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.

With their latest single, Vancouver hip-hop/electronic duo Potatohead People add another legend to their list of illustrious collaborators. Rapper Redman (Method Man & Redman, Def Squad) brings his signature energy to the song. He begins each verse with the titular "Last Nite," and over a steadfast beat and touches of muted trumpet, he details the dramatic events that befell him the previous evening. It's a perfect contrast to the ultra-smooth choruses, voiced by longtime collaborator Kapok. An auspicious foretaste of the duo's upcoming album, Eat Your Heart Out, set to be released on May 10. — Robert Rowat

From the beginning of his career, King Cruff (born Solomon Marley-Spence) has been putting his own flair on the family business (Bob Marley is his grandfather), and mixing reggae and dancehall with funk, hip-hop, Afrobeats and more. The London, Ont., artist's latest single, "Fallback," featuring Runkus, is a melodic dancehall number about stepping back from a wishy-washy relationship. "It feels like you don't believe in me much/ You love me like the seasons," sings Jamaican reggae artist Runkus on the chorus. Of their collaboration, Marley-Spence had this to say: "Runkus has been an artiste that I've regarded as one of the pioneers of this neo-reggae sound and I genuinely believe he's going to play a big part in the future of reggae music." Their joint single is a perfect encapsulation of where the genre has come from, and where it's going. — Kelsey Adams

Rapper Kye Clayton and R&B artist Jody Upshaw have dropped their first single together, hopefully kicking off a future of collaborations. "Shake" was co-written by both Clayton and Upshaw (who are partners on this track as well as outside of it) and has the seductive, refreshing push and pull of enthusiastic consent. "What's the mood tonight? Gotta see what's right," Clayton asks, over light percussion, moody keys and Upshaw's gentle backing vocals. Upshaw drops in with her first verse halfway through the track, taking control and offering her own demands. It's the first single Upshaw has released in a few years — though you may recognize her "Straight Shooter" track from the second season of Euphoria — and comes in the wake of Clayton's 2023 collaborative album with SOS Benji, titled B.A.M. The video, filmed and directed by Nrthrn Lights Prod, is the perfect blue-hued companion piece. — Holly Gordon

In times of uncertainty, some people want to be soothed. Others find catharsis in embracing the unknown and channeling their acute feelings by shouting into the void. The latter is what Devon Welsh chooses to do on his latest single, "That's What We Needed," a cacophonous admission that it's OK, and even necessary at times, to not know or understand everything that's happening around you. "Today is overwhelming/ Tomorrow's full of fear!" Welsh exclaims, his baritone voice surging with an intensity until it bursts like a dam. It can be good to fall apart sometimes, Welsh assures us ("That's OK/ That's what we needed"). Welsh's upcoming album, Come With Me if You Want to Live (out March 15), is indeed a reference to the blockbuster film, The Terminator, but the Montreal musician also notes in a statement that it's "me saying to you, 'I want you to live.' So in that sense, the album is about living." And there's nothing livelier and more electric than to be enwrapped in the wall of industrial sound that is "That's What We Needed." — Melody Lau

Katie Tupper's voice always greets listeners like the most tender dream, one you want to stay in forever. The dulcet tones of "Need Nothing" are a balm and Tupper is at her best when she's leaning into sweetness. The Saskatoon neo-soul singer worked with a different group of producers and co-writers (David Steinmetz, Felix Fox, Justice Der, Nick Ferraro) for the new single but it retains the warm soul of her Juno-nominated 2023 EP, Where to Find Me (co-written and produced with Connor Seidel). "Need Nothing" is a song that celebrates the ease of love, and in a press release, Tupper said the group "wrote this song as a feel-good confession of an endless stream of adoration." — KA

Vancouver singer-songwriter Kaleah Lee has demonstrated with every new single that she's an expert at crafting introspective songs that tug on heartstrings. Her latest diaristic effort, "The Same," is no exception, as her angelic vocals float over gentle guitar-picking as she ruminates on feeling isolated: "I'm alone, alone again." The melody is sorrowful, yet it flows with yearning and evokes the folk-tinged stylings of Billie Marten or Leith Ross. Equal parts dreamy and grounded, Lee's quiet confidence translates to an authentic portrayal of finding one's voice and growing up. — Natalie Harmsen