NEW RELEASES
In June, Fred again.., Skepta, and PlaqueBoyMax joined forces for "Victory Lap." The track, which features a prominent sample of Doechii and Rico Nasty's "Swamp B***hes," was a mostly unexpected crossover, even if the possibility of Fred and Skepta working together in some capacity was always there.
The original "Victory Lap" was first created on Twitch during a stream with Fred again.., Skepta, and PlaqueBoyMax. It was officially released during Fred's stream on June 17, followed by a pop-up show in Brooklyn later that evening, which was also streamed. The track is a high-energy good time and a bit of a departure from Skepta's usual sound in particular.
Now, they've linked up with Denzel Curry for the remix, the appropriately titled "Victory Lap Two." The track continues the energy displayed on the first one. With it, Curry shows why he's one of the most versatile rappers in the game today.
Skepta's verse is untouched from the original. Unfortunately, he did not come back to deliver a new set of bars. But Denzel Curry enters on the back half of the track, immediately displaying the sense of urgency he never seems to lack on a song. It's rare that a track featuring Curry feels like he's coasting, and he certainly does not coast here. His flow is hard-hitting and the bars are primarily him talking the talk about his haters, his skills, and his watch.
Thanks to his Twitch streams, PlaqueBoyMax has shown that there are some streamers with talent in the hip-hop space. Though Max does rap, his biggest strength is as a producer, which shines through on both versions of this song. Hopefully, he and Fred link up again in the near future, as they've now produced quality results twice.
Quotable Lyrics:
N****s be talking s**t off of the populace
Finna stop poppin' in front of your audience
If you wanna go, you gotta keep that fye
Bitch I'm from the M-I-A-M-I
NEW RELEASES
Jessie J has unveiled her new single ‘Believe In Magic’ and opened up about her feelings of frustration after being forced to cancel and reschedule her tour dates in preparation for breast cancer surgery.
The track, originally written in 2022, reunites her with ‘No Secrets’ collaborators Los Hendrix and Jesse Boykins III, and comes alongside visuals directed by Mitch Peryer.
Blending honesty and hope, the lyrics include: “Such a waste being jaded/See all the little things that fix a broken heart/Open your eyes and you’ll see what can happen/Gotta believe in the magic.”
Talking about the song, Jessie J shared that it was written during the early stages of her pregnancy. “I was breaking open and loving writing again,” she explained.
“It was a deep, hopeful, loving feeling I wanted to put into a song. It resonates with me more now than perhaps it did then. That’s the beauty of music, it can travel in time. I love this song. I hope you (yes, you) get the inspiration for your life in your own way. That’s my only hope for all my music.”
‘Believe In Magic’ comes shortly after Jessie J revealed she would have to postpone her UK and European shows due to a second surgery for breast cancer.
The singer shared in June that she had been diagnosed with early breast cancer, saying at the time that “cancer sucks in any form” but she was “holding onto the word ‘early’.” She then went through surgery on June 24, which was successful.
In a press statement, she explained: “Unfortunately, I have to have a second surgery, nothing too serious, but it has to be done by the end of this year. This falls in the middle of the tour I had booked. I’m so sorry, I feel frustrated and sad, but I need to be better, I need to be healed.”
Her UK and European tour, originally scheduled to begin in September, has now been rescheduled for April 2026. All tickets for the October shows will still be valid for the new April dates.
the April dates.
APRIL
07 – Birmingham, Symphony Hall
08 – London – The Palladium
11 – Leeds, O2 Academy
13 – Manchester, Albert Hall
14 – Glasgow, SEC Armadillo
21 – Amsterdam, Paradiso
22 – Brussels, La Madeleine
23 – Cologne, E-Werk
26 – Paris, La Cigale
Jessie J also confirmed that all of her North American dates have been cancelled. In a video on Instagram, she said: “I need to be better, I need to be healed… here comes the bad news, I haven’t been able to finesse the US dates so those have to be cancelled.”
She added that since she already has other tours and shows planned for 2026, figuring out new US dates will take more time.
“Forgive me. I’m sorry, these sucks… April 2026, I’ll be on the road for the UK and European shows, and the US dates will be announced as soon as we can find time, and it feels good to do them.”
