Depeche Mode – Spirit

Moody new wave/electronic group Depeche Mode dominated in the 80s, with massively famous albums like Construction Time Again and Violator, and they’re still going strong. After a four year break, the Essex band has returned with their fourteenth album, described as “an hour-long howl of outrage and horror“. Spirit has to be their most aggressive project to date.

 

Femdot – (u)no, the20/20hour.

Chicago rapper Femodt has been on the steady comeup for a while, dropping EP after EP to critical acclaim. After dropping his fourth number-themed EP with (u)no, he compiled it (along with last year’s to(u), thr(we), and fo(u)r into a fuller project: the20/20hour. With some great samples and exciting features from local up-and-comers, it’s a promising compilation from Femdot, who’s also reportedly working on his proper debut album Fem-de-la-Creme.

 

G Herbo – Welcome To Fazoland 1.5

Back when he was Lil Herb, it was difficult to imagine the Chicago drill artist would ever extend far within a genre that’s all but monopolized by Chief Keef (outside of Chicago, at least). With the name change to G Herbo, however, he’s switched up his style to embrace some truly impressive rapping, without divorcing himself from his drill roots. Herbo’s latest project is a six-track, featureless followup to last year’s Welcome to Fazoland album. Let this tide you over while we wait for his anticipated collaborative project with Lil Bibby, and keep an eye on his radio freestyles: as Andrew Baber will tell you, he’s absolutely killing it.

Matt Champion – Harley

Matt Champion is one of the many exciting voices coming out of Kevin Abstract’s Brockhampton collective (or, ‘boyband’, as they prefer to be known), with an angsty, emotional edge to his rap-flavoured singing. According to his twitter, Champion decided to scrap Punks, the debut album he was working on, in favour of a new project with a different sound. Presumably, Harley is a compilation of songs that would’ve ended up on the scrapped project, including previously released singles “Fangs”, “Mansions”, and “Punks”. According to Champion, “HARLEY IS NOTHING, IF YALL WANNA CALL IT SOMETHING BE LIKE MATT JUST PUT OUT SOME ‘BULLSHIT'”. If you want to check out some bullshit, Champion dropped the album for free through his twitter.

Pitbull – Climate Change

A new Pitbull album is always reason to celebrate. It’s mindless, it’s silly, but it’s a guaranteed good time. Pitbull is such a staple of pop rap’s golden age, he’s allowed keep putting out generic hip hop albums for as long as he wants. The feature list looks like something straight out of the mid-2000s hit machine, with Flo Rida, Enrique Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez, Jason Derulo, and R. Kelly all appearing. Dale.

 

Promnite – Snake Charmer EP

Brooklyn producer Promnite has been attracting attention for his remixes of tracks by Kehlani, Denzel Curry, and PartyNextDoor, but now he’s branched out to drop his first original project. Snake Charmer is honestly an excellent EP, a brief four-track affair with some phenomenal features. Denzel Curry and his ULT companions Nell, JK The Reaper, and Twleve’len open the tape with the trunk-thumping “Gunsmoke”, newcomer Adam Vida proves himself as a name to watch on “Ride Around”, rising singer Mark Johns soars on “Call Me”, and LaDonnis (formerly Donnis, of “Gone” fame) continues his comeback on “Cruise’n USA”.

Real Estate – In Mind

Following up 2014’s critically acclaimed Atlas, New Jersey band Real Estate continues to keep indie rock alive in 2017. After the departure of guitarist Matt Mondanile – who left to work on his other project, Ducktails – Real Estate replaced him with Julian Lynch, an accomplished New Jersey artist who melds perfectly into the band’s sound. The guitars are incredibly lush, the hooks are catchy, and Martin Coutrney’s writing is as strong as ever. It’s a lot more polished than Atlas, for better or for worse.

Rick Ross – Rather You Than Me

Nine albums (and countless mixtapes and MMG compilations) in, and Ricky Rozay is still going strong. Rather Me Than You is the same bombastic, braggadocios boss music Ross has been pumping out for over a decade, with an excellent list of contributors: Nas, Future, Young Thug, Jeezy, Gucci Mane, Ty Dolla $ign, Meek Mill, Dej Loaf, Wale, Yo Gotti, and more. Along with the usual kingpin flexing, Ross uses this opportunity to fire some real shots: Nicki’s name is dropped in the first 30 seconds, but it’s on “Idols Become Rivals” that hands get thrown. Birdman’s disgusting treatment of his artists is eviscerated, to which Lil Wayne was quick to air his appreciativeness. This is the best project Ross has dropped since Mastermind, so turn the bass up and bump this in your Maybach.

Smino – blkswn

There hasn’t been a rapper out of St. Louis to reach any kind of national consideration since Nelly, but Smino holds his city on his back with pride and sincerity. Receiving international acclaim for his last two EPs, S!ck S!ck S!ck and blkjptr (as well as hit singles like “Smelling Like A Re-Up” and “Lemon Pon Goose”), Smino’s been building his name up by working extensively with Saba on Bucket List Project and Noname’s masterpiece Telefone. Many of the artists involved in those projects showed up on blkswn, including Ravyn Lenae, Akenya, Phoelix, frequent collaborator Monte Booker, and Noname herself (with a secret verse at the end of “Amphetamine”). Via Rosa, Jay2, Bari, and Drea Smith also appear, and TheMIND also has an exellent feature on “Edgar Allen Poe’d Up”. blkswn is an incredibly varied project, and while it suffers a bit from its length, it shows off Smino’s multifaceted ability at approaching hip hop in a totally unique way. This is undoubtedly one of the strongest projects I’ve heard this year.

Spoon – Hot Thoughts

Spoon would’ve faded into obscurity if 2o14’s They Want My Soul wasn’t so well-received. Their idiosyncratic approach to alt rock is at least interesting, and with their new album Hot Thoughts, they’re branching out in some different directions.

 

 

 

Wale – Before I Shine

Wale must be attempting some pretty big things for his upcoming fifth album, Shine, because he’s taking his time finishing it. He released a mixtape, Summer on Sunset, last year to tide fans over (and it’s probably one of the best projects he’s ever put out), and on Wednesday he dropped Before I Shine on Datpiff as yet another preview. The 11-track mixtape presumably includes cuts that weren’t considered good enough for the album, as well as remixes of Nas’ “Nas Is Like” and Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You”. Even though his upcoming album has been subject to a lot of frustrating pushbacks, shoutout to Wale for keeping fans fed in the meantime.

Also released:

Alchemist, Rapper’s Best Friend 4: An Instrumental Series: The prolific NY producer returns with another beat tape.
Casanova, Be Safe Tho: Casanova got a lot of attention recently after A$AP Rocky told the story of how Casanova protected him during his brief stint at Rikers. Check him out for some angry, aggressive East Coast street rap.
Milky Chance, Blossom: the guys who made “Stolen Dance” return with a new project.
Sango, De Mim, Pra Você: Seattle-based producer, known for his work with Tinashe, releases a mixtape of Brazillian-based trap with Monte Booker, DKVPZ, and more.
Slim 400, Foe Block 2: YG affiliate Slim 400 returns with a new project, with Trae tha Truth, TC 4800, and more.
Sol Virani, No Pork In My Gumbo: New mixtape from Sol Virani, featuring Jadakiss and Method Man.