Boldy James

18 New Rap and R&B Songs Out This Week

This has been a pretty busy week in the hip hop/R&B/etc world, thanks to the great new Apollo Brown & Che Noir album and the great new Dinner Party (Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington, 9th Wonder, Phoelix) album, both of which I reviewed in Notable Releases. We also got a deluxe edition of Boldy James & The Alchemist’s excellent album The Price of Tea in China with bonus tracks and new singles from Moor Mother & billy woods, Black Thought, Liv.e, Standing on the Corner, Kid Cudi/Eminem, YG, Benny the Butcher, Amine/Young Thug, Terrell Hines/Vince Staples, Nyck Caution/Meechy Darko, and more. Read on for all the hip hop we posted this week…

MOOR MOTHER & BILLY WOODS – “FURIES”

Moor Mother and billy woods just teamed up on the new album Shrines by Armand Hammer (aka Elucid and billy woods), and now they’ve teamed up once again for the psychedelic, abstract rap of “Furies.”

BLACK THOUGHT – “THOUGHT VS EVERYBODY”

The Roots’ Black Thought has released the first single off his anticipated new project Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane and Abel, which comes out July 31. Read more about it here.

BOLDY JAMES & THE ALCHEMIST – THE PRICE OF TEA IN CHINA (DELUXE)

Boldy James & The Alchemist’s The Price of Tea in China is one of this year’s best rap albums so far, and it got a deluxe edition today with four new songs, including one featuring The Cool Kids and Shorty K and one featuring Elcamino.

LIV.E – “I BEEN LIVIN”

LA-via-Dallas artist (and Earl Sweatshirt collaborator) Liv.e will release her new album Couldn’t Wait To Tell You… on July 31 via In Real Life, and its new single “I Been Livin” is an excellent offering of warped, dusty, psychedelic neo-soul.

STANDING ON THE CORNER – “G-E-T-O-U-T!! THE GHETTO”

Genre-defying NYC ensemble Standing on the Corner are back with a new multi-part single that you can read more about here.

KID CUDI – “THE ADVENTURES OF MOON MAN & SLIM SHADY” (ft. EMINEM)

Kid Cudi and Eminem have put their heads together for “The Adventures of Moon Man & Slim Shady,” which is very much in Cudi’s comfort zone and a little outside of Eminem, but it’s Em’s verse that’s been making headlines for references to COVID-19, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Drew Brees, and more.

YG – “SWAG”

Last month, YG shot a video at a protest for his new song “FTP (“Fuck the Police”), and now he has kept the protest vibe going with the video for his new song “Swag,” in which he plays Colin Kaepernick.

BENNY THE BUTCHER – “DEAL OR NO DEAL”

Benny the Butcher has been on a roll this year with killer guest verses, and now he’s back with his own new single. Daringer’s beat on “Deal Or No Deal” is ever so slightly glossier than you might expect from Benny, but his rhymes are as gritty as ever and this song suggests Benny is only getting better.

AMINE – “COMPENSATING” (ft. YOUNG THUG)

Portland rapper Aminé has announced a new album, Limbo, due August 7 via Republic. Along with the announcement comes this bubbly new single featuring Young Thug.

TERRELL HINES – “GET UP” (ft. VINCE STAPLES)

Terrell Hines is releasing Portal One: The Mixtape on August 7 via Capitol, and new single “Get Up” is a dose of kinetic art-funk with some fine guest rapping by Vince Staples.

NYCK CAUTION – “FAMIGLIA” (ft. MEECHY DARKO)

Pro Era’s Nyck Caution taps Flatbush Zombies’ Meechy Darko for this psychedelic yet sinister song.

SNOH AALEGRA – “DYING 4 YOUR LOVE”

Iranian-Swedish R&B singer has released a new single and launched a new merch line which will support Until Freedom, “an intersectional social justice organization rooted in the leadership of diverse people of color to address systemic and racial injustice.” The song finds Snoh’s airy, chilled-out R&B in very fine form.

KAYTRANADA – “LOOK EASY” (ft. LUCKY DAYE)

Kaytranada follows last year’s great BUBBA with the gooey electro-funk of “Look Easy” featuring Lucky Daye.

MADEINTYO – “SQUARE BITCH” (ft. A$AP FERG)

MadeinTYO has tapped A$AP Ferg for his new single, which pretty much finds the perfect middle ground between Atlanta trap and Ferg’s unmistakable sound.

J BALVIN & TAINY – “AGUA”

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run is on the way, and the soundtrack will include this new catchy dose of reggaeton from J Balvin and Tainy.

H.E.R. – “DO TO ME”

The great soul/R&B singer H.E.R. goes reggae on her latest single.

2 CHAINZ – “DEVIL JUST TRYING TO BE SEEN” (ft. SKOOLY)

2 Chainz and frequent collaborator Skooly are back with a new song that finds them in raw, dark, in-your-face territory.

AKAI SOLO – ELEVENTH WIND

Brooklyn experimental rapper AKAI SOLO has followed February’s Ride Alone, Fly Together with a new eight-song EP that finds Solo delivering his abstract rhymes over psychedelic production from DJ Blackpower (aka MIKE), Edan, and more. Solo says in part, “This wind is for me. This wind is for you. This wind is for every black breath confiscated. this wind is for every black body processing grief. […] This wind is for the firm and swift dismantling of capitalism, white supremacy, misogyny, needless phobia, and traumatizing phenomenon.”

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