Tyler, the Creator hits the dancefloor on Don’t Play With Me

There’s loads of 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 lovingly curated and updated by our (human) editorial team every week.

Tyler, the Creator – Stop Playing With Me

When Tyler, the Creator began teasing his new album Don’t Tap the Glass, he warned the nerds who are speculating on its potential conceptual framework to lower their expectations. While Tyler’s previous albums have featured narrative threads, easter eggs and alter egos brought to life with flamboyant stage outfits, this 10 track album – released on Monday following just a couple of days of promo – is simply about Tyler being as fun and obnoxious as possible. On Stop Playing with Me, Tyler hurls insults over a danceable beat that’s been wrecked by clipped bass, busting out some gloriously goofy dance moves in the video while dressed like a gangsta rapper from the mid ​‘80s – because why not? DR

Fcukers – Play Me

My ears pricked up when I first heard this new tune from NYC duo Fcukers, which was co-produced with Kenny Beats. At times Play Me sounds so… British. There’s drum ​‘n’ bass, agitated breaks, and plenty of hectic energy from frontwoman Shanny Wise and her bandmate Jackson Walker Lewis here, not to mention the accompanying video looks like it was shot on a flip phone in student halls. On Play Me, Fcukers cement their status as the king and queen of ​“2am vibe music”. JW

Mechatok – 200 ft. Tohji

London-via-Berlin producer Mechatok knows how to mix club-appropriate drums with blissful cloud rap – exactly the kind of beat which Japanese singer-rapper Tohji loves to glide over. 200, the pair’s third collaboration, will appear on Mechatok’s forthcoming album Wide Awake, which also features Drain Gangers Ecco2k and Bladee, as well as Isabella Lovestory. DR

Jim Legxacy – 3x ft. Dave

Jim Legxacy co-produced Dave and Central Cee’s record-breaking 2023 smash Sprinter, and now Dave’s returned the favour with a verse on this tender track from Jim’s new mixtape British Music 2025. Dave recently claimed that all he listens to are new gen experimentalists like Jim, Fimiguerro and Chy Cartier. So if he’s about to enter his alternative era, 3x – on which he spits over a contrasting combination of clattering drums, glossy acoustic guitars and eski bloops – could be the first taste of it. Sonically, Jim Legxacy and Dave come from different areas of the UK rap spectrum, but what they share in common is an ability to fearlessly address life’s tragedies. On the hook, Jim recalls shedding tears when his sister passed away in 2023, while Dave steps in lyrically with a supportive arm around his shoulder: ​“Told Jim, ​‘you already did your sister proud.’” DR

Blood Orange – Somewhere In Between

It’s been six years since Dev Hynes dropped a full length Blood Orange project – a mixtape, Angel’s Pulse – and on the 29^th August he’s back with Essex Honey, an introspective album that explores grief, healing and his childhood. Somewhere In Between is a heartbreaking reflection on grief that sees the artist asking ​“and in the middle of your life could you have taken some more time?” in the opening lines before lamenting, ​“light was just for hope and it keeps flickering/​I just want to see you again.” Though Somewhere In Between is mostly driven by moody indie guitars, it finishes off with a mournful cello solo that seems to echo from the far reaches of the artist’s memory. Tissue anyone? TL