The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, videos, and songs from Roddy Ricch, Saweetie, and more.
The holidays are peeking over the horizon, and while that means that there are fewer new music releases, they are no less impactful. Friday saw the releases of new songs from Babyface Ray (“Spend It” with Blxst and Nija). Chance The Rapper (“Yah Know“), Don Toliver (“Do It Right”), and Travis Scott (“Down In Atlanta” with Pharrell) after a week that included new drops from Gucci Mane “Letter To Takeoff“) and Rich Brian (“Vivid) along with the releases listed below.
Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending Month TK, 2022.
Albums/EPs/Mixtapes
38 Spesh & Harry Fraud — Beyond Belief
After teasing their joint release for a few weeks, upstate New Yorker 38 Spesh and city kid Harry Fraud have dropped the heavily anticipated project. It features rugged bars and haunted beats from Spesh and Fraud, respectively, as well as mean-mugged rhymes from the likes of Benny The Butcher and Conway The Machine from Griselda, Curren$y, El Camino, Jim Jones, Ransom, Stove God Cooks, and Wiz Khalifa
Brockhampton — The Family
Yes, Brockhampton released two projects this weekend, and yes, The Family is more of a Kevin Abstract album than anything else but given it’s actually finished, it rates a little higher than TM, a more random collection of clippings. Both projects are interesting glimpses into the collective mindset of a group pulling itself apart while making one final pass at providing closure for their fans.
Jaypitts — Minimum Wage
Although Jaypitts hails from Detroit, his music would seem, at least at first blush, to be a departure from the reckless, punchline-oriented street style purveyed by the likes of BabyTron, Icewear Vezzo, and Sada Baby. His approach is more soulful, introspective, and narrative-driven — which makes for a fascinating, rewarding listen that encourages repeats.
Omeretta The Great — Emotional Gangsta
Omeretta clearly defined the limits of her hometown for us earlier this year but makes an effort to get “Back To The Basics” on this eight-song release, refocusing on delivering rewind-worthy bars rather than courting controversy. It’s an effective strategy that evokes the early music of trap rap pioneer and fellow ATLien, T.I.
Roddy Ricch — Feed Tha Streets III
After Live Life Fast, his sophomore album, caught a lukewarm reception from fans, Roddy has returned to the fertile creative ground he traversed on his first two Feed Tha Streets mixtapes. The project will probably benefit from a more focused, constrained approach among his day-one fans while linking his latest effort to the lower stakes entries in his discography will buy him forgiveness for not exploring new territory. It’s a win-win.
Saweetie — The Single Life
Speaking of artists who need to buy back some goodwill, it’s clear that Saweetie’s frequent recalibrations of her debut album have worn fans’ patience down to the nub. With The Single Life, she simplifies the sound palette, gets back to her signature of sampling existing hits (Mtumbe’s “Juicy Fruit” on “P.U.S.S.Y.”), and resurrects the car freestyle flow that first garnered her attention and set her on the path to stardom. Will it renew excitement for Pretty Bitch Music? Who knows, but it’s nice that she finally released some music at least.
Singles/Videos
Busta Rhymes — “Bulletproof” feat. Skillibeng
This week was kind of a big one for EPs (which artists may see as a compromise between letting attention spans lapse for the winter and dedicating the resources to promoting a full project during a potential dead zone for new releases). Busta dropped The Fuse Is Lit with five new tracks, including this nod to his Caribbean roots.
Key Glock — “Jigsaw”
Key Glock also dropped a new EP, PRE5L, taking the inspiration for its single from Saw. A menacing beat and tough talk from Key — what more do you need?
E-40 — “In The Air Where It’s Fair” feat. Cousin Fik
Yay Areaaaaaa! 40 Water flexes his slippery flow over a wobbly, post-hyphy instrumental produced by prolific partner Rick Rock.
Morray — “Broken Vows”
J. Cole isn’t the only Fayetteville native whose name is ringing off outside of North Carolina. Despite drawing early comparisons to Rod Wave, Morry
has distinguished himself as a soulful, accomplished rap crooner in his own right. “Broken Vows” is a sign that he’s preparing to release a new album soon, which could be his breakout moment.
Westside Boogie — “Nonchalant” feat. Mamii
Westside Boogie’s More Black Superheroes was quietly one of the year’s best projects. This week, he updated it with a deluxe version adding five new songs, including live versions of some of the original’s standout tracks. The “Nonchalant” video highlights one of the strongest tracks, which examines a situationship that Boogie regrets putting mediocre effort into.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.