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Over the last 12 months, IDK has delivered two projects for fans to enjoy. Showing no signs of slowing down, the DMV rapper returns with a raucous new single, “King Alfred.” Named for the “King Alfred Plan” from author John A. Williams’ novel The Man Who Cried I Am, the song samples Gil-Scott Heron’s song named after the plan, which has taken on near mythological proportions among some Black Americans.

IDK’s new track arrives behind a slew of music the DMV rapper has dropped off over the past year. In August, he served up and bowl of “Cereal” alongside JID, Kenny Mason, and DJ Scheme on their collab single and prior to that he delivered his IDK & Friends 2 project, the sequel to his 2018 effort. The album saw IDK returning to his collaborative ways as he connected with names like ASAP Ferg, Wale, Juicy J, Denzel Curry, Maxo Kream, Pnb Rock, Rico Nasty, and more.

Another highlight for IDK came shortly after the release of IDK & Friends 2 when the rapper made his late-night TV debut on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert with a performance of “No Cable” off Is He Real?

Listen to “King Alfred” above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

If you’re new to whisk(e)y, you might be unversed in the famous smoky whiskies of Islay. The southernmost of Scotland’s Inner Hebrides, Islay is home to nine distilleries. All of these — including the recently opened Ardnahoe — use peat (a cut and