Kendrick Lamar comes out swinging on Squabble Up

There’s much music out there and sometimes it’s hard to keep up.

Rather than letting the algorithm dictate your music taste, you can listen to Rated by THE FACE – a playlist that’s updated by our (human) editorial team every week.

Kendrick Lamar – Squabble Up

On his shock-drop album GNX, Kendrick doesn’t seem particularly bothered about the beef with his Canadian nemesis anymore. But he’s still ferocious on the smack talk anthem Squabble Up, which was teased at the start of the Not Like Us video. Over a retro-futuristic beat built with a squidgy hyphy bassline, whirry G‑funk synths and a vocal sample from Debbie Deb’s ​‘84 electro smash When I Hear Music, Kenny sneers his way through boasts and threats with his trademark eccentricity. It’s looking like it’ll top the US Billboard Hot 100 Chart. What a time. DR

Wizkid – Bad for You ft. Jasmine Sullivan

On Wizkid’s slick sixth album Morayo, this track immediately grabs your attention thanks to the soul-stirring voice of Philadelphia star Jasmine Sullivan. Bad For You is a horny duet about connecting on the dancefloor, even though both parties know the hook up is probably a bad idea in the longrun. DR

Moses Sumney and ANOHNI – Is It Cold In The Water?

Tissues at the ready, SOPHIE fans. Moses Sumney and ANOHNI have joined forces to cover the moody track Is It Cold In The Water? from the late visionary’s 2018 album Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides. This time, SOPHIE’s signature hyperpop synths are replaced with a minimalist RnB backing track, centring the duo’s warm yet mournful vocals. The track appears on TRAИƧA, a compilation celebrating the trans community which also features the likes of Sade, Hunter Schafer and André 3000. TL

Yhapojj – Free Glokk

Alongside fellow underground stars Xaviersobased and Nettspend, Yhapojj is part of the vanguard of rappers who’ve got the internet pulsing through their veins. Free Glokk is tucked away towards the end of the 20-year-old Alabama native’s new album Before T.L.Y. but it’s a highlight, with Yhapo rapping restlessly about finding the strength to make his own decisions over lush, silky production. JW

SHERELLE and Clipz – Meet Me at the Temple

SHERELLE and Bristolian DJ/​producer Clipz have united for an exhilarating offering to the jungle gods. ​“SHERELLE ​‘n me went in the lab, talked about ​‘r love for early jungle & hardcore ​‘n rolled this trax out after,” Clipz says in the press notes. It’s a heater. TL

Blawan – Fires

If you’ve seen Four Tet or Joy O play out recently, you might have heard Blawan’s new track Fires. In typical fashion, it’s a gritty, scuzzy tune, replete with wobbling modular synths, melodic flourishes and soaring, warped vocals sung by the Barnsley-born DJ/​producer himself. JW