Listening to Arnold J.’s new single, "Muddy Waters," isn't quite like anything else swirling around right now. It arrives with the gentle insistence of incoming tide, pulling you into its specific gravity. Arnold J., Ghanaian-born and now Canada-based, weaves a sound tagged as alt-country and folk, but those labels feel thin, like trying to contain smoke. There’s earthiness, sure, but his soulful vocal lines...

The new single "Bun The Babylon" by the UK-based musician Kace is a scathing indictment of authority figures and systematic injustice; it's a heavy-hitting UK hip-hop anthem. Lyrics that address actual issues ensure the message resonates even among head-nodding rhythms, while the music draws people in. The passionate performance elevates feelings of disappointment or rage to the level of a motivating factor, evoking pressing, real-time opposition. The...