A$AP Ferg, Still Striving

With the rise of A$AP Rocky, and New York’s entire A$AP Mob (who are set to drop their third collaborative project next week), A$AP Ferg seemed like the collective’s next surefire hit artist. He had a stellar introduction with 2013’s Trap Lord (“Hood Pope” is a classic), and followed it up with a passable mixtape with Ferg Forever, but after taking two years to work on his second studio album, Ferg released an absolute letdown with last year’s Always Strive And Prosper. The album was mediocre at best, embracing pop in all the wrong ways, and ultimately became one of 2016’s most forgettable projects (despite Ferg’s remarkable storytelling). Today, Ferg’s returned with what might be a necessary comeback: Still Striving sounds like the alternative East Coast sound he’s always been best at, preceded by some exciting singles and promising a more refined Ferg than we heard on ASAP. The feature list is incredible as well, if a little inflated: Cam’ron, A$AP Rocky, Dave East, Playboi Carti, Meek Mill, Lil Yachty, Migos, Madeintyo, and more, with his massive “East Coast” remix drawing in Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, and French Montana, and Busta Rhymes. For some reason, however, Famous Dex makes a couple of appearances, continuing A$AP Mob’s penchant for working with artists mired in controversy: Dex was caught on tape publicly beating his girlfriend a year or two ago. This, coupled with the A$AP Bari and Ian Connor’s sexual assault issues, hasn’t been a good look for the Mob recently. Hopefully they can man up and take a decent stand at some point in their career.

Brand New, Science Fiction

Brand New is one of emo’s most influential bands, from their early post-punk projects (Déjà Entendu and Your Favorite Weapon) to their later, more artistic and introspective opuses (Daisy and the classic The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me). It’s been nine years since they released a project, and while rumors circulated that the Long Island group were reuniting at some point, nobody knew that Brand New had secretly recorded an entire album until fans started receiving new CDs in the mail. Science Fiction is a welcome return from Brand New, allowing itself moments of tenderness amongst moments of rage, evoking strong emotions and delving deep into singer Jesse Lacey’s personal issues. It’s simultaneously one of the most anticipated and unexpected comebacks of 2017, and evidence that Brand New still knows how to elevate a genre that’s been pretty much dead since they left the game.

 

Gunplay, The Fix Tape

Gunplay’s been busy this year, and he’s showing no signs of stopping: after already dropping a collaborative project with Mozzy back in June, he’s returned with a new solo album, The Fix Tape. According to Wikipedia, the Florida-based artist also has two more albums slated for a 2017 release: The Plug and Haram. Next to Rick Ross, Gunplay might be the best artist signed to MMG, with a gravelly, powerful voice, a penchant for street storytelling, and the ability to populate his songs with immensely quotable one liners. The Fix Tape is a featureless project, giving Gunplay free reign to prove his abilities over the tape’s eleven tracks.

Kodak Black, Project Baby 2

Kodak Black is one of the Florida new school’s most acclaimed artists, receiving attention from Future, Frank Ocean, Rick Ross, and more; he also has a double-platinum single in last year’s Metro-produced viral hit “Tunnel Vision”, all despite having serious sexual assault charges leveled against him. Lil Kodak’s latest project is a sequel to his debut mixtape, 2013’s Project Baby, and the lengthy 19-track sequel features appearances from XXXTentacion (who has been embroiled in almost as much controversy as Kodak himself), Offset (who’s rivaling 2016 Quavo with his 2017 feature count), JackBoy, and John Wicks.

Lil B, Black Ken

The BasedGod returns! It’s been a surprisingly long time since we’ve heard from the usually prolific Bay Area legend: his last project was 2015’s Thugged Out Pissed Off, which clocked in at a remarkable 63 tracks. Black Ken, Lil B’s latest project, seems short by comparison, but it’s still unnecessarily long, with 27 tracks (and only a single features, from ILoveMakonnen). Black Ken has been teased for years, but over the past few months the BasedGod confirmed that the long-awaited self-produced project was finally on its way, and that it was a celebration of other black artists, from Kanye West to Kid Cudi to Charles Hamilton. It’s a lengthy experience, but worth it for the parodic quips, good vibes, philosophical wisdom, and surprisingly catchty content. Black Ken ranges from ridiculous (“Free Life”) to seriously impressive (“Ride (Hold Up)”), and is the kind of experience only Lil B can give you.

Lil Peep, Come Over When You’re Sober, Pt. 1

I don’t think anyone really saw the merger of emo and hip hop coming, but it’s here, and 20-year-old Long Island artist Lil Peep is at the forefront. His last couple of projects (2016’s Cry Baby and Hellboy) received some serious acclaim, and expectations were high for his debut album. Come Over When You’re Sober, Pt. 1 is short, with only seven tracks, and unfortunately it fails to do what many had hoped: elevate the possibilities presented in Peep’s mixtapes into some seriously interesting music. If you’re a big fan of Peep’s you’ll enjoy this project, but don’t expect anything groundbreaking or different from him; hopefully, Pt. 2 (which is expected to drop in the next week or two) will be better.

Mozzy, 1 Up Top Ahk

Bay area rapper Mozzy doesn’t seem to sleep: he’s dropped an 27 project in the past six years, including collaborative efforts with Gunplay, Blac Youngsta, Trae tha Truth, and more. After five joint projects with other artists, 1 Up Top Ahk is Mozzy’s first solo album in a while, but that doesn’t mean he’s not still highly collaborative. The Sacramento MC’s new album features appearances from fellow Jay Rock, Lil Durk, Dave East, Rexx Life Raj, YFN Lucci, The Jacka, and many more.

No Malice, Let the Dead Bury the Dead

The one unfortunate byproduct of hip hop duos making it big is that one artist always tends to fall by the wayside while the other one receives heaps of acclaim, causing some incredible artists to enter the “seriously underrated” category. It happened with Big Boi in Outkast, and it happened with Bun B in UGK, but the most recent example is No Malice in the brotherly Virginia duo Clipse. Pusha T rose to superstar status, dropping beloved albums and becoming the new president of GOOD Music. No Malice, however, took a different route: he found God, changed his name (from Malice to No Malice), and steadfastedly refuses to consider a Clipse reunion, instead focussing on an impressive but overlooked solo career. His latest project, Let the Dead Bury the Dead, is pretty excellent. He’s religious without being preachy, delivering powerful messages in his nonchalant style, managing to sound like a less apathetic version of his younger brother. Don’t sleep on this new project.

Peewee Longway, The Blue M&M 3

Atlanta rapper Peewee Longway is back with his long-awaited, oft-delayed new mixtape, The Blue M&M 3, finishing off an acclaimed street trilogy. Longway’s new project has production from C4, Cassius Jay, and more, and features Offset, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Young Dolph, MPA Turk, and Quavo.