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 of writer, reviewing recent single releases from a variety of artists.
“Hannah Montana” – Ice Spice ft. NLE Choppa & DaBaby ★★☆☆☆

In this song, Ice Spice collaborates with popular rap stars, NLE Choppa and DaBaby, to make a very simple yet catchy song. The classic and prominent Ice Spice-style bass line holds the song together and compliments the rapping styles of DaBaby and Choppa. However, the loud, high-pitched sample laid over the beat gets to be annoying after 10 seconds of listening to the song and could be compared to a whining baby or an alarm that wills you out of bed in the morning. The features are definitely a strong suit on this track, as Choppa’s instantly recognizable voice contrasts well with the bars from Ice Spice. His verse, along with DaBaby’s, offers an alternative flow and switches up the feel of the song. One lyric that stood out to me was when Ice says “Thank God I’m rich, I was just on a bus.” Her arrogant style is what is attractive about her to many of her listeners, as well as her unique and confident voice. I would recommend this song to people who are into the whole new genre of female rappers like GloRilla, Sexyy Red and Cardi B, as Ice Spice raps in a similar style. That being said, I predict that this track won’t be as popular as some of her other work.

“Santa Baby” – Kim Kardashian ★☆☆☆☆
This take on a Christmas classic by Kim Kardashian doesn’t do the original any justice and its message is completely altered on this track. For starters, Kim Kardashian’s voice irritates me, and her singing skill is subpar at best. The jazzy saxophone, whose accompaniment is classic and smooth, and the piano, which is catchy and matches the vibe of the track, shine best throughout the song. The biggest thing that differentiates this song from the original, and its many other iterations, are the changes in the lyrics that Kim sings. When she says, “Santa baby, I want a yacht and really that’s not a lot” or “Santa cutie, and fill my stocking with a duplex and check,” the lyrics portray Kim as having a spoiled, gold digger mentality. This version has been recorded before but the lyrics take on a completely different meaning when Kim is singing them, because of her reputation. The message of Christmas seems to be skewed in this song as well, such as when Kim sings, “Next year I could be just as good, If you check off my Christmas list.” When she said the second part of that line the music completely cuts out and only vocals are heard, which emphasizes that second line as the most important part. She’s saying that if she gets all the expensive nice things that she wants, she’ll be good, and that’s not the message of Christmas at all. I honestly wouldn’t recommend this version of the song to anyone as there are so many better iterations. Despite this, the song, though maybe not this version, will always be a classic during the holiday season.

“Tweaker” – G3 GELO ★★★★☆
This song written by former NBA G league guard LiAngelo Ball, and brother of NBA guards, LaMelo and Lonzo Ball, has been blowing up all over the internet. After going viral for the nostalgia it brought to 2000s-era hip-hop fans, it has been blasted during post-game celebrations of professional sports teams, like the Detroit Lions and the Cleveland Cavaliers. There have also been many athletes on social media posting their reactions to the song and the reviews have been mostly positive, for a good reason. The beat and flow to this song is unique and LiAngelo’s voice is clean-sounding and mellow. The rhyme scheme is witty, and the flow and lyrics are catchy and easy to sing along to. The bass is prominent as well, and it’s easy to understand why this song has become so popular so fast, especially in the sports world. It’s a good hype-up song. LiAngelo, along with his brothers, won the state championship while playing at “Chino Hills High School,” and attended UCLA to play basketball. But unlike his two brothers, LiAngelos NBA career never took off. After a brief stint in the G league and a couple of tryouts with the Lakers and Pistons, his basketball career seemed to now be coming to an end. Because of this, it’s a big deal that he is starting a successful music career. I would recommend this song to big hip-hop and rap fans who enjoy the music of artists like Lil Baby, Playboi Carti and BigXthePlug. This one might be in my pregame playlist.