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Every Friday, we highlight the newest and most exciting releases from artists across all genres. This week, we got new music from some big names like Cardi B, CNCO, Hayley Williams, and more.
Check out some of the most highly-anticipated drops down below:
1. Cardi B - “Up”
Cardi B surprised fans this week with a surprise release, dropping her first single since she collaborated with Megan Thee Stallion on “WAP” last year.
At midnight on Friday, the Bronx-born rapper delivered her highly-anticipated single, “Up” along with its official music video. Cardi first began teasing the release on social media earlier this week, telling fans she had been preparing for this drop for more than a month.
2. CNCO - DÉJÀ VU
CNCO dropped their new album DÉJÀ VU on Friday, a project that features reimagined versions of Latin classics including Ricardo Montaner’s “Tan Enamorados,” Chayanne’s ”Dejaría Todo,” Sin Bandera’s “Entra En Mi Vida” and Big Boy’s “Mis Ojos Lloran Por Ti.”
“At the beginning of quarantine, we took some time off since we had been traveling a lot these past few years,” the band told Billboard. ”We were able to reconnect with our families and reflect on all we‘ve achieved and look back at the music that inspired us to get where we are. We decided to have fun and bring back these classics, with the CNCO touch.”
3. Freddie Gibbs featuring Schoolboy Q - “Gang Signs”
Freddie Gibbs and Schoolboy Q got together this week to drop a brand new collaboration titled, “Gang Signs.” The single was produced by Working on Dying.
This track comes on the heels of the Gary, Indiana rapper being forced to take his talents to Twitter after his Instagram page was removed by Facebook. Gibbs was known for some hilarious (yet crude) content on his Instagram stories, and after violating the guidelines too many times, his page was officially taken down.
Luckily, that hasn’t stopped his musical releases.
4. Hayley Williams - FLOWERS for VASES / descansos
Just over a year after the release of her debut solo album, Petals for Armor, Hayley Williams released her second solo album, FLOWERS for VASES / descansos. The Paramore frontwoman’s latest endeavor features 14 tracks and was produced by Daniel James.
“This isn’t really a follow-up to Petals for Armor,” Williams said in a statement to Vulture. “If anything, it’s a prequel, or some sort of detour between parts 1 and 2 of Petals. The meaning of the album as a whole is maybe entirely different from diving into each song in particular.”
This release comes after Williams made news for publicly criticizing former Paramore bandmate Josh Farro for his anti-gay Facebook comments leading up to the 2020 election. “There’s a reason there are only 3 people left in @paramore,” she tweeted. “Surprise, haters, it ain’t cause of me.”
5. Sech - “911”
Sech blessed fans on Friday by releasing his new single and music video for “911.” The song is inspired by one of the artist’s past relationships, and for him, it represents growth in all aspects of his life.
“911” follows the release of Sech’s hit single “La Luz” with J Balvin, which reached the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 all-genre charts. His single, “Relación” was also RIAA certified 10x Platinum.