State Champ Radio reviews
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In the time since Nigerian Afrobeats superstar Rema dropped off 2022’s Rave & Roses, he experienced both the most staggering heights of crossover success and the vilest parts of the demonization of his culture in one fell swoop.
In 2023, “Calm Down” reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent a record-setting 58 weeks atop U.S. Afrobeats Songs. The infectious, Selena Gomez-assisted track also reached No. 1 on the all-genre Radio Songs chart, making history for a song by an African lead artist. Then came his sold-out headlining performance at London’s O2 Arena later that year (Nov. 14, 2023), which sparked accusations of Satanism due to the imagery – in actuality, they were hallmarks of the Edo culture of his hometown of Benin City, Nigeria – employed during the show.
These two things – genuinely peerless success and the tension that lies in bringing hyperlocal culture to a global scale – are the driving forces behind Rema’s impressively daring and unequivocally infectious sophomore LP, Heis.
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Bearing a title that simultaneously calls to his Instagram handle (@heisrema), the Greek word for the number “one,” and the simplest proclamation of being, Heis finds Rema staunchly on the defensive. Gone are the sugary slow-wine tempos of Rave & Roses; here, Rema conjures up soundscapes – courtesy of an all-star production team that includes Producer X, Take a Daytrip and longtime collaborator London – that thrive in the darkness. Pounding, frenetic drums open the album, ultimately becoming the record’s anchor. Occasionally a tinny synth or a particularly piercing string arrangement will cut through the wall of sound, but the rollicking, militant drums are the dominant source of energy on Heis. And it makes sense: The drum – with all of its history and percussiveness – is the instrument the best symbolizes the Rema of Heis.
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Across the LP, Rema reclaims the “Satanist” narrative by doubling-down on the sounds and voice changes that first garnered those accusations. When he warps his voice into an obsidian baritone on “Ozeba” (“Emi ati awon guys e mi italawo, e mi itolowo/ Italawa, itolowo, ita, itolow, eh-eh”), it’s somehow both bone-chilling and tongue-in-cheek. He refuses to let go of his hometown’s history and culture despite being a global superstar; it’s an emphasis on regionality that mirrors similar conversations has across Black American music this year, from Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter to Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” “Everyone is chasing something that the whole world can enjoy… we’re listening to the voices of the world too much,” he said in a recent Apple Music interview. “We gotta listen to the voices back home to keep our roots. Our roots [are] very important.”
But the Rema of Heis also has an unmistakable chip on his shoulder. As hip-hop grappled with the standing of its Big 3 (Kendrick Lamar, Drake and J. Cole) this spring, Rema uses Heis to demand a spot in the conversation as it relates to Afrobeats. He’s already expressed his desire to expand the existing Afrobeats Big 3 (commonly understood to consist of Burna Boy, Davido and Wizkid) to a “Big 4,” and now he spends most of Heis demanding the No. 1 spot.
“March Am” opens the record with Rema’s trademark sinister laugh ushering in a high-octane drum pattern that soundtracks his bellicose calls to keep pushing forward. One of the most effective album openers of the year, “March Am” immediately establishes pidgin English as the album’s dominant tongue. “17, I dey dagbo, I dey crack code/ Now the prince of Afro,” he snarls in the first verse, before sing-chanting the “I dey march am” chorus against some stirring background strings. Taking notes from the painstaking worldbuilding of Playboi Carti, Rema’s vision of Afrorave is completely contingent on the blistering, unfettered energy that comes from people collectively giving their bodies over to the power of music. Heis begs to be experienced in a live setting; it’s as if Rema conceived the live version of each song before he even set foot in the studio. It’s dark and raucous and distinctly liberating; at long last, Rema has brought to life the “Afrorave” style that he’s long heralded, despite an initial lack of sonic identifiers.
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The only instrument as effective as the drums on Heis is Rema’s voice. Across the LP, the singer dives into the depths of his range, spending ample time in his icy baritone. Not only do his different vocal registers evoke different characters in his narrative — of recentering yourself after stepping into a new era of life — they also reveal Rema’s artistic maturation. Each shift in vocal delivery adds new textures to the 2010s Afrobeats-nodding instrumentation; instead of simply delivering lyrics, he morphs into his own instrument and weaves himself into every chord.
