So you’re self-quarantined at home. Now what? For some of you, I imagine this will be the time to marathon-watch your favorite shows in place of doing the work your boss assigned you—a decision I fully support. But if you’re like me, you’re going to need some music to make it through a workday at home.
So let’s have a dance party! Here’s a “playlist” of some of my favorite songs to groove to right now.
CORONAVIRUS – IMARKKEYZ
It’s a remix of Cardi B’s public service announcement, and it has taken over the internet. A fun disruption to the ever-so-exhausting coverage of COVID-19.
APESHIT – BREE RUNWAY
She took the internet by storm last week with this single. Bree is like a masterful mix of Missy Elliott and Azealia Banks, and it shines beautifully in the song. If you got niggas who ain’t shit, this is for you.
HATIN – RICO NASTY
Her energy on this Jay-Z “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” sample is WILD. This song is a true banga, and it deserves all the praise for it. Rico slid on this track.
I LOVE ME – DEMI LOVATO
A self-love bop. Not much else needs to be said, aside from the fact that Demi Lovato is miles ahead of most of her peers.
ONLY GIRL IN THE WORLD – RIHANNA
This song is obviously not new at all. However, it is one of Rihanna’s best bops. It gives very scarlett-johannson-dancing.gif.
GOOD THING – KEHLANI AND ZEDD
Another self-love bop. Kehlani ate this up. That’s just that.
TAKI TAKI – DJ SNAKE FT. SELENA GOMEZ, OZUNA, AND CARDI B
One of the biggest international hits to date. This is a really fun song to bop to while you’re responding to emails from bed like me.
WATER – SALATIEL, PHARRELL WILLIAMS, AND BEYONCÉ
ALREADY – MAJOR LAZER, SHATTA WALE, AND BEYONCÉ
Both of these songs are from Beyoncé’s The Gift album, which is a soundtrack for The Lion King. They are two of the best songs on the album and are guaranteed to get you moving.
SAILOR GOON – BBYMUTHA
This song isn’t exactly new, but I mean, the first lyrics you hear are “shut the fuck up” repeated, and followed by “I’m the devil’s daughter…” I am literally required to stan.
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MAKE UP YOUR MIND – KYLA JADE
A powerhouse vocalist singing over a Pop beat where she’s demanding a nigga to get his shit together before she leaves him. Again, I am literally required to stan.
PARTYTIME – MISSY ELLIOTT
So this is another song that is not new, but it is one of my favorite songs by Missy, so it stays.
EXACTLY HOW I FEEL – LIZZO FT. GUCCI MANE
I love Lizzo, and I really love Pop Gucci. He ate his verse up, and the song is a jam. They sound excellent together.
CLAP FOR EM – LIL WAYNE
FOUND YOU – LIL’ KIM FT. OT GENASIS AND CITY GIRLS
Both songs are a bop. Very much club bangas. Worth having on any playlist you hope will get you moving.
Da'Shaun Harrison
Da’Shaun Harrison is a trans theorist and Southern-born and bred abolitionist in Atlanta, GA. They are the author of Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness, which won the 2022 Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction and several other media/literary honors. As an editor, movement media and narrative strategist, and storyteller, Harrison uses their extensive history as a community organizer—which began in 2014 during their first year at Morehouse College—to frame their political thought and cultural criticism. Through the lens of what Harrison calls “Black Fat Studies,” they lecture on blackness, fatness, gender, and their intersections. Harrison currently serves as Editor-at-Large at Scalawag Magazine, is a co-host of the podcast “Unsolicited: Fatties Talk Back,” and ⅓ of the video podcast “In The Middle.” Between the years 2019 and 2021, Harrison served as Associate Editor—and later as Managing Editor—of Wear Your Voice Magazine.