The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, videos, and songs from Ice Spice, Lil Nas X, Megan Thee Stallion, and more.
What. A. Week. And while the girlies are certainly fighting — more on that in a minute — we can’t overlook just how many high-level releases came out in the past 24 hours. They include:
Ice Spice kicking off her album rollout with “Think U The Sh*t (Fart).” Goofy title aside, it’s a perfect illustration of how fun Ice Spice has been since “Munch” blew up.
Lil Nas X wondering “Where Do We Go Now?” as he prepares to release his documentary Long Live Montero.
And Megan Thee Stallion whacking a whole bunch of people who pissed her off with “Hiss.”
Other notable new releases include Flyana Boss, Russ, and Tierra Whack all returning to kick off their 2024 campaigns.
Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending January 26, 2024.
Albums/EPs/Mixtapes
Benny The Butcher — Everybody Can’t Go
The Butcher is here! Benny’s first full-length since 2020’s Burden Of Proof touches on a familiar theme in hip-hop: That of the believer faced with skeptics. Fortunately, he makes some pretty convincing arguments for potential investors with the help of Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, and more of hip-hop’s top stars.
Che Noir — The Color Chocolate Vol. 1
At only four tracks, Che Noir’s latest keeps ’em wanting more, but aptly demonstrates her prowess both on the mic and behind the boards.
Kevin Gates — The Ceremony
Remember when I called Fredo Bang one of the top practitioners of pain rap of the past decade? Well, the guy who wrote the book is back with 17 solid songs touching on trauma and the resilience to overcome it. The only two features are B.G. and Sexyy Red, making it one hell of a showcase for Gates.
Lyrical Lemonade — All Is Yellow
I can just hear all you old heads groaning right now. That’s fine, don’t give Lyrical Lemonade’s latest compilation a chance. You’ll only miss out on a showcase of some of hip-hop’s best and brightest rising stars (BabyTron, Latto, Snot, Teezo Touchdown), the ones your kids and their friends will be blasting for the next several years. You may as well get a jump on it, and learn to love it in the mean time. Plus Jack Harlow and Dave’s “Stop Giving Me Advice” is on there too.
Masta Ace & Marco Polo — Richmond Polo
The rap pioneer reunites with the MPC master for another set of tough lyrics over neck-breaking beats.
Ocean X KungFu — WGFU
I’m going to admit to having never heard of these two until today. An Atlanta rap duo in the vein of a grittier City Girls, their latest appeared in the suggested new albums section of Tidal today, and I’m glad I pressed play. It’s familiar stuff, but it’s entertaining as hell.
Singles/Videos
Big Jade — “Sanchi P’s Maybach Freestyle”
The Texas upstart continues to show off her lyrical dexterity with a hard-nosed take on Benny The Butcher’s J. Cole collaboration.
Chief Keef & Lil Yachty — “Say Ya Grace”
And just like that, Lil Yachty (sorta) redeems himself for that disaster of a collab last week. He should stick to this class of collaborators for the foreseeable future.
Courtney Bell — “Westside” Feat. Royce Da 5’9
Detroit isn’t just off-kilter beats and unhinged punchlines. Courtney Bell (who I previously profiled) came back this week with another display of hard-eyed, cold-hearted battle rap.
Erick The Architect — “Instincts” Feat. Westside Boogie
The Flatbush Zombie gets personal on his latest single and picks the perfect partner in the equally emotive Westside Boogie.
Heems — “Accent”
This ain’t “Combination Pizza Hut & Taco Bell.” The Queens rapper makes a triumphant return to the frontiers of underground, rhyme-forward rap with a newfound focus and gritty determination to challenge the status quo, the mainstream, and your preconceptions.
21 Lil Harold — “Sundown” Feat. JID
While 21 Savage has (rightly) earned plenty of attention and adulation recently, his young protege proves to be just as deserving early on… and in a true case of rap parallelism, attaches J. Cole’s mentee JID to a track in the same vein as “A Lot.”
Skepta — “Gas Me Up”
The grime stalwart returns for his first new solo single in a few years, and in true signature Skepta fashion, he brings a whole new sound. If we can expect more of this kind of innovation on Knife And Fork, the anticipation for the album is sure to go up.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Source: https://uproxx.com/music/the-best-new-hip-hop-this-week-ice-spice-lil-nas-megan/