The Best New Hip-Hop This Week includes albums, videos, and songs from Tyler The Creator, Ferg, and Gunna.
What a week; we got the announcement of Tyler The Creator’s new album (which may herald the coming return of New Music Tuesdays, alongside Earthgang’s Perfect Fantasy), a new album release date from Leikeli47, and the BET Hip-Hop Awards, with a performance from GloRilla and the return of Yung Miami.
New music this week includes Tyler The Creator’s “St Chroma“:
Ferg’s “Thought I Was Dead“:
Ab-Soul’s “All That” with JasonMartin:
And Gunna’s “Him All Along“:
Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending October 18, 2024.
Albums/EPs/Mixtapes
Benny The Butcher & 38 Spesh — Stabbed & Shot 2
Benny and Spesh have been incredibly productive separately this year, with two releases from the former and four from the latter, so it only makes sense the prolific upstate New Yorkers would team up to increase their ever-expanding catalogs. They’ve got incredible chemistry, owing to their muscular flows and similar subjects — crime rap has rarely sounded so soulful. Busta Rhymes, Dave East, and Harry Fraud contribute some compelling features.
Big Boogie — Ether
If timing is everything, then Big Boogie just won the lotto with his latest release. Dropping just days after he made his BET Hip-Hop Awards debut alongside GloRilla — on whose debut album he also appeared just a week ago — Ether capitalizes on the attention Boogie has undoubtedly garnered over the past few days. GloRilla pays him back in kind on “Bop,” while their fellow CMG signees 42 Dugg, Moneybagg Yo, and YTB Fatt also show their support with guest spots.
Chris Crack — Online Shoplifting
Chicago indie star Chris Crack has been a machine over the past decade, dropping no fewer than 20 projects in that span under both the Chris Crack appellation and as Chris Spencer. An agile rapper whose lithe rhymes glide gracefully over jazz and R&B loops, Crack spits in the stream of consciousness style that will appeal to fans of rappers like the late MF DOOM and Ka.
Lexa Gates — Elite Vessel
Switching smoothly from rapping to singing and back again across her latest, the New York-bred Gates signed with Capitol Records earlier this year to level up her DIY sound. ZelooperZ also appears on the album. Gates’ laconic flow belies personal songwriting and relatable insights.
Lin-Manuel Miranda — Warriors
Okay, okay, yes, I know. Believe me, I know. But, hey, you know what? I wrote this four years ago, and I stick by it. For as many jokes as Lin-Manuel gets for the cheesiness of his concepts, there’s no doubt that he pulls it off (and let’s face it, most of the backlash against Hamilton had more to do with who all kept gushing over it rather than any of its actual substance). I can’t say whether or not lightning will strike twice with his high-concept musical adaptation of the 1979 cult film, but you gotta appreciate someone trying to treat hip-hop like an art form and not just a get-rich-quick scheme. And judging by the guestlist (Busta Rhymes, Cam’ron, Ghostface, Lauryn Hill, Nas, and RZA are among the rap luminaries who appear here), I’m not the only one to believe in that noble ambition.
Singles/Videos
Cochise — “Google Me”
Florida native Cochise has been slowly but surely building his buzz through a near-constant stream of off-kilter projects that put his sing-rapping and video game inspired sensibilities on display. “Google Me” is a boastful but loose example, showing off the Palm Beacher’s wit and charisma.
Foggieraw — “Love Don’t Cost A Thing”
The poetic Marylander possesses one of rap’s most singular voices, and as always, he puts it to effective use here, recounting a young romance that falls victim as much to its participants’ inexperience as any of the usual obstacles to love and happiness.
Jaden — “The Coolest Pt. 2”
Jaden is back to rapping with the sort of desperate passion that shot through his earliest projects, but don’t let the pulsing beat and the video’s boisterous fashions fool you; he’s rapping like his life depends on it because he’s been through some stuff.