The Best New Hip-Hop This Week includes albums, videos, and songs from Ken Carson, Lil Yachty and Sexyy Red.
What a week. After Drake dropped his long-awaited “Nokia” video, Rico Nasty followed up with her own video for “On The Low.” Meanwhile, Lil Wayne announced the release of his upcoming album Tha Carter VI, which was followed up by Ken Carson of Opium announcing his own new album, More Chaos.
Meanwhile, new music releases came from Gelo, who officially released the buzzy “Law N Order” after previewing it during Rolling Loud.
Lil Yachty resurrected his Michigan Boy Boat persona alongside Veeze with “Can’t Be Crete Boy.”
Russ released his inner romantic via “April 7,” from his upcoming album Wild.
And Sexyy Red shared her brash new solo single in praise of “Hoochie Coochie.”
Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending April 4, 2025.
Albums/EPs/Mixtapes
Chy Cartier — No Bring Ins
A debut that shouldn’t be overlooked, I decided to include Chy’s No Bring Ins off the strength of a cursory listen this week because sometimes, you can just tell someone has something special. Also, there’s a DIRE lack of female voices being elevated in the UK grime/rave/drill scene (by design, or by circumstance, it’s there), so it feels equally important to shine some light on one of the rare voices to carve out space in a space that could really use some wider persepctives.
FattMack — Here To Stay
With a flow and sound somewhat reminiscent of Lil Durk’s or even Fredo Bang’s, FattMack adds another name to the very short but slowly growing list of rappers to rep Mobile, Alabama. He’s got the pain rap sound pegged, but he’s also deceptively deft with his wordplay. While there’s still plenty of room for improvement, Here To Stay is a solid entry to southern rap’s burgeoning underground and raises the ceiling of expectation for an artist who truly seems interested in living up to his project’s title.
Lou Phelps — Chélbé
Kaytranada’s brother has always kind of hovered at the fringes of mainstream rap consciousness, and I’ve always felt this an injustice. You all probably know by now that I love quirky, left-of-center rap that focuses more on bringing fun vibes than proving political points, and with a production sensibility similar to his brother’s, Lou certainly qualifies. You’d think there’s be some kind of halo effect, but even without it, he deserves more — as evidenced by his latest, which incorporates traditional African rhythms, funk, and skating rink disco for a slick dance-rap record that could soundtrack many a sweaty dance floor this summer.
Shoreline Mafia — Back In Bidness
It’s fascinating to see Shoreline Mafia return older, wiser, and more polished, but just as hedonistic as they were as teens coming up through the South LA underground scene. By reconstituting as a duo, OhGeesy and Fenix get more space to show off as individuals and to indulge their chemistry, which was an underrated and underdisplayed aspect of the group’s early work. There’s also a fun homage to Ying Yang Twins, which gives them a chance to spread their wings creatively — at least, sonically.
Singles/Videos
1999 Write The Future — “Timeless” Feat. The Pharcyde
One of the more intriguing musical projects of the past few years has been 1999 Write The Future, the 88rising-backed collective that seems to be mainly interested in smashing modern musical sensibilities into throwback genre staples, leading to unexpected results. Arriving without very much fanfare, “Timeless” does exactly that, tapping ’90s LA alt-rap staples Pharcyde and pairing them with a borderline Neptunes-ish beat that brings a new dimension to their old-school approach.
Bossman Dlow — “Money Talks”
A short but effective hustler anthem, “Money Talks” kicks off Bossman Dlow’s 2025 in stalwart fashion. While it’s not as explosive as his breakthrough tracks from early 2024, it lays the foundation for another impressive run for the Florida native.
Maiya The Don — “10”
New York drill refuses to die. Maiya The Don breathes new life into the more standard variation of the genre (as opposed to the “sexy drill” purveyed by Cash Cobain), sampling The-Dream’s 2007 hit “Shawty Is A 10” in an On The Radar debut that doubles as a single launch.
Murda Beatz — “Winter’s Over” Feat. Hurricane Wisdom, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie
What a lineup. The Canadian producer rarely misses when he crafts beats for his own projects, and smartly taps both a rising star and a genre staple to lend unexpected perspectives to his moody loop. The two rappers trade melodic verses over a woozy instrumental that sounds nothing like their usual backdrops and makes everything sound fresher than you might have thought going in.
Ray Vaughn — “Dollar Menu”
An ode to the survival meals that saw Ray through his upbringing in Long Beach (“last night I had sleep for dinner” punched me in the gut), the TDE newcomer’s latest comes with a menacing beat switch midway through, reflecting the rags-to-riches narrative that has become very familiar, but Vaughn’s clever lyricism carries the concept through to the end.