The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, videos, and songs from Lizzo, Cardi B, and more.

Yeah, I know: They’re on the same song, Lizzo’s comeback single “Rumors.” Blame Kanye West for pump-faking on the release of Donda again. However, we did get some fun consolation prizes in the forms of surprise albums from Benny The Butcher and Ka, as well as a whole slate of updated DSP uploads of Big KRIT’s entire catalog.

Friday saw the releases of Wale’s “Down South” with Yella Beezy and Maxo Kream, Coi Leray’s “Okay Yeah,” Toosii and Latto’s “5’5,” and the Madden 22 soundtrack standouts “8” and “Ball Is Life,” along with the releases listed below.

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending August 13, 2021.

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

Benny The Butcher — Pyrex Picasso [EP]

The Griselda member who has potentially flown the lowest under the radar recently (at least in terms of output and public presence) surprised fans with this collection of older material he says he recorded all in one day.

Boldy James & The Alchemist– Bo Jackson

Boldy and Alchemist are on a roll. They’re now four for four on collaborative releases, which is all the more impressive considering how closely packed the releases have been (The Versace Tape was released almost exactly a year ago, just six months after The Price Of Tea In China).

Fat Joe x DJ Drama — What Would BIG Do? [EP]

It looks like Eminem was able to convince Joe to reconsider retirement after all — and what better way to do so than with a bite-sized installment to DJ Drama’s Gangsta Grillz mixtape series?

Iggy Azalea — End Of An Era

Hate her or love her, Iggy’s been a fixture in the rap landscape for longer than some of the game’s legends — which is kinda respectable, if you ask me. Here she returns to her EDM-influenced roots, taking listeners on a four-quarter tour through her career as she takes her curtain call.

Ka — A Martyr’s Reward

The Brooklyn everyman’s eighth album arrived with little fanfare but little does that mean the finished product wasn’t worth waiting for. Ka’s albums are always worth unpacking, ensuring fans get the most bang for their bucks.

Tanya Morgan — Don And Von

Originally starting out as a trio in the pre-blog era and whittling down to just two members, the group’s fifth album celebrates the duo’s partnership and sees them tackle a variety of topics.

Singles/Videos

ASAP Tyy — “100 Rounds”

The most overlooked member of the ASAP gang has been quietly pumping out energetic, engaging bangers for a while now. Whether that means he’s building up to a full-length release remains to be seen.

AZ — “The Wheel”

In a perfect world, AZ would have had a parallel trajectory to his friend and “Life’s A B*tch” collaborator Nas. As it is, let’s just thank our lucky stars that he’s still around — and just as sharp as ever as he prepares to drop Doe Or Die 2.