“This Week’s Rotation” is a list of notable albums that makes our monthly subscriptions to streaming services worth it. This week’s picks include several deluxe editions of recent projects as well as original bodies of work.
Mac Miller – Circles (Deluxe)
Mac Miller’s final album “Circles” was released as a deluxe edition last week with two new songs “Right” and “Floating.” Although the project was originally released earlier this year, the two new songs make the posthumous release feel more complete. Now is as a great time as any to revisit the final project from Mac Miller.
Songs to listen to: Blue World, I Can See, Right
J Balvin – Colores
J Balvin’s sixth studio album “Colores” does justice to its title as each song is named after a color. J Balvin gets to exercise his creativity by matching each color with a feeling. The production on “Colores” is nothing short of vibrant. It features an R&B-esque record “Rojo” where Balvin croons over the track as well as a dance-floor record “Arcoíris” with Mr. Eazi, the only noted feature on the project. Although the album is just shy of 30 mins, the 10-track project feels full, so 30 mins are all you’ll need.
Songs to listen to: Amarillo, Rojo, Arcoiris
The Weeknd – After Hours
It’s almost been four years since we got a full body of work from the Toronto-born pop star. Late last year The Weeknd blew us away with singles “Heartless” produced by Metro Boomin and “Blinding Lights,” a Max Martin-produced cut. The Weeknd is still singing about sex and drugs — but that’s why we love him. He allows us to live in a hedonistic dreamlike state with a crazy soundtrack. “After Hours” is probably his most voluminous project to date, he fills his dreamlike state with synth-pop, UK garage, drum n bass production and regretful lyrics.
Songs to listen to: Scared To Live, Snowchild, Faith
Childish Gambino – 3.15.20
Last weekend, a new Childish Gambino project surfaced as a single stream on a website titled after himself — donaldgloverpresents.com. Although the stream got taken down later that day, social media was buzzing about the new body of work from the elusive artist. Gambino takes a hyper-minimalistic approach to the artwork, a blank white cover and song titles that appear as timestamps throughout the project. However, the music is anything but. “3.15.20” is his most ambitious effort to date, it seems as though Gambino introduces each track with a little bit of chaos, in the form of scattered production or trippy vocal effects.
Songs to listen to: Time, 12.38, 24.19
Sada Baby – Skuba Sada 2
Sada Baby is entertaining as ever with his latest effort “Skuba Sada 2 (Deluxe).” The Detroit rapper is relentless, dishing out bar after bar often without a hook. Almost every song on “Skuba Sada 2 (Deluxe)” contains an anxiety-driven piano that makes you feel like you’re in the passenger seat with Denzel in “Training Day.”