Welcome to our Rap Weekly number 38. It is a format where we bring you all the hot news from the scene, all new releases, clips, and announcements that you should not miss. Today’s news feed is filled to the brim: billy woods and Kenny Segal have Maps to the best rap, the British legend’s album is coming soon, Meyhem Lauren has four more records in the stack and JAY NiCE will bring together the best names of the underground scene on a new album. This week, you’ll get some quick news that you can’t miss. What albums and music videos have been released last week? That and much more can be found by scrolling down.
NEWS OF THE WEEK
Rapper billy woods and producer Kenny Segal joined their talents once again, four years after their album Hiding Places, to deliver another masterpiece. One of the main members of the label Backwoodz Studioz, billy woods released Aethiopes and Church last year, and it is unbelievable that he comes with another gem, more so because each of the projects is different.
Album Maps is definitely not another Hiding Places. The duo took a new direction and delivered a massive road-trip album. Artists described the album as “Maps is a story of the road, or roads, taken and untaken; of living the dream and dreaming of another life. It is an album about trying to find your way home, after making your home wherever you lay your head.“ billy woods connects heavy topics and the ease of day-to-day life with gentleness. His stories of travel, food, marijuana, and the souls of the places he visited are laced with humor and emotion and intertwined with relevant socio-political themes. If you will listen to the album, definitely listen to it with lyrics in your hands so you can catch all the nuance.
Kenny Segal definitely deserves a shout-out as well; he provided beats spiced up by jazz and hard drums, a thick sound that will surround you and not let go. The album features guest appearances from Danny Brown, E L U C I D, Shabaka Hutchins, Sam Herring (Future Islands), Quelle Chris, Aesop Rock, Benjamin Booker, and ShrapKnel. You can feel that the featured artists came to the table with a lot of respect and feeling humbled for the opportunity because every single one of them delivered amazing verses. Maps is another flawless gem in billy wood’s discography, certifying the fact that billy is one of the best rappers of all time.
NEWS
The British legend’s album is coming soon
Lee Scott, frontrunner of the well-known label Blah Records, belongs among our favorite British artists. Now he comes back after two years since the release of FDMB (with Sly Moon), and on May 26th he will release the album There is a Reason for Everything. The album will feature eight tracks produced by Lee Scott himself. On the rapper’s Bandcamp, you can listen to the pilot track and pre-order a CD or cassette.
Meyhem Lauren has four more records in the stack
It’s been a month since rapper Meyhem Lauren teamed up with producers DJ Muggs and Madlib to release Champagne For Breakfast. Artists are still working and releasing clips for the album, but Meyhem is also already looking into the future. Champagne For Breakfast was just the first dish on a much bigger menu. The artist already has an album produced by DJ Muggs and one produced by Madlib on his shelf. Champagne For Breakfast is just an appetizer, where all the artists mentioned above showed us their skills, and the main event will follow soon. But even that is not all, because we will most likely get follow-ups on Champagne For Breakfast in the form of Champagne For Lunch and Champagne For Dinner. So as you can see, Meyhem is on his way to a pretty strong run.
JAY NiCE will bring together the best names of the underground scene on a new album
Productive rapper JAY NiCE is hard at work on his first project for 2023. The album carries the name RISE & SHINE and will be released on May 19. On top of the release date, JAY also shared an unreasonably good list of guests on the album. So there is something to be excited about. The list of guests features Estee Nack, Flee Lord, T.F., Fredro Starr, Recognize Ali, Tha God Fahim, RU$H, and many others. Now, let’s grab a calendar and start counting days.
QUICK NEWS
- Rapper and producer Brainorchestra has released a great video in which he talks about recording sound, a brief history of record development, the first record he ever found, and reveals why he loves vinyl records.
- Denzel Curry has released the Spotify-exclusive Live at Electric Lady EP, recorded at the New York studio of the same name founded by Jimi Hendrix.
- Rapper Guilty Simpson and producer Uncommon Nasa release the second single from their collaborative album Escalation. The album will be released this summer, featuring twelve tracks and guest appearances from Guillotine Crowns and Quelle Chris.
- One of our favorite beatmakers, Alejandrito Argenal, produced another track for rapper Lucky Cervera. The track is titled Agua Bendita.
- We previously announced that Eto & V Don’s 2017 album Omertà would be re-released on Bandcamp and vinyl under the auspices of FXCK RXP. The new version also has five bonus tracks, so make sure you don’t hesitate to purchase this great album.
- Joey Bada$$ visited Rap Radar for an interview where he and the hosts discussed his latest album, 2000, and his film career. He hinted that we can look forward to the premiere of the third season of Raising Kanan, in which he stars.