Pre-release singles “Hehehe” and “Benin Boys” (with Shallipopi) play even better in the context of the full album. The former finds Rema temporarily playing to the villain role to mock his haters, while the latter reads as a celebration of Benin culture from two homegrown stars, who seek to uplift and protect it from those who ignorantly demonize it. Sandwiched between those two tracks is “Yayo,” perhaps the record’s most accessible song – and the one Rave & Roses fans will likely find most appealing, with its catchy melody and grind culture-affirming lyrics (“Money yakpa for my bank oh/ How to make money is all I know”)
At just under half an hour, Heis never overstays its welcome, but that doesn’t mean Rema completely avoids repeating himself. While having a chip on your shoulder can bolster your assertiveness, it often gives way to defensiveness on the album’s back half – and that’s where its cracks start to show. The title track – which features a Swahili chorus that basically lauds Rema as the hottest thing to ever touch Planet Earth – feels particularly excessive because he’s already covered the same lyrical ground elsewhere on the album. There’s also “Villain,” the album’s penultimate track, in which he croons, “I dey hustle since people dey laugh me/ The way I dey run my things, I do it differently, now dem dey copy me.” But by track 10, these sentiments feel stale, if not overbearing.
In its entirety, Heis is a captivating album; one that inspires countless listens because of how its intricate production reveals new elements with each encounter. With the album’s closer, “Now I Know,” Rema wraps everything up quite cleanly, offering new perspectives to the darkness that subsumes the record with one soulful ballad. “I dey move like Messi when he dey for Barcelo/ E get as God go bless person, dem go talk say na devil oh,” he opens the second verse, before proclaiming “And now I know who dey for me/ All thosе I trust turned enemiеs” in the chorus.
After dousing himself in an amalgamation of edgy aesthetics to further cement his Afrorave style, Rema, in a way, becomes human again on this album closer. His plaintive tone reflects the maturation he’s undergone in the past two years, while also calling back to the timbre he most often used on his debut LP. He’s still the same Rema, but he’s demanding a different level of respect – not just because of his superstar status, but because of his steadfast commitment to uplifting his culture and bringing it along with him at any cost.
If you fell in love with Rema off the strength of his sweet crossover pop moments, his latest album probably isn’t for you. But if you’re willing to be led down a journey of self-discovery and style formation, Heis is the map for that odyssey.
The Detroit rapper and Kansas City producer make the midwest proud with this project.
Heart’s upcoming dates in Europe have been scrapped, to enable singer Ann Wilson time to recover from a medical procedure. The Rock Hall-inducted band has wiped the European leg of their Royal Flush tour, which was scheduled to kick off June 20 and run through July 12 and include several festival spots. “We regret to […]
In early April, country star Maren Morris released her children’s book Addie Ant Goes on an Adventure, in collaboration with former schoolteacher Karina Argow. According to the interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show, they have known each other for about 11 years. This long-lasting friendship evolved into a collaborative partnership. Explore Explore See latest videos, […]
Anyone who’s read Mariah Carey‘s bestselling 2020 memoir, “The Meaning of Mariah Carey,” will know that the singer has often described her life as a “rollercoaster.” It’s a term that came up again Saturday (April 13) on the second night of Carey’s “The Celebration of Mimi” residency in Las Vegas, though unlike her at-times tumultuous career, this was one ride that you never wanted to end.
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Taking place at Dolby Live inside the Park MGM Hotel, the 16-date residency is billed as a celebration in advance of the upcoming 20th anniversary of Carey’s critically-acclaimed album, The Emancipation of Mimi, though the festive affair felt more like a career-spanning retrospective of hits.
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Indeed, after a brief voiceover intro that referenced her “rollercoaster” life, Carey descended upon the stage to open with “Vision of Love,” her Billboard No. 1 debut single from 1990. What followed was a nostalgic journey through some of Carey’s biggest hits, each in chronological order of when they were released, and many accompanied by a story or quip about how the song came to be.
Introducing “Dreamlover,” Carey reminisced about rehearsing with Aretha Franklin at 1998’s Divas Live concert, where Franklin remarked that she “loved” the song, and playfully suggested that the two perform the track instead of their scheduled duet instead. While the Divas Live setlist went ahead as scheduled — sans “Dreamlover” — Carey said she couldn’t believe the song got the Queen of Soul’s approval. “I was like ‘Oh my god,’” Carey squeaked in mock surprise on stage. “Ms Franklin was talking to me!“
Backed by a four-piece band, eight dancers and three background vocalists (including Trey Lorenz who duets with Carey on “I’ll Be There”), the songs are interspersed with old interview clips from each album cycle and motivational quotes on screen narrated by Carey herself.
Because the concert went through Carey’s catalog in chronological order, crowd-pleaser “Hero” was performed early on in the show rather than as her usual encore. But the revised setlist offered other surprises as well, like Carey’s memorable cover of Badfinger’s “Without You,” which the singer typically only performs internationally, and “Looking In,” the poignant Daydream album closer that Carey last performed in 2013.
