• 21 Savage, redrum (Rap)- The runaway winner from Jan 20 Neuphoria- is accordingly carried forward to this playlist.  “Redrum” is currently clocking in as the 2nd most streamed song in the World.

  
  

• Justin Timberlake, Selfish (R&B/Pop)- JT is back with his first new music in 5 years with this single from his forthcoming new album, “Everything I Thought It Was”.  This silky-smooth song is a welcome departure from his last release “Man of the Woods”, which seemed like an unintended parody of A River Runs Through It.  In this week’s interview on New Music Daily, Timberlake said that he honestly believes his new album will be his best work ever- and he had over 100 tracks to choose from.  Stay tuned!!

  
  

• YG Marley, Praise Jah in the Moonlight (Reggae)- This newly-released collaboration between YG Marley (Bob Marley’s grandson) and his mother, Lauryn Hill, is presently the 3rd most Shazam’d song in the world- and has already reached the Top 20 in the UK.  “Praise Jah…..” features a very traditional 70’s reggae sound- and if it was to reach the Billboard US Top 40, it would be the first traditional reggae song to do so in over 20 years.

  
  

• Don Toliver, Bandit (Rap)- After his spouse, Kali Uchis was featured on 2 of the last 3 Neuphoria playlists, Toliver gets his turn.  “Bandit” features an electronically-treated stem from a recent Tame Impala song, which provides a bonecrushing backdrop for Toliver’s freestyle raps.  Just released yesterday, “Bandit” is sure to be at the top of the US and Global streaming charts next week.

  
  

• Justice and Tame Impala, One Night/All Night (Alternative/Electronic)- The critically-acclaimed French electronic duo, Justice are back this week with their first release in 8 years.  Often compared to the seminal, but reclusive Daft Punk, Justice teams with Aussies, Tame Impala (weren’t they on the last song too?) on this lacquer-sheened Electro cut.

  
  

• Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Murder on the Dancefloor (Dance)- Although originally released in 2001, I’m making an exception here as this song has undergone a rebirth after its feature at the end of the hit movie, Saltburn.  This exquisitely-crafted pop song is currently # 2 on both the BBC radio charts and the Apple Music UK streaming charts and is in the top 10 current TikTok songs- as it has been embraced by a new generation of 20-something fans.  A posh, but dedicated mother and wife, Ellis-Bextor has maintained her popularity in recent years by hosting weekly streamed “Kitchen Disco” concerts with her family- and a podcast where she interviews working mothers. 

  
  

• Shygirl & Boys Noize, Tell Me (Electronic)- This song was top feature on Zane Lowe’s (Apple Music Chief Curator) podcast last week.  While sporting a turbo-speed 137 BPM beat, “Tell Me” still manages to sound breezy and modern.  Shygirl is a critically-acclaimed British DJ and rapper and her normal Grime/Deconstructed Club sound was much softened on “Tell Me” by collaborating with the German DJ Boys Noize, who was elected Beatport’s “Best Electronic Act” for 3 consecutive years.

  
  

• Zlatan (feat. Asake), Bust Down (AfroBeats)- This song has debuted this week at #3 on the African charts.  Zlatan (not to be confused with the Bosnian/Swedish footballer Zlatan Imbrahimovic) is a popular Nigerian rapper- and he teams on “Bust Down” with the prolific Asake.  Rather than Zlatan’s typical rap fare, “Bust Down” sounds more like an Asake song featuring violins and his signature group choruses.

  
  

• Morgan Wallen, Spin You Around, 1/24 (Country)- Now on to the drama…….Country music’s biggest current star, Wallen preemptively released an acoustic version of “Spin You Around” yesterday due to his dispute with his former record label.  “Spin You Around” was originally recorded and released to no fanfare in 2015 (well before Wallen became known) on an EP under the small label, Panacea Records.  Given Wallen’s current mega-popularity, Panacea decided to re-release the EP this week- against Wallen’s wishes as he was not proud of that older work.  Nonetheless (or possibly as a consequence), the EP 2015 electric version of “Spin You Around” debuted at #3 in the US this week.  

  
  

• 24K Golden, Clarity (Pop)- The newest single release from 24K Golden focuses on the universal mental health issues that he and others dealt with during the lockdown in a pop context. For those of us who are SF natives, the biracial 24K Golden (Golden Landis Von Jones) is a 23 year-old SF Lowell High grad, whose 2020 single “Mood” had the distinction of being #1 in every geography in the Western World- in addition to other several pre-Covid hit singles.  On a personal note, in high school, Von Jones jammed with my son and other locals on music and then in college was a TKE at USC with several other SF-based kids.

  
  

• Del Water Gap & Holly Humberstone, Cigarettes & Wine (Alternative/Pop)- You might ask, what does the Delaware River water gap have to do with pop music? Nothing, apart from the fact that indie pop singer, Sam Jaffe decided to adopt that pseudonym.  In this case, the US-based Jaffe has paired with the recent UK Brit Rising Star award-winning Humberstone on a super-catchy love song with a chorus that no nutritionist (Katie Morford, included) could endorse; “let’s keep living on cigarettes and wine, shut the curtains to keep the world inside…”. 

  
  

• YUNGBLUD (feat. Lil Yachty), When We Die (Alternative)- “When We Die” is the new single from Mr. Blud’s forthcoming 4th album after his most recent two albums charted #1 in the UK and most of Western Europe.  This song features an enticing mix of YUNGBLUD’s Space Oddity-era Bowie and guest rapper Lil Yachty’s tuned vocal over a Prog Rock mellotron (editor’s note- Yachty’s inexplicable transformation from a mumble rapper to a  Prog Rocker on recent albums could be the subject of an entire Neuphoria).  Beware playing this loud at work: You may be found out by the chorus “Come and do drugs with me”………..

  
  

• Megan Thee Stallion, Hiss (Rap)- Back to the drama, “Hiss” is Ms. Stallion’s scathing rebuke of her detractors, debuting at #1 in the US this week- and #3 in the world.  Never one to mince words,  Megan uses this song as an equal opportunity diss to the pop media and male rap producers.  However, her best line is “These hoes don’t be mad at Megan, they be mad at Megan’s Law”- which is an affront to Nicki Minaj as her husband is a convicted sex-offender and therefore subject to Megan’s law- OUCH!!!   Minaj immediately responded by releasing “Big Foot” a day later (already charting in the top 10) which references Thee Stallion’s swollen foot that resulted from Megan being shot in the foot after an argument by her then-boyfriend rapper, Troy Lanez (now on trial).  DOUBLE OUCH!!!!!

  
  

• Usher & Pheelz, Ruin (AfroBeats/R&B)- Kudos to Joe Morford as I almost missed this one.  This song is Usher’s tune-up for his Super Bowl halftime show- and his maiden voyage on the AfroBeats bandwagon.  On “Ruin”, Justin Bieber’s mentor teams with Nigerian crooner, Pheelz on a new take on Usher’s Loverboy fare, singing that “you… ruin me for everybody”.  While the entrée at the Super Bowl for most will be the Chiefs and the 49er’s, I will be focused on Usher vs Taylor Swift………  

Honorable mention this week to Billy Joel with his first release yesterday in 17 years.  Happy listening!!!

Doug

PS- Recently Spotify has been under shareholder pressure given that their music platform hasn’t been profitable historically.  Watch out Spotify users for potential changes in their economic proposition- or a potential acquisition……

PPS- Current Neuphoria alums and candidates occupy 8 of the current Global Billboard Top 10 places, Arianna Grande’s “yes and ?” charting at #1!!