STREAMED: Quavo Goes Country On New Luke Bryan-Assisted “Georgia Ways,” TWICE Taps Megan Thee Stallion For “Strategy,” & More

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Quavo f. Teddy Swims & Luke Bryan — “Georgia Ways”

Quavo has expanded his collaborations to feature several artists from other genres of late, including Lana Del Rey and Lenny Kravitz. Now, he continues down that path with Teddy Swims and Luke Bryan on “Georgia Ways.”

“That’s just how I was raised / Stuck in my Georgie ways,” Quavo sings on the hook. “Don’t care about what you say / Some sh-t won’t ever change.”

While Luke sings about owning “Title Town” and Teddy sings about “A-Town stomping,” Quavo shares some more about his upbringing.

“Let me tell you a little story about uncle George / Taught me how to get it out the Georgia mud,” he sings. “Standing on the porch with a big ol’ gun / Better not step on the driveway / Georgia boys pullin’ out sideways.”

The song’s music video showcases all three artists in Georgia-inspired scenery. It features grainy film footage of fishing by the lake, a barn fire, and more.

TWICE f. Megan Thee Stallion — “Strategy”

Megan Thee Stallion continues her global takeover. After collaborating with international stars Yuki Chiba (“Mamushi”), RM of BTS (“Neva Play”) and BTS (“Butter”), the Texas titan also teams up with TWICE.

The South Korean group formed by JYP Entertainment dropped “Strategy” and its music video today. “Do you like that?” Megan asks on her verse. “When I smack it and you watch it bounce right back / He really lost it when he saw me do the right-left / I’m a man-eater, you are just a light snack / I got him pressed like he working on his triceps.”

TWICE’s Jeongyeon spoke about what it was like to work with Megan during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “She has a powerful, strong image. We were wondering, would that fit in with our style of music and our image?” She said. “Once we recorded, we thought we actually fit really well, a lot better than we imagined. I feel like Megan’s style really enhanced our part of the music.”

Jeongyeon went on to talk about their music video shoot too. “When we were shooting the music video, Megan really wanted to learn Korean, so she kept saying like, “귀여운,” which means cute,” she added. “She did a lot of Korean-style jokes and those hand hearts that Koreans do a lot to break the ice.”

Tzuyu added: “In the beginning for us, because she’s so famous and well known, we were quite shy, but just like [Jeongyeon] said earlier, Megan really tried a lot to break the ice. She kept trying to learn Korean and make jokes and just kept saying, ‘Let’s just have fun together.’ I feel like the music video turned out very well.”

Smino — Maybe In Nirvana

Smino’s new album, Maybe in Nirvana, isn’t exactly new. Yes, it’s full of fresh unreleased material but he actually made it back in 2020. He’s just been holding onto it since.

“I was just like, sh-t, well, maybe when I’m in a place where I’m at peace with my mind I’d be able to put this album out,” he told Billboard. “I had made this album before I made Luv 4 Rent, the last album I put out. It’s from 2020.”

Smino says the pandemic changed his plans. “I wanted to talk about things that were kind of a little more, I don’t know, thought-provoking…On this album, it’s a lot more debaucherous,” he added. “It’s just my young ass mind at work, just saying s–t, not really understanding my emotions…I felt like at the time it was just bad timing for it. But then when I went back and listened to it, I’m like, ‘This s–t is amazing…It still works.”

Smino also tapped Ravyn Lenae for two songs (“Tequan” and “Glo-Fi”). Elsewhere, Bun B appears on “Ms. Joyce” and Thundercat and reggie show up for “H-e-nouns”).”

Khalid — Sincere (Deluxe)

A few months after releasing his Sincere album in August, Khalid returns. But this time around, he drops six new songs as part of the LP’s deluxe edition.

Ayra Starr appears on “Make It Up To You.” But elsewhere, Normani (“Personal”) and Chlöe (“MIA”) keep the star power going. Arlo Parks appeared on the original’s “Breathe.”

Khalid has said that this album feels more like his debut release due to the album’s songwriting and subject matter. “When I debuted, I was 17 years old. I had no true sense of self,” he told Billboard. “I feel like this album is exactly that; I took it back to basics and I approached it as if I was debuting as an artist all over again.”

He continued: “It’s like I’m coming right back to the start of my journey but this time with more insight and knowledge.”