Welcome to Rap Weekly 164: I Guess U Had To Be There. Every Monday, we’ll take you into the world of rap and summarise the most exciting news, announcements and can’t-miss stories. Find out everything you need to know in one place. We only write about the best, so you get the best rap delicacies on a golden platter. We recommend the album I Guess U Had To Be There by E L U C I D & Sebb Bash, inninoutcheamind by Magna Carda, It’s Us Vol. 2 by Concrete Boys, Push & Paint by Bruiser Wolf & Sheefy McFly, Get Me 2 Heaven by Jamal Gasol, Noesis by Wish Master & Wino Willy. Also look forward to great music videos from Navy Blue, Samara Cyn, YUNGMORPHEUS, Dirty Art Club, TRAPMAT SAVIOR, Nicholas Craven, Cavalier, Quelle Chris, Denmark Vessey. All this and much more in Rap Weekly.
NEWS OF THE WEEK
E L U C I D & Sebb Bash – I Guess U Had To Be There
Last week, we saw the announcement of Crayola Circles, the joint project by rapper Fatboi Sharif and producer Child Actor, set to be released under Backwoodz Studioz on April 24. However, 2026 kicks off for the most exciting contemporary rap label with the long-awaited album I Guess U Had To Be There, a collaboration between ELUCID (member of Armand Hammer) and Sebb Bash. The album represents as significant a leap in both sound and ELUCID’s career as the jump between We Buy Diabetic Test Strips and Mercy by Armand Hammer. Where REVELATOR engulfed the listener with roaring urgency, I Guess U Had To Be There offers a much bluer and more bleak experience.
E L U C I D delivers I Guess U Had To Be There much like Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn described the frozen newt in the preface to The Gulag Archipelago; an experience only a few will truly grasp. The album is so complex and rich that it cannot be condensed into a few paragraphs, especially in a news article whose purpose is simply to recommend great music. While writing the article, E L U C I D ’s line „f*ck you know? What the f *ck you know?,“ from Trauma Mic constantly echoes in our heads. Worth noting is the rapper’s technical versatility; over his career, he’s rapped over an unimaginably diverse range of beats, and he feels at home on every single one. Sebb Bash produces otherworldly beats with a mastery reminiscent of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s use of space and dark corners in his films. There’s always something lurking beneath the main layer of the beat, and even as you’re absorbed in E L U C I D ’s rap, Sebb Bash’s beats keep you on edge.
NEWS
Star Studded
Forget luck. Legendary DJ Muggs and T.F. have joined forces for the audiovisual project Don’t Call Me Lucky, which promises not only a joint album but also an accompanying film. The first taste, the music video STAR STUDDED, clearly shows why this collaboration is so deadly. Muggs crafted a hypnotic beat, over which T.F. lays chilling bars about starry-eyed dreaming amidst paranoia. The track exudes a deep empathy for life on the edge. T.F. paints raw pictures from his world, and together with Muggs, they create an immersive soundtrack for being truly star-studded. The album and film will be released on April 10, and you can find the trailer for the film here.
Hate Island
Teller Bank$ released several great projects last year, but the most notable was undoubtedly the album DRUG$$$, which we placed among the TOP 100 Best Rap Albums of 2025. Less than a year has passed, and we can look forward to the follow-up in the form of the album Hate Island, set to drop on March 29. Production will be handled by the $$$ Production team, namely q no rap name, Philth Spector, Killer Kane, and ayashi[!]. The album will feature seventeen tracks, with the Director’s Cut boasting twenty-six. All the artists are also teasing a truly special project, which even received a shout-out from August Fanon. The first two singles have already convinced us that we have a lot to look forward to.
The Alchemist & Boldy James
It’s absolutely unbelievable, but The Alchemist & Boldy James released their last joint album, Super Tecmo Bo, five years ago. Since then, Boldy has maintained an incredible release pace, putting out over twenty projects. Many of them are truly phenomenal, and his chemistry with producers like Nicholas Craven and Real Bad Man is airtight. Still, we won’t lie: we would be thrilled to hear a new album with The Alchemist. And it looks like one is in the works. When asked on Twitter about Boldy’s next album, The Alchemist replied: “Wait til u hear this sh*t smh,” so hopefully we won’t have to wait too long.
BEST ALBUMS
Magna Carda – inninoutcheamind
The album inninoutcheamind by the Texas duo Magna Carda is a fascinating project that carries both the hot air of Austin and the cool calm of its nighttime streets. The duo, Megz and Dougie Do, have created an immersive space where the boundaries between jazz, raw hip-hop, and soul dissolve in vibrant arrangements of bass, violin, and trumpet. At the heart of the album is the track Slide, which serves as a journey toward inner freedom—raps with chilling honesty and deep empathy for the Black community explore escaping one’s own mind and rejecting political games or fascism.
