Review: LL Cool J teams with Eminem for old-school, high-speed rap single

HIP-HOP/R&B

LL Cool J and Eminem, “Murdergram Deux”

LL Cool J, 56, and Eminem, 51, show off old-school, high-speed, crisply articulated rhyme technique in “Murdergram Deux,” nominally a sequel to “Murdergram” from LL Cool J’s 1990 album “Mama Said Knock You Out.” It’s all boasts, threats, wordplay and similes — “‘bout to finish you like polyurethane,” Eminem raps — set to a jaunty, changeable track produced by Eminem and none other than Q-Tip. Eminem has the slightly higher syllable count, while LL Cool J gets the last word, a cheerful callback to his commercial peak.

JON PARELES, New York Times

Tommy Richman, “Thought You Were the One”

The Virginia-born electro-R&B artist who came out of nowhere with this summer’s densely atmospheric hit “Million Dollar Baby,” reveals another side of his style on “Thought You Were the One,” a keyboard-driven slow jam from his forthcoming debut album, “Coyote.” Channeling the smoldering romanticism of Prince and the lo-fi mystery of early Weeknd releases, Richman harnesses the power of his falsetto to narrate a tale of lingering heartbreak: “I dreamed last night, you’re in my head,” he sings. “You’re always sticking with me even when I don’t want you.”

LINDSAY ZOLADZ, New York Times

Kehlani featuring Lucky Daye, “When He’s Not There”

“Girl, does he know you’re yearning, yearning for me?” That’s what Kehlani asks an occasional lover who’s usually with “that boy you call a man.” Making things more complicated, Daye shows up in the third verse as yet another paramour: “We’re having our fun and games and they ain’t gotta know.” All the intrigue plays out over gauzy, pillowy synthesizer chords, beckoning toward the next liaison.

JON PARELES, New York Times

POP/ROCK

Kim Deal, “Crystal Breath”

Deal, from the Breeders and Pixies, swerves into unexpected territory with “Crystal Breath,” an echoey, electronics-dominated drone and stomp that urges, “Let’s start a new life” leading to two possibilities: “Beat’s gonna lead us” and “Beast gonna lead us.” The cheerful vocals and terse guitar hooks of her past indie-rock are now supported by a near-constant drone and a hefty programmed beat. It’s from her first solo album, “Nobody Loves You More,” that’s due in November and likely to hold more surprises.

JON PARELES, New York Times

BLUES

Shemekia Copeland, “Blame It on Eve”

The blues songwriter’s new album, “Blame It on Eve,” takes on the devil, loneliness, wine, politics and more, with a clarion voice and a vociferous band — including the guitarist Luther Dickinson from the North Mississippi All-Stars. “Blame It on Eve” is a sax-honking feminist blues that reaches back to the Bible and into the post-Dobbs present: “Wanna know what it feels to have the blues?/Just try losing your right to choose,” Copeland sings.

JON PARELES, New York Times

New releases

• David Gilmour, “Luck and Strange”

• George Strait, “Cowboys and Dreamers”

• MJ Lenderman, “Manning Fireworks”

• Shovels and Rope, “Something Is Working Up Above My Head”

• Paris Hilton, “Infinite Icon”

• The The, “Ensoulment”

• Fred again..., “Ten Days”