BEST RELEASES
Conway The Machine – WON’T HE DO IT
Member of the Griselda Records, Conway The Machine, has returned with his third studio album, WON’T HE DO IT, which follows up on the album God Don’t Make Mistakes from 2022. Rapper gave us a little teaser a couple months back with EP Pain Provided Profit (with Jae Skeese), and now we get the main course. WON’T HE DO IT is a cut through the whole of Conway’s discography in a good way but also a little bit in a bad way. The album is not very coherent, but each of the listeners can find something for himself and go back to the tracks that they like the most. Conway offers big tracks like Super Bowl (feat. Sauce Walka & Juicy J) or Kanye (feat. GooseByTheWay & Drea D’Nur) dedicated to a wider audience. What makes us happy are the hard, dusty tracks like Brucifix (feat. Westside Gunn) and Stab Out (feat. Ransom) where Conway feels like he is in his natural environment. WON’T HE DO IT is a great album with amazing standout tracks, but the low coherence, some guests, and a few bad refrains make us a bit sorry. Fortunately, Conway has huge plans, and hopefully the best is yet to come. The rapper has many projects in store. You can look forward to Side B ofhis latest release, the Alchemist-produced Lulu 2, a record with producer J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, a Drumwork label album, Hall N Nash 2 with Westside Gunn and Griselda’s collaborative project WWCD 2. Which record are you most looking forward to?
Lord Jah-Monte Ogbon & Sadhu Gold – The Black Messiah
Duo Lord-Jah Monte Ogbon & Sadhu Gold finally delivered their highly anticipated follow-up to The Black Möbius with the name The Black Messiah. The rapper also said that there is another album that will close out the trilogy. The new part is different in that you will not find any guests on the album. The album was inspired by the web series Black Jesus, from which the artist borrowed the theme of representing divine energy and self-sacrifice for the good of our own people. You can hear some of the original samples from the TV series on the album. Don’t miss this amazing project.
Estee Nack & Friends – #MINIMANSIONDUST VOL.6
Estee Nack has brought us the sixth installment of his #MINIMANSIONDUST series after two years. As usual, most of the productions were handled by MR. ROSE, and among the guests we will hear names like BIGPICTUREFATZ, PARANOM, WRITEOUS RULER, CWELLS, and KASHI 2X. The fact that you see the names for the first time is certainly no coincidence; Estee has taken most of his friends under his wing. Despite the fact that they are not rap veterans, all of them together have created an incredibly solid album on which no one hesitated for a moment. This gem lacks nothing. No video has been released for the album, so we’re attaching it in full.
The Musalini & O Finess – Goldie and Slim
After more than two years, the duo of The Musalini & O Finess returns as Goldie and Slim. The new record is a little shorter than their original gem, but we’re in for pretty much the same list of guests, which includes Eddie James, Izzy Hott, The Real Ice Lord, and the newly Pr0fit Diner0. If you liked their album No Squares in My Circle (2021), you’ll quickly fall in love with this project. Their chemistry is still very solid, and they are still true to their distinctive style and sound. Don’t look for any experimentation here; they both know what suits them best. No music video has been released for the album, so we are attaching the track Front Center.
Freddy Stone & Phthalo Blue – Goretex Blunts EP
Freddy Stone sends us a postcard from California in the form of this great EP. He worked on the project with his friend Phthalo Blue, who produced the whole thing. To us, Freddy is a newly discovered rapper, but we immediately fell in love with his work, which is why we’re sending this gem to our readers. The album features great lyrics and production that oozes a slightly experimental sound embellished with jazz elements. The project is beautiful and easy to listen to. Definitely put the name Freddy Stone down somewhere and keep it in your mind. No music video was released for the EP, so we’re attaching the track Slingshot Swami.
ANOTHER DOPE RELEASES
Da Flyy Hooligan – Hooli Hansen – Da Mixxxtape
Atmosphere – So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously
Anwar HighSign & Giallo Point – Whatever The Case May Be
Napoleon Da Legend & D-Styles – Invincibl Rap Mislz
Steel Tipped Dove & alaska_atoms – The Structural Dynamics of Flow
Killah Priest – Forest of the Happy Ever After
TRIBEZ. & Quelle Chris – My Storm Is My Calm
Oh No & Roy Ayers – Good Vibes/Bad Vibes
Hi_Post & Abomination Oner – Lovecraft Instrumentals
J.A. Vinci – TRYFECTA
BEST MUSIC VIDEOS
YL delivers an excellent video for the anticipated album.
Funk Lo teases his debut album.
CRIMEAPPLE and his victory lap in a new video.
Talib Kweli has teamed up with talented artists from Africa.
Blake Anthony & Wffls deliver a song with a unique vibe.
ANOTHER DOPE VIDEOS
Verbz, Nelson Dialect & Mr Slipz – Strike Back
Staxx410 – Jewels From Kings feat. ILL Conscious & Jamil Honesty
Rahiem Supreme x Twelveam – Illumanti Sacrifies
Breeze Mantana – Bless The Stove
Daniel Son x Falcon Outlaw – One Bar
Passport Rav & Bloo Azul – Subway Creatures
Sixpence & Trebwon – Chupacabra
Joey Majors & Big Yount feat. Smif-N-Wessun – Above the Rim
Atmosphere – Holding My Breath
HWY308 feat. MBK – R.I.P (Robbery In Pink)
And that’s it all the important news on the scene from the last week. What caught your eye this week? Let us know on Instagram or Twitter. You can expect another one next Monday. It’s going to be really interesting, so don’t miss it.
Translated from Czech by Rado.
