Popcaan (photo by Jamal Burger)

Notable Releases of the Week (12/20)

December 20, 2019

Popcaan (photo by Jamal Burger)

It’s the Friday before Christmas, and we are fully in list-making mode here at BrooklynVegan. We recently published our lists of the 100 best punk & emo albums of the 2010s and the 100 best rap and R&B albums of the 2010s, and I also published my lists of my favorite metal albums of 2019 and metal albums of the decade at Invisible Oranges. Still, new releases are still coming so Notable Releases must go on, but I’m gonna keep it extra short today.

As tends to happen at the end of the year, this is a hip hop-heavy edition of Notable Releases. For new metal albums, check out the latest edition of Invisible Oranges’ Upcoming Metal Releases, which accounts for releases from this week through January 5.

Other things to check out as the year comes to a close: our guide to New Year’s Eve concerts in NYC and all the new holiday music that’s been coming out.

Okay, I think that’s it for now. Stay tuned for more end of year/decade lists, happy holidays, and see you in 2020!

Popcaan

Popcaan – Vanquish
OVO/Warner

Jamaican dancehall artist Popcaan has long been crossing over US/UK hip hop and pop, thanks to collaborations with Jamie xx, Drake, Pusha T, Gorillaz, and tons of others, and now he has released his first project for Drake’s OVO Sound label. Popcaan says the surprise project is “a Christmas present for all my fans” and that “next year will come the real album, but for now let’s enjoy Vanquish together.” Going by the instantly-appealing sounds of Vanquish, I already can’t wait to hear what the “real” album has in store.

—

Julianna Barwick – Circumstance Synthesis
RVNG

Julianna Barwick returns with a breathtaking new collection of five celestial, ambient recordings. Here’s some background on the project from RVNG: “Commissioned by Sister City, a new neighbor to Commend in the Lower East Side of NYC, Circumstance Synthesis originated as an environmentally responsive soundtrack. At this score’s performative core, generative music technology identified activity in the New York City sky through a camera perched on Sister City’s hotel’s rooftop, triggering musical progressions created by Barwick.”

—

Sean Price & Lil Fame – Price of Fame
Duck Down

New posthumous music from the late, great Brooklyn rapper Sean Price has surfaced once again, this time in the form of a collaborative album with Lil Fame of M.O.P. Other guests include Conway the Machine, Guilty Simpson, Tek, and more, and Price of Fame proves there are still plenty of gems to be found in Sean P’s vault. Posthumous albums can be a tricky thing, but this one was made with all the right people and it sounds like something Sean himself would have approved of.

—

Kool Keith – Saks 5th Ave
Volunteer Media

Need even more reliably great old school rap? The insanely prolific Kool Keith has you covered.

—

Gucci Mane – East Atlanta Santa 3
Atlantic

It’s probably no coincidence that Kool Keith released an album called Saks 5th Ave right before Christmas, but it’s definitely no coincidence that Gucci Mane picked today for East Atlanta Santa 3. It’s his third project of 2019 and the third installment of his East Atlanta Santa series, which is all the proof you need that “holiday trap” is a real genre. Guests include Quavo, Asian Doll, Rich the Kid, and Kranium.

—

Young Thug – So Much Fun (Deluxe)
300/Atlantic

More goodies from Atlanta: Young Thug has released a deluxe edition of his acclaimed 2019 album So Much Fun, featuring four new songs, including one featuring Gunna (“Diamonds”) and one featuring Travis Scott (“Hop Off A Jet”).

—

Curren$y – Back at Burnie’s
Jet Life

Curren$y is another insanely prolific artist with a new project out today; Back at Burnie’s is his ninth project of 2019. It’s also the sequel to 2011’s Weekend At Burnie’s. Over the years, Curren$y has been remarkably consistent when it comes to making laid-back, blunted rap songs, and this new collection is no different. Guests include Rick Ross, Juicy J, Young Dolph, MadeinTYO, and more.

—

SOB x RBE – Strictly Only Brothers
SOB x RBE / EMPIRE

SOB x RBE may have recently trimmed down to a trio, but they’re still churning out quality stuff at a rapid rate. As the album cover makes clear, they still like to pay direct homage to classic West Coast rap, but they continue to push that classic sound in new directions and fuse it with much more modern sounds. They announced a tour this week too.

—

Cam’ron – Purple Haze 2
Killa Entertainment

Late last year came the first Dipset album in 14 years, and here’s more nostalgia from the Dipset camp: the first Cam’ron album in a decade and a sequel to his 2004 classic Purple Haze. Cam sounds a little more grizzled these days than he did in ’04, but production-wise, this album stays true to Cam’s most classic era.