The loudest cheers were saved for the Butterfly era, which Carey has called her “favorite” and “most personal” album. Perched on a pink and lavender couch elevated high above the stage, the singer ran through a medley of the album’s R&B cuts, including “Babydoll,” “Breakdown” and “The Roof,” which Carey recently remade for her MasterClass course. After an uptempo mashup of “Honey” and “Heartbreaker” (from the Rainbow album) it was time for the main event.
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When The Emancipation of Mimi was released in 2005, critics hailed it as Carey’s “comeback album,” following muted reactions to 2002’s Charmbracelet, and her movie soundtrack Glitter, which was released on September 11 (neither of those albums were performed at the residency, though Carey’s dancers break out some moves during a Glitter/Charmbracelet interlude that serves as a set change). Mimi though, was an immediate hit with fans, spawning two number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, while sending Carey across a world tour that took her as far as Tunisia and Japan.
Here in Vegas, the album was showcased in all its glory, with Carey rising from the stage in a glamorous gold gown to the refrains of “I Wish You Knew,” an old-school soul ballad with a spoken-word bridge that’s a favorite among the singer’s lambily. That was followed by a one-two punch of “It’s Like That” and “Say Something,” which kept the already buoyant crowd on its feet.
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Though Mimi was released in 2005, the songs sounded just as fresh and relevant as they did (almost) 20 years ago. Case in point: Carey opened “Shake It Off” with an interpolation of Bryson Tiller’s “Don’t,” which samples the track in its second verse. Carey has said she wanted to create something “timeless” with The Emancipation of Mimi, and the residency proves she has more than succeeded.
Though Carey is known for sprinkling some “diva” moments into her shows, she largely eschews the antics this time around in favor of letting the music speak for itself. The singer has been known to be wheeled or carried off-stage by dancers, but this time she walks(!) in heels(!) by herself(!) in between costume changes (of which there were five on the night). Carey walking herself backstage is a small detail of course, but in a way, it perfectly incapsulates the feeling of the show.
While Carey has performed in Vegas before, she has never sounded or looked better. And while other artists of her caliber would rest on familiar songs or arrangements, Carey continues to push herself with musical director Daniel Moore, to offer deep cuts for the fans, while reinventing her hits in new and novel ways.
And then there’s the walking thing.
Closing the show in a nude mesh Swarovski gown, Carey capped the triumphant night with The Emancipation of Mimi’s signature songs, “We Belong Together” and “Fly Like a Bird,” before the curtains began to slowly close on the star-lit stage. Standing solo before the sold-out crowd, the superstar waved farewell, then picked up her dress and shuffled her stilettos offstage, unaccompanied — and unfazed.
If The Emancipation of Mimi was about freeing Carey from her past, the “Celebration of Mimi” residency is about seeing her legacy forward. No one has ever doubted the singer and songwriter’s talent, but two decades removed from her landmark album, Mariah Carey is proving that she can still do it all on her own — and on her own terms — high heels and all.
As a leader in a new generation of K-pop acts, IVE‘s Show What I Have world tour boasted a wholly appropriate name for which the girl group delivered an electric, emotional finale to its U.S. leg in Newark.
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For the sold-out crowd at the massive Prudential Center arena, IVE brought their hit singles — which includes eight entries on the Billboard Global 200 to date — b-side tracks and cover performances to life via heavily conceptual staging for each of the 24 setlist songs interwoven with frequent commentary from the group and video interludes.
Highlights of the night included the theatrical umbrella routine recalling “Singing in the Rain” for “Mine” and the haunting visuals accompanying horror-themed stages for “Hypnosis” and “My Satisfaction.” While IVE’s signature flowy choreography spotlighted in deep cuts like “Blue Blood” and “Heroine,” the crowd’s fervent chanting during hits “Love Dive” and “Kitsch” underscored the fervor and dedication of IVE’s fans — affectionately known as DIVE — even when making their New Jersey debut.
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As a special treat for fans, the IVE members split into duos and solo performances to pay homage to diverse artists, with covers ranging from Ariana Grande to Indonesian singer-songwriter NIKI and English crooner Richard Sanderson. While the inclusion of covers by Spice Girls (Rei and Gaeul performed “Wannabe”) and IVE’s new Columbia Records label mate Little Mix (where Yujin and Leeseo duetted on “Woman Like Me”) were astute in aligning themselves as the next global girl group, the performances acted more of a reminder that IVE has already carved out a distinct identity and color as the prom queens of K-pop and isn’t so easily able to adopt other personas in the pop sphere.
But beyond the polished performances and elaborate stage production, the IVE members’ raw emotions might have left the strongest impression during Show What I Have.
