Princess Nokia brought a slight smile to the faces of emo kids across the world today with the release of her new mixtape, A Girl Cried Red. Sure, we’ve had a love of emo-infused trap recently from the likes of Lil Uzi Vert, Trippie Redd and Lil Peep (RIP), but this is something else. The very well-titled Your Eyes Are Bleeding is our favourite track from the project, mostly for the nostalgia brought about by lyrics like “smash my heart in pieces, it looks so good on the floor”. Take us back to the dark age with you!
In other music news, fellow royal King Princess has shared her follow up to the supremely popular, Harry Styles-approved 1950. Talia is another aching lesbian love song full of raspy-vocalled KP drinking to remember the taste of your lips. Also celebrating vaginas this week are Janelle Monáe and Grimes, who have released an ode to creation, self-love, sexuality and pussy power called PYNK. Taken from the former’s forthcoming album, Dirty Computer, there’s a very cool accompanying music video in which actress Tessa Thompson gets inside Janelle’s vagina pants.
Nicki Minaj is back x2 and rocking cosplay on Chun-Li and Barbie Tingz. The Street Fighter homage opens with a gong (a bit problematic tbh) and definitely mentions chopsticks when it didn’t need to, on a track about a powerful female taking out her rap game enemies. “This is the best album in my life that I’ve ever created,” she said of her imminent follow up to The Pinkprint during a Beats 1 interview with Zane Lowe last night.
Meanwhile, 88rising newbie AUGUST 08 is going from strength to strength with smooth new tune Lately — we premiered the video earlier in the week. It’s great. Little sister Sigrid is part way through teasing out her Raw EP — three songs down, two to go — with new single High Five, which really should’ve been on The Greatest Showman OST. Then there’s 19-year-old SoCal artist Aries who, if his new tune SAYONARA is anything to go by, would probably get on well with emo Princess Nokia.
Nov’s new record Novelist Guy is out today. The stand out track? The confrontational and timely Stop Killing The Mandem, which references a sign the former deputy young mayor of Lewisham held aloft at a London Black Lives Matter protest back in 2016. Less political, but just as good, there’s also new magic from Kamasi Washington, Tinashe, Florence + The Machine, Bakar and loads more. See you next time.