A spicy collab from Jessie Reyez and Lil Wayne, and 5 more songs you need to hear this week

Songs you need to hear is CBC Music's weekly list of hot new Canadian tracks.

Scroll down to discover the songs our producers are loving right now.

'Ridin,' Jessie Reyez feat. Lil Wayne

Jessie Reyez has never been afraid to get a little raunchy, and she kicks things up a notch on new single, "Ridin." Highly suggestive lines about having fun in the backseat of a car (and a very detailed verse from rapper Lil Wayne about his erotic preferences) make this a pearl-clutching number not for the faint of heart. But it's the surprising rock-leaning production that gives the song its real edge. Reyez is known for a gritty R&B sound, but it's refreshing to hear her push things further, her vocals soaring over fuzzy guitar, '90s rock drums and a beat that inspires head-banging more than hip-swaying. — Kelsey Adams

'Spinning Out and Going Nowhere,' Fiver

I'm spinning out and going nowhere,
Going mental in my mind.
You know I've always been a searcher,
These days I fear what I might find.

The catchy, country tone of "Spinning Out and Going Nowhere" might, at first, seem unexpected alongside the above chorus, but singer-songwriter Simone Schmidt, a.k.a. Fiver, is an expert at wrapping up the dark heart of things in notes that make you move. (Their 2017 project, Audible Songs From Rockwood, a powerful album about patients at the Rockwood Asylum for the Criminally Insane, is a perfect example.) "There are losses so unfathomable that a mind can refuse to inhabit them and instead get spun in the cascading groove of every other possible reality," Schmidt said of the new track, their first since 2022, and one that feels more relatable than ever as 2024 keeps rolling on. Recorded with Jeremy Costello and Nathan Doucet, with original percussion arrangements by Bianca Palmer and pedal steel by Stew Crookes, "Spinning Out and Going Nowhere" is a fitting end to summer — and as Schmidt said, they "tried to make it good for a dance." — Holly Gordon

'Galina,' Allie X feat. Empress Of 

Earlier this year, Allie X released her third studio album, Girl With no Face, which earned her a Polaris Music Prize long list nomination. Last week, the once Toronto-based pop star re-released "Galina," a standout track from the album, as her latest single with a new featured verse from Honduran American artist Empress Of. The '80s synth soundscape of the track perfectly matches both singers whose theatrical ranges soar high above the heavy, pulsating rhythms ("I wouldn't want to be on a monotone song — I wanted to sing!" Empress Of told Vogue regarding this collaboration). While the song is an eccentric ode to an older female mentor, Allie X and Empress Of are equals on the track, both showing off why they're two of pop music's most adventurous stars who aren't afraid to push boundaries. — Melody Lau

'Bora Bora,' AP Dhillon feat. Ayra Starr

AP Dhillon's transportive track "Bora Bora," from his new EP, The Brownprint, fuses traditional Punjabi music with tropical Afrobeats grooves. Over thumping beats, AP Dhillon sings about falling in love on the French Polynesian island and showering his significant other with luxurious gifts. His lyrics paint sparkling images of diamond rings and designer purses as he tries to woo his love interest, whose role is fulfilled by Nigerian singer Ayra Starr. "Buy Chanel you can keep the Prada baby/ You and me somewhere in Bora Bora," she sings with a wink, as she muses about them frolicking on the beaches together. Summer may be nearing its end, but the whirlwind romance laid out by these two rising stars might just prompt you to embrace the sultriness of the season for a little while longer. — Natalie Harmsen

'Old Life,' Mustafa

I'm not yours,
But there's a part of your life that is mine
And there's a part of my life that you hide.
I look back at '09 when my street was a gold mine,
When you were not my old life.

Mustafa's ability to distill nebulous feelings to their essence, and to transform something immensely personal into a universal experience, is one of the songwriter's greatest gifts. In his short time as a solo artist, he has displayed a mastery of storytelling that began with 2021's When Smoke Rises, and continues with the singles he's released from his upcoming album, Dunya. On "Old Life," he reminisces about a fractured relationship, holding space for both the beauty and the pain of losing someone who felt like they'd be a part of him forever. Over a meditative melody, he sings about a bond that was wedged apart by the trauma, violence and loss that permeated its existence — the bittersweet of knowing the closeness cannot be rekindled but rejoicing in the fact that it existed. — KA

'Used to Be You,' Quintana Mills 

Over the last several months, a popular New York-based producer, Cash Cobain, has been taking over charts with his unique production style, inspiring artists like Drake and others. Another musician who has taken note is Vancouver's Quintana Mills, who has just released a new single, "Used to Be You," with an accompanying video. It serves as a reintroduction to Mills, who, after a successful project and show run last year, went quiet, presumably working on new music. "Used to Be You" is one of Mills's brighter-sounding songs, a stark difference from the cold, dark music he has released in the past. Taking inspiration from Cobain's bouncy production, "Used to Be You" is catchy, relatable and aspirational — and the song's music video echoes those same sentiments. — Bhaven Moorthy