Early into the show, IVE leader An Yujin became visibly emotional and cried while singing their fan-dedicated power ballad, “Shine With Me.” After the crowd cheered her through the performance and the group checked in with her, the 20-year-old assured everyone she was fine and laughed while pointing the blame to the track’s lyrics written by Jang Wonyoung — followed by an adorable apology from Wonyoung.
The heartfelt sincerity returned at the show’s end when the sextet gave their final messages to the crowd.
“Even though our languages are different, just seeing how you guys are so focused on our songs, connecting and enjoying with us, is really cool,” Gaeul pointed out. “I couldn’t imagine all these seats filled up like this. I’m really touched.” Liz added that IVE is now “more than just family; we are not able to separate from each other.”
In a moment rarely seen among top K-pop performers, Yujin sincerely opened up about regaining her self-esteem thanks to the tour and her group.
“Recently, I kind of lost my confidence,” the star, with six years in the industry, shared through voice cracks and tears with Leeseo holding her hand. “I thought, ‘Maybe I cannot do it?’ before I came here. But the first day in L.A., I got so much energy and love from DIVEs there that I’m getting more confident. I promised a lot to myself before I came here. I can’t say exactly what I promised but I think I did it all — I did everything I promised to myself… it was really precious time.” Capped off by Yujin’s heartfelt thanks and promise to return, Liz quickly led the girls into a group hug on stage, encapsulating IVE’s essence of the night in gratitude towards fans and one another.
As the concert closed with the massive finale track of their debut English single, “All Night,” IVE left the crowd with an indelibly upbeat mark by unexpectedly singing the song’s refrain an additional seven times — begging the sound team to “please” play it one more after six — before officially exiting. With today’s announcement of their new EP, IVE SWITCH, out at the end of April, the promise of future performances and shared moments confirms that this is hardly a farewell but a preview of more for them to show ahead.
Read on for exclusive photos from IVE’s Show What I Have concert at Newark’s Prudential Center, as well as reflections from the tour at its conclusion for Billboard readers.
IVE
Aysia Marotta/Photos provided by Starship Entertainment
IVE
Aysia Marotta/Photos provided by Starship Entertainment
JANG WONYOUNG: “Despite not having officially debuted in the U.S before our world tour, I came with half excitement and half worry whether big venues like The Forum, where famous overseas artists have performed, would be filled. But starting from L.A., seeing the venue packed with DIVE enjoying our songs and dances gave me such great energy. It felt like we were able to finish the U.S tour well with strength all the way to our last stop.”
GAEUL: “It was so much fun to be able to perform in front of our DIVE here in the U.S., their energy was great. They were so loud — it gave us so much inspiration. We are so thankful for all the love and support from our fans.”
LIZ: “I was so happy to visit cities I’ve never been to before. One of my favorite moments besides seeing all our DIVE in America was meeting Anne Hathaway at the Atlanta Hawks game. It was our first basketball game and we loved it!”
LEESEO: “It feels wonderful to perform on stage in front of our U.S. DIVE, to try many delicious foods in the U.S, and to create precious memories with my sisters!”
REI: “The members and I made so many amazing memories on the U.S. leg of our tour. It is truly something we will never forget.”
AN YUJIN: “I’m so happy that I got to meet so many DIVEs through our world tour. I can’t wait to come back to the U.S. for Lollapalooza. It’s an honor to be able to perform there as our first U.S. festival – we will come back with a stage that could surprise you!”
IVE
Aysia Marotta/Photos provided by Starship Entertainment
Charli XCX and Rina Sawayama are not fighting. On Wednesday (Aug. 30), Charli took to X, formerly known as Twitter after she was criticized for unfollowing her “Beg for You” collaborator on Instagram. On social media, fans noticed that Charli — who has openly supported and Sawayama throughout the years — unfollowed the “STFU!” singer […]
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There’s a must-watch visual podcast uncovering new ground in the storytelling of The Notorious B.I.G.’s life as he recorded his final album 25 years ago. In Iconic Records: Life After Death, radio legend and executive producer Angie Martinez interviews 25 subjects to transport viewers in a moment of time as a legendary double-sided album was birthed in the midst of his rising fame while navigating a hostile rap beef with the West Coast in the mid-1990s.
While his life has undoubtedly been examined across various media vertices since his violent passing, this 8-episode effort deserves your undivided attention. There’s no overproduction or distractive acting. It involves two chairs, a coffee table, and a camera crew capturing vulnerable conversations between the rapper’s closest friends and colleagues and a radio Hall of Famer. Notables gracing the opposing chair include Rick Ross, Fat Joe, DJ Clark Kent, Lil’ Cease, 112, Pusha T, and more.
