The Kid Laroi’s “A Cold Play” video puts the burgeoning actor’s emoting skills on display, as he strips away all the high-concept stuff to focus on his reaction to the song’s brokenhearted sentiments.

Rather than telling a contrived narrative, Laroi simply sits in front of a backdrop, willing tears into his eyes as he stares into the camera, which slowly pulls away to reveal his surroundings.

The one-take approach is straightforward and simple, but effective, capturing the emotion of the song. The video is a sharp contrast to the one for “She Don’t Need To Know,” which recounted a complicated relationship instead.

Despite releasing three songs in as many months — “She Don’t Need To Know” and “A Cold Play” were preceded by “All I Want Is You” — The Kid Laroi has yet to announce a follow-up for his 2023 debut The First Time.

Still, he’s kept relatively busy since its release, dropping singles like “Aperol Spritz” and “Slow It Down” with Quavo. He also appeared on burgeoning country star Bailey Zimmerman’s new single “Lost” earlier this year, raising his profile quite a bit. All the signs are pointing to some kind of announcement handing just over the horizon.

You can watch The Kid Laroi’s “A Cold Play” video above.

Don Toliver returns with a new single, building on the momentum from his previous videos for “No Pole,” “Lose My Mind,” and “No Comments.”

This time around, he teams up with prolific Texas hitmaker Cardo for “Tiramisu,” a vibey ode to the sweet life. A melody-heavy come-on to a romantic interest, “Tiramisu” benefits greatly from Cardo’s laid-back but propulsive production, which brings a new dimension out of Toliver’s sing-song flow. Toliver also tries a few different intonations, notably going for a rendition of 645AR’s chirpy, clipped delivery.

It works pretty well here as he croons, “Call me when you need it late at night, you know I’m slidin’ / I heard you been dreamin’ ’bout me lately, girl, I’m ridin’ / Tell me that you think about me ’cause you’re on my mind, babe / You ain’t gotta check your watch, you know I’m on that time, bae.”

Meanwhile, the music video sticks closely to Toliver’s established lane, with shots that obscure his performance in favor of highlighting his female co-stars, who seem to be enjoying a nighttime camping trip. There’s also some tire-burning driving sequences and a sensual silhouette dancing to the music.

While Don Toliver’s last album came out less than a year ago, a new release this year would probably be in line with his normal rate of output, so don’t be surprised if an announcement comes down the pike sooner or later.

Watch Don Toliver’s “Tiramisu” video above.

Last Friday, Tyla released her new EP WWP, sharing the long-awaited collaboration, “Dynamite,” with Wizkid. The song, which the duo recorded two years before its release, pairs two of African music’s hottest and brightest rising stars for a sultry hip twister combining the best of both artists’ respective cultures.

Naturally, the video for the song, released today, reflects this vibe, with Tyla and Wiz taking over a Moroccan apartment and rehearsing for a performance together. The fiery finale is straight out of a John Wick movie (specifically, number three), with an explosion rivaling the track’s namesake.

Tyla previously explained why it took so long for the song to come out after they initially recorded it, telling Capital XTRA Breakfast, “We just didn’t end up finishing it. Like, we would talk about here and there, but it just didn’t happen. You know how things are. We both are very busy, and we have a lot of things that we are doing.”

In addition to “Dynamite,” WWP included the previously released singles “Bliss” and “Is It.” Tyla’s busy 2025 included the Lisa collab “When I’m With You” and the Smurfs soundtrack song, “Everything Goes With Blue.”

Watch Tyla’s “Dynamite” video featuring Wizkid up top.

WWP is out now via FAX Records/Epic Records. You can find more info here.

The turnaround for Yeat’s new EP Dangerous Summer turned out to be pretty quick. After dropping the video for “Im Yeat” earlier this month, the unrestrained Portland rapper followed up in relatively short order with the project’s release date announcement, just two days before it dropped. It’s out now, along with the Lyrical Lemonade-produced video for “Put It ONG.”

