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18 New Rap and R&B Songs Out This Week

The year is winding down, but new hip hop is still in full swing. I wrote about the great new Stormzy album and the guest-filled, hip hop-adjacent Free Nationals and Kaytranada albums in Notable Releases. This week also gave us new projects from City Morgue and Atmosphere (more on those below), plus singles from Usher, Lil Uzi Vert, Travis Barker/Lil Wayne/Rick Ross, Baauer/Channel Tres/Danny Brown, Leven Keli/Smino/Topaz Jones, Smokepurpp/Denzel Curry, Lil Durk/Polo G, Kamaiyah, 070 Shake, MIKE, and more. Read on for all the rap and R&B songs we posted on BV this week…

USHER – “DON’T WASTE MY TIME” (FEAT. ELLA MAI)

Usher is rumored to release his forthcoming ninth album Confessions 2 sometime next year, a sequel to his classic 2004 album Confessions, and he’s just released the old-school R&B jam “Don’t Waste My Time.” The song also has vocals from singer Ella Mai, whose usual affinity for a throwback R&B sound makes her a great fit.

LIL UZI VERT – “FUTSAL SHUFLE 2020”

While Lil Uzi Vert’s fans wait for his upcoming LP Eternal Atake (which was rumored to drop this year), he’s released this bouncy, synth-heavy track, complete with a Narduwar sample, a Tyler the Creator sample, and its own accompanying dance.

TRAVIS BARKER – “GIMME BRAIN” (ft. LIL WAYNE & RICK ROSS)

blink-182’s Travis Barker has a new imprint of Elektra called DTA Records, and his first single for the new label features his recent tourmate Lil Wayne, and Rick Ross. And though this might bring back bad memories of Lil Wayne’s rap rock days (which Travis contributed to) on paper, the song kinda bangs.

BAAUER & CHANNEL TRES – “READY TO GO” (ft. DANNY BROWN)

Grand Theft Auto has long been known for having cool radio stations worked into the game, and GTA V and GTA Online will now have a new station hosted by Danny Brown and special guest Skepta called iFruit Radio. The station comes as part of the game’s latest free update, The Diamond Casino Heist, and it features previously unreleased music from Baauer/Channel Tres/Danny Brown, YBN Cordae/Denzel Curry, Pop Smoke, and slowthai, plus previously released songs by DaBaby, Megan Thee Stallion, Burna Boy, Skepta, Freddie Gibbs & Madlib, Koffee, Schoolboy Q, and more. The radio station debuted today, and that new Baauer/Channel Tres/Danny Brown song is also streaming online. It’s a booming, bass-heavy song that’s part rap, part dance music, and all fun.

LEVEN KALI – “HOMEGIRL” (ft. SMINO & TOPAZ JONES)

R&B singer Leven Kali is back with new single “Homegirl,” featuring guest verses from two rappers who fit in well with Leven’s smooth, soulful style: Smino and Topaz Jones.

SMOKEPURPP – “WHAT I PLEASE” (ft. DENZEL CURRY)

Denzel Curry once called out Smokepurpp for claims that Purpp birthed Soundcloud rap, but they must be cool now, cause Denzel lent a mile-a-minute guest verse to Purpp’s new song.

LIL DURK – “CAREER DAY” (ft. POLO G)

Lil Durk’s Only the Family label just released the Family Over Everything mixtape/compilation, which features G Herbo, NLE Choppa, King Von, Lil Tjay, and more, and this song with one of the year’s biggest breakout rappers, Polo G.

KAMAIYAH – “STILL I AM”

Kamaiyah is back with another new single, and as you’d expect from here, it’s got a retro-yet-modern G-Funk bounce and it’s instantly addictive.

https://youtu.be/Az-C80mnDIM

070 SHAKE – “UNDER THE MOON”

070 Shake’s new album MODUS VIVENDI comes out January 17 via G.O.O.D. Music, and you can read more about the album and its new single “Under the Moon” here.

MIKE – “NUMBERED DAYZ”

Prolific underground NYC rapper MIKE is back with a new single ahead of this weekend’s YOUNG WORLD fest, which he curated. You can read more here.

SOB X RBE – “AIN’T GOT TIME”

SOB x RBE are releasing a new album called Strictly Only Brothers next week (12/20), and it features this new single, which applies a classic West Coast bounce to atmospheric, modern production.

CAM’RON – “BIG DEAL”

Cam’ron’s new album Purple Haze 2 drops on December 16, and he shared a new single from it, “Big Deal,” which is in that classic Cam’ron tradition of Cam marrying his low, booming voice to a high-pitched sample.

BODY COUNT – “CARNIVORE”

Ice-T’s rap/punk/metal band Body Count are releasing their seventh album, Carnivore, on March 6 via Century Media, and the just-released title track is a real bone-crusher that sounds pretty great in the midst of this little rap rock resurgence we’ve been having.

CITY MORGUE – CITY MORGUE VOL 2: AS GOOD AS DEAD

And as far as the new groups in the rap rock resurgence go, City Morgue remain one of the darkest and filthiest. Their new album dropped today, and guests include Denzel Curry and IDK.

ATMOSPHERE – WHENEVER

Surprise! Atmosphere dropped a new album today with no advance warning. It features their recent single “Bde Maka Ska” and comes ahead of their 2020 tour.

POP SMOKE – “100K ON A COUPE” (ft. CALBOY)

Pop Smoke has been having a huge year since releasing his breakout song “Welcome to the Party,” and now he’s back with a new song featuring auto-tuned crooner Calboy.

MOZZY – “BIG HOMIE FROM THE HOOD”

Mozzy continues to be a master at throwback-yet-fresh-sounding West Coast rap.

SADA BABY – “BOBBY BOUSCHER”

The extremely prolific Detroit rapper Sada Baby returns with the grimy, druggy “Bobby Bouscher.”

For even more new songs, browse our daily ‘New Songs’ lists. For more hip hop news, browse our ‘Hip Hop News’ category.