to his solo career.
Quavo & Takeoff ft. Birdman - “Big Stunna”
Unc and Phew are back under an even newer group moniker — the Bando Babies. The duo appears to be unbothered by the ongoing issues between Offset and their label Quality Control as they move on, this time linking up with Cash Money executive Birdman for their “Big Stunna” single and visual.
NAV - “Wrong Decisions”
Nav continues to build the hype around his forthcoming body of work, Demons Protected by Angels, this time in the form of his latest self-produced track, “Wrong Decisions.”
The song brings forth a melancholic sound that feels like a sort of return to form for the Rexdale rapper. He lays down his doubts and anxieties in an auto-tuned and somber sounding hit that he’s apparently been working for in a while, at least according to his own words.
“I guess the journey started during quarantine and COVID,” NAV told Apple’s Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1. “I just took my time. This is probably one of the first songs I made during quarantine. I just took my time during quarantine… honing in on my production and skills and here it is.”
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