Cartel – “Faster Ride”

The third single off of the third album for Cartel, “Faster Ride” is one of the better songs the Georgian band has put out since “Honestly,” which was five years ago. The new record is solid overall, but this latest single is our personal fave from the album.

Donnellshawn – “Learning Love”

This is unapologetic pop R&B, but it’s exactly the sort of unapologetic pop R&B that, if given the air time, ends up getting pimped by Ryan Seacrest on Sunday morning radio. Donnellshawn is a new artist about which not a whole lot is known (his tweets are “protected” for cripe’s sake.), but we’re digging the guy. This right here is a good track. Give her a gander…

Peedi Crakk & Li’l Cease featuring Black Rob – “I Don’t Know”

Long-time readers will know that there are a few artist and groups who can do no wrong in our eyes, and The Roots are one of them. So if they love Peedi Peedi, I’m going to love Peedi Peedi, too, and this new track featuring hip-hop mainstays Li’l Cease (formerly of Junior) and Black Rob (Whoa!) is right up the alley of rap super-sweetness, as we’d expect. The instrumental sounds like something from the Robin Hood/Braveheart era but with bass and a beat, and the hook is oddly catchy, hitting unexpected minor chords in a high-pitched chipmunk voice. All awesome. The whole caboodle.

April Smith & The Great Picture Show – “Colors”

If you took out a little tube of bubbles and blew them into a caressing summer breeze, you’d get the voice of the lovely and talented April Smith, and that positive vibe rides this little diddy to absolute musical success. Prepare to be sucked into the catchiest song you’ve heard in months. Seriously, unless you want an elephant-sized earworm for the rest of the week, just skip ahead to Cee-Lo. You’ve been warned.

Cee-Lo Green – “Georgia”

I defy you to listen to this track and put it into a genre. You can’t, but when can you ever when it comes to Cee-Lo? He’s an artist who transcends classification, but this most recent track lies more in the stratosphere of soul than anything else. This ain’t your grandpa’s Temptations record, though; the beat is hot and it’s extremely contemporary. You’ll dig. You always do.

The Roots featuring John Legend – “Doin’ It Again”

Every interview I’ve ever done with a hip-hop artist, the conversation somehow comes back to Black Thought of The Roots being the most underrated lyricist in the industry. He’s sharp and witty but has the perfect tone and flow to ride a ?uestlove beat. This new track from everyone’s favorite Philadelphians is remarkably chill, yet exciting enough lyrically to get the ol’ butterflies in the stomach churning. Few hip-hop records get us excited like Roots records, and if you aren’t excited too, you have no soul.