Big K.R.I.T. Ballad of the Bass

20 New Rap Songs Out This Week

There has been no shortage of new hip hop this week, thanks to the Queen & Slim soundtrack (with Lauryn Hill, Vince Staples, Megan Thee Stallion, and more), DAWN, Jhene Aiko, Princess Nokia, Styles P, Reason, Q Da Fool/Maxo Kream, Royce Da 5’9″, Smoke DZA/Curren$y, Big K.R.I.T., and more…

MS. LAURYN HILL – “GUARDING THE GATES”

The Queen & Slim soundtrack is out today, including the first Ms. Lauryn Hill solo song in five years, which you can read more about here.

VINCE STAPLES x 6LACK x MEREBA – “YO LOVE”

The Queen & Slim soundtrack also includes the new Vince Staples song that came out this week. It features 6LACK and Mereba, and it sees Vince going in a chilled-out, soulful direction, which suits him well.

MEGAN THEE STALLION x VICKEELO – “RIDE OR DIE”

And while we’re talking about Queen & Slim, the soundtrack’s Megan Thee Stallion song came out last month but it just got the video treatment today.

DAWN – “EASY”

DAWN followed this year’s new breed with a double single last week, and today she put out another new single for the Adult Swim Singles Series. It’s a triumphant-sounding dose of hip hop soul.

JHENE AIKO – “NONE OF YOUR CONCERN” (ft. BIG SEAN, prod. FISTICUFFS)

Jhene Aiko hasa returned with a new Fisticuffs-produced single, which features her longtime collaborator Big Sean. As you’d expect from Jhene, it’s chilled-out, minimal R&B, and it’s pretty great.

PRINCESS NOKIA – “BALENCIAGA”

Princess Nokia has a new album that she’s expecting to release in the first half of 2020, and it’s set to feature her excellent recent single “Sugar Honey Iced Tea,” and the just-released, harder, darker single “Balenciaga.” In case you’re at work, the new video features censored-but-still-probably-NSFW nudity.) Read more here.

JAMES BKS – “NEW BREED” (ft. Q-TIP, IDRIS ELBA, LITTLE SIMZ)

French producer James BKS has put together a very impressive crew for this lively, groovy new song, and he says, “Little Simz, Idris Elba, Q-Tip, and me strongly and proudly represent the New Breed movement, a different way to approach music with no borders, no judgment, no labels. We have learned from our past mistakes and victories and our eyes are on Africa, while in the meantime we embrace our own personal paths, respectively in the UK for Little Simz and Idris Elba, in the U.S. for Q-Tip and in France for me.”

DANGER MOUSE & SPARKLEHORSE – “NINJAROUS” (ft. MF DOOM)

Danger Mouse has shared a new song that he made with his Dark Night of the Soul collaborator Sparklehorse (aaka Mark Linkous), before Mark’s passing in 2010. It features MF DOOM, and it’s an instantly satisfying dose of indie/rap crossover that Danger Mouse said “was always one of Mark’s favorites.”

STYLES P – “BRAND NEW”

Styles P released his new album Presence today (which features Conway The Machine, Benny The Butcher, and others), led by the single “Brand New,” which finds Styles staying true to his classic sound and still feeling fresh.

REASON – “FLICK IT UP” (ft. AB-SOUL)

Reason follows last week’s “Same Ol Shit” with another new single, “Flick It Up,” featuring his TDE labelmate Ab-Soul. Reason’s a pretty “lyrical” guy, and this song proves he’s got hooks too.

https://youtu.be/_PODiueb1Kg

Q DA FOOL – “PLAYOFFS” (ft. MAXO KREAM)

Maxo Kream and Q Da Fool are on tour together now, and they just dropped this collab track. Maxo kicks the song off with the same words-rolling-off-his-tongue approach as many of his best songs, and then the does a 180 when Q comes in shouting. They’ve got very different styles, but they work well together.

ROYCE DA 5’9″ – “BLACK SAVAGE” (ft. T.I., CYHI THE PRYNCE, WHITE GOLD, SY ARI DA KID)

Royce Da 5’9″ has put together a rock solid crew for this posse cut that was recorded for Jay-Z and the NFL’s non-profit organization Inspire Change. Royce produced the head-nodding song himself, and it’s a lyrical onslaught throughout.

SMOKE DZA & CURREN$Y – “3 MINUTE MANUAL”

Longtime collaborators and fellow makers of weed-conducive throwback rap, Smoke DZA and Curren$y are releasing the joint project Prestige Worldwide on November 29 via RFC/Jet Life/Cinematic. The first single is “3 Minute Manual,” which manages to be simultaneously chilled-out and menacing.

BIG K.R.I.T. – “BALLAD OF THE BASS”

Big K.R.I.T. has been playing this new song on his ongoing tour with Rapsody, and today he gave it its official single release. Come for the neck-snapping first half, stay for the soulful ending.

TRIPPIE REDD – “DEATH” (ft. DABABY)

DaBaby has hopped on the latest single off Trippie Redd’s upcoming album, which you can read more about here.

STUNNA 4 VEGAS – “UP THE SMOKE” (ft. OFFSET)

Frequent DaBaby collaborator Stunna 4 Vegas has tapped Migos’ Offset for this very fun new song. The sometimes-sleepy Offset brings the energy to this one, and Stunna rises to the occasion of having to follow Offset in top form.

PARDISON FONTAINE – “TAKE IT DOWN” (ft. OFFSET)

Need more Offset? He’s on the latest single from Cardi B collaborator Pardison Fontaine, whose new project UNDER8ED is out today.

RICKY MARTIN, RESIDENTE, BAD BUNNY – “CANTALO”

Puerto Rican artists Ricky Martin, Residente, and Bad Bunny have teamed up for the new single “Cántalo,” which was timed to come out right before the Latin Grammys, which Ricky Martin hosted.

J BALVIN – “BLANCO”

Speaking of: fresh off winning the Latin Grammy for Best Urban Song for “Con Altura,” his collaboration with Rosalía (who won Album of the Year), J Balvin (who also put out a collaborative album with Bad Bunny this year) dropped this kinetic new song.

NNAMDI – “PRICE WENT UP”

Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, who just goes by NNAMDI now, has released his first new song in two years, and it’s a cosmic, psychedelic rap song that comes with an equally trippy video. NNAMDI has a TBA new project due next year, and if the rest of it is anything like this song, it should be pretty great.

OBONGJAYAR – “STILL SUN”

Fresh off appearing on the new Danny Brown album, Nigerian artist Obongjayar has announced his own new EP, Which Way Is Forward?, due February 7 via via September Recordings. Along with the announcement comes the groovy new single “Still Sun.”

MORE NEW-ISH STUFF

The music industry may have strict, weekly release schedules but music fandom is more complicated than that. Here are some more new-ish songs not from this week that we recommend.

ROD WAVE – GHETTO GOSPEL (ft. & prod. KEVIN GATES)

Florida’s Rod Wave sort of sounds like the soul singer version of Kevin Gates (who he has long been a fan of and compared to), so it’s a very natural fit that Gates has taken Rod under his wing, executive produced his new album Ghetto Gospel, and rapped on two songs on it. (Rod is also currently opening Kevin Gates’ I’m Him Tour.) Though the comparison is hard to avoid, Rod is clearly coming into his own and this album is good no matter who else you think it sounds like.

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