Directed by Cole Bennett, and in true Lyrical Lemonade fashion, the video takes a colorful aesthetic and runs it through a psychedelic filter, making it a nearly overwhelming visual feast. The video opens with a troupe of clown-faced ballerinas dancing outdoors, pulling back to reveal an entire carnival, which Yeat takes full advantage of. He rides roller coasters with the ballerinas, and shoots a pop gun for prizes, even subjecting one to the dunk tank.

Yeat’s collaboration with Lyrical Lemonade should come as no surprise, as he was chosen as a headliner of the production company’s growing festival, Summer Smash, this year alongside Young Thug. His co-headliner Don Toliver appears on Dangerous Summer as a feature, as do BNYX, SahBabii, and intriguingly, FKA Twigs.

Watch Yeat’s “Put It ONG” video above.

Dangerous Summer is out now via Lyfestyle Corporation/Field Trip Recordings/Capitol Records. Get it here.

In the video for “To Be Free,” the euphoric new single from Sam Smith, the singer leads what can only be described as an exuberant revolution. While Sam sings on stage in an empty theater, the lobby is suddenly filled with high-spirited youths who dance across the bar on their way to filling the auditorium. As Sam’s voice is joined by a powerful chorus, the audience is seen singing along with expressions of ecstatic joy as they loose their inhibitions.

In the song’s press release, Smith says, “I’ve never had a recording experience like I did making this song. It’s one vocal and guitar take from start to finish – one live performance of me and my friend Simon Aldred in a pure state of music and expression. I wrote it five years ago while writing my last album Gloria and then parked it because I knew it was not a song for that album. It was created during a time in my life where I became free within myself.”

While Sam has yet to announce a longer project attached to the single, their first solo song since the Barbie soundtrack, they do have a 12-date residency at historic Brooklyn venue Warsaw. Tickets go on sale on Friday, August 1, at 10 am local time. You can find more info here.

Sam Smith – “To Be Free: New York City” 2025 Warsaw Residency Dates

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Giveon’s new album Beloved is out today, and with it, another single taking a grown man look at love, loss, and loneliness. “I Can Tell,” like the rest of the album, is a throwback to a time when R&B exclusively featured live instruments and songwriters explored every aspect of falling in and out of love. This time around, it’s about the latter; the video opens with a train station farewell (a cinema staple from a true cinema lover) and follows the two former lovers as they sit with their regrets and memories.

The video does end on a hopeful note, with Giveon’s silhouette seen through the front door window, hesitating on whether to man up and knock or live with his mistakes. I’m a romantic; I’m betting he does the former.

The Long Beach native put in a lot of effort to differentiate his latest endeavor from much of the output of his contemporaries. Rather than relying on hip-hop production to stay relevant, Beloved is distinguished by a live band approach to songs like “Twenties” and “Rather Be,” with Giveon showing off his polished vocal prowess and delving deeper into relationship questions than “what are we?,” “u up?” or “your place or mine?” I really love it. Give it a listen, and you might too.

Watch Giveon’s “I Can Tell Video” above.

Beloved is out now via Epic Records. You can find more info here.

In 2023, Offset and JID linked up when they recorded “Danger (Spider)” for the Across The Spider-Verse soundtrack. A couple years later, the pair has reunited for “Bodies,” a brand new collaboration.

The hook uses a sample of the whispered intro of Drowning Pool’s 2001 signature single of the same name, and it works well in this hip-hop mode removed from its original nu-metal context.

A video arrived following the song’s release, and Offset directed it himself. It starts with a dark and stormy scene before incorporating visual themes of religion and death; The track also prominently samples a rendition of the gospel song “Ringing Them Bells” performed by the choir The Spirituals.

In a statement, Offset says of the song:

“‘Bodies’ is one of them ones I had to really take my time with. It’s about standing on who you are, coming out the mud, and being confident in the face of adversity. I’m always evolving, and I don’t fit in a box as an artist. I’ve been cooking this up for a minute and I’m just getting started. JID is my guy and had the perfect energy to match ‘Bodies.’ Stay tuned because we going up.”

Watch the “Bodies” video above.