Nana Adjoa: No Room

Dutch-Ghanaian singer-songwriter Nana Adjoa’s new song “No Room” (from her upcoming debut LP, Big Dreaming Ants) feels at once mellow and spirited. Adjoa builds the energetic, dreamy tune upon delicate guitar, gentle handclaps, percussive back-up vocals and her lovely voice. Along with the sublime song, the video directed by Robbert Doelwijt Jr features several visual references to Ghanaian culture—from fabrics to fans and games. Big Dreaming Ants …

Lute: Life

Dreamville Records rapper Lute’s “Life” is the second single from his forthcoming album, which is set to release later this year. The song addresses Black Lives Matter protests, scenes from his hometown of Charlotte (where a mass shooting killed three and injured dozens) and the death of his cousin, who was shot the month prior. There’s little superfluity on “Life” and Lute (aka Luther Nicholson) …

Listen Up

Ballads, bops, break-up songs and an '80s anthem in our round-up of music this week

Orville Peck: Smalltown Boy (Bronski Beat Cover) Since its 1984 release, Bronski Beat’s seminal “Smalltown Boy” has remained an expression of hope and liberation from isolation and homophobia—and now masked cowboy Orville Peck has recorded a cover of the electro-pop anthem. Replacing the synth riff with a twangy one, and Jimmy Somerville’s soaring falsetto with his own booming, classically trained vocals, Peck transforms the classic …