It’s been a long week. We have a new President, and while it’s a relief to have one again after four years of not having one, the exhaustion has no doubt worn many of us down. Fortunately, this week also brings back a full slate of new releases in hip-hop, including one from the man of the hour BRS Kash, whose “Throat Baby” has been the hilarious salve that kept us going through the dark times. There’s also a new project from Logic (probably) that carries on the mysterious legacy of the masked menace MF DOOM, a new collection of Kota The Friend freestyles, and a slew of new singles referencing the upended status quo.

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending January 22, 2021

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

BRS Kash — Kash Only

Atlanta newcomer Kash’s breakout single “Throat Baby” would be a ubiquitous hit in nearly any other year. As it is, the raunchy ode to the wonders of oral sex announced the coming of a charismatic, cheeky entertainer, who takes advantage of that momentum with his debut full-length. Highlights include the remix of his signature song with City Girls and DaBaby, and baller anthem “Kash App” with Mulatto.

CJ Fly — The Way I Hear It, Vol. 1

The Pro Era member is a year removed from his RudeBwoy album but its follow up is something completely different for fans of the staunch lyrical traditionalist. Rather than another bevy of bars, CJ serves up an eight-track compilation of self-produced instrumentals, opening up his appeal to the “beats to study to” crowd.

Doctor Destruction — Planetary Destruction

Leave it to Logic to find a loophole in his retirement strategy. While it’s impossible to say for certain that the mysterious maestro of this project from Logic’s Bobby Boy Records actually is actually the rapper-turned-gamer, Logic’s enough of a rap nerd to take a page from MF DOOM’s playbook to drop an alter ego album just weeks after learning of his hero’s passing. Doctor D certainly sounds a lot like Logic, but in a genre that houses both Action Bronson and Your Old Droog — two more soundalikes who were once thought to be their more famous forebears — anything is possible.

Erick The Architect — Future Proof (EP)

Five songs of lyrical fury are all the Flatbush Zombies frontman needs to fully establish himself as a solo force as well as a mastermind behind the trio.

Kota The Friend — Lyrics To Go, Vol. 2

Dropping a follow-up to his freewheeling 2020 project, Kota once again finds a home for the random thoughts that wouldn’t necessarily make an album. No hooks, no highfalutin concepts, just Kota rhyming his butt off over what he calls “Kota The Friend-type beats,” cheekily referencing the YouTube producer habit of tagging songs with the names of rappers they want to work with.

Lil Skies — Unbothered

After his major-label debut mixtape was a smashing success, its follow-up album landed at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart. His new album hopes to keep the trend going, branching out with features from Lil Durk and Wiz Khalifa while simultaneously contracting its focus — they are the only features.

Peewee Longway & Cassius Jay — Longway Sinatra 2

The Atlanta underground vet links up with accomplished producer Cassius Jay for the follow-up to his breakout 2016 mixtape.

Remy Banks — The Phantom Of Paradise

New York crew rappers dropping solo projects seems to be something of a theme this week, as World’s Fair member Remy Banks follows up 2015’s Higher with an 11-song project featuring verses from some of the Big Apple’s nastiest spitters. Maxo, Pink Siifu, and Rome Streetz all make appearances, as does Mr. Muthafuckin Exquire.

Young Dolph — Rich Slave (Deluxe)

Adding eight songs to his standout 2020 project, the Memphis native puts on for his crew and continues his rise to indie stardom.

Singles/Videos

Coi Leray — “No More Parties”

When Coi’s name came up in the continued feud between Eminem and her dad Benzino — carried on, unsurprisingly, through Royce Da 5’9 — the 23-year-old looks to reassert herself as a separate entity, expressing disappointment in both old heads for bringing her up in a tiff older than she is.