Hip-hop is moving as fast as ever. Luckily, we’re doing the work to put the best new rap music in one place for you. This week, there were visuals from Gunna, Jpegmafia, and Lil Yachty. There were also new songs from Flatbush Zombies, and Brockhampton. Here’s rest of the best new rap music of the week:
Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist — Alfredo
After Freddie Gibbs, Currensy, and The Alchemist’s Fetti topped many people’s best of 2019 lists, Alchemist and Freddie Gibbs are back with another one entitled Alfredo. Currensy isn’t involved this time, but Gangsta Gibbs is more than capable of handling the lyrical duties alone on the 10-track pyrex parable that features guest spots from Tyler, The Creator, and Griselda MCs Benny The Butcher and Conway.
Joell Ortiz & Kxng Crooked — H.A.R.D.
Joell Ortiz and Kxng Crooked’s H.A.R.D. collaboration album is finally here. They’ve been steadily dropping lyrical exercises over the past few weeks in prep for the project, but now their cult fanbases (especially Slaughterhouse fans) have the full album to bump for the rest of the summer.
UFO Fev — “Fentanyl Flow” Feat. Fat Joe
Fat Joe has been in his “Joprah” bag while holding online interviews during the quarantine, but the bars are still there. He lent some bars to UFO Fev’s “Fentanyl Flow,” showing off his admirable ability to still get busy over modern production 30 years into the game.
Dave East — “My Loc”
Dave East released a melancholy ode to his “best friend” and labelmate Kiing Shooter, who tragically died on May 5 of liver failure. On the Dee C-produced track, Dave East bemoans, “We asked each other questions, and I wished i woulda asked more.”
Fivio Foreign — “Fully Focused”
Fivio Foreign is still “Fully Focused” and letting us know on his latest track. The track is true to Fivio’s burgeoning trademark sound pairing eerie synths with drill percussion as he rhymes, “They say I’m the GOAT / I still look in the mirror like go harder.”
NLE Choppa — “Different Day” (“Emotionally Scarred” Freestyle)
On “Different Day,” a remix of Lil Baby’s “Emotionally Scarred” track, NLE Choppa proclaims, “If I ain’t hard on a b*tch that mean I don’t give a f*ck,” offering a glaring but honest account of the toll that trauma has taken on his ability to have healthy relationships.
Jackboy — “Go” Feat. YFN Lucci
This week, Jackboy released the video for “Go” from his self-titled album. The juxtaposition of he and Lucci going expensive shoe shopping and relaxing in the lap of luxury while rhyming about “hella smoke we gon’ smoke his ass like he medical / vegetable we gon’ turn that boy into a vegetable” is a chilling reminder of the costs that some pay to enjoy opulence.
Duckwrth — “Find A Way”
Duckwrth’s “Find A Way” merges classic synths and two-step worthy percussion into a sonic tuft that hits your ears like a breeze on a summer day. If “Find A Way” is any indication, his upcoming SuperGood album is aptly titled.
The Kickdrums — “The Power Of Ideas” Feat. Blu
This week, The Kickdrums released the lead single from their latest EP, which will be released this summer. On the cheerful soundscape, Alex Fitts ponders, “Would you still do your thing without the crowd?” while Blu impresses in his guest verse, getting equally inquisitive by asking, “Am I a hollow man, or am I someone’’s role model?”
Kenny Mason — “Angels Calling”
This week, Atlanta rapper Kenny Mason dropped off more visuals to support his Angelic Hoodrat album. The Nasser Boulaich-directed video shows Kenny rhyming over an acoustic version oF the stream-of-consciousness track, giving more weight to bare lyrics like, “My dogs that ride for me in darker times finna get all the shine.”
Domani — “The Truth”
Domani’s “The Truth” single is a poetic homage to the phrase “drunk words are sober thoughts.” He uses the jazzy, piano-driven beat to ponder the possibilities of love with an admirable vulnerability, and also seemingly pays homage to his father by rhyming “for her I cross my Ts and dot my Is.”
Skooly — “Go”
Multitalented rapper-vocalist Skooly explores the full range of his talent on “Go,” unleashing his velvety vocals on the track’s unforgettable hook before rhyming seductively over glitzy synths. The track is from his recently released Nobody Likes Me album.
Preservation — “I-78” Feat. Mach Hommy
Today, DJ/Producer Preservation released Eastern Medicine, Western Illness, a sonic memoir of his time in Hong Kong. Earlier this week he debuted one of the songs from the project, the scintillating “I-78” featuring Mach Hommy, who delves into a reflective, braggadocious verse over an Asian-flavored soundscape.
Max B — “Goodman”
Any active rapper dragging their feet on releasing music is being put to shame by Max B. The cult hero is still incarcerated and is set to release his third project in seven months with his Charly EP on June 5. “Goodman” is a soulful track where the renown hookman shows off his underrated lyrical ability.
History — Middle Man
This week, Brooklyn rapper-producer released his two-track Middle Man EP. “Tension” is buoyed by a spooky soundscape that sets the mood for History to rhyme about the trials of his native Brooklyn, surmising that all these ills are “just another war we endure / gettin’ profit off the pain we endure.” On the other end of the spectrum, “Water My Wrist” is a bouncy track where History proclaims himself “the voice of the streets” and trades self-assured bars with Connis.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. .
