King Cruff's vibey collab with Skip Marley, 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.

'Jack's Hill Dreamers,' King Cruff feat. Skip Marley 

King Cruff's debut EP, What Have I 'Don, just came out last week and the opening track, "Jack's Hill Dreamers" is a family affair. The London, Ont.,-born rapper teamed up with his cousin Skip Marley for a vibey collaboration about the positive possibilities life can bring. The two grandsons of reggae legend Bob Marley always talked about making music together while they were growing up, and "Jack's Hill Dreamers" was the perfect opportunity. It's an ode to the part of Kingston, Jamaica their family hails from, and all the unexpected success they've seen. "Starting from Jack's Hill in Kingston and seeing all the goals that I've set for myself be manifested slowly but surely, I can't take anything for granted," King Cruff said in a press release. The uplifting track came together during their very first studio session, the two cousins swapping verses over the hip-hop beat spruced up with some island drums. It feels both true to where they come from, and where they're headed.— Kelsey Adams

'Encore,' Caroline Savoie

Crawling through November is tough: it's cold, the daylight is interminably short and the holidays are still five weeks away (sorry). Thankfully, though, Caroline Savoie dropped a '90s pop-inspired disco banger to warm us up and make us question all our tired habits. "Implore le renouveau/ mais comment s'y rendre?/ Je me cherche encore et encore et encore et encore," Savoie sings on the chorus, searching for renewal — and herself — without entirely knowing where to start. The vibrant violin, played by Marie-Andrée Gaudet, and flute solo, played by Miguel Dumaine, give the song as much life as Savoie's voice does, which means you'll be hitting repeat on this song all day. "Encore" is the first taste of Savoie's upcoming fourth album, 2025's Rom-Com, which will see the Dieppe, N.B., singer-songwriter produce for the first time. — Holly Gordon

'Spark,' Cecile Believe feat. Yunè Pinku

Los Angeles-based Canadian artist Cecile Believe (born Caila Thompson-Hannant) has had a busy year, from releasing her EP Tender the Spark to being featured on hyperpop innovator Sophie's posthumous album. Now, she's capping off the year with "Spark," a track she describes as a prequel to her EP that was completed after its release. It's a gentle synth-pop number that builds into a soaring chorus that peels the curtains back to reveal its warm, glowing heart. Irish artist Yunè Pinku's verse further expands on the idea, as Thompson-Hannant explains in a statement, that "the key to getting outside ourselves is often found in being with others." The track is a shimmering ode to building relationships and being vulnerable with others as Thompson-Hannant sings, "Come on, baby, I know we can tender the spark," her voice elevating into the heavens.  — Melody Lau

'Nights Like This,' Planet Giza

A bubbling blend of hip-hop and R&B is right in Planet Giza's wheelhouse, and the latest single from the Montreal trio shows that they've perfected their organic combination of sounds. On "Nights Like This," aspirational lyrics about fame pop against a hum of backing vocals: "Most of my nights I don't be sleeping, because how I'm finna get to my dreams if I'm dreaming," raps Tony Stone, before adding, "I wanna be remembered for my goals and my achievements, 100 years later, face on skyscrapers." It's a blizzard of ambition, determination and hope, tied together by production that neatly emphasizes Stone's hungry delivery. The simmering instrumentation comes to a head around the 1:10 mark, when a slow beat switch kicks in as the track segues into a more soft, ambient space with Stone singing in a lower register. Angelic echoes of "nights like this" repeat, almost like a mantra telling listeners to chase their goals, however lofty they may seem. — Natalie Harmsen

'Blame,' Peggy Lee & Cole Schmidt 

"Blame" is the glorious open window through which Peggy Lee and Cole Schmidt frame their new album, Forever Stories of: Moving Parties. It sweeps and soars and crescendos like birds in conversation as the sun rises, and the morning takes its shape, through cello, percussion, guitars and a heartfelt trumpet. The song itself blurs and infuses genres — experimental, jazz, neo-classical and a little bit of noise — while also taking pleasure in collapsing rigid structures of composition to make room for improvisation. It is the sound of new horizons and familiar skies, the bittersweet warmth of longing and friendship, love and regret, uncertainty but (still and always) community, a perfect evocation of the record's origins as a collaborative piece of art made in multiple locations, across time and space, before and during the ongoing pandemic. — Andrea Warner

'Lonely Hearts,' Claudia Bouvette

Let go of the tension,
Loosen your grip,
Be there in the moment,
And get out of your head.

Gotta switch dimensions,
Captain of the ship,
Not captive of this feeling,
Gotta turn around, keep it moving. 

Sometimes we need a severe jolt to end our wallowing. Post-breakup, or major let down of any kind, simmering in our own self-pity can be enticing. The inertia often only subsides when a trusted friend comes by and shakes some sense back into us. On "Lonely Hearts," Claudia Bouvette is that friend. The jazzy-pop number appears on the Montreal artist's recently released sophomore album, the aptly titled Diary for the Lonely Hearts. CBC Music previously covered the moody, glitchy single "Silver Lining," and the entire record is an absolute treat. "Lonely Hearts" is its thesis, a reminder that there's always a new horizon after heartbreak. It's also a late addition to the list of best sing-along choruses of 2024: Bouvette sings with full abandon and a tasteful hint of horn rounds out the magic. — KA