New Releases

Slept On: The Latest In Rap (May 21, 2021)

After coming off a number of A-list releases last week, this new music Friday is relatively tame.

Young Nudy

After coming off a number of A-list releases last week, this new music Friday is relatively tame.

Lil Nas X and BTS sprinkled out some new singles, and fans of Olivia Rodrigo are eating well today as she just put out her new debut album. Twenty One Pilots put out an album too, if you're into that sort of whiny thing. For rap fans, though, there is plenty of new music. Benny The Butcher, Young M.A., Hoodrich Pablo Juan, and 42 Dugg all returned with new projects, and Pooh Shiesty and Yung Baby Tate put out deluxe editions of their hit albums Shiesty Season and After The Rain. There are also many more releases that went under the radar. Here are this week's other slept-on records.


"Fine Art" by Caskey

While he has a steady stream of albums and collaborations to his name, Cash Money's Caskey remains the label's most undervalued emcee. Over the years, the rapper has experimented with COVID-themed wordplay, autotuned sing-song warblings, and emotional pop tunes in the key of Drake with admittedly mixed results. In turn, Caskey's following has remained relatively stagnant as he's toyed with his sound, but it was clear through it all that a vicious talent for the microphone always lurked just beneath the surface.

On Fine Art, the rapper comes armed with some of his fieriest bars in recent memory, and on tracks like "Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas" and "Witchita," he attacks his doubters from every angle over producer Tony Choc's granulated soul samples. But Fine Art isn't all noxious flexes. Caskey is painfully aware of how stagnated his career has been at times, and uses the project's softer moments to admit these frustrations: "Feel like my life is some type of parody," he raps on "Blue Moon." "God really playin' jokes on me / He brings the wins so close / and then they turn out like my old homies / When it's tough, they get ghost."

Fine Art's humble anecdotes and spitfire bars hope to change our perception of Caskey, and they just might.

"Dr. Ev4l" by Young Nudy

Young Nudy's exploratory production and hypnotic bars have always helped him stand out from Atlanta's crowded trap scene. On Dr EV4L, the album art finds Nudy playing the role of the menacing ringmaster, and in turn, his unsettling musical persona takes on a more literally villainous hue.

"Surgical with this shit, no type of training," Nudy grumbles like a mad doctor on "Mini Me." "I get wicked with this shit, man." On "Yellow Tape," Nudy doesn't even try to hide his murderous intentions. Instead, he sings an opulent melody about it. "Murder, murder, kill on my mind, I just wanna murder," he coos. The project is as unnerving as it is soothing in its anesthetic sound, and finds Nudy leaning even further into his grimmest nature.

"Borrowed Time" by Dark Lo & Harry Fraud

Sinister Philadelphia rapper Dark Lo tapped Harry Fraud to manage the production of his latest work Borrowed Time, and it was a good decision. "Premonition's" lurking piano keys sound as creepy as Halloween and the hypnotic guitar plucks of "Missing Summer" lay the perfect groundwork for Lo and Boldy James's unsettling bars on the violence and late-night dealings that surrounded them. "Survival of the fittest, for my name God is my witness," he raps. "I glide like physics, shorty chew me like gizzards, I brought the toolie it's a blizzard."

Fans of Lo's have been salivating for the release of Borrowed Time, with many expecting this project to send him to stardom. It will be interesting to see how the rapper's career plays out from here, especially as he currently is embroiled in two federal cases.

"Neighborhood Poetry" by FCG Heem

After a long wait, Florida's melodic FCG Heem finally let go of his debut project Neighborhood Poetry. Here, Heem proves the versatility of his voice across the project. On tracks like "Shinin" and "Believe In Me," the emcee's voice is often full of passionate yearning as he wails into the mic, but then on tracks like the Pooh Shiesty assisted "Beef," his flow is ruthless, his voice guttural and ominous as he initiates orders like a colonial. "Told lil' bruh he better not come back until all them n***as dead," he raps. Neighborhood Poetry is a compelling debut from the young and charismatic emcee.

Berner

J. Cole has finally returned.

And while thats all anyone can talk about, there was plenty of other great releases today. Jermaine released The Off-Season, his first new work since 2018. For those in need of something a little smoother, Jorja Smith also released a fresh new EP today titled Be Right Back, and The Black Keys returned with Delta Kream. Additionally, there was also a handful of great underground records that hit the shelves today. Here are this week's most slept on records.

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Both the J Cole and Isaiah Rashad hive are eating good this afternoon.

Both artists announced that they plan to release new projects in the coming weeks, and It's hard to see past the rabid hype that surrounds these, but if you look closer, there are other amazing rap projects that were released today, as well. Here are this week's most slept-on records.

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Music Lists

Slept On: The Latest In Rap (April 30, 2021)

For those who wish to wander the path less traveled and explore the underground, here are the best new rap releases you might have missed this week.

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After months of teasers, DJ Khaled finally released his new album, Khaled Khaled.

After the Drake-assisted dual offerings "Greece" and "Popstar" spent the previous summer tearing up the radio and teasing the album, Khaled announced the album's imminent arrival by revealing its tracklist. Rick Ross, Big Sean, Jay-Z, Nas, Justin Timberlake, Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Baby, Cardi B, and many more, the projects whopping guest list alone will be enough to warrant everyone's attention today.

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Happy belated 4/20 everyone.

To celebrate the occasion, rappers from all over dropped a handful of new projects this week. Most notably, Snoop Dogg released a new record titled From Tha Streets 2 Tha Suites, and Curren$y dropped a new NFT-exclusive EP to honor the holiday. For rap fanatics, today also bred some exciting new releases.

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Rap fans have many reasons to rejoice this morning.

Young Thug and his Young Stoner Life collective returned today with Slime Language 2, a collaborative project that has the largest guest roster of 2021 so far. Drake, Lil Baby, Lil Uzi Vert, Gunna, Big Sean, Kid Cudi, Nav, and Meek Mill are but a few of the two dozen heavy hitters appearing across the record. For music fans uninterested in Hip-Hop, London Grammar also returned today with a great new record. So did The Offspring, if you're a fratty middle-aged man who's into that sort of thing.

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