B.o.B – Ether

It’s a shame that he’s become a flat-earth punchline, because B.o.B has honestly been a fairly consistent rapper. His glory days are over, but this conclusion to his five-album Elements series has some highlights. Big K.R.I.T., Young Thug, T.I., Ty Dolla $ign, and Cee Lo Green are all featured, and the album was almost entirely produced by 30 Roc and B.o.B himself. Wayne, in particular, dominates the album with his verse on “E.T.”: an autotune-less, excellent verse that hearkens back to the days of classic Wayne.

Faye Webster – Faye Webster

Awful Records is one of the strangest groups of hip hop, a group of oddball performers who don’t seem to fit in any category. The most recent addition to their roster was Faye Webster, a childhood friend of Ethereal’s who got closer to Awful as both a featured artist and a photographer. Faye Webster, her sophomore album, is her first release through the label: a collection of songs inspired by folk, rock, country, and hip hop that makes for an eclectic, unique sound.

Harry Styles – Harry Styles

After Zayn Malik’s solo career took off so spectacularly, Harry Styles decided to be the second One Direction member to set off on his own (without outright quitting the band, though). Unlike Zayn, who went off and found his own sound, Harry Styles decided to copy every band he’s ever heard. From Prince to Bowie to, most notably, the Beatles, Styles decided to resort to mimicry for his debut, and it’s not a great look for him.

J-Hus – Common Sense

After standout performances on Stormzy’s “Bad Boys” and Dave’s “Samantha”, J-Hus’ much-anticipated debut project is finally here. The London artist, whose sound is based around grime and afrobeat, gathered Tiggs da Author, Burna Boy, Mo Stack, and Mist for Common Sense, and grabbed rising producer Jae5 more the vast majority of the production. Don’t sleep on J-Hus: he’s one of the most interesting artists coming out of London right now.

Mach-Hommy & Knxwledge – The Spook…

After releasing Dollar Menu 2 only 23 days prior, NJ’s Mach-Hommy has returned with a new project. This one is exciting, however: it’s a collaborative project with Knxwledge, one of the most revered producers ever, whose eclectic, unique sound should suit Mach-Hommy’s vocals perfectly. Frequent collaborator Tha God Fahim is the only feature.

 

Machine Gun Kelly – Bloom

I struggle to thing of a more generic rapper than Machine Gun Kelly, but he continues to hold a strong and supportive fanbase. For his third studio album, MGK grabbed Quavo, Ty Dolla $ign, Hailee Steinfeld, James Arthur, and more for an album of faux-inspirational, Kid Rock-inspired alt rap.

 

 

Nick Murphy – Missing Link

I will never get why he stopped recording under Chet Faker, but Nick Murphy is back with the first project released under his government name. The five-track EP is done entirely by Murphy, except for one collaborator: Canadian super-producer Kaytranada, on the standout track “Your Time”.

 

 

Paramore – After Laughter

I miss the old Paramore: the pop-punk-ish group who released two era-defining albums in the late 2000s: 2007’s Riot! and 2009’s Brand New Eyes. After their last, self-titled album, which started embracing far more pop than punk, Paramore decided to take it all the way for After Laughter, a pop album that’s nearly indistinguishable from their origins. Hayley Williams’ voice is as excellent as ever, and their writing is still their strong suit, but their sound has changed considerably: old fans be warned.

P-Lo – More Than Anything

P-Lo started out as a producer on IAmSu!’s HBK gang, but his work as a rapper has started earning him more and more attention. His fifth project, More Than Anything, finds the Bay Area artist grabbing an impressive array of features, many of whom he had worked with previously as a producer. G-Eazy, Skizzy Mars, E-40, Marc E. Bassy, IAmSu!, Rex Life Raj, and more all make appearances.

 

Various Artists – The Audiomack EP

Audiomack, a music streaming platform that’s rapidly growing in popularity, gathered a bunch of different artists to record songs at its NYC studio. The result is an 8-track EP, with features from Riff Raff, Audio Push, Curren$y, Wifisfuneral, Two-9, Rich the Kid, and more. TGUT executive the entire project, with some help from Price, Retro Su$hi, IKON, TJ Mizell, and Electric Bodega.

 

Also released:

ICYTWAT, Milk: The Divine Council producer dropped his solo debut, featuring $ilkmoney, Indigochldrick, and Kyeoshin.
Girlpool, Powerplant: The long-awaited followup to 2015’s excellent Before the World was Big.
Gunna, Drip Season 2: The YSL rapper’s latest project features Young Thug, Playboi Carti, Offset, and Duke.
KRS-One, The World Is MIND: Unfortunately, this album is only going to be known for the fact that KRS-One eulogizes the wrong Beastie Boy. It’s a solid album, though.
Mistah FAB, Stan Pablo 4506: The LA rapper’s latest project features Too $hort, B.o.B, Young Dro, Larry June, and more.
Mr. Cheeks, The Lost Tapes: Released through Talib Kweli’s Jamla Records, this collection of lost tracks contains 9th Wonder production on four of the six tracks.
PWR BTTM, Pageant: Under intense speculation of acts of sexual assault, PWR BTTM release their sophomore album.
Wintertime, Wintertime: After dropping a collaborative EP with Felix Snow in January, Wintertime returns with a full-length project.