With summer break just around the corner, and new music from big artists being released every week, it’s time to build up a summer playlist. When it comes to this type of music, WJ students have some pretty strong opinions about summer songs and albums.

There are a lot of things that go into a summer song. Some of these factors may include lots of energetic featuring artists or a fast beat. When it comes to freshman Damir Pimenov, he believes in the feature philosophy.

“One single that is a good summer song in my opinion is ‘Slide’ featuring Frank Ocean and Migos. My favorite thing about the song is the unique combination of Frank and Migos,” Pimenov said.

This song begins with a piano background combined with Frank Ocean’s voice. Later on in the song, Migos comes in and adds even more excitement to this already funky track, making it the perfect summer song.

Some people don’t even classify songs as summer songs, they see the summer as an opportunity to listen to more music as they have more free time and more projects release. One artist that has been climbing his way up to fame this year named Nav is supposed to release an album very soon, and freshman Michael Clempson is waiting.

“Nav’s upcoming album ‘Perfect Timing’ is what I’m most looking forward to this summer, as I really enjoyed his last mixtape in February,” Clempson said.

Although this album might have some darker themes, many fans, including Clempson are expecting some young, exciting features such as Lil Uzi Vert and Travis Scott.

Sometimes, the best way to enjoy music in the summer is to look back at artist’s past works. Several popular artists these days have preserved their mixtapes from when they weren’t “all that”. For freshman Mikail Haroon, he likes to look back at the mixtapes of Logic and Joey Bada$$ when summer comes around.

“My favorite old mixtapes that I listen to around summer time are ‘1999’ by Joey Bada$$ and ‘Young Sinatra’ by Logic,” Haroon said.

Both of these mixtapes include fast rapping and well produced beats, radiating summer vibes. These mixtape could be great for workouts or messing around with friends.

At the end of the day, there is no one definition for a summer song. As long as you enjoy what you’re listening to and it reminds you of the freedom and fun of summer vacation, you’re all good.