Every week, artists must duel for their share of listeners. There’s only a certain amount of Hip Hop and R&B fans in the world, and while that number is growing by the day, the pie can only be split-up in so many ways.
It’s a game of chess, where artists will have to strike quickly or delay their release to ensure that their music finds the most ears. When someone like Taylor Swift drops, many others will fall back and wait until the coast is clear.
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But then there are other artists such as Rihanna, who don’t bat an eye at the competition. This week’s edition of New Music Friday might have gotten shaken-up thanks to the Swifties, but any list with RiRi featured is sure to be good.
Check out the full list of songs released on the week ending October 28 below.
Rihanna — “Lift Me Up”
It’s difficult to believe, but Rihanna has not released a solo single since 2016 when she was gearing up for the release of her instant-classic album ANTI. There have been a select numbers of collaborative singles released in the years following (including “Lemon” with N.E.R.D. and 2020’s “BELIEVE IT” with PARTYNEXTDOOR, but aside from that, Rihanna has been out of the limelight (when she’s not being harassed by paparazzi over her baby with A$AP Rocky).
The Queen has now returned with “Lift Me Up” from the soundtrack to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. It may not be the announcement of a new album, but you won’t catch us complaining about new Rihanna music.
SZA — “Shirt”
SZA may not quite be at the same height as Rihanna, but each of her new releases feels like a proper event. As has been covered many times, the R&B/pop singer has been in a public feud with her label Top Dawg Entertainment. After last week, when TDE erroneously uploaded a new single to DSPs, the tensions seem to still be present, but SZA isn’t letting that bring her down.
“Shirt,” the latest single from the Ctrl dynamo, hints at the potential of a nearby forthcoming album which would be her first new body of work since 2017 and was teased with a snippet alongside Atlanta star LaKeith Stanfield.
New Music Friday: New Albums From Westside Gunn, Kodak Black, Smino, Duke Deuce + More
Juice WLRD — “In My Head”
Trippie Redd f. Don Toliver — “Ain’t Safe”
Ice Spice — “Bikini Bottom”
It would have been nearly impossible for any rap fan (or anyone who goes online, for that matter) to have gone this long without hearing about New York viral sensation Ice Spice. With “Munch (Feelin’ U)” soaring to popularity, Ice Spice has found herself thrown directly into the spotlight of rap’s mainstream.
Where many have burned bright before fizzling out just as quickly, Ice Spice hopes to remain at the top with her latest single “Bikini Bottom.”
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Busta Rhymes f. Conway The Machine & Big Daddy Kane — “Slap”
Polo G — “Bag Talk”
Fivio Foreign — “God Did Freestyle”
Fivio Foreign has found himself in a tricky place over the past week. Most notably, his collaborator Kanye West has been more intolerable than usual, but the Drill rapper also stumbled his way through an awkward halftime show during a Brooklyn Nets game. Of course, the B.I.B.L.E. rapper suggested there were a myriad of technical difficulties which impacted the performance.
Looking to quickly change the narrative and recenter it on Fivio’s booming music, he has just come forward with latest offering “God Did Freestyle.”
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Chlöe f. Latto — “For the Night”
Chloe Bailey and her sister Halle first broke onto the scene through 2017’s The Two of Us, but it was 2020’s Ungoldy Hour which propelled them into stardom. In the years following, Chloe has continued to pursue a solo career in music.
Though she still hasn’t released a full-length solo debut, the “Surprise” singer is back with her latest single “For The Night” featuring Atlanta rapper Latto.
IDK — “Monsieur Dior”
BROCKHAMPTON — “I Miss the Band Already”
Macklemore f. NLE Choppa — “Faithful”
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Ashanti — “Falling For You”
WizKid — “Money & Love”
DRAM f. BJ The Chicago Kid — “PPL”
Sheck Wes — “LFG!”
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Boldy James & Futurewave — “Could Be Worse”
redveil f. Denzel Curry — “pg baby (Remix)”
DMV rapper redveil’s 2022 has found him growing to new heights, largely thanks to his latest album learn 2 swim. His third album showcased a new maturity to both his lyrics and production (learn 2 swim was entirely self-produced).
He’s now back with the remix to “pg baby,” one of the stand-out tracks from his latest album. Now on the song is Denzel Curry, whose exuberance takes the single to new levels.
Stalley — “Red Light”
Jay Worthy & DJ Muggs — “95”
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Rob49 f. G Herbo — “Add It Up”
Ray Vaughn — “Tradeline”
Tyla Yaweh — “Sex Symbol”
Tweak On The Beat f. Paris Bryant — “Want It Bad”
Boobieblood — “Go Get It”
Also be sure to check out this week’s New Music Friday albums coverage featuring new projects from Westside Gunn, Kodak Black, Smino, Duke Deuce, Wiz Khalifa and Taylor Gang, and more.
Stay up-to-date with the latest Hip Hop and R&B releases here, and peep HipHopDX’s2022 Rising Stars update, highlighting the achievements of Doechii, Nardo Wick, Coi Leray and others.
