Spring has just begun, so I’m back with a few songs for you to blast with your windows rolled down on a nice sunny day and some recent releases that you should check out. First off, we have Stellar by Daddy’s Groove; it’s an instant electro house anthem, but it tastefully incorporates live instruments like guitar and bass, giving the song an alt-rock sound and widening its appeal. If you like the Tomorrowland Aftermovie (I know you all watch it all day long), then you’ll dig this tune.

Speaking of cars, my man Ace Hood just dropped a new single entitled Bugatti. The song is a standard trap rap tune, with the cutting hi-hats and clappy snares, but it sets itself apart with its use of dynamics and variation in instrumentation to keep the beat from sounding repetitive. Not to mention, the new king of rap hooks, Future, lays down a killer chorus. So, get ready to go wild when the beat drops.

Next up we have James Blake, the indie producer and musician hailing from the U.K. He manages to fuse R&B, folk, post-dubstep, blues, downtempo electronic and rap into his emotionally-charged music. His latest album, Overgrown, is a step forward for Mr. Blake. On Take A Fall For Me, he had RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan to lay down some rhymes layered over and inspired by James’ sparse lyrics about an unrequited love. Unfortunately for the sake of my blog, this is an album that sounds like a 40 minute song instead of ten separate tunes. That makes it extremely hard to choose a favorite song, but right now I’m going with Life Round Here. It really showcases his poppy blues-folk songwriting that he splatters with experimental electronic sounds.

Also straight out of England, we have a new single from the new duo, Disclosure. The Lawrence brothers are 17 and 19 and have taken Great Britain by storm. They are at the forefront of the UK garage revival, also known as any genre that has the prefix future added to it (future funk, future garage, future house, etc). All that aside, their live performances and music show that they are putting the funky human feeling back into electronic music, a genre which many people, sometimes rightfully, discard as “robot music.” Take a listen to their newest single, White Noise featuring AlunaGeorge, and decide for yourself.

My favorite up-and-coming rapper is undoubtedly Joey Bada$$ — the kid has got talent spilling out his ears. If you haven’t already, download his free mixtape, 1999. I saw his name on a new R&B single as a featured artist, so I had to check him out. Jared Evan is a rapper turned singer, and Black & White affirms his career change. The tone of his voice matches the crackly, vintage-sounding beat, and Joey has no trouble making the beat his own during his verse. Check it!

I picked up this song a little late, but I’m glad I didn’t miss it. Big K.R.I.T and Bun B, two funky rappers from the South released this free track, Shine On, for all their fans. The beat has a deep funky bass line and the vocal sample, along with the percussion give the tune a tribal, jungle feel. The sweeping piano and chimes top the song off, giving the song a laidback, dreamy feel that you’ll surely to vibe out to.