The conversations examine the pillars that made Biggie, born Christopher Wallace, an icon as he broke ground in fashion, lyricism, rap politics, recording style, and demeanor. At the time, he was freshly crowned “King of New York” early in his career, becoming a trailblazer in these areas at a heightened level with his unconventional attractiveness during his ascension to fame.
For starters, he was a visual anomaly with a towering stature, big waist, and dark skin, complimented by his smooth charm and lisping charisma– a unique recipe to make the Brooklyn rapper the perfect muse for fashion stylists and photographers who knew he was destined for greatness.
Renowned photographer Barron Claiborne explained how he snapped the legendary red background photographs of Biggie in a crown. The images grew so popular it forced him to repetitively sue bossy Bad Boy Entertainment honcho Sean “Diddy” Combs (f/k/a Puff Daddy) for using the images without his approval. Photographer Michael Levine also discusses the challenges faced to bring us the Life After Death album art taken at the Cypress Hill cemetery.
In episode 4, Klepto, friend and member of the rap group Junior M.A.F.I.A., gives a first-hand account of how he first came across Tupac Shakur witnessing his brotherhood with Biggie during a wild night out on the town. He was also there the day of the Quad Recording Studios shooting, providing the gruesome details of what he saw when he reached the bloody lobby just as the cops intercepted them coming out of the elevator. This incident marked the beginning of the infamous coastal feud between the two rappers, eventually leading to Biggie’s fatal demise a few years later. By episode 5, DJ Clark Kent unapologetically declares Pac’s ominous account of the shooting a blatant lie promoted to avoid telling the truth about what really happened to him that night.
Some of the most famed tracks off Life After Death wouldn’t have happened without sheer networking and dash of humbled begging.“Ten Crack Commandments” producer DJ Premier tells of how the song almost didn’t make it on the album. In this story, Premo highlights that Biggie’s stardom transitioning from gritty New York rapper to Versace wearing superstar (or “ashy to classy” as many here have donned it) caused a bit of friction with his underground artist Jeru the Damja, the original owner of the track. Angie Martinez and her radio show is intertwined in the story, which aided a begging Puffy to eventually procure the instrumental.
In a similar scenario told in episode 6, Fat Joe– a refreshing edition to the series details how intertwined he was in the New York rap scene– recounts the time he brokered the relationship between Biggie and Realitivity Records label mates Bone Thugs-N-Harmony for the track “Notorious Thugs.” The Bronx rapper colorfully embellished a portion of the story of the group’s unwillingness to work with B.I.G. due to their allegience with Pac and the West Coast, which was challenged and denied by Layzie Bone and the group’s manager Steve Lobel. Eventually, Biggie and Bone Thugs united in a historic studio session filled with weed, Hennessy, and positive vibes. Layzie Bone reveals that Biggie didn’t end up recording his part that night, and heard the final version of the song for the first time after the double album was released weeks after his death.
In a later episode, Lil’ Cease continues the story of how seriously Biggie wanted to master the Bone Thugs’ flow and the lengths he took to perfect it before hitting the booth. It’s now one of the most famous songs to date. In all three stories with Pac, Jeru, and Bone Thugs, a common theme about the “Juicy” rapper and his legacy remained consistent: he prioritized his love of music before rap politics.
The series briefly transitions into a therapy session when Lil’ Cease tells of his relationship with his big brother Biggie. Through the trust of his long-standing relationship Martinez, the Junior M.A.F.I.A. member describes the death as a “trauma” he continues to struggle with today. At 44 years old, he introspectively harps on how young he (17) and Biggie (24) were as they both navigated the deep waters of fame and violence.
Nasheem Myrick, a former Bad Boy producer from the legendary Hitmen who worked on “Who Shot Ya,” “What’s Beef?,” and “Somebody’s Gotta Die,” reveals a heartbreaking story of his beef with Biggie over an unknown love interest they both shared at the time. In this untold story, he eventually achieves closure on the last day the rapper was last in New York before flying out to Los Angeles in 1997.
Interestingly, both Lil’ Cease and Klepto separately came to terms with the potential of their own successes had Biggie never passed away. Junior M.A.F.I.A was set to be the next priority for the superstar rapper following the release of Life After Death, but the group never had their chance. Cease also describes how his solo career would have launched under the vision Biggie had for him to be introduced to the world. However, Puff certainly didn’t have an interest in the group after the assassination, especially since their lyrics were mainly penned by Biggie himself. With all considered, the group disbanded leaving fans with classic hits “Players Anthem” and “Get Money” that are still enjoyed today. Meeting the same fate was The Commission comprising of JAY-Z, Lance “Un” Rivera, Diddy, Charli Baltimore, and Lil’ Cease.
