DijahSB and Harrison's 'hot ass' new collaboration, and 4 more songs you need to hear this week

Here at CBC Music, we're always on high alert for new songs by Canadian artists.

This week, we're listening to new tracks from:

• Cadence Weapon.
• DijahSB and Harrison.
• TheHonestGuy featuring Malaika Khadijaa.
• Elio featuring Charli XCX.
• Book Buddies.

Scroll down to find out why you need to listen, too.

What new Canadian tunes are you currently obsessed with? Share them with us on Twitter @CBCMusic.

Hit play on our brand new Songs You Need to Hear stream, filled with songs that CBC Music's producers have chosen for their playlists, and tune into CBC Music Mornings every Thursday to hear CBC Music's Jess Huddleston and Saroja Coehlo reveal the standout new Canadian song.

'Senna,' Cadence Weapon

Rollie Pemberton, a.k.a. Cadence Weapon, spent most of his career working on his own, but in recent years, he has expanded his collaborative circle to include a roster of notable Canadian producers. One of his most successful and productive partnerships has been with electronic musician Jacques Greene, who provided beats for "The Host" and "High Rise" off Cadence Weapon's 2018 self-titled release. "[Greene's] beats are like little obstacle courses, constantly shifting and changing," Pemberton wrote in a recent newsletter, describing his love of Greene's production. "It's fun to figure out how I can fit into them."

Pemberton and Greene's process is a kinetic exercise that has always yielded new and exciting results, and that's no different on their latest offering, "Senna," off Cadence Weapon's upcoming album, Parallel World (out April 30). Over a dark, whistling synth soundscape, Pemberton dashes through Greene's futuristic beats with an agility that's fitting for a song that pays homage to Brazilian Formula 1 champ Aryton Senna. Pemberton says "Senna" is "an anthem about someone who took the road less travelled and became a legend in the process." If you've been paying attention to Cadence Weapon's career over the past 15 years, you'd recognize a similar trajectory taking shape. — Melody Lau 

'By Myself,' DijahSB, Harrison

I had to learn to float by myself
Had to build the boat by myself
Had to find and make the most by myself
Had to find the coast by myself
Keep my head above the waters how I cope by myself.

DijahSB is back with a new single from their upcoming album, and the jazz-inflected, bass-heavy vibe the rapper serves with producer Harrison only makes the sharp edge of that chorus dig deeper. "'By Myself' gives you a little bit of insight on what my album Head Above the Waters tries to tackle," DijahSB said via statement. "I also wanted to slow it down and show people that I'm not always about shit that can make you dance; I got bars too. Harrison is like a brother to me and I haven't even met him yet. He really blessed me with a hot ass beat." Look out for Head Above the Waters as of April 23. — Holly Gordon

'Love is a Losing Game,' TheHonestGuy feat. Malaika Khadijaa

TheHonestGuy is the moniker of Toronto's Mubarak Adeyemi, whose six-song EP Love Songs for no One arrived earlier this month and has got us in its thrall. "Love is a Losing Game" is not, as you might expect, an Amy Winehouse cover. Instead, it's a gently waltzing meditation on the exasperating head/heart disconnect that sadly afflicts so many of us. "Something is wrong with my mind/ it thinks about you all the time," he sings with a sweetly plaintive tone before concluding in the chorus, "It don't make no sense to love you." To mirror this contradiction, the harmonies oscillate between major and minor while Malaika Khadijaa sings a poignant counterpoint. — Robert Rowat

'Charger,' Elio feat. Charli XCX

If you missed Elio's EP, Can You Hear me Now, earlier this January, then her upcoming remix EP is the perfect time to discover the Canadian (by way of Swansea, Wales) pop artist. "Charger" is a light, airy take on hyper pop, a frenetic style that Elio's mentor Charli XCX has perfected in recent years. (The two artists, who share managers, began writing together last year, and Elio has praised XCX as "one of the greatest songwriters of our generation" adding that her guidance has been immensely helpful.) While Elio's voice is more subdued than Charli XCX's, the rhythms of her vocal delivery feels like textbook XCX, with Elio comfortably finding pockets to fill between big, bouncing beats while repeating refrains to an ex like, "And I wanna come back/ 'Cause I left my, left my, left my charger." While Elio's musical identity isn't an exact replica of Charli XCX's sound — the rest of Can You Hear me Now reveals a wider range — we can't wait to see what else this dynamic duo will give us in the future. — ML

'Neon,' Book Buddies

Every driver knows the pull of that first love; the wheels that brought you freedom from your parents' home, to your first job, maybe even to your first kiss. The clunk that meant it needed service, and the clang that meant it needed something more than you could afford. On "Neon," the first single from new Dartmouth, N.S., band Book Buddies, vocalist Rebecca Dalley pays homage to the '98 Dodge Neon her grandparents gave her, singing affirmations wrapped in accusations: "Neon/ you're all I need/ neon/ between the static/ you're starting to get to me." Dalley is no stranger to Halifax's indie rock/punk scene, as she and fellow Book Buddies bandmates Anna Cannings, AJ Boutilier and Andrew O'Toole all hail from either Designosaur or Outtacontroller. At just under three minutes, "Neon" is a quick rip through memory lane, electric guitar and drums culminating in the final stretch in an addictive, trance-like rhythm. Here's to a 2021 of road trips soundtracked by new music from Book Buddies. — HG