The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, videos, and songs from Kyle, Kenny Mason, Lola Brooke, and more.
I love weeks like this one. While many rap fans are often disappointed by a lack of big-name releases, I relish the potential for discovery. Weeks like this one introduced me to some of my favorite artists, who might have gone overlooked otherwise, along with the time to give deep listens to underground and rising names that I might not usually be able to afford. With big releases from the likes of Cardi B and others coming down the pike, this might be the last quiet week for a bit, so enjoy the ride.
This week, though, we got to indulge in a pair of new Kenny Mason singles, as well as the video for “Jumpin In.”
DJ Premier teamed up once again with Russ for another surprisingly emotional lyrical showcase on “Work It Out.”
And Lola Brooke hit her stride, creating a fascinating, undeniably combo of New York grit and New Orleans bounce with A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Big Freedia on “Bend It Ova.”
Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending March 8, 2024.
Albums/EPs/Mixtapes
Jae Skeese & Superior — Statement Of The Times
Buffalo, New York has become the capitol of gritty, throwback hip-hop that evokes a time when rappers didn’t smile, only rapped to get out of the crack game, and really, really wanted listeners’ to scrunch their faces up from the wordplay. Jae Skeese is an exemplar of this style, keeping up a steady stream of straightforward boom-bap releases alongside the likes of Conway The Machine, Rome Streetz, and their ilk. Testament is a solid entry to his personal canon thanks to Superior’s menacingly smooth production
Kyle — Smyle Again
Kyle’s widely recognized breakout came with his 2015 album Smyle, which introduced the world to his “aw, shucks” approach to earnest, autobiographical rap. Despite honing his skills in rap batles, he stepped to his opponents with a Will Smith-esque, beguiling humor that translated to pop-rap likeability on songs like “iSpy.” While Smyle Again has a clear intention to harken to that era, Kyle avoids wallowing in nostalgia. Instead, Smyle Again is an upbeat, forward-looking experiment in plending genres with hip-hop you wouldn’t normally think to: 2-step, jungle, garage, and drum&bass rhythms undergird his flirty, lightweight rhymes. The way I was about Kota’s Protea last year, I am going to be even worse with this.
LNDN Drugs — Affiliated 2
Compton’s Jay Worthy and Vancouver’s Sean House team up once again to deliver an unexpected blend of funky gangsta raps with weirdly catchy, yacht rock-y production. They take the blueprint established over 25 years ago by Warren G and Nate Dogg on “Regulate” and expand it into a whole cinematic universe populated by certified OGs like Compton’s Most Wanted, Kokane, and Big Hit along with blog faves like Stalley, ALLBLACK, and Domo Genesis. It works. C-walk to this.
MIKE & Tony Seltzer — Pinball
I’m not totally sure what it means that adamant backpack revivalists like Earl Sweatshirt and MIKE are starting to embrace more accessible production but I demand more of it. MIKE’s latest — produced by Tony Seltzer — delivers, pairing his blunted, stream-of-consciousness observations with beats that WON’T “scare the hoes.” I’m widdit. It’s more spacey and pyschedelic than we’re used to hearing from these guys (yes, Earl shows up here), but it makes the whole endeavor more palatable than the choppy samples they normally use.
Spence Lee — S.H.O.T.T.A.
Don’t judge me for the double-take I did when I Googled Spence Lee. The Chinese-Vietnamese American rapper, who’s been closely affiliated with 88rising and Mike Will’s Eardrummers label, brings a fascinating, engaging vibe to his music, bouncing off gospeldelic crooning and emphatic, lithe rhymes. His style is emblematic of the borderless sound of the internet (he’s from Franklin, New Jersey, but sounds a little more Southern), and his production choices sit far enough left of center that he sounds like a standout more than a try-hard. Color me intrigued.
Singles/Videos
A Room Full Of Mirrors — “Mirror Gang”
TDE President Punch’s lyrical supergroup drops their latest single this week with verses from The Ichiban Don, Daylyt, Lyric Michelle, and the boss man himself. If you missed your chance to catch the wave when they released “Money Bags” a couple of years ago, this is your chance to do so. Mirror Gang is picking up the pace, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them release a longer project sometime this year, so keep your eyes peeled.
Big Boogie — “Wizard” Feat. DJ Drama
A DJ Drama co-sign is usually a strong signal that a newer artist is worth paying attention to. As Big Boogie also bears the CMG seal of approval from Yo Gotti, giving the Memphis native’s music a listen turns out to be a rewarding experience. He’s got that souful sound and blunt delivery representative of his hometown but there’s silk under the gravel, giving “Wizard” a hypnotic quality that draws you in rather than beating you down. He’s on the radar. Keep him there.
Cochise — “Geeked”
I’ve slipped the Florida rapper into several previous columns and I intend to continue doing so until I start seeing some more pickup. Again, the kid has one of the most unique flows I’ve heard in my 30 years but not in that annoying, hipster blogger-favorite way that lets you know they’ll actually be ass as a performer and nobody actually messes with them in real life. Cochise has mastered the fundamentals, so his deconsructions actually sound purposeful, not sloppy. “Geeked” is a prime example.
Domani — “Forever Lasting” Feat. DC Young Fly & Seddy Hendrinx
Look. Yes. I know. Domani is, technically, a “nepo baby” (his dad is none other than trap godfather T.I.). But you’d think we as a people would have learned by now not to write off hip-hop artists as the products of their parents’ political connections in the industry. Domani’s music is a stark departure from his pops’ and as a result, he works double time to ensure that he can be taken seriously on his own merits (fortunately, he did inherent Tip’s gift for wordplay). On “Forever Lasting,” he takes a much more down-to-earth approach to the rap ballad than the elder Harris ever did, and pulls off an earnest love letter, with a surprsingly vulnerable turn from comic rapper DC Young Fly.
Ktlyn — “Plain Jayne”
There has long been a joke circulating on the less savory channels of social media: “The white girls are evolving.” While it’s usually used in a pretty gross context, fortunately, it also seems to apply to blonde-haired, blue-eyed rappers. Where acts like Kreayshawn and Iggy Azalea were the Vanilla Ice-like 1.0s, newer names like Ktlyn and Wynne are the more grounded Everlasts and Evidences of the archetype. Ktlyn got her first brush with stardom when Russ tapped her to appear on his 2022 “Handsomer” remix. Since then, though, she’s been working to earn her spot, issuing a steady stream of technically proficient singles and freestyles aiming to differentiate her from her slightly embarrassing forebears. “Plain Jayne” even has the brass to hint at the obvious comparison both she and Wynne have gotten (and shoot a stray at Lil Dicky), while brushing off the obvious knee jerk critiques they’re both likely to field for the foreseeable future.
Rexx Life Raj — “Couple Months In LA”
It’s always fun when Raj surfaces to issue more hard-won gems for living your best life. This time, it seems he gleaned a few from coming down south for a bit. You know what Raj does, so just hit play and let the bars teach you a thing or two.
Wynne — “Cut & Paste” Feat. WowGr8
The universal algorithms have a sense of humor. Wynne dropping the same day as Ktlyn is… one hell of a coincidence. However, while Ktlyn is still in her “proving herself” era, Wynne has pretty much already done just that by virtue of her solid collection of independently released projects running the gamut from battle raps to party music. So, on her latest, she instead tackles a universal subject with the help of one of her Earthgang compadres, WowGr8 (aka Doctur Dot). They each take a position in the conversation between a former couple about the current climate of overwhelming choices offered by perfectly curated social media and the insecurity it creates.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. .