Rick Ross and Pusha T also make an appearance on the show. Both Ross, who respectfully mimicked Biggie’s image, and Pusha, a lyricist who faithfully flows about slinging crack, pay homage to how integral Biggie’s music made in their own approach to their discographies.
Noticeably absent from the interview panel were Life After Death featured artists Diddy, The LOX, Lil’ Kim, Ma$e, and Jay Z. It also would have been nice to see Stevie J, another Hitmen producer who had a heavy hand in the making of this album, join the series. It’s unclear if the reality star’s estranged marriage to Biggie’s widow, Faith Evans, had anything to do with that.
Overall, Iconic Records’s first season is, by and large, a great watch thanks in part to the remarkable journalistic executions between host Angie Martinez and director-writer Bonsu Thompson. Without their contribution to this project, it would have been hard to achieve the same high-quality storytelling in someone elses’s hands.
New episodes air weekly across multiple platforms for viewers and listeners alike for free. Binge watch the first 6 episodes on WMX Hip-Hop channel (Ch. 1137) on The Roku Channel or YouTube. Listeners can also access them in a podcast format across all major audio podcast platforms.
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“I’m a different kind of woman,” Lana Del Rey states plainly on “Sweet,” adding a few seconds later, “If you wanna go where nobody knows, that’s where you’ll find me.” The singer-songwriter has spent her career proving the former statement — taking a personalized approach to pop craft, forever valuing honesty and innovation — but Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, her mammoth and often luminous ninth full-length, indeed exists at a wholly unique intersection in modern music, as the artist’s most singular statement to date.
Del Rey’s voice has always been unmistakable, but no other artist could have come close to showcasing this 77-minute set of ideas, sometimes mysterious and occasionally shambolic, but always exciting and brimming with integrity. The adventurous spirit of this album flirts with a gleeful recklessness: Del Rey has explored her thoughts on sex, devotion, family and American decay in the past, but never with so many unexpected guests, songs mashed into each other and restless detours. In an era of the music industry that rewards TikTok-ready hooks, Del Rey has sprinted in the opposite direction: the songs here proudly stretch out, dismissing verse-chorus structures so that Del Rey can travel across another bridge or three.
Yet Del Rey’s pen holds Ocean Blvd together. Writing primarily with Jack Antonoff, Mike Hermosa and Drew Erickson, Del Rey conjures images that continue to haunt her and presents lyrics that jangle around the listener’s brain. From the boarded-up past of the title track to the post-grief forward motion of “Kintsugi” to the giddy friendship of “Margaret,” Del Rey roams across topics and deftly handles them all. For an album that clearly challenges its creator, Ocean Blvd once again concludes that Del Rey is different, in the best way possible.
While all of Lana Del Rey’s new album is worth digging into, we already have some early favorites after several listens. Here is our preliminary track rankings for Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd:
“Judah Smith Interlude”
Placing a fiery, four-and-a-half minute spoken-word interlude from megachurch pastor Judah Smith in a prime spot on the album track list is certainly an audacious choice from Del Rey — and while the sermon grazes the central themes of the songs around it, the interlude is a chance taken that doesn’t work within the presentation of the album.
“Jon Batiste Interlude”
“Jon Batiste Interlude,” which arrives right after the We Are album of the year Grammy winner’s harmonizing at the end of “Candy Necklace,” functions as a playful extension of that track, with Batiste whooping it up and then crooning with Del Rey as the piano twinkling comes into focus. The interlude creates a voyeuristic atmosphere — you feel the two artists’ bond in the studio — but doesn’t offer much as a standalone track.
“Taco Truck x VB”
The “VB” in the title stands for “Venice Bitch,” and instead of merely nodding to one of her most iconic songs, Del Rey fully revisits the Norman F–king Rockwell! song in the second half of this two-part epilogue, as if she’s remixed the song “Taco Truck” with her former self as the guest artist. “Taco Truck x VB” can’t outrun the looming shadow of one of Del Rey’s most towering achievements, but that’s not its intention anyway: the song encapsulates the album’s ramshackle beauty by demonstrating how Del Rey’s past informs her present, like an endless loop that will never stop spinning.
“Candy Necklace” feat. Jon Batiste
Candy necklaces: sugary and addictive, but the opposite of nutritious! They serve as the metaphor for a poisonous relationship on “Candy Necklace,” where Del Rey floats into a falsetto on the pre-chorus before deploying a hypnotic singsong hook. “Candy Necklace” doesn’t resonate quite as strongly following the blistering first quarter of the album, although it’s worth sticking around for the swirling outro, where Jon Batiste’s murmur joins Del Rey’s own.
