The best new tracks, picked by our staff
Rated by THE FACE: a playlist featuring Ice Spice, Bar Italia, DBN Gogo and K-Trap & Skepta
Music
Words: Olive Pometsey, Davy Reed, Jade Wickes
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Ice Spice – Bikini Bottom
“You thought I was feelin’ you?”, Ice Spice questioned on her breakout viral hit Munch. The Bronx rapper kicks off her follow-up single Bikini Bottom with another cocky rhetorical question: “How can I lose if I’m already chose?”, before nonchalantly flexing over barking bass and a ye olde string sample that sits somewhere in between Spongebob Squarepants (see: the track’s title) and Now That’s What I Call Music circa 1500. It shouldn’t work, but it does. OP
K‑Trap – Warm (remix) ft. Skepta
K‑Trap dropped Warm in 2021, but testament to the UK drill anthem’s enduring impact, it entered the Top 40 of the UK Charts a year after its release. For the inevitable remix, the South London rapper recruits Skepta, who confirms that his recent return to DJing is going well: “Walked in the club with some MP3s on a USB /walked back out the club with a hundred Gs.” DR
Louis Culture – Grime
On Grime, South London artist Louis Culture switches between sharp rap flows and soulful singing, detailing the evolution of a relationship in three sequences. The 24-year-old longs for his partner, delivering plenty of temperature-rising lyrics (“We can do some grime if you’re feeling the mood /You been on my mind, this is way overdue) before getting more heartfelt towards the end of the track. JW
DBN Gogo, Sino Msolo, Kamo Mphela, Young Stunna & Busiswa – Love & Loyalty
The tracklist for the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack is certainly eye-catching. Kicking off with Rihanna’s comeback song Lift Me Up, the album also features the likes of Burna Boy, Tems, Stormzy, PinkPantheress and Rema. But the coolest thing, arguably, is the fact they’ve got a couple of amapiano bangers on there, helmed by the DJ/producer DBN Gogo. So keep an ear out for the bounce of the amapiano log drum when you go see Wakanda Forever in the cinema. DR
Bar Italia – Polly Armour
Although they’ve not done any press yet, Bar Italia have got a steady buzz going in London’s underground music scene. The shadowy trio, who’ve put out two albums via Dean Blunt’s World Music label, specialise in greyscale indie rock that’s a little rough around the edges. Following this year’s (very good) singles Banks and Miracle Crush, they’ve upped the energy for Polly Armour, which conjures an anxious sense of romantic turmoil. DR
