Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.
This week saw Rico Nasty’s long-awaited debut, new tunes from Lil Baby, Mariah Carey return to her Christmas wave. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.
Rico Nasty — Nightmare Vacation
In Rico Nasty’s new Uproxx digital cover story, she told us of working on her new album with Kenny Beats and 100 Gecs’ Dylan Brady, saying, “Because Dylan and I are both so weird and sh*t, we don’t criticize each other. We just work out like that and try to fix it. But I can be in a booth with Kenny and he’s like, ‘Nah, bruh, you can do this better.’ So we could go back and forth, low-key arguing. Both of them are totally different, but I probably wouldn’t be who I am today if I didn’t have such amazing people in the studio letting me do what I want to do and then also giving me constructive criticism.”
Aminé — Limbo (Deluxe)
Deluxe editions of albums have become a new beast in 2020, and Aminé is the latest rapper to hop on that train. Instead of dropping it right after Limbo‘s release, though, he waited a few months and put out what is essentially an album of new material.
Lil Baby — “On Me” and “Errbody”
Lil Baby just capped off a tremendous 2020 (as tremendous as anybody’s 2020 can be, anyway) by celebrating his 26th birthday. He marked the occasion by dropping a pair of new songs, “On Me” and “Errybody,” the videos for both songs equipping the rapper with Fast And Furious levels of transportation options and intensities.
Juice WRLD and Benny Blanco — “Real Sh*t”
Speaking of birthdays, Juice WRLD would have celebrated his 22nd a few days ago, and Benny Blanco observed the day by dropping “Real Sh*t,” a song they worked on together before Juice’s death. In a message accompanying the release, he revealed the song was the first one they ever recorded together and noted, “It was the first time I saw his magic.”
Mariah Carey — “Oh Santa” Feat. Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson
There’s no way Mariah Carey was going to let a Christmas pass without putting her stamp on it. This year, she dropped a new holiday special and the Ariana Grande-featuring single “Oh Santa,” which proved to be perfect meme material for Grande.
100 Gecs — “Sympathy 4 The Grinch”
On the opposite end of the Christmas music spectrum sits 100 Gecs, who introduced a characteristically warped new brand of holiday music with “Sympathy 4 The Grinch.” Like the character referenced in the title, they too have a bone to pick with Santa and the season of which he is emblematic, so they plan a nasty surprise for the jolly one.
24kGoldn — “Coco” Feat. DaBaby
24kGoldn has been one of the year’s biggest rising stars and has a No. 1 single on “Mood” to prove it. Now he has linked up with another young hip-hop stud in DaBaby for “Coco,” on which the pair try to get inside a romantic interest’s head and figure out what it is they’re looking for.
Run The Jewels — “The Ground Below (Royal Jewels Mix)” Feat. Royal Blood
El-P and Killer Mike make the most of the guests they get to work with them, and they’ve done so again on the “Royal Jewels” remix of “The Ground Below.” They got UK duo Royal Blood to put a hard rock edge on the track, and RTJ’s in-your-face style works beautifully against a backdrop of aggressive guitar and punishing drum work.
Drakeo The Ruler — We Know The Truth
This summer, Drakeo The Ruler dropped a truly one-of-a-kind album with Thank You For Using GTL, for which he recorded his vocals over a prison phone system. Now that the rapper is out from behind bars, he has returned with his first post-prison album, which impressively was released less than a month after he was free.
Death Cab For Cutie — The Georgia EP
If you’re just hearing about this one now, you’re too late. The Georgia EP was only available on Bandcamp for 24 hours last week, and it saw Death Cab cover a handful of songs by Georgia-based artists (like the project that Jason Isbell has promised), including R.E.M., TLC, Cat Power, and a couple others.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.