Concrete Boys – It’s Us Vol. 2
It’s Us Vol. 2 by Concrete Boys is a raw, hour-long statement from the renowned crew, currently feeling unstoppable. Lil Yachty firmly confirms his role as curator, gathering hungry talents like Camo!, Draft Day, and DC2Trill, giving them space to define their own identities within the collective. The album radiates ease and authentic connection. The tracks thrive on aggressive exchanges and inside jokes, drawing listeners directly into their Concrete mansion. The strength of the album lies in the natural chemistry between the members, which works regardless of who’s on the mic. It’s a confident, sometimes even audacious project that celebrates loyalty and the idea that the best results come with people you’d sacrifice even a finger for, as they rap in the opening cypher: “I would forfeit a finger for gang, on God, I’m puttin’ in pain for the set.”
Bruiser Wolf & Sheefy McFly – Push & Paint
Detroit rapper Bruiser Wolf, following two outstanding albums last year, continues to deliver innovative projects. On the new album Push & Paint, he teamed up with producer and visual artist Sheefy McFly. Bruiser Wolf’s unmistakable delivery, teetering between stand-up and street-corner sermon, brings a unique tragicomic edge to tracks like Common Goal, while underneath it all there’s a constant, almost exhausting pressure to survive and chase the common goal of money. The distinctiveness of Bruiser’s rap cadence compared to the rest of the scene is truly fascinating. Sheefy’s production and visual sensibility give the album texture and drive, delivering banger after banger. Features from artists like Sada Baby and BabyTron only confirm that this is a family gathering of the Detroit scene—on first listen, it may seem the raps are about superficial things, but with such cadence and unique slang, you feel the hustle of the entire city as a connected organism.
Jamal Gasol & Denny Laflare – Get Me 2 Heaven
Rapper Jamal Gasol and producer Denny Laflare released their joint project Get Me 2 Heaven last week, and it certainly won’t disappoint any rap fan. The artists aren’t trying to redefine the formula—instead, they deliver sharp rap full of stories alongside a diverse range of hard-hitting beats. The album features Jynx716, SayZee, The Hidden Character, Raegene Denise, Toney Boi, and Flames Dot Malik, so expect nothing but strict rap, packed with pain and BARS.
Wish Master & Wino Willy – Noesis
“What’s understood ain’t gotta be explained,” goes the hook on the track DIRTY GAME—and we honestly don’t need to say anything more. Wish Master, a rapper from Bristol, UK, and producer Wino Willy have released the grimy album Noesis, taking its name from the philosophical term for “the activity of the intellect.” Wino Willy is one of the most active and distinctive producers in today’s underground scene, and if there’s one thing we love, it’s the fusion of British rap with dusty American beats. Nothing more needs to be written: “What’s understood ain’t gotta be explained.” Give the album a listen.
DOPE ALBUMS
The five albums above aren’t the only ones you need to hear. We’ve handpicked ten more dope records that no one should sleep on. Give every one of these projects a shot — they all deserve your time.
The Musalini, Smoke DZA, John Dutch – Uptown Saturday Night
tifloccon & Mike Shabb – vrai rap keb!
Cities Aviv – EVEN COLDER SPRING
Lice (Aesop Rock & Homeboy Sandman) – Miami Lice: Season Four
Nef & KEL – The Rap Kobe
$adflcko – A Women Is Like A Rose
Mickey Factz – The Plague
Sphere47 – #T4TM
Casual – Black Magic
STAXX410 – NATTI BO
BEST MUSIC VIDEOS
Soul Investments. Navy Blue has released another excellent music video from the album The Sword & The Soaring.
Samara Cyn has released a great music video for the track oooshxt!.
Scottie Trippin by TRAPMAT SAVIOR and Nicholas Craven is OUT NOW. If you haven’t heard the album yet, the music video for the track Last Night’s Soda will make you do so.
YUNGMORPHEUS and Dirty Art Club have released an atmospheric music video for the track Mr. Bombastic.
Cavalier, Quelle Chris, Navy Blue, and Denmark Vessey on one track? Yessir — check out the music video for Holding On.
DOPE VIDEOS
Our list of must-see music videos doesn’t stop at the top five. We’ve selected ten more fire clips you need to check out. Show some love to all the artists below — they truly deserve the spotlight.
Niontay – soulja hate/ Mr.Havemyway x Mr.Beatdaroad (feat. Sunny)
Larry June, Curren$y & The Alchemist – Empty Pages
Bloo Azul – CELEBRATE THE WINS
Farma G – Sun Wukong (Prod. Relense)
Mick Jenkins & greenSLLIME – Basically
Rosco P Coldchain & Nicholas Craven – Benz Sprinter
That’s a wrap on today’s news roundup. What caught your attention the most? Hit us up on Twitter, Instagram, Threads or Bluesky We’ll be back next Monday with another dose of the Rap Weekly and fresh heat from the scene — don’t miss it!
