Devlin – The Devil In

Grime rapper Devlin has been one of the genre’s most beloved artist for a while now, due to massively respected albums Bud, Sweat & Beers Tales from the Crypt, and A Moving Picture. The Essex MC’s latest project, The Devil In, is being considered his most mature project to date, entrenching his position as one of Grime’s most consistent stars and a hopeful bridge to American audiences. Check out Skepta on early single “50 Grand”, as well as appearances from Harry James, Tom Prior, and Maverick Sabre.

 

Lupe Fiasco – Drogas Light

After innumerable delays and a steady array of controversies, Lupe Fiasco returns today with Drogas Light, the prodigious Chicago rapper’s seventh album. Preceded by singles “Jump” and “Tranquillo”, Drogas Light is one of the strangest albums in Lupe’s discography, and he described it himself as a “refinement of LASERS” (widely regarded as the worst album of his career). Drogas Light abandons the jazzy, introspective, verbose lyricism of his highly regarded last album, 2015’s Tetsuo & Youth, and instead delivers a faux-trap sound that straddles the gap between mimicry and parody. It’s certainly a catchy album, with features from Ty Dolla $ign, Gizzle, Victoria Monet, Bianca Sings, and Simon Sayz, as well as a couple killer guest verses from Rick Ross and Big K.R.I.T.. Those who miss the old Lupe should, apparently, wait for his upcoming Drogas album, which is due to arrive sometime in the next few months.

Maybach Music Group – Super Bowl Playlist 

Released to celebrate this Sunday’s Superbowl, the latest free project from Maybach Music calls itself a playlist rather than a mixtape (thanks, Drake, for the latest rap neologism). It’s more of a compilation of recently released songs than anything else, featuring tracks off Meek Mill’s DC4 and Rockie Fresh’s Priorities 5, but it also gives a home to some of the latest singles released by Rick Ross (“Buy Back the Block”), Wale (“Running Back”), and Gunplay (“Bible on the Dash, Pt. 2”).

Mother Mother – No Culture

Vancouver synthpop band Mother Mother made a lasting impression on the Vancity indie music scene with their sophomore album O My Heart, and continued to do nothing but impress with 2011’s Eureka and, particularly, with their conceptual masterpiece The Sticks in 2012. The band’s latest project, Very Good Bad Thing, seemed to devolve into fairly mediocre territory, and early singles like “Drugs” seem to suggest that No Culture isn’t any significant departure, but a new album from the quirky, unconventional five-piece is cause for celebration nonetheless.

NAO – For All We Know: The Remixes

London soul/funk singer-songwriter NAO had an extremely impressive debut with last year’s For All We Know. Today, she’s returned with a remix EP that boasts some truly impressive names: Kaytranada, Mura Masa, SBTRKT, and Sam Gellaitry all flipped various tracks from the album, and Love’s remix of “Feels Like” features a standout verse from grime MC Stormzy, who’s set to drop his debut album later this month.

 

Paul White – Accelerator

London producer Paul White had a hell of a 2016, producing both Open Mike Eagle’s Hella Personal Film Festival and the majority of Danny Brown’s masterpiece Atrocity Exhibition. After dropping Everything You’ve Forgotten, a free beat tape, back in January, White’s returned with a quick 4-track EP, featuring two songs and their instrumentals. Both tracks, “Accelerator” and “Lion’s Den”, feature Danny Brown on vocals, and are among the most batshit collaborations in the duo’s joint discography.

Quelle Chris – Being You Is Great, I Wish I Could Be You More Often

Mello Music Group has been an excellent go-to label for underground hip hop, and the label’s latest release comes from Detroit rapper Quelle Chris. Quelle’s last two projects, Lullabies for the Broken Brain and Innocent Country, established his impressive dual abilities as rapper and producer, and anticipation was high for his latest project. Featuring Open Mike Eagle, Roc Marciano, Cavalier, Elzhi, and more, it’s Quelle’s most ambitious project to date, and while he handled most of the production himself, there’s some key placements from MNDSGN and Alchemist.

