B.o.B, “Missing”

You never know what you’re going to get from the eclectic Bobby Ray. Enter “Missing,” the latest single from his forthcoming third album, Underground Luxury. Here, B.o.B provides social commentary about the state of the world complete with lyrical darts thrown at shady politicians and messed up power structures that work against everyday people.

B.o.B opens the song with, “Seems like since we got a Black president, Black people stop questioning the government/And that ain’t no dis to Barack either, so muhfuc%er you can miss me with that other shot.” He continues to urge people to be aware of the “new world order” and start paying more attention to the state of the world, hence the title of the song, “Missing.” “They don’t want anybody to find out the truth, and if I’m right I’ma wind up missing,” he says repeatedly throughout the hook. Hopefully that doesn’t happen. Music needs B.o.B.

Listen here.  

Dizzy Wright, The Golden Age (Mixtape)

Next up from the Funk Volume artist is this lengthy mixtape that’s worth the listen. The Las Vegas native enlisted the help of Wyclef Jean (on some production), Joey Bada$$ (for lyrical assistance) and others to help him put together this latest project.   Wright—using Anita Baker samples to comment on everything from trying to build a name for himself to using the N-word despite knowing that he shouldn’t—did a good job capturing the soulful feeling of the Golden Era of hip-hop, while injecting his own modern flavor into the music. This is one of those “throw on for a road trip or cleaning the house” types of mixtapes.

Listen here.

Sean Kingston ft. 2 Chainz, “Shotta Luv”

Sean Kingston is off that “Beautiful Girls” ish and more about that raunchy grown man steez. “Shotta Luv” takes cues from 1990s R. Kelly as Kingston sings, “You remind me of my coupe.” See what he did there? There’s also some Shabba Ranks floating around (think the smoothness of “Mr. Loverman”), but 2 Chainz reminds you what decade we’re in with his distinct rapping style, which is a stark contrast from the beat’s mellow reggae groove. T.I. is smoother and better suited for slow sexy jams like this, but I digress. It’s still a solid song, and a good indicator of what’s to come from Kingston’s forthcoming album, Back 2 Life, scheduled for September 10.

Listen here.

Mateo, We’ve Met Before  

Mateo’s first Interscope released single, “How Good Is Your Love,” is still going strong and he’s fresh off a tour with Keyshia Cole and Chrisette Michele, but there’s no time for rest just yet. He’s full steam ahead and wants listeners to get even more acquainted with him via his debut EP, We’ve Met Before. The five-track release is a nice hybrid of pop and R&B, and Mateo’s midrange-to-high tenor is perfect for setting the sensual tone of this project. 

Available here.

Starrene Rhett Rocque is a pop culture junky who often fantasizes about becoming a shotgun toting B-movie heroine, and aspires to save the world from the impending #ZombieApocolypse… In reality she’s a freelance entertainment journalist/blogger who muses about music, TV, movies and love. Follow her on Twitter @GangStarrGirl.