“Let The Light In” feat. Father John Misty
Father John Misty shows up to support Del Rey’s lead vocals on the lilting country track “Let The Light In,” and while fans of the kindred-spirit songwriter may be disappointed that he doesn’t have more of a spotlight here, his voice is utilized perfectly in the context of the song — assisting her chorus, forming a sense of comfort around the words “Ooh, turn your light on / Look at us, you and I, back at it again.” Sometimes, a guest spot can be great for its lack of showiness.
“Kintsugi”
Following the gospel flourishes that arrive earlier in the track list, Del Rey approaches “Kintsugi” like a hymn, her voice billowing unadorned above a piano as she prods at her grief. “That’s how the light gets in,” she chants, using the titular Japanese art of repairing broken pottery and leaving the cracks on display as a hopeful method of transforming sorrow into a strengthening feeling.
“Fishtail”
Del Rey upends expectations as soon as the Auto-tune arrives on “Fishtail,” abruptly putting an end to the hushed vocals and abetted by programmed beats. The production choice crystallizes the song’s message of misread perception — Del Rey repeats, “You wanted me sadder,” but defiantly tells the partner trying to bring her down that “I’m not that smart, but I’ve got things to say” — and also just works as an upshift, positively startling the listener during one of the album’s quieter passages.
“Margaret” feat. Bleachers
Instead of pulling frequent producer and co-writer Jack Antonoff, performing here as the leader of Bleachers, into her thematic universe for the duet “Margaret,” the song instead centers on Antonoff’s romance with (and upcoming marriage to) actress Margaret Qualley, going so far as to happily announce a wedding date. “Margaret” offers a glimpse of the intimacy between close friends and collaborators — Del Rey sounds genuinely thrilled to sing “When you know, you know,” about her pal finding his partner — and Antonoff’s voice, deep and a little wobbly, makes for a lovely foil.
“Peppers” feat. Tommy Genesis
While Tommy Genesis presents a catchy-as-hell chorus built around an Angelina Jolie simile, Del Rey shouts out the Red Hot Chili Peppers — another California institution, which provide the song title here — goes for a midnight drive, dismisses a COVID scare and dances sans clothes for her neighbors. “I threw caution to the wind,” she sings, and “Peppers” certainly shrugs off any structural or lyrical hazards to instead barrel toward a mischievous charm, right down to the interlude where the two artists suggest mashing up their songs together into this final product.
“Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd.”
Part of the reason why “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd.” made such an effective lead single for the album of the same name is because it is, simply, Classic Lana, in its sweeping grandeur, idiosyncratic lyrics and musings on faded American beauty. If you listen more closely, however, the nuance in Del Rey’s vocal performance sets the song apart from similar explorations — expertly navigating between resignation and yearning, accepting fate and likewise thrashing against it.
“Sweet”
“Sweet” may open with Del Rey hiking in Griffith Park, awash in memories and regrets, but the track sounds primed to stun across town at the Hollywood Bowl, its melancholy piano and string arrangements the pristine soundtrack for a lightly chilly evening overlooking a town of movie magic. As the song bends toward romance, Lana delivers one of the most effectively simple lines on the album: “I’ve got things to do, like nothing at all,” she blurts out, “I wanna do them with you.”
“Fingertips”
Upon first listen, the sprawl of “Fingertips” is overwhelming: at nearly six minutes and without a chorus in sight, the song is positioned as an extended diary entry, leaping across thoughts and themes while the production lingers in the background. Those themes reveal themselves more clearly after repeat visits to “Fingertips,” however, with allusions to motherhood, psychiatric drugs and unexpected loss deepening when the listener is given time to catch up to Del Rey’s wordplay; on first or tenth encounter, the song stands as one of the album’s most ambitious moments, but the latter makes “Fingertips” one of its most rewarding.
“Paris, Texas” feat. SYML
The album’s most dramatic “now for something completely different” change-up arrives when Del Rey follows the stream-of-consciousness “Fingertips” with “Paris, Texas,” a relatively short and traditionally structured pop song full of breathy exclamations and graceful piano. Within the middle third of the album — after some of the more experimental turns in Del Rey’s songwriting — “Paris, Texas” arrives as an exhalation, but even removed from the track list, the track shimmers with California sunlight (Venice gets name-checked as her “home” here) and a cool simplicity.
“Grandfather please stand on the shoulders of my father while he’s deep-sea fishing” feat. RIOPY
While plenty of moments on the album opt for subtle production flourishes, “Grandfather please stand on the shoulders of my father while he’s deep-sea fishing” boasts a climax with a sumptuous cacophony of electric guitar, keys, synth and even a little saxophone; Del Rey, meanwhile, tries to use her voice to quell the noise and grasp for a sign from above. The lines about the perceived machine behind Del Rey’s success (“I know they think that it took thousands of people / To put me together again, like an experiment / Some big men, behind the scenes / Sewing Frankenstein black dreams into my songs / But they’re wrong”) are some of the most incisive, and memorable, on the album.
