Kane Brown’s much-anticipated new EP, Mixtape Vol. 1, is officially out via RCA Nashville/Zone 4 on Friday (August 14) and we cannot get enough of its infectious sound. The 7-track EP was co-written by Brown alongside several other amazing songwriters.
The project boasts of the previously released tracks “Cool Again,” “Worldwide Beautiful,” the John Legend collaborative track “Last Time I Say Sorry” and his Top 40 single “Be Like That” featuring Khalid and Swae Lee. There are three new tracks on the EP including “Didn’t Know What Love Was,” “Worship You” and “BFE.”
“Worship You” was previously teased on TikTok as he and his wife and daughter Kingsley danced around their kitchen in Tennessee, while the ’90s-inspired track “BFE” was performed during the CMA Summer Stay-Cay.
Mixtape Vol. 1 opens with the breezy, summertime track “Cool Again” that finds Brown thinking about an ex and him wanting things to return to the way things were “last summer.” The song’s chorus is just so irresistible, that you can’t get enough of it and it just pulls you in and makes you want to dance along. The country superstar also released a remix to “Cool Again,” which features GRAMMY-Award Winning rapper, Nelly.
His latest Top 40 single, “Be Like That,” is the second track on the EP which also features Khalid and Swae Lee. The song blends pop-country with hip-hop elements flawlessly while adding a fun guitar riff and a chorus that won’t be able to get out of your heads for weeks. It finds the three artists switching off verses as they sing about someone they love even if at times they don’t get along.
“It’s about all the different feelings you can have in a relationship,” Brown told Billboard of “Be Like That.” “And trying not to overthink it. When it gets tough, you want to be on your own, but then you miss the person a second later. I think it’s something everyone goes through.”
The fan-favorite “Worship You” was first teased on Brown’s TikTok in May in a cute video of him with his wife, Katelyn, and their daughter, Kingsley, dancing around the kitchen in their Tennessee home. The video amassed over 8.6 million views since its release, which prompted fans begging for the song’s debut and now they finally have it. The beautifully, stunning song describes how much he loves his wife and compares his love for her to religious worship.
@kanebrownHelp me blow this up! New song called worship unreleased ?##EatEmUp ##poseathome♬ Worship you – kanebrown
Next, is the boot-stomping, ’90s-inspired song “BFE,” that he first debut in an exclusive performance on CMA Summer Stay-Cay. The song consists of some impressive guitar solos, steel guitar and even a fiddle that perfectly blends with his unique, baritone vocals and the catchy chorus. This song is unlike anything that we have ever heard from Brown and we are extremely impressed. He sings about growing up in a small town where his hometown roots run deep.
“Here’s to the middle of nowhere / where the small-town roots run deep / if you know what I’m talking bout / yeah you was raised like me / I’m talkin’ Floridabama, Georgia, Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas to Tennessee / So Raise your beers, cheers, here’s to BFE,” Brown sings during the chorus of “BFE.”
In “Didn’t Know What Love Was,” he uses his wife, Katelyn, as his muse singing “I didn’t know what love was, love was, until you.” The loving track explains why he didn’t know what love was and that he never believed in fairytale, happy endings as he thought they were only in movies and he thought “Hollywood was just pretending.” He even explains in the song that he didn’t know what love was as he “never saw it work out, just drama” and that it started with his parents as he sings “started with my old man and my mama.”
“Last Time I Say Sorry” featuring John Legend is a different track on the EP and a pairing that you’d never expect but surprisingly, it works and quite well. The pair harmonize with each other impressively during the chorus and pass off verses flawlessly in the dramatic ballad. The tambourine and piano melody goes perfectly with the emotion-filled track.
The timely “Worldwide Beautiful” bookends the EP, a song that was first released on June 4, just two days after the music industry wide Blackout Tuesday. The ballad brings a message of acceptance and global peace, and benefits the Boys And Girls Club of America to advocate for justice and equality. The song united fans of all races when it was needed most.
The EP is nothing short of a masterpiece that really showcases Brown’s ability to genre-shift with his unique way of blending modern country with different elements from other genres including pop, hip-hop and even R&B to make hit records. The diverse, refreshing sound that comes from that is his own signature sound that works rather well as most of the songs on this EP have already or continue to dominate the charts. His unique sound will continue to shape the next generation of country music.
Mixtape Vol. 1 follows his platinum‐certified, Billboard 200 chart‐topping album, Experiment, which arrived in November 2018.
Kane Brown’s Mixtape Vol. 1 Track Listing:
1. “Cool Again” – Songwriters: Kane Brown, Josh Hoge, Matt McGinn and Lindsay Rimes, Producer: Dann Huff and Lindsay Rimes
2. “Be Like That (feat. Swae Lee and Khalid)” – Songwriters: Kane Brown, Khalif Brown, Alexander “Eskeerdo” Izquierdo, Khalid Robinson, Ryan Vojtesak and Mike Will, Producer: Charlie Handsome
3. “Worship You” – Songwriters: Kane Brown, Alexander Izquierdo, Ryan Vojtesak and Matt McGinn, Producer: Dann Huff
4. “BFE” – Songwriters: Kane Brown, Sam Ellis, Matt McGinn, Taylor Phillips and Will Weatherly, Producer: Dann Huff
5. “Didn’t Know What Love Was” – Songwriters: Kane Brown, Shy Carter, Matt McGinn and Lindsay Rimes, Producer: Dann Huff and Lindsay Rimes
6. “Last Time I Say Sorry (with John Legend)” – Songwriters: John Stephens, Kane Brown, Matt McGinn and Andrew Goldstein, Producer: Andrew Goldstein
7. “Worldwide Beautiful” – Songwriters: Kane Brown, Shy Carter, Ryan Hurd and Jordan Schmidt, Producer: Dann Huff
For more on Kane Brown, you can visit his website.
