The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, videos, and songs from Buddy, Denzel Curry, Latto, and more.
A busy week across music saw the releases of the loopy Pusha T fast-food battle rap track “Spicy Fish Diss,” 42 Dugg and EST Gee’s “Free The Shiners,” Deante Hitchcock’s “Alone,” DDG and Gunna’s “Elon Musk,” Chance The Rapper’s moody comeback single “Child Of God,” Kid Cudi’s Sonic 2 soundtrack contribution “Stars In The Sky,” Mount Westmore’s “Bad MF’s,” and the newly resurgent Nicki Minaj’s drill rap foray “We Go Up” featuring Fivio Foreign, along with the releases listed below.
Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending March 25, 2021.
Albums/EPs/Mixtapes
Buddy — Superghetto
Compton rapper Buddy returns after four years with the follow-up to his fan-favorite 2018 debut Harlan & Alondra. This time around, he’s got an expanded palette of sounds and support from the likes of Ari Lennox, Blxst, T-Pain, and Tinashe.
Denzel Curry — Melt My Eyez, See Your Future
A more eclectic effort than 2019’s Zuu, Denzel Curry’s latest takes visual inspiration from the genre films he grew up watching and gets introspective with assists by a motley crew consisting of 454, 6lack, Jasiah, JID, Karriem Riggins, Rico Nasty, Robert Glasper, Saul Williams, T-Pain, and more.
Larry June & Jay Worthy — 2 P’z In A Pod
The Bay Area mainstay and the Compton flag-waver connect for a collaborative project that makes the most of their similar, independent mindsets. With groovy production and features from Jim Jones, Roc Marciano, and Suga Free, this is a smooth, unexpected take on West Coast rap.
Latto — 777
Uproxx cover artist Latto finally follows up her impressive 2020 debut album Queen Of Da Souf with this tight collection of bangers which includes the unexpected collab “Sunshine” featuring Childish Gambino and Lil Wayne, as well as her biggest hit to date, “Big Energy” — a remix of which is expected to follow in the coming days.
Nigo — I Know Nigo
Japanese fashion designer and DJ Nigo taps his fashion-obsessed musician friends for this upbeat compilation of eclectic-sounding club thumpers. Naturally, Pharrell makes a few appearances, but so too do his direct musical descendants like Tyler The Creator, Clipse, and Pusha T.
Phife Dawg — Forever
Shortly before the death of A Tribe Called Quest co-founder Phife Dawg, the band revealed he was working on a new solo project — his first since 2000’s Ventilation: Da LP. In the years since the announcement, fans have waited impatiently for word that the project was complete. Now, we have proof: It was well worth the wait.
Supa Bwe — No Thanks
One of Chicago’s many, many super-rappers, Supa Bwe disappeared for a while but made a triumphant return a couple of years ago with Just Say Thank You and Jaguar. He proves he’s here to stay with his latest, which features not just Chi-Town stalwarts like Chance The Rapper, Mick Jenkins, and Twista, but also unexpected collaborators like the NBA’s Iman Shumpert.
Singles/Videos
Bfb Da Packman — “Can’t Blame Ye”
While everybody else was chastising Kanye for his immature, reckless behavior, the Flint MC tried his best to empathize, detailing the wild upbringing that resulted in his off-kilter sense of humor and understanding that sometimes, you just have to wild out.
Bankroll Freddie — “Broke ASF”
Arkansas born Quality Control rapper Bankroll Freddie really came from rags to riches — he says as much on his latest single — which makes him kind of easy to root for, as do the hard-hitting beats he’s been using to assert himself as one of the rappers to watch.
D3szn — “Drip” Feat. E-40 &Ohgeesy
YG’s 4 Hunnid signee makes his entree to the rap game proper with some help from both a fellow West Coast rising star and one of the godfathers of the California rap scene. It’s a punchy, un-PC, post-ratchet anthem and a salute to the grimy dudes down to do whatever for the come-up.
Dreezy — “Covid Flow Freestyle”
Welcome back, Dreezy, we’ve missed you. In my estimation, the Chicagoan drill scene survivor is hands-down the best female rapper of the modern wave — even if she had the misfortune of popping up a couple of years too early to take full advantage. Here, she sounds revitalized and ready to recapture the excitement that surrounded her earliest offerings.
Lil Skies — “PlayThisAtMyFuneral” Feat. Landon Cube
I’ll admit I’ve been slacking on Lil Skies. After being one of his earliest champions, I sort of let myself forget that he remains one of the Rolling Loud generation’s absolute favorites. Sometimes, I get too stuck on trying to support elevated rap or local favorites. Look past the face tats and the extremely 2016 SoundCloud rap aesthetics and you may find you enjoy his boom-bap-informed take on the syrupy, melody-driven style beloved by zoomers.
Open Mike Eagle — “Multi-Game Arcade Cabinet” Feat. R.A.P. Ferreira, Still Rift., & Video Dave
Boy, it’s easy to miss a good, old-fashioned posse cut. Get four or more really good rappers in a room and let them cut loose. That’s what’s going on here. The game needs more of it.
Superior & Stove God Cooks — “Sweet Dreams” & “161”
Admittedly, I don’t know much about Superior, other than he’s a producer that loves the soulful, cinematic loops of fellow retro backpackers like Alchemist and Daringer and that his beats make the perfect backdrop for Syracuse rapper Stove God — who is likewise heavily associated with the Griselda crew style of gritty, late-90s revivalist rap currently bubbling in upstate New York — to show off his witty wordplay and confident charisma. Their double release this week may well leave fans hankering for more.
Trapland Pat — “Hellcat” Feat. Eli Fross
Trapland Pat and Eli Fross are relative newcomers, hailing from Florida and New York, respectively, but their chemistry on this track suggests both have been listening to a lot of ’90s and early aughts hip-hop. Because I am an absolute sucker for cross-regional connections and the back-and-forth flow they use here, they get a nod and I’ll certainly be checking for more from both in the future.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. .
