New Music Fridays: July 29th, 2016

Key Alert

New music Friday has arrived, so check out this week’s roster of new releases:

DJ Khaled – Major Key

The man famous for bringing artists together and then screaming his own name when they make music returns with his ninth album. Khaled’s turned into a media sensation since he started using snapchat to promote his particular brand of inspiration and self-love, and Major Key‘s his most anticipated album to date because of this. The tracklist is insane: along with previously released songs by Drake, Jay Z & Future, and Big Sean, Kendrick Lamar, & Betty Wright, Khaled enlists J. Cole, Nas, Kodak Black, YG, Busta Rhymes, Travis Scott, Lil Wayne, Wale, Gucci Mane, and many more.

DJ Skizz – Cruise Control

Boston’s DJ Skizz has released his third album, titled Cruise Control, on his bandcamp. The radio host-turned-producer is famous for his work on the East Coast, and his latest release features (among others) New York rappers Roc Marciano, Your Old Droog, Hus Kingpin, and Da Villins.

The Game – Block Wars 

Apparently, the Game is making an “ultra-violent” mobile game with Atari called Block Wars. The teaser he shared on Instagram shows a cutely animated Game taking down gangsters and drug traffickers, so obviously Block Wars is going to be excellent. After announcing a “1992 Block Wars Tour” in support of the game, the Game also dropped the accompanying soundtrack on iTunes. The album features “icy stories of confrontation, retaliation, and retribution”, and the rapper is joined by Atlanta-based R&B singer Lorine Chia on the song “Uzis and Grenades” (the two previously collaborated on a Prince tribute titled “Rest In Purple“).

Nao – For All We Know

Nao’s been receiving some much-deserved acclaim lately for her blending of soul and electronic music (see her excellent single “Bad Blood“), and today the East London native (who started out as a backup singer for Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker) has released her debut album. Titled For All We Know, the album is Nao’s attempt at expressing 90’s soul/R&B music in 2015.

Various Artists – The Land OST

Upcoming film The Land, executive produced by Nas, details four black youths from Cleveland in their effort to enter the world of professional skateboarding. The soundtrack, released through Mass Appeal, features multiple appearances by Nas, producer Nosaj Thing, and rapper Machine Gun Kelly (who appears in the film), along with Erykah Badu, Kanye West, French Montana, Ezzy, Dave East, and Pusha T & Jeremih on the excellent previously-released track “Paid”. Stream the soundtrack for free off NPR.

ZHU – GenerationWhy

Chinese-American singer/electronic producer ZHU grew to acclaim with his 2014 single “Faded”, as well as his Genesis Series EP released last year (which included collaborations with Skrillex, THEY., AlunaGeorge, A-Trak, Vancouver Sleep Clinic, and rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony on standout track “Hold Up, Wait A Minute“). Today, he’s released his debut album GenerationWhy, and it’s all him: with no features, ZHU lets the music speak for itself.

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