New Music Friday is back — and with a whole new look.
What hasn’t changed, however, is our mission to feed you the best new music and help you sift through the endless (if not slightly intimidating) stream of fresh rap and R&B that floods your favorite streaming service each week.
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On the albums front, this week sees a mix of new projects from Southern stalwart Killer Mike, the genre-mashing, speaker-thrashing JPEGMAFIA and blog rap darling Wiz Khalifa, among others.
So whether you’re looking to get stoned, spiritual or scare the hoes, we’ve got you covered. (Sidebar: No, Vultures 2 didn’t drop today. Shocker.)
Check out the full list below and peep this week’s best new singles here.
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Killer Mike — Songs For Sinners & Saints
Features: Offset, Project Pat, Key Glock, Blxst, Anthony Hamilton
Producers: DJ Paul, Cutmaster Swiff, Tec Beatz, Cuz Lightyear, Tanner “Treedot” Ott
Label: VLNS / Loma Vista
A collaboration with his band the Mighty Midnight Miracle, Songs For Sinners & Saints serves as a 10-track epilogue to Killer Mike’s Grammy-winning opus MICHAEL. As he explained in a press release, “I realized I had more I wanted to do with this sound before moving on.”
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JPEGMAFIA — I Lay Down My Life For You
Features: Vince Staples, Denzel Curry, Buzzy Lee
Producers: JPEGMAFIA, Kenny Beats, Flume, Nick Lee, Alec Goldblatt
Label: PEGGY / AWAL
After scaring the hoes alongside Danny Brown, JPEGMAFIA returns to strike fear in speakers everywhere with his latest solo effort — complete with assists from Vince Staples and Denzel Curry, and some choice bars for Kendrick Lamar’s best friend.
Wiz Khalifa — Wiz Owens
Features: Sosamann, 24hrs, Young Deji
Producers: Harry Fraud, Sledgren, Chris Dreamer, Daniel Sarto, Diamond
Label: Taylor Gang
Even welcoming another kid isn’t slowing Wiz Khalifa’s roll. Fashioning himself after the renowned designer Rick Owens, the Taylor Gang chief serves up 13 new joints to blaze to — or better yet, “get in your car and do something cool wit tha homies.”
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Vybz Kartel — First Week Out
Features: Squash
Producers: Aiko Pon Di Beat, Vybz Kartel Muzik, Adidjahiem Records, Hemton Music, Dunwell Productions
Label: 21st Hapilos Compilations
The World Boss is wasting no time getting back to business. Fresh off his release from prison after spending 13 years behind bars, the Jamaican dancehall legend celebrates his newfound freedom by dropping this new 12-track project.
Navy Blue — Memoirs In Armour
Features: N/A
Producers: Budgie, Chuck Strangers, Nicholas Craven, Child Actor, Navy Blue
Label: Freedom Sounds
If you prefer your raps introspective over lo-fi soul loops, few do it better right now than Navy Blue. Backed by some of the underground’s best beatmakers, the multi-talented Sage Elsesser continues his streak of poigant self-reflection with Memoirs In Armour.
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Soulja Boy — Swag Season
Taking time out from tearing into everyone from Drake and DaBaby to Metro Boomin and B. Simone on social media, Soulja Boy follows up February’s Swag 6 with the similarly drippy Swag Season.
Features: N/A
Producers: Credits unavailable
Label: SODMG
Khalid — Sincere
Features: Arlo Parks
Producers: Chrome Sparks, Nate Mingo, Denis Kosiak, Jason Kellner, Digi
Label: RCA / Right Hand Music Group
Now in his mid-20s, the American teen ends his five-year hiatus and showcases his growth with his third album Sincere. “I needed to take that break,” Khalid told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe prior to its release. “When I come back, I’ll come back with more claritty, more maturity, more knowledge.”
