This week in hip hop, we got the new Alchemist EP (read our review), plus albums from DJ Khaled, Shelley FKA DRAM, Cadence Weapon, J.Period, and more, plus new singles from duendita, MadGic (Madlib & Logic), YUNGMORPHEUS, Wiki & NAH, Baby Keem/Travis Scott, Burna Boy, ALLBLACK, Kali/Rico Nasty, and more. Read on for all the rap and R&B we posted this week...
PRINCE SHAKIR - "THE GREAT DELUSION" (ft. MAVI)
MAVI continues to rise, and now he hopped on this chilled-out, jazzy new song from fellow Charlotte rapper Prince Shakir.
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DUENDITA - "BIO"
Queens indie-soul singer duendita has shared a new song, "bio" (pronounced "bee-yo"), and it's a riveting, percussive song that duendita calls "an existential dance song… reflecting on a distaste for involuntary experiences as a human... exploring themes of reality, creation and surveillance." Read more here.
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MADGIC (MADLIB & LOGIC) - "MARS ONLY PT. 3"
Logic said last year that he'd be retiring, but as he once joked, Madlib would be the one person who could coax him out of retirement, and... that was fast. Logic and Madlib just dropped a collaborative song as MadGic, and Logic says "made this whole album in a lockdown" in the song, so it looks like there's an entire MadGic LP on the way. If it's anything like "Mars Only Pt. 3," it sounds like it could be genuinely good stuff.
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YUNGMORPHEUS & EYEDRESS - "CANDYMAN/FOUR WEEK CURE"
LA rapper YUNGMORPHEUS has already put out two albums this year, and now he's back with a new double-single (via Lex Records). Both songs were produced by Eyedress, and they're both hazy, psychedelic rap songs.
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WIKI & NAH - "NO WORK"
Wiki and NAH have shared the second single off their upcoming collaborative album Telephonebooth, and this one's even more psychedelic than the last one.
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BABY KEEM - "DURAG ACTIVITY" (ft. TRAVIS SCOTT)
LA rapper (and Kendrick Lamar associate) Baby Keem continues to rise, and now he has tapped auto-tune rap giant Travis Scott for his latest single.
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BURNA BOY - "KILOMETRE"
Afro-fusion star Burna Boy is staying prolific and he has just now dropped his first single of 2021, "Kilometre." "It's really me talking about how far I've come," Burna told Zane Lowe on Apple Music. It's a very fun song.
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TOBI - "FAMILY MATTERS" (ft. FLO MILLI)
Nigerian-Canadian rapper TOBi has put out a new version of "Family Matters," featuring a great, newly-added verse by the fast-rising Flo Milli. "To have Flo Milli on the record too is a dope connection," he says, "and her bars fit perfectly for the track."
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ALLBLACK - "10 TOES" (ft. G-EAZY & E-40)
ALLBLACK has shared another single off his anticipated new album TY4FWM (Thank You 4 Fuckin’ With Me), and this one is about as classic West Coast as it gets.
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DJ KHALED - "BIG PAPER" (ft. CARDI B)
DJ Khaled's new album Khaled Khaled is basically a compilation of potential hits by some of the heaviest hitters in rap and R&B and this Cardi B song especially feels like it's got staying power.
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DJ KHALED - "I DID IT" (ft. POST MALONE, MEGAN THEE STALLION, LIL BABY & DABABY)
This is another instantly-satisfying one, and it samples "Layla."
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LION BABE - "FRIDA KAHLO"
NYC R&B duo Lion Babe are gearing up for a new album, Rainbow Child, and its first single is the groovy, funky "Frida Kahlo."
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KALI - "DO A BITCH" (REMIX ft. RICO NASTY)
Kali's subtle, ominous rap song "Do A Bitch" has gone viral on TikTok, and now it's gotten a remix featuring a verse by another rapper whose career was boosted by TikTok: Rico Nasty.
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DAICHI YAMAMOTO - "KILL ME" (ft. MICK JENKINS)
Jamaican-Japanese rapper Daichi Yamamoto is gearing up to release an album called WHITECUBE, and its newest single is the dark, percussive "Kill Me" with Mick Jenkins.
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RAHEEM DEVAUGHN & APOLLO BROWN - "ZADDY" (ft. 3D NA'TEE)
"Zaddy" is the second single off neo-soul singer Raheem DeVaughn and underground rap producer Apollo Brown's upcoming collaborative album Lovesick, and you can read more about it here.
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