If you’re anything like us, we see an interesting headline during our daily scroll—pause to read it—but then keep scrolling without reading the actual story. So at the end of each week, we’re rounding up all the buzziest, news-worthy headlines you might have missed. Think of it like the “saved” feature on Instagram but for news instead of aesthetically pleasing photos. Brent Faiyaz kicked off toxic boy summer with Wasteland, Olivia Rodrigo did another duet (and we love to see it), and Burna Boy released LOVE, DAMINI—this is what you missed.

#1

Brent Faiyaz Releases ‘Wasteland’ Feat. Drake, Tyler, the Creator & More
Brent Faiyaz finally dropped Wasteland and you know what that means….it’s demon time, baby! Whenever a Brent Faiyaz project is released part of my research is scrolling through Twitter because I know it has big meme potential. Alas, I was not wrong, and may I present my findings before diving into the album itself. Exhibit number one, the skits are peak toxicity. Exhibit number two, the album is like a full iPhone charge for toxic tendencies. In the intro, “Villain’s Theme”, he states “motherf**kers like to use that word toxic” (sounds like a projection). Then proceeds to gaslight Twitter’s claims that he’s toxic, reframing toxic behavior as “temporary euphoria” which further proves his toxicity. Ha, that’s just the beginning—brace yourselves. Sonically the album is beautiful as expected, Faiyaz can make anything sound good in a falsetto. There’s the previously released “Gravity” feat. Tyler, the Creator, and DJ Dahi which has a nice balance of Faiyaz’s crooning and Tyler’s rap verses. The same applies to the Neptunes-produced track “Wasting Time” feat. Drake. “All Mine” is the R&B anthem of situationships—if you know you’ll know as soon as you hear it. “Heal Your Heart” sounds like love bombing (in my opinion). Other features on the album include Alicia Keys and Joony. I can confirm, that the skits are just as crazy as Twitter said they were. All in all, it’s a concept album that needs to be taken in song by song (not shuffle), skits included, to truly understand Faiyaz’s intention behind it. Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine, he said “For me, Wasteland is just what I felt like we living in with this post-pandemic cluster-fuck of emotions,” before continuing that despite the world (kind of) falling apart, we all still engage in vices. He’s not wrong and the songs are about his feelings in those moments of “temporary euphoria”. All I have left to say is Future take off your toxic king crown and put that shit where it belongs—firmly on Faiyaz’s head.

#2

Burna Boy’s ‘LOVE, DAMINI’ Is Here Feat. J Hus, Popcaan, J. Balvin & More
If you were keeping up with new music Friday today, I applaud you because you probably felt like this tweet listening to Brent Faiyaz and Burna Boy (I suggest listening to the former first and letting the latter pick you up after). Burna Boy’s having a great year with the Toni Braxton-sampling single “Last Last” playing everywhere and making it a strong contender for the anthem of summer 2022. As one of the biggest Afrobeats artists to crossover to Western markets, his new album LOVE, DAMINI was highly anticipated. The album title reads like an affectionate signature given his real name is Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu—meaning the album is his gift to you. After unwrapping it, you’ll find plenty of other artists inside because it’s stacked with features. Kehlani, J Balvin, Blxst, J Hus, Popcaan, Khalid, and Ed Sheeran are recognizable names for most but Burna Boy also tapped his fellow African musicians Victony and the men’s choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The release came with a music video for “Hold My Hand” featuring Ed Sheeran. After watching the video, may I suggest an alternate title? How about “Burna Boy and The Magic Elevator”? Or “From Sea to Sky” starring Burna Boy and Ed Sheeran? Okay, I’m done. The album is feel-good vibes with moments of introspective emotion if you take the time to understand the slang (you’ll realize “Last Last” is not as happy as the melody makes it out to be).

