Aesop Rock, Bushwick OST

The first of two Aesop Rock releases today is a soundtrack to Bushwick, featuring ex-boxer and Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista as a war veteran helping a 20-year old woman (Pitch Perfect‘s Brittany Snow) survive a war-torn Brooklyn. It seems the project is entirely instrumental, showcasing Rock’s proficiency at crafting moody, cinematic soundscapes.

 

Aesop Rock & Homeboy Sandman, Triple Fat Lice

Aesop Rock’s second release of the day is his third collaborative project with Homeboy Sandman, following 2015’s Lice and 2016’s Lice 2: Still Buggin’. The duo’s new EP, titled Triple Fat Lice, follows the same qualities as the first two: all five-track, featureless EPs with the two accomplished lyricists trading bars. Producers this time around include Oh No, Quelle Chris, M Slago, and more.

 

Dizzy Wright, The Golden Age 2

Former Funk Volume rapper Dizzy Wright has returned with a new album, the sequel to his acclaimed 2013 mixtape The Golden Age (which had a phenomenal list of features on it). Dizzy Wright’s 15 seconds have been up for a while now, though, and The Golden Age 2 has a significantly smaller list of acclaimed features and producers, but Big K.R.I.T. and G Perico still made some notable appearances (K.R.I.T. doesn’t fit on his song at all, but he still manages to totally body the track).

Drain Gang, D&G

Yung Lean, inexplicably, became one of the biggest artists in the world with his Sad Boy aesthetic, bringing vaporwave to rap years before anyone would’ve considered the idea. Drain Gang is a rap trio comprised of members from his Sad Boy collective, and D&G is the group’s debut project. Leandoer himself shows up as a feature a couple of times, but the bulk of the project is handled by Bladee, ECCO2K, and Thaiboy Digital. If Yung Lean himself hasn’t sold you on his unique sound, this certainly isn’t for you, but it’s a solid addition to the subgenre.

 

Lil Durk & Lil Reese, Supa Vultures

Chicago drill legends Lil Durk and Lil Reese were two of the most signature artists in the city’s music scene, influencing scores of artists with their innovative styles and flows. The two have collaborated before, but a joint project has been long-awaited, and was apaprently received to huge acclaim: according to Noisey, “Distance”, Supa Vulture’s lead single, is Chicago’s number one local record on YouTube. Producers include typical drill beatsmiths Young Chop, ChopsquadDJ, and more.

Marlon Craft, The Tunnel’s End

New York MC Marlon Craft has been creating a huge buzz, not just in his city but across the entire underground, and for good reason. If his freestyles and rap battles didn’t already indicate the presence of a new lyrical mastermind, last year’s he looked like nothing album proved that Marlon Craft is one of the East Coast’s most exciting new voices. His followup, The Tunnel’s End, has only a couple of features (from Radamiz and frequent collaborator Leah Rich), putting Craft’s immaculate writing and powerful delivery on full display. Don’t sleep on Marlon Craft.

milo, who told you to think??!!?!?!?!

Milo is one of underground rap’s most prolific voices, a remarkable lyricist and incredible producer who creates avant-garde, alternative rap under a series of aliases. Just two months ago, Milo released an album under his Scallops Hotel moniker: over the carnage rose a voice prophetic, an experimental project that placed unconventional production next to old interviews with the likes of Frank Zappa and MF DOOM. who told you to think??!!?!?!?! is Milo’s first release under his main name since 2015’s So the Flies Don’t Come, undoubtedly his best, and most accessible, project to date. His long-awaited followup was preceded by singles “sorcerer” and “magician (suture)”, both of which pointed to the new project extending the ideas presented in Flies: still avant-garde, still deeply personal and filled with unconventional allusions and references, but still accessible enough that any rap fan should be able to appreciate Milo’s artistry.

R.LUM.R, Afterimage

After a failed start as an acoustic artist (one of his early influences was John Mayer), R.LUM.R rebranded as an alt-R&B artist and found the lane that suits his sound. Reminiscent of artists like Gallant or Linzi Jai, R.LUM.R crafts R&B ballads with rock and hip hop influences, listing everyone from Kanye West to Coheed & Cambria as influences on his sound.

 

Sean Price, Imperius Rex

Two years to the day since we lost one of East Coast rap’s most notorious underground legends, Sean Price’s long-awaited last album has finally been released. After extensive input from his widow, Bernadette Price (who raps herself on a couple songs), Imperius Rex, the album Price was working on before he died, was finally finished. It’s a perfect sendoff to the late MC, showcasing his tongue-in-cheek humor, brutal sensibilities, and immense lyrical talents. MF DOOM, Raekwon, Prodigy, Method Man, Styles P, Inspectah Deck, Vic Spencer, Freeway, and many more appear on the posthumous project, providing an allstar sendoff team for an artist gone too soon. RIP Sean Price.

SonReal, One Long Dream

SonReal is one of the very few rappers holding down Vancouver. The city has never been known for its hip hop, but we’ve had a few significant contributions: notably Snak the Ripper, Madchild, and Kyprios (and his underrated group, Sweatshop Union). Preceded by promising singles “So Far”, “Potential”, and “Who Care”, One Long Dream promises more indie-inspired hip hop from SonReal, showcasing his city’s penchant for genre-merging, storytelling, humor, emotion, and innovation: hopefully, SonReal can help shed light on Vancouver’s rap scene, bringing up other artists and proving that we have more to offer than just Snak and Madchild’s notoriously petty beef.