“The Grants”
The gospel harmonies on “The Grants” are purposeful: titled after Del Rey’s family name, the opener takes its listener to church with reflections on the afterlife and booming piano that could rattle pews. Yet Del Rey is focused more on legacy than religion here: “I’m doing the hard stuff, I’m doing my time / I’m doing it for us, for our family line,” she asserts, a thoughtful way of framing both emotional and professional work as a means of honoring the blood that precede and follow us.
“A&W”
The seven-minute length isn’t particularly daring for Del Rey: anyone who’s ever vibed out to “Venice Bitch” understands that she can let a song coast beyond standard run times and retain a sense of awe. Yet “A&W” (which stands for “American Whore”) stands as one of most spectacularly brave songs in her discography, a two-sided plunge into sex, drugs and Americana, full of stark declarations about how young women are perceived, and dismissed, in modern society. The first half locks into a haunting finger-picked arrangement, but when “A&W” switches into a dark, minimalist electronic groove — the potential for emotional devastation fully realized — the song transcends its shell, turning an ambitious concept into one of Del Rey’s best songs to date.
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On Saturday night (March 18), the New York City stop of Key Glock’s Glockoma 32-city tour celebrated the February release of his highly anticipated Glockcoma 2 album, but it wasn’t without flaws. Pain-staking patience was required to enjoy the show at the the Knockdown Center in Queens as the crew battled massive wait times switching between show openers Tia Corine, Jay Fizzle, Kenny Muney, and the headliner.
However, it wasn’t enough to ruin the overall experience. Each artist dazzled fans with high-energy performances, showcasing why they were handpicked to join the late, great Young Dolph’s independent label Paper Route Empire.
First up to hit the stage was Jay Fizzle, a cousin to the late Dolph, who appeared 40 minutes earlier than expected from the promoted 8:00 pm showtime. Those interested in watching the performance saw the ski-mask-wearing rapper perform “Standin On Top Of Sh*t” and “Hood Rich.”
By this point, plumes of weed smoke filled the air as the crowd waited 30 minutes for Kenny Muney to arrive. Dressed in a purple puffer, the rapper kicked off his set with “Ashtray” before flinging a wad of cash into the air during “Big Muney Sh*t.” He took off his coat to jump in the crowd for a more intimate performance of “Lowkey.”
Tia Corine also performed while fashionably dressed in a gothic outfit with a blonde mullet. Her set started with the hit single “FreakyT,” a fan favorite. Her voice energetically bellowed through the speakers with “FYK” until her DJ ruined her set on “Dipset.” By this time, she was noticeably annoyed but powered through during “Boogie,” “Pancake,” and “Lotto.” The set wrapped with an encore of her opener.
Key Glock’s set was a painful 40-minute wait that involved a complicated stage breakdown as a hypeman repeatedly promised he was “on his way” to the show. Just as the complaints of leg pain echoed across the crowd, the houselights dimmed, and stage lights suddenly turned on, when a focused Glizzock emerged. It was showtime.
His performance formula is simple: don’t talk too much and just let the music do all the work. To say it was a clever strategy is an understatement.
Glockoma 2’s “Chromosomes” opened the show, the first of 20 songs carefully selected from his vast catalog while cleverly themed video graphics flashed in the background. The crowd remained invested as he performed “Work,” “Bottom of the Pot,” and “On My Soul,” but pure fandom erupted when “Jigsaw” dropped. The crowd pushed closer to the stage as a giant white head darted laser beams out of its eyes with smoke. At this point, the audience joined in tandem with Key Glock as both rapped in the chorus for the remainder of his show, including on standouts “I’m Just Sayin,” “Like Key,” “Juicemane,” and “Dough.”
To hear these songs and not see Young Dolph beside him to recite his parts left a void that was felt all night. This cued Glock to take a well-timed break to pay homage to his mentor with “Get Paid,” “Preach” and “Water on Water on Water.” It was the closest anyone could get to experiencing the fallen rapper live on stage again. The crowd celebrated to pay their respects.
Finally, the show was nearing its end as “Mr. Glock” and “White Russian” whiplashed the audience back to high-energy mode, before wrapping with a closer from “Frozone” by the late Big Scarr. The crowd was pleased, proving that Paper Route Empire remains dedicated to upholding Young Dolph’s legacy by delivering high-quality performances. And they did just that.
