September’s guide to new music

With the virtual fall semester underway and stay-at-home orders still in place, students need something to kick back and unwind to now more than ever. Here are four featured albums that are released or upcoming that are worth checking out.

“Detroit 2” – Big Sean

Big Sean’s “Detroit 2” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. Photo courtesy of Mike Carson.

Big Sean’s follow up to his 2012 mixtape “Detroit” serves as his return to the rap game after a three-year hiatus. His solo project, “I Decided,” and joint collaboration, “Double or Nothing,” with producer Metro Boomer were both released in 2017, receiving overall positive reviews. With “Detroit 2,” Big Sean encapsulates the rugged and hardworking Detroit lifestyle with prominent features from artists like Jhené Aiko, Eminem and the late Nipsey Hussle, as well as stories from Dave Chappelle, Erykah Badu and Stevie Wonder. Originally, the G.O.O.D Music rapper planned to release the album on March 13 to coincide with Detroit’s yearly “313” celebration for the city’s birthday. But with the coronavirus pandemic, the release was pushed back to Sept. 4. Nevertheless, “Detroit 2” has arrived and has already made massive waves in the hip-hop community.

“MOONCHILD” – NIKI

“MOONCHILD” is NIKI’s debut album.

“MOONCHILD” is the Indonesian singer-songwriter’s debut album. After she announced the project in late March, NIKI had been heavily promoting the “MOONCHILD” concept in the months leading up to the Sept. 10 release. The 21-year-old kept her fans hyped up for the album by dropping singles with music videos to reposting TikTok duets all over her Twitter. Her last two EPs “Zephyr” and “Wanna Take This Downtown?” brought her into the spotlight as an up-and-coming R&B artist, and her second single off the album, “Lose,” lead to thousands of TikToks being made and the song going viral. When asked about “MOONCHILD,” NIKI described it as an album about growth and self-discovery while wanting to provide representation for her Asian fans.

“Super One – The 1st Album” – SuperM

The seven member Kpop group had a North American tour the ended in February of 2020. Photo courtesy by SM Entertainment.

For any K-pop fans, Star Museum Entertainment, South Korea’s biggest entertainment company, introduced their newest group, SuperM. SuperM is being called the “Avengers of K-pop” because of the superstar-level talent on one roster, consisting of seven members from the groups SHINee, EXO, NCT 127 and WayV. The group made waves when they debuted in October of 2019 with their hit single “Jopping” and their EP “SuperM”. The group have since released singles like “With You,” “100” and “Tiger Inside.” SuperM is getting ready to take over the K-pop scene in America, so don’t be surprised if you hear more of them in the near future. “Super One” drops on Sept. 25.

“Nurture” – Porter Robinson

This is the first time in six years that artist and DJ Porter Robinson has released new music. Photo by Dan Regan.

What started out as an album announcement in late January turned into DJ Porter Robison generating a momentous amount of buzz within the electronic dance music community. He did so by releasing three singles over the span of eight months. “Get Your Wish,” “Something Comforting” and the most recent “Mirror” have been on heavy rotation for a lot of EDM fans. Secret Sky, a virtual festival that he held in May, accumulated nearly one million views on YouTube and raised over $151 thousand for the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund. Though the release date has not been confirmed yet, fans have been speculating that “Nurture” will be coming out in late September at the earliest, making him eligible for a 2021 Grammy nomination. In the meantime, Porter fans can enter a virtual game experience that accompanies each of his singles, as well as listen to his “Virtual Self” EP.