21 New Rap and R&B Songs Out This Week

April 17, 2020

Pretty big week for new rap albums, including DaBaby, Westside Gunn, and Shabazz Palaces, all of which I wrote about in Notable Releases. There’s also a few other projects embedded below, along with singles from Mavi, Kid Cudi, Tyler the Creator, Freddie Gibbs, Playboi Carti, Kehlani, Kelly Rowland, 21 Savage, and more…

MAVI – “FIRE ALARM (!)” (ft. MAASSAI)

DC abstract rapper Mavi follows last year’s great Let the Sun Talk with a new song featuring Brooklyn rapper Maassai (who also just had a great verse on Medhane’s new album).

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KID CUDI – “LEADER OF THE DELINQUENTS”

Kid Cudi’s last album was 2018’s great Kanye collab under the name Kids See Ghosts, and no word yet if his next solo album is ready but he did just drop this new solo song, “Leader of the Delinquents.”

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WESTSIDE GUNN – “327” (ft. JOEY BADA$$, TYLER THE CREATOR & BILLIE ESSCO)

Westside Gunn’s great new album Pray for Paris dropped today, and it’s got killer guests like Benny the Butcher, Conway the Machine, Freddie Gibbs, Roc Marciano, and Boldy James; plus this standout track with both Joey Bada$$ and Tyler, the Creator.

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LA ROUX – “AUTOMATIC DRIVER” (TYLER, THE CREATOR REMIX)

In addition to rapping his ass off on Westside Gunn’s new album, Tyler, the Creator has remixed La Roux’s “Automatic Driver.” He kinda makes it sound like an IGOR song.

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TOM MISCH & YUSSEF DAYES – “NIGHTRIDER” (ft. FREDDIE GIBBS)

UK duo Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes’ genre-blurring What Kinda Music comes out next week (4/24), and this new laid-back single features a verse from the great Indiana rapper Freddie Gibbs. It also comes with a psychedelic video featuring animated versions of Gibbs Misch, and Dayes.

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PLAYBOI CARTI – “@ MEH”

Playboi Carti returns with his first single since 2018’s Die Lit, which finds him dishing out squeaky raps over a pretty addictive keyboard line.

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KEHLANI – “EVERYBODY BUSINESS”

R&B singer Kelhani continues her reign and returns with a new ballad, “Everybody Business.”

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KELLY ROWLAND – “COFFEE”

Kelly Rowland is back with some breezy new R&B.

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21 SAVAGE – “SECRET” (ft. SUMMER WALKER)

Atlanta rapper 21 Savage and R&B singer Summer Walker linked up for this slow jam.

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BISHOP NEHRU – “MEATHEAD” (ft. MF DOOM)

Bishop Nehru’s new album Nehruvia: My Disregarded Thoughts comes out May 8 via Nehruvia, and this new single was produced by MF DOOM, who also features on the track.

https://youtu.be/Jg6i6tDtbxI

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KENNY MASON – ANGELIC HOODRAT

Atlanta rapper Kenny Mason recently released “Metal Wings,” a rock-tinged rap song that we compared to Denzel Curry, and this week he surprise-released a new album featuring that song and 13 others. He also put out a video for the title track.

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R.A. THE RUGGED MAN – ALL MY HEROES ARE DEAD

R.A. the Rugged Man’s first album in seven years, All My Heroes Are Dead, is here. Guests include Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa, Kool G Rap, Inspectah Deck, M.O.P., Vinnie Pax, Onyx, Chino XL, Atmosphere, Immortal Technique, Chuck D, and more.

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BLACK EYED PEAS, OZUNA & J REY SOUL – “MAMACITA”

Black Eyed Peas (including 22-year-old Filipina singer J Rey Soul, who joined the group in 2018) and Latin tap star Ozuna have linked up for the catchy, reggaeton-tinged “Mamacita.”

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THE STREETS & TAME IMPALA – “CALL MY PHONE THINKING I’M DOING NOTHING BETTER”

The Streets have released “Call My Phone Thinking I’m Doing Nothing Better,” a new collaborative single with Tame Impala. It’s from a new Streets mixtape titled None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive which also features appearances from IDLES, Hak Baker, Ms. Banks, and more.

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TEAMARR – “COOL ENOUGH”

A lot of new songs came out in conjunction with Insecure‘s season 4 premiere, and this one from TeaMarr (who’s also signed to Issa Rae’s Atlantic imprint) is especially worth hearing.

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HEADIE ONE & FRED AGAIN.. – “TOLD” (BRIAN ENO REMIX)

UK rapper Headie One and producer Fred again.. recently released their GANG mixtape (featuring Jamie xx, FKA twigs, and Sampha), and now he legendary Brian Eno (whose 2014 albums with Karl Hyde, Someday World and High Life, featured Fred again..) has given a drastic rework to opening song “Told.”

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DABABY – “NASTY” (ft. MEGAN THEE STALLION & ASHANTI)

DaBaby reunites with Megan Thee Stallion on this track off the just-released Blame It On Baby, and it also features a hook by Ashanti, who has sung hooks on all kinds of classic songs that helped pave the way for artists like Megan and Baby.

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BUDDY & KENT JAMZ – JANKTAPE VOL. 1

Buddy and Kent Jamz dropped this collab project today.

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BERNER & B REAL – LOS MEROS

We also got a new collab project from Berner and Cypress Hill’s B Real. Guests include Rick Ross, Xzibit, Dave East, Wiz Khalifa, Ty Dolla $ign, Everlast, Paul Wall, and more.