We bring you a series of monthly playlists, by selecting the freshest and sickest music that’s making waves out there and putting it into a comprehensive list! Get ready to move and groove with nothing to prove as we give you – TFword Selects: Pop + Hip-Hop for the month of January, ’22. Listed below are our top 10 picks.
The Weeknd – Best Friends
After his previous full-length album, ‘After Hours’ from 2020, The Weeknd dropped a hot bomb in the form of ‘Dawn FM’. We had a chance to listen to it and tell you that it’s certainly going to stay at the top of your recent searches for the next few months at least! A mix of his club-thumping bravado in songs like ‘Take My Breath’, ‘Sacrifice’ and ‘Gasoline’ combined with some trademark desperate boy-ish vulnerability in songs like ‘How Do I Make You Love Me?’, ‘Is There Someone Else?’, ‘Starry Eyes’ and ‘Best Friends’ makes ‘Dawn FM’ quite a dynamic journey filled with awkward questions and smooth falsettos to keep you interested throughout the 16-song album spanning approximately 52 minutes.
You May Also Like: Short Review: The Weeknd – Dawn FM
100RBH – Zanjeer (Prod. By Karan Kanchan)
If there’s any Indian rapper who can show you powerful vocal delivery while commenting on our socio-political issues through his clever lyricism, it’s 100RBH, aka Saurabh Abhyankar. The Amravati rapper is now the newest member of Indian hip hop label Gully Gang, and he has teamed up with multi-genre producer Karan Kanchan for this banger. 100RBH touches upon hypocrisy in our daily lives, and the struggle faced through communal, racial, gender and caste differences across the country. He also talks about seeding deliberate religious hatred among people. Karan Kanchan adds some more heavy drums and guitars into this production, like with his previous hits like ‘Raakh’ and ‘Dum Pischaach’.
Charlie Puth – Light Switch
Far from what anyone was expecting to hear from Charlie Puth, being used to heart-smooshing ballads, he surprises everyone with an upbeat 80’s pop-reminiscent dance-y drop – ‘Light Switch’. This is the first single from his upcoming third (self-titled) album, of which there is no information so far, just that it’s coming in 2022. But his fans know where to find out. Puth has been teasing his followers on TikTok for the past 5 months with hints of ‘Light Switch’, and is expected to do the same gradually with news of his album.
Shashaa Tirupati – In My Skin
One of the few voices that the maestro A.R. Rahman puts his trust in, renowned playback singer, songwriter and music producer, who has sung in more than 20 languages and has about 3500 songs to her credit as a vocalist, Shashaa Tirupati dropped a fresh single ‘In My Skin’, a first release from her upcoming EP ‘I’m Sorry, Heart’. The song talks about the logic-less yet exciting feeling of musing towards someone clueless, within the limitless extents of one’s own mind. The song jumps to life immediately with the immeasurable number of layered vocal harmonies and some interestingly unconventional guitar playing by featuring artist Keba Jeremiah.
Mary J. Blige – Rent Money (ft. Dave East)
Legendary R&B diva Mary J. Blige dropped the third single ‘Rent Money’, featuring Dave East, from her upcoming 14th studio album ‘Good Morning Gorgeous’. The 13-track album is going to feature some big names like Anderson .Paak, Usher, DJ Khaled and more. ‘Rent Money’ features Harlem rapper Dave East and sees Blige get some previous inconveniences off her chest, talking about a former love she’s ready to walk away from, which consumed her in the wrong way. A fresh start is what we all want, Mary! More power to you!
Franz Ferdinand – Curious
Reactivate your pelvic region because Franz Ferdinand is back with another groovy single ‘Curious’ which kicks straight off with a funky bass line backed by the typical foot-tapping, butt-shaking mid-tempo synth-laden disco vibe. Sounding very much like Franz Ferdinand but at the same time fresh and new, the song’s accompanying video sees the band put on their dancing shoes and splash some retro dance moves to add to the feel of the groove, making you move!
KRS-One – The Beginning Ft. SUN-One
One of the first few voices of hip-hop who raised his voice to stick it to the authorities with the slamming anthem ‘Sound of da Police’, legendary rapper and educator KRS-One recently dropped the first single ‘The Beginning’ from his upcoming 17th untitled studio album, which will be releasing sometime in 2022, according to the rapper himself. As he says at the start of the music video, “nah, there’s no break, I’m just gonna go straight through!”; he plants the old-school SUN-One produced battle style beat with one long intense verse with some intense truth bombs and some smart word-play. Have the lyrics out when you listen to this one!
Cypress Hill – Bye Bye (ft. Dizzy Wright)
Cypress Hill are gearing up for a smashing 2022, dropping ‘Bye Bye’ featuring Dizzy Wright, the third single off of their upcoming 10th studio album ‘Back in Black’, tentatively releasing on 18th March, ’22. The song compares growing up in the streets to survival in an active war zone, and all the strife around it. The legendary crew also announced a documentary ‘Insane in the Brain: Cypress Hill’ that’s also in the works. Along with all this awesome news, the band also locked a coveted support slot on Slipknot’s Knotfest Roadshow. Big times ahead!
Jack White – Love Is Selfish
Jack White drops the first single ‘Love Is Selfish’ from his 2nd upcoming album of 2022, ‘Entering Heaven Alive’, slated to launch in July. The track has a nice sit-by-the-fireplace vibe, and is as stripped down as it can get, elementally, with just plucked acoustic guitars and Jack White’s soft-spoken Bob-Dylan-meets-George-Harrison vocal demeanor. ‘Love Is Selfish’ is the second recent release, following his October release ‘Taking Me Back’ from his 1st upcoming album of 2022 – ‘Fear Of The Dawn’ – set to launch on the 8th of April. Both songs are sonically poles-apart and so are the inspirations, themes and moods of the 2 upcoming albums, not very far apart, in April and July. We’re only looking forward.
Sledgren, Wiz Khalifa & Larry June – Chill With Me
When there’s Wiz Khalifa in a song, you know there’s going to be clouds of smoke and a party-till-you-drop atmosphere! And that’s what the song and the accompanying video for ‘Chill With Me’ are all about. The producer Sledgren maintains a lowkey old-school vibe with some of the melody layers in the beat, that leave you reminiscing the glory days of Dr. Dre. Sledgren mashes it up with that modern sub-heavy 808 trap bass that rumbles them subwoofers. To add a layer of icing on top, the catchy and slightly auto-tuned hook, sung by Larry June, will certainly make you want to spark what you’re smoking and crack a cold one!
Check out the entire TFword Selects – Pop & Hip-Hop playlist below and on Spotify:
Watch this space – same time, same spot, next month! Till then, keep listening!
