20 New Rap and R&B Songs Out This Week
This week in rap and R&B we got the new Pink Siifu album (which I wrote about in Notable Releases), plus new songs from Aesop Rock, Mykki Blanco, RMR, Bad Bunny, Buddy/Kent Jamz, Trouble, Polo G, Rico Nasty, IDK, Kari Faux, Kemba, and more. Read on for all the hip hop we posted this week…
AESOP ROCK – MUSIC FROM THE GAME FREEDOM FINGER EP
Aesop Rock follows his recent standalone single “Rogue Wave” with a new 10-song EP of music he wrote for the video game Freedom Finger. There’s some “video game music” on there, but there’s also three new proper rap songs, including the especially good “Drums on the Wheel” which comes with an animated video by Freedom Finger‘s Travis Millard (illustrations) and Jim Dirschberger (direction), along with Steven Gong (animaiton).
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MYKKI BLANCO – “PATRIARCHY AINT THE END OF ME”
Experimental rapper Mykki Blanco has dropped a new single that she says was “written as if it were a scene from a musical with radical feminist strippers.”
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BAD BUNNY – “EN CASITA” (ft. GABRIELA)
Bad Bunny just released a great new album earlier this year, and now he already has another great new song that he recorded on his iPhone while self-isolating. It features guest vocals by Gabriela Berlingeri, Bad Bunny’s girlfriend.
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RMR – “DEALER”
RMR went viral after releasing the Rascal Flatts-interpolating “Rascal,” and he not surprisingly now has a major label deal (Warner), who will release his debut EP Drug Dealing Is a Lost Art at some point. It’ll feature this new single “Dealer,” which is more of a straightup R&B song and not as country or as absurd as “Rascal,” but like its predecessor, it proves RMR has genuinely powerful pipes.
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BUDDY & KENT JAMZ – “SHE THINK”
LA rappers Buddy and Kent Jamz (the latter of OverDoz) will release a collaborative project, Jank Tape Vol. 1, next week (April 17 via RCA). First single “She Think” is a nice dose of melodic, modern-day West Coast rap.
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IDK – “IN MY WHITE TEE”
IDK kicked off the year with a new freestyle and now he’s got a new single, “In My White Tee.” It’s more of a booming, in-your-face song than a lot of last year’s Is He Real? was, and it seems at first like it’s gonna be a more lighthearted song, but it gets dark real fast.
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KARI FAUX – LOWKEY SUPERSTAR
Little Rock, Arkansas rapper Kari Faux dropped the 8-song Lowkey Superstar project this week, and there’s some airy melodic stuff and some shit that goes pretty hard too. Kari just gets better and better.
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TRAVIS BARKER – “DOGSHIT” (ft. JASIAH & NASCAR ALOE)
Last year, blink-182 drummer Travis Barker launched his new Elektra imprint DTA Records as an outlet for his collaborations with rappers, and the label’s first single was “Gimme Brain” ft. Lil Wayne & Rick Ross. Now Travis has a second new single, featuring two up and coming rappers who sound as influenced by punk as he is by rap, Jasiah and Nascar Aloe (the latter of which is actually signed to veteran punk label Epitaph).
https://youtu.be/HZQHeR8n990
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TROUBLE – “LEND YOUR HEART”
Trouble is gearing up to release Thug Luv this year via Def Jam, and here’s a heartfelt, sentimental new single from it.
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POLO G – “DND”
Chicago rapper Polo G has a new album on the way, and it’ll feature this melodic new jam, “DND” (which stands for “Do Not Disturb”).
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COUSIN STIZZ – “VENDETTA”
Boston rapper Cousin Stizz returns with the chill, laid-back single “Vendetta.”
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KODIE SHANE – QUARANTINE
Kodie Shane has dropped a new four-song project, Quarantine, which she recorded at home (obviously). The whole thing is cool, but “Don Dada” is sounding like an early standout.
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USHER, LIL JON & LUDACRIS – “SEXBEAT”
After fighting with The Weeknd over social media about the similarity between The Weeknd’s music and Usher‘s 2012 hit “Climax,” Usher has released a new song featuring his “Yeah!” and “Lovers and Friends” collaborators Lil Jon and Ludacris. Read more here.
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RICO NASTY – “POPSTAR”
We never have to wait too long for Rico Nasty to release a new song, which is great news, especially when they continue to be this good.
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KOJEY RADICAL – “PROUD OF YOU”
UK rapper Kojey Radical returns with his new single of 2020, a genre-defying rap/R&B blend called “Proud of You.”
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KEMBA – “PISCES”
Bronx rapper Kemba follows last month’s “None of This Matters” with another dark, eerie new single, “Pisces.”
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CHUCKY73 & FETTI031 – “DILI” & “COLOMBIANA”
Though Latin trap’s most famous artists hail from Puerto Rico (Bad Bunny) or Colombia (J Balvin), there’s also a Latin trap movement happening right here in the Bronx led by the label/crew Sie7etr3 (who were recently profiled by Pitchfork). Two of the members, Chucky73 and Fetti031, will release the Sie7etr3 EP on April 17 via their label (of the same name), and it includes these two very promising new songs.
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CORMEGA – MEGA
Fresh off appearing on Conway & The Alchemist’s great LULU EP, underground rap lifer Cormega dropped his own new EP. Guests include Havoc of Mobb Deep and Sheek Louch.
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SERENGETI & KENNY SEGAL – AJAI
Producer Kenny Segal teamed with Billy Woods for one of the best rap albums of 2019, and last month he produced part of the great R.A.P. Ferreira album, and this week he dropped a 16-track project with alt-rap vet Serengeti.
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GORILLAZ – “ARIES” FT. PETER HOOK AND GEORGIA
Gorillaz have just shared “Aries,” the latest in their Song Machine series. It’s a melancholic synthpop number featuring the instantly distinctive melodic bass stylings of New Order’s Peter Hook, plus percussionist/producer Georgia.
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For even more new songs, browse our daily ‘New Songs’ lists. For more hip hop news, browse our ‘Hip Hop News’ category.
