Music

SZA Just Dropped ‘Good Days,’ Her Second New Song Of 2020

The follow-up to ‘Hit Different’ will please fans of ‘CTRL.’ …

Though fans have been incredibly eager for SZA to follow up her masterful 2017 debut album CTRL, the first lady of TDE has only released one-offs here and there or features (check out “Freaky Girls” on Megan Thee Stallion’s Good News for a taste) for the most part during 2020. This summer she did release “Hit Different,” a collaborative track with both Ty Dolla Sign, The Neptunes and Pharrell Williams — but the song was dominated by Ty.

Tonight, she’s changed all that by releasing “Good Days,” a sad but optimistic track that yearns after just what the title names, and manages to hit much more of a melodic, narrative-driven tone that puts it more in line with her CTRL output. Still, the track is connected to “Hit Different” because a snippet of it plays at the end of that first song, linking the two and indicating that they might come after each other on a potential new album. If we’re kicking off 2021 with a new record from SZA, well then the year is already looking up. The adorable cover art for the song features what can only be a photo of young SZA, with the title written across her forehead.

Listen above.

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Artist Spotlight

Jeff Hodges delivers a reflection of life and meaning with “I Believe”

Jeff Hodges’ latest release, “I Believe,” is a tender Americana and country-leaning ballad that embraces the simplicity, honesty, and emotional clarity of a warm and reflective space. The song feels timeless with a grounded authenticity built on influences that sound like Zach Bryan, Chris Stapleton, and Leon Bridges.

The first notes of “I Believe” are soft and calm. The performance is purposeful as a slow-burning arrangement that feels like open roads, quiet mornings, and moments of pause in an otherwise fast-moving world, with a soundscape of soft acoustic textures and subtle country instrumentation. Jeff Hodges speaks in a natural, authentic voice. His tone is warm, measured, and full of feeling.

The song is about peace, gratitude, and finding meaning in the ordinary. It’s searching for little intimate truths, such as the gift of presence, the significance of relationships, and the beauty of the everyday. “I Believe” is a testament to Jeff Hodges as an artist dedicated to honest, emotion-driven storytelling. It’s a song that just asks us to slow down, breathe, and remember what’s important.

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Artist Spotlight

With “CLAIM IT ALL,” X-ANONYMOUS takes us on a dark journey through control, chaos, and rebirth

X-ANONYMOUS is back with a blistering new release, “CLAIM IT ALL,“ a hard rock and metalcore smackdown that takes intensity, emotion, and aggression and blasts them into a tightly controlled tempest of sound. It is a combination of guitar riffs, industrial textures, and unrelenting rhythmic drive.

It explodes, launching you into a fractured psychological space where the self is always challenged and reinvented. “CLAIM IT ALL” is about the struggle between self-control and external control. The song encapsulates the crushing burden of manipulation and coercion, creating a terrain in which the mind is a battleground. Every change appears to have a reason, mirroring a spiral into internal chaos and the attempt to slowly regain individual strength.

There’s an emotional undercurrent that suggests awakening, and it tempers the aggression of the instrumentation. It is as though a constant tug and pull exists between collapse and control, as if the track itself were trying to get away from its own limitations. X-ANONYMOUS’s powerful statement is bold, unfiltered, and unafraid to face the darkness to rise above it. “CLAIM IT ALL“ It’s a reminder of how identity always fights back when it’s repressed.