Welcome to “Cut Through the Noise,” an entertainment column from the St. Louis Park Echo covering new music releases. Every week, a different Echo staffer takes on the role as writer, reviewing recent single releases from a variety of artists

24kGoldn, Lil Tecca – ‘Prada’  ★★★★☆

24kGoldn and Lil Tecca’s latest single “Prada” is a nice, upbeat song. 24kGoldn’s chorus is very catchy, and in my opinion, is the best part of the song. The beat is rather unusual, it sounds as if someone is playing the xylophone but it goes well with the song. 24kGoldn’s verse is very clean and goes with the beat extremely well. However, he has some issues matching the beat’s high notes, even with a generous amount of autotune. Lil Tecca’s verse is also very nice. While his voice is not as slick as 24kGoldn’s, he is able to sing a little bit better which helps him match the beat and makes up for what he lacks in lyricism. The only issue I have with the song is that it raps about designer clothes, which is a somewhat boring and unrelatable topic. The song is very pleasant to listen to and I would recommend it to anyone who is into more melodic styles of rap.

Cordae – ‘Super’ ★★★★☆

This song has Cordae counting his blessings, rapping about what he has and how great his life is. The beat is pretty in-your-face, with plenty of drums and bass. This type of beat can make or break a song but Cordae goes with it perfectly. He flows effortlessly on the song, changing his style a few times as he goes. It sounds very natural, as if he had just rapped the whole song from off the top of his head. The lyrics flex all the wealth Cordae possesses, such as money, cars, and high-profile connections in the rap game. However, he also details his struggle coming up and how he believes it made him into the great rapper he is today. Overall the song was pretty good and I would recommend it to anyone who likes rap.

Tame Impala featuring Lil Yachty – ‘Breathe Deeper’ ★★★★★

This was a collaboration I was certainly not expecting to see. Though Tame Impala’s style of alternative songs is a lot different from Yachty’s hip-hop catalog, this joint song sounds very clean. The beat is wacky, something I have come to expect from a Tame Impala song and also Yachty, on occasion. It was also very upbeat and fun, which meshes well with Yachty’s style of rapping. This song finds Yachty crooning about a fun night spent dancing with a woman. The chorus is sung by Tame Impala and is short but sweet. Yachty’s ability to story tell on songs really shines through here. His clever use of imagery makes it easy to imagine the situations he is singing about. Overall, this song is a fantastic listen for anyone who is a fan of pop or alternative music and I would definitely recommend it.