The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, videos, and songs from Blxst, G Perico, and more.
It’s a bit of another slow week, which means another opportunity for rap fans to dig into some of the under-the-radar hip-hop that’s released this year. Another option would be going even further back; while De La Soul finally came to streaming last week, the Death Row Records catalog has followed suit, returning to DSPs this week after a year-long absence.
There’s still plenty of new stuff to check out, though. Black Thought and El Michels Affair’s new single “Glorious Game” is worth a spin, as is B. Cool Aid’s “Soundgood,” Lola Brookes’ “So Disrespectful,” and Rae Sremmurd’s “Tanisha (Pump That)” — although the less said about Logic’s “It Was A Good Day” cover, the better. Then, of course, there are the albums, EPs, mixtapes, singles, and music videos below.
Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending March 10, 2023.
Albums / EPs / Mixtapes
Blxst — Just For Clarity 2
The placement of this four-song EP on this list once again begs the question: Is California rhythmic crooner Blxst a rapper or a singer? And once again, the answer remains: Who cares? His upbeat ruminations on love, lust, and loyalty work equally well through either lens; here, he receives some timely assistants from fellow Golden State natives Larry June and Roddy Ricch, who offer a slightly more rugged perspective to Blxst’s silky vocal takes.
Conway The Machine & Jae Skeese — Pain Provided Profit
A seven-song offering adds yet another full clip to Conway’s growing arsenal of collaborative efforts, following 2022’s What Has Been Blessed Cannot Be Cursed with Big Ghost Ltd. This time, the gruff Buffalo native teams up with a local producer who offers a twist on Conway’s usual ominous orchestrations. 7xvethegenius, GooseBytheway, and SK Da King guest star but the former Griselda gangster is the focus of this project, which hews pretty closely to his established modus operandi.
DaeDalTm — Someone’s At The Door
Every so often, Tidal recommends a new release that was nowhere near my radar but suddenly arrests my attention when I give it a quick play for this column. Here’s one of those. Hailing from South Florida, DaeDalTm’s Atlanta roots peak out in his grimly melodic contemplations on the trials and tribulations of the streets. This album’s 13 tracks find DDT warbling his way through some of the most cinematic examples of the trap genre I’ve ever heard, and although his hood anecdotes are familiar in form, he delivers the narratives with an uncommon eye for detail.
G Perico & DJ Drama — Hot Shot: Gangsta Grillz
DJ Drama’s hot streak is somehow still going; after applying his Gangsta Grillz brand name to projects with French Montana and Kash Doll (and that’s just this year), the Philly DJ stamps South Central native G Perico’s latest with his seal of approval. Best known for his Eazy-E-like voice and updated G-Funk sound, Perico downshifts here, taking unique tacks from what fans might be used to and even crossing color lines to link up with RJMrLA.You might not have thought post-hyphy and jazz rap would work together, but that’s exactly what happens on Hot Shot.
Garren — Spiritual Warfare
Another artist who gets technically classified as a singer, Garren, a native Angeleno by way of Compton, leans into a more rhythmic delivery here over some absolutely explosive 808-driven production. It’s a stark change from his demeanor on 2022’s This What You Want? — here he’s more boastful, brash, and boisterous, sounding a bit more like veteran rap crooners like Kevin Gates and Fredo Bang than fellow LA vocalists like Eric Bellinger. It’s a change that works.
Singles / Videos
Babyface Ray — “Spill My Cup”
Detroit rappers aren’t, for the most part, recognized for their introspection, but if there were one to develop that reputation, it’d be Babyface Ray. And he’d live up to it, too, as demonstrated by this release from his late 2022 album MOB. The gentle piano instrumental belies its hard-won observations about life on the rough side of the tracks — the tracks in this metaphor being 8 Mile road.
Hunxho — “Uh-Huh” Feat. Tee Grizzley
Two rappers who embrace drastically different approaches to the art form collaborating can lead to some pretty disastrous results, but every so often you get a collusion of opposing flavors that complement each other rather than clash. That’s what happens here, with the rappers’ shared disaffection forming the bonding element that ties them together.
JayDaYoungan — “Dirty Soul”
It’s a bit heartbreaking that the Louisiana artist was killed before ever really receiving the national recognition that was headed his way, but the bright side, I guess, is that more people can learn about him and that there are still a few gems left in his catalog that justify the attention. “Dirty Soul” is a reflection of both sentiments, with the late rapper sounding every bit as devastated about his circumstances as fans are about his loss.
Sha Ek — “Box/Bluff”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJhAffhIysU
Danny Brown may not have a high opinion of New York drill rappers who sound like Batman, but that isn’t stopping the subgenre from going strong. Surely, he was thinking of shouty little guys like Sha Ek, who at 19 years old doesn’t even look like he can get into a rated-R movie by himself. But once you get past his looks, there’s a relatability and rage behind his obvious bluster — and a truly captivating stage presence and theatricality, which is very Batman-esque, indeed.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. .
