Welcome to Songs You Need to Know, our weekly rundown of the best music right now. The Rolling Stone Philippines team is constantly sharing things to listen to, and each week, we compile a ragtag playlist of songs that we believe every music fan today needs to know. Whether it’s the hottest new single or an old track that captures the state of the present, our hope is that you discover something for your musical canon.
This week’s songs feature comebacks and unlikely collaborations. Baby Keem ends a half-decade absence with a loud, reckless trap rager while Jessie Ware turns a familiar Western theme into full-scale disco drama. Kenaniah clings to atmospheric guitar music before pushing himself into louder territory, and Damon Albarn, joined by Grian Chatten and Kae Tempest, strips his songwriting down to its essentials for a rare multigenerational team-up. Across hip-hop, pop, and rock, the week makes space for artists returning, reworking their influences, and testing how far they can stretch their own identities.
Climbing up the hip-hop food chain
Baby Keem ends his six-year absence with “Ca$ino,” a track driven by sharp beat changes and his unmistakable high-pitched delivery. Keem decides to up the ante with a raging trap beat. He moves between taunts and threats with control, stretching and snapping his cadence as the production shifts. His voice stays at the center, pushing the momentum forward without slowing down. Baby Keem is back; sharp, focused, and fully in command of his sound. —Elijah Pareño
Drama and disco walk into the rodeo
When I heard the synth hook of “Ride,” I burst out laughing, and then thought, Gaggggg. Jessie Ware’s latest single cheekily interpolates Ennio Morricone’s main theme for the 1966 spaghetti Western, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, incorporating it into a luxurious and euphoric disco track punctuated by a whip crack. The British singer-songwriter’s vocals are silky and soulful as ever, and with “Ride,” she promises a sixth studio album anchored in her dance sensibilities but reaching for newer, exciting influences.
As a queer person, the only other way I could describe this song is if Ware took Beyonce’s horses Reneigh and Chardonneigh from the RENAISSANCE and COWBOY CARTER album covers, got them to make a baby horse, and then rode that. —Pie Gonzaga
Slow dancing to atmospheric rock music
Pop rock singer-songwriter Kenaniah steps further into atmospheric rock on “Huli Na Ba Ang Lahat?,” starting with voice and guitar before expanding into a louder arrangement. The reverby guitar tone and pacing point toward Mk.gee-style influence. The song grows in intensity without rushing, letting each section land before moving forward. It shows his shift toward a larger sound while keeping his songwriting intact. —Elijah Pareño
Stripped back, honest, and unglamorous glam rock
Ahead of the March release of HELP(2), a benefit compilation album by independent label War Child Records, Damon Albarn teamed up with Fontaines D.C.’s Grian Chatten and British poet Kae Tempest for the single “Flags.” Here, Albarn sheds the baggage of being the frontman of Blur, or the frontman of The Gorillaz, to create something more akin to glam rock, especially with the deployment of the staccatoed piano hook.
I never really thought that he had aged until I heard him next to his collaborators, who lend him their strength on this track, Chatten in song and Tempest in spoken verse. It’s always heartwarming to see multigenerational talents working together, even more so when someone with as much weight to their name as Albarn lets the new kids shine. —Pie Gonzaga
Pinoy dance punk that’s short and sweet but punchy
At a 51-second runtime, “Validation” closes Filipino indie band Identikit’s 2025 EP Champion of Truth, a short collection of fuzzy, low-fidelity punk tracks. The EP sonically veers off their guitar-driven debut album from 2013 Out of the Floodways and into Your Homes, and the band here dips its toes into synth-heavy rock. In “Validation,” Identikit vocalist Sandy James evokes Le Tigre-era Kathleen Hanna, and the drum machine seems to have come straight out of Peaches’ The Teaches of Peaches. I’ve been on the lookout for this grainy, lively dance punk sound from local music, and feel like I’ve hit gold with Identikit’s newest release. —Pie Gonzaga
Coast to coast bubblegum pop
PinkPantheress pushes “Stateside” deeper into synth-pop and disco, with Zara Larsson adding power to the chorus. The opening synth line pulls from mid-2000s pop, while the rhythm keeps the song moving fast and clean. Larsson’s vocal runs add contrast to PinkPantheress’ softer tone, giving the track a wider range. The result is bright, direct pop that sticks after one listen. This unlikely collaboration between the British garage scenester and the Swedish pop star is definitely one for the books. —Elijah Pareño
