The Sunday of summer is right around the corner and as the season begins to wind down, we’ve got a mellow roundup of Fresh Picks this week to help usher you into August. There’s an even mix of rap and R&B this week with Amindi, tobi lou and Frsh Waters representing the former while Tyla, Hamzaa and Josiah Bassey slow things down a bit. Regardless, you’re bound to have at least one of these songs on repeat to help power you through the week.
Don’t forget to check out our July picks in the Spotify playlist, linked below.
Freshest Find: Frsh Waters feat. Ohana Bam & Benjamin Earl Turner, “Grace look good”
Frsh Waters has been giving himself grace. Sampling Omar Apollo’s “Evergreen,” the Chicago rapper recruits Ohana Bam and Benjamin Earl Turner for a boom-bap rap song about “a combination of overdue compassion and damage control,” Frsh tells Billboard. “It’s checkin’ to let folks know we all need grace. Benjamin set the perfect scene [and] me and Ohana took up the challenge to fill in the details.”
Amindi, “diddy crop”
Amindi’s new single “diddy crop” is inspired by her fondness of the mogul’s habit of cropping people out of photos. “P. Diddy is notorious for skillfully editing people out of his photos, and I think it’s hilarious and valid,” she shares in a press release. The Inglewood rapper-singer describes her sound as “pastel rap” due to how she pairs songwriting with her soft sound. “Diddy crop” is a perfect example of this and will appear on her upcoming mixtape Take What You Need.
tobi lou, “Some Things”
“I am a problem, and I feel like this song reflects that,” says tobi lou. Combining an uptempo beat with witty bars, the Chicago artist releases “Some Things” a week after his Rolling Loud Miami performance, where he previewed the song.
Tyla, “Water”
South African musician Tyla blended R&B and amapiano for her new track “Water.” “Make me sweat, make me hotter/ Make me lose my breath, make me water,” she sings. The new song is the perfect backdrop to a rooftop day party or tropical vacation.
Hamzaa, “Rush”
Hamzaa is on her healing journey. “I don’t wanna rush/I don’t wanna get into a fuss… Can’t scream anymore, can’t feel anymore,” she sings. Produced by 1SRAEL, the song appears on her new 5-song EP of the same name. “This project was born out of a discovery phase,” she writes on X (fka Twitter). “I needed to learn about who I was all over again. I needed to understand what it is I really care about… But the one thing I knew is that as urgent as getting my life together is, I cannot rush the healing process.”
Josiah Bassey, “Here”
According to his Instagram bio, Josiah Bassey is a sincere romanticist — and his new song “Here” is proof. The single is stripped back with soothing guitar undertones that compliment his soulful singing voice. “Who cares if the stars don’t align?/ And even if the sun stops shining/ When it gets harder to try, we’ll be just fine/ ’Cause, I’ll be right here,” he sings.
