benny blanco + Omar Apollo: Care

“Care,” a single on producer benny blanco’s second album, Friends Keep Secrets 2, focuses on the vocal performance of Hobart, Indiana-born singer-songwriter and guitarist Omar Apollo. The track is sparse, yet pretty and emotional. Apollo deliver delicate verses, while the chorus crescendoes into an impassioned plea: “And you left me all fucked up / I probably pushed my luck / I couldn’t take no more …

Saba: Ziplock / Rich Don’t Stop

Chicago rapper Saba (aka Tahj Chandler) fuses two new singles for the medley “Ziplock / Rich Don’t Stop,” which debuts along with a music video. Saba adopted this double-sided style in 2020, when he regularly dropped two tracks that worked well together. “Ziplock” and “Rich Don’t Stop” are no exception. The tracks are united in an Ian Lipton-directed music video, wherein Saba performs on a …

Shelley: Cooking With Grease

Through the single “Cooking With Grease,” Shelley (fka DRAM) debuts a new name and a revamped sound. On lesser-known releases under his former moniker, Shelley (full name Shelley Massenburg-Smith) flexed his vocal prowess, but these performances were somewhat overshadowed by his rapping on hits like “Cha Cha,” “Broccoli” and “Cash Machine.” Now, with renewed direction and a refined sonic focus, Shelley focuses on serving up …