CupcakKe Bird Box

12 New Rap Songs Out This Week

This week in hip hop we got new singles from YBN Cordae, CupcakKe, Charlie Heat/Denzel Curry, IDK, Tierra Whack, Freddie Gibbs/Madlib, Quelle Chris, Kool Keith, and more. The new Kari Faux EP also dropped (and I wrote more about it in Notable Releases), and though it’s not a new song, Megan Thee Stallion put out her video for “Big Ole Freak” and that is very worth checking out. Read on for all the new hip hop we posted on BV this week…

YBN CORDAE – “HAVE MERCY”

YBN Cordae, the most old-school-minded of the fast-rising YBN crew, has dropped another stunning single, “Have Mercy.” He’s promising that more music is on the way this year, and between this one and the recent “Locationships,” we can’t wait to hear what he does next.

CUPCAKKE – “BIRD BOX”

CupcakKe is back with another TV-referencing banger, “Bird Box” (following “Squidward Nose”). This one may share its name with the recent Sandra Bullock-starring Netflix film, but since it’s CupcakKe, you probably have a good idea of what it means in this context. The song also references the Jussie Smollett controversy, and CupcakKe goes hard on this one, rapping a mile a minute and hardly ever stopping to take a breath.

CHARLIE HEAT & DENZEL CURRY – “ALOHA”

Producer Charlie Heat (who’s worked with Kanye, Travis Scott, Madonna, and more) has now teamed with one of the finest rappers around, Denzel Curry, for a new single “Aloha.” Heat provides a horn-fueled backdrop that isn’t much like what Denzel normally raps over, but he still handles it like a pro.

IDK – “TRIGGER HAPPY”

IDK is preparing to release his new album ISHEREAL and while we wait for that, he dropped the new single “Trigger Happy.” He takes shots at Logic and seemingly a slew of other rappers, and he proves he’s got the chops to back it up.

TIERRA WHACK – “GLORIA”

Tierra Whack is one of the most exciting new rappers around, and she’s continuing her recent trend of dropping a new single a week. Her third, “Gloria,” is out now, and Whack shows off a more kinetic flow on this one than usual, which works wonders with the song’s bouncy production.

FREDDIE GIBBS & MADLIB – “BANDANA”

Freddie Gibbs and Madlib are gearing up to release their second collaborative album Bandanda, and they’ve now shared the title track. As usual, Gibbs’ biting delivery just sounds even better than ever when it’s accompanied by Madlib’s beats.

QUELLE CHRIS – “STRAIGHT SHOT”

Indie rapper Quelle Chris has shared another song off his upcoming album Guns (due 3/29 via Mello Music Group). “Straight Shot” features Cavalier, Bilal Salaam, Eldar Djangirov, and James Acaster, and it’s a soulful rap ballad that shows off a very different side of this album than the lead single did. It’s cool stuff.

KOOL KEITH – “BLAST” (PLANET B REMIX)

As mentioned, Justin Pearson’s Three One G label signed abstract rap legend Kool Keith and Keith is releasing a new 7″ that features a remix of “Blast” by Pearson’s Planet B project. Keith sounds great over Planet B’s noisy, industrial production, and Pearson lends some of his trademark shouts to the track as well, which pairs well with Keith’s psychedelic flow.

KARI FAUX – CRY 4 HELP (EP STREAM)

Little Rock, Arkansas rapper/singer Kari Faux is releasing the five-song Cry 4 Help EP this Friday and the whole thing is streaming now. Her breakout song was a banger, but Cry 4 Help sees her going more for a laid-back, soulful vibe it and suits her well. The one feature comes from Curren$y, who’s the perfect fit for this kind of music. You can read a longer review here.

OCTAVIAN – “BET” (ft. SKEPTA, MICHAEL PHANTOM)

UK rapper Octavian has been on the rise and he’s been dropping new songs left and right lately. This one features fellow UK hip hop great Skepta, and it’s a moody banger that kinda finds the middle ground between UK grime and Atlanta trap.

CHRISTIAN SCOTT ATUNDE ADJUAH – “FOREVERGIRL” (ft. CHRIS TURNER & MIKE LARRY DRAW)

Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah has shared a second single off his anticipated new album Ancestral Recall, which drops March 22. Christian provides a mesmerizing backdrop, and with crooning from Chris Turner and rapping from Mike Larry Draw, this is among Christian’s more accessible songs. Christian told The FADER, “I wanted to sonically mirror some of the things I had seen in an analytic cubist rendering of two lovers. In that form an object is taken apart and reassembled in abstraction to depict the object from as many perspectives as possible. Essentially giving a more global viewing of what the object is comprised of. I wanted create in sound what I was seeing. So there are a multitude of parts/voices collapsed onto one another to stamp out ambiguity in the composition, to help focus a more clear reading through sort of encapsulating the sentiment in sound into a confined space. You can hear this in the many layers of trumpet, muted and non-muted, and in what I wrote for Chris Turner. A different take on constructing a love song. As my brother Terrace Martin says ‘there’s a thousand ways to say I love you.’ I wanted to channel that in this one.”

J-E-T-S – “POTIONS” (ft. DAWN RICHARD)

J-E-T-S (aka Machinedrum and Jimmy Edgar) are releasing their new album ZOOSPA on May 24 via Innovative Leisure. It features recent single “PLAY” (ft. Mykki Blanco) as well as the just-released “POTIONS” featuring R&B great Dawn Richard. As you’d probably expect, Dawn sounds great over J-E-T-S’ warped, skittering production.

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