Katie Ouellette

By Katie Ouellette Photo courtesy of the artist Billy Dean Thomas raps like they have something to prove. In the past, they were trying to showcase their technical skills — like spitting verses quickly or fine-tuning the production of a track — but for their latest EP For Better or Worse (out now), they decided to let their songwriting shine.

Photo courtesy of the artist Rapper and lyricist Cakeswagg is on fire in 2020. After she released her Candy Cake Season EP last fall, the Roxbury native performed at the #HellaBlack femcee show at Boston Center of the Arts, churned out a WAP remix with Brandie Blaze, and collaborated with the likes of Red Shaydez and DJ WhySham. Now she’s out with a new single “Ferb & Phineas” that not only shows how hard she’s willing to go, but also her playful, “not serious” side.

Photo by the artist “All I do these days is sit and stare,” opens indie soul singer-songwriter Jill McCracken on her latest single, “Get It Right,” out today. Her smoky vocals are accompanied by acoustic guitar and hand claps, and soon loops into the chorus of, “How can I get it right? Get it right? Get it right?” It’s a question — or a statement — that most of us are faced with almost daily, but it feels especially prescient in 2020.