#3

Olivia Rodrigo Performs “Torn” Duet With Natalie Imbruglia 
One thing about Olivia Rodrigo is that she loves a good cover song but she loves a good duet even more. The pop-punk prom queen is currently on the European leg of her Sour tour and surprised fans at her London show by bringing out Natalie Imbruglia to perform her 1997 chart-topping song “Torn”. For those not as acquainted with ‘90s hits as Rodrigo clearly is, Imbruglia’s version of “Torn” is a cover in itself. Yes, that means the duet was a cover of a cover. The original was recorded in 1993 by Danish singer Lis Sørensen which spawned three other covers before Imbruglia dropped hers—to this day Imbruglia’s remains the most well-known version. So technically a cover…of a cover….of a cover…of a cover. Inception, music history style? The duet came just days after Rodrigo’s solo performance of the song, at Bunny Jackson’s Dive Bar in Manchester, England, went viral. The drinking age at said dive bar is 18, Rodrigo is currently 19, and if she indulged in the perks of being legal overseas then Good 4 her. This follows her Glastonbury performance where she brought out Lily Allen to duet “F*ck You” and lest we forget her Toronto show in April that featured a live rendition of “Complicated” with none other than the original pop-punk princess herself—Avril Lavigne. Brings me back to my original point of she loves a good duet and allows me to add “with generational female artists”.

#4

Kid Cudi Releases Greatest Hits Mixtape ‘The Boy Who Flew To The Moon Vol. 1’ 
Nothing in this world is certain except for death, taxes, and Kid Cudi’s every move shocking his fans to the very core—in the best way, though. The cross-disciplinary artiste just can’t seem to stop! After announcing that he’s going on tour, releasing his Netflix animated series Entergalactic, and headlining at Camp MacDonald’s virtual music event, he decided to put his fans into cardiac arrest again by dropping his greatest hits mixtape with a two-day notice. The compilation album The Boy Who Flew To The Moon Vol.1 features 18 of his career-defining tracks from the 8 albums he released in the last 14 years. Songs like “Day ‘N’ Nite (Nightmare), “Ghost,” and “Mr. Rogers” are all included in this well-rounded collection catering to old and new fans alike. In his tweet about his 18-track comp, Cudi said that it represents a “much-needed reminder” of all that he’s accomplished thus far, and oh, did we all need this. On top of the mixtape release, he revealed he’s making his 2008 mixtape A Kid Named Cudi available on streaming services later this month. With Kid Cudi having the ultimate Main-Character summer, I can’t help but wonder: how is he doing all of this, all at once, everywhere? Did he get the blueprint from the late Virgil Abloh? And after extended deliberation, the only seemingly reasonable answer I could come up with is that we are all living in a Kid Cudi sci-fi movie where Cudi is the mastermind behind his clone counterparts. Being his fan is not for the faint of hearts, but we’d do anything in pursuit of happiness and we, as fans of Kid, couldn’t be happier.

#5

Dua Lipa, Offset, Playboi Carti, Alexa Demie & More Attend Balenciaga Show 
As I take my daily pop culture-scrolling lap around the internet, I catch up on current events, save some inspirational quotes that I will probably not put in action, send a few memes, and geographically track where my favorite artists and celebrities are gathered. This week I was greeted by flooding amounts of content from Paris fashion week—the standout event being Balenciaga’s couture show. Showgoers included the elusive Alexa Demie (does she go out in public for anything else?), Offset, Playboi Carti, Tracee Ellis Ross, Emily Ratajkwoski, Keith Urban, Kris Jenner, and the goth-rebranded North West. There was an unspoken dress code of only black among the aforementioned guests, Offset looked like he was attending a fashion show at 4 pm and entering the Matrix at 5 pm in a floor-length satin trench coat, chunky black boots, and bug-eye sunglasses. The most-talked-about part of the show was when Kim Kardashian, Dua Lipa, and Nicole Kidman came strutting out as familiar faces among the sea of nameless supermodels. Am I the only one who noticed the Powerpuff Girls vibes among the redhead, blonde (Kim), and brunette? I look forward to seeing more fashion week content full of unexpected front-row and runway link-ups.