Rationale – Vessels EP

British singer/songwriter Rationale’s soulful, powerful voice first revealed itself on last year’s Fuel to the Fire EP, and a steady string of loosies (particularly “Palms”) have established him as an impressive new voice to look out for. His latest EP, Vessels, includes previously released singles “Reciprocate” and “Vessels”, but Rationale shines brightest on the EP’s elevating opener “Prodigal Son”.

 

Sean Leon – I Think You’ve Gone Mad (Or the Sins of the Father)

Toronto rapper Sean Leon has been one of his city’s biggest underground stars for a while now, and he already has a few well-received mixtapes under his belt with Narcissus, The Drowning of Ego and King of the Wild Things. This week, Leon released I Think You’ve Gone Mad, a 20-track mixtape that serves as the first installment of his Black Sheep Nirvana trilogy. An ambitious artist of many talents, Leon is also releasing a series of films alongside the albums. Despite an ongoing beef with fellow Toronto rapper Jazz Cartier that continues to get pettier and pettier, both artists have managed to impress with moody, intricate music to counteract the OVO formula that’s become synonymous with Toronto’s sound.

SiR – Her Too

TDE’s John Doe 2 already impressed least year with his Her EP, and he’s returned early this year with the sequel. The Inglewood singer has been making some key appearances over the past few years alongside Isaiah Rashad, Anderson .Paak, Jay Rock, Jay Prince, and Little Simz, and his past two project (Seven Sundays and Her) proved that he’s both a great writer and an even better singer. Her Too is as subdued and introspective as his past work, but with uplifting highlights from featured artists Anderson .Paak, King Mez (a West Coast rapper who had three impressive appearances on Dr. Dre’s Compton), and singer/saxophonist Masego (who’s Pink Polo EP with Medasin is a must-listen).

Two-9 – FRVR

Atlanta rap collective Two-9 has been quietly making waves for years, from unofficial frontman Key!’s massive impact on the entire sound of Atlanta’s underground trap scene, to Retro $ushi’s Jace making key appearances on Rae Sremmurd’s SremmLife and Lil Dicky’s Professional Rapper. Two-9 also includes rappers Curtis Williams, FatKidsBrotha, Cartier Dave, Lightskin Mac11, and producers CeeJ and DJ Osh Kosh. FRVR, the collective’s debut album (not to be confused with their mixtapes B4FRVR and Two-9 Forever) has been a long time coming, and with significant contributions from label boss Mike-WiLL Made It, it should help bring the collective the attention they deserve.

Thelonious Martin – A Dozen For Dilla

Monday would’ve been J Dilla’s thiry-second birthday, and the day was filled with messages of love and rememberance from the scores of artists who count Dilla as one of the most inspirational and innovative figures in hip hop (even the elusive MF DOOM came through with a birthday message). SaveMoney producer Thelonious Martin has always worn his Dilla influence on his sleeve (just check out “AdultSwim” off last year’s Late Night Programming). In honour of Dilla’s birthday, Thelonious dropped off A Dozen For Dilla on Soundcloud, an instrumental ode to the late producer that showcases Martin’s ample mimicry of his unconventional sampling style and breezy, throwback sound.

Westside Gunn – Riots On Fashion Avenue

East Coast rapper Westside Gunn has been growing a massive fanbase, with a grimy sound reminiscent of contemporaries like Wiki and Da$H, and a host of successful albums and mixtapes (particularly his popular Hitler in Hermes series). Gunn’s latest project, Riots on Fashion Avenue, is a collaborative project with French producer Mil, who reportedly took Gunn’s “rough flow” and turned it into a “‘film noir’ with harrowing sounds”. The vinyl pressing has already sold out (a testament to Gunn’s dedicated fanbase), but Riots can still be purchased digitally through the Efficienz Bandcamp page.

Also released: Beach Slang, Here, I Made This For You (Beach Slang Mixtape Vol. 2); Ces Cru, Catastrophic Event Specialists; Ehiorobo, Limeade; FGE, No Surrender No Retreat; Larry June, Larry TWO; Lil Peep & Lil Tracy, Castles II; Nines, One Foot Out; Thievery Corporation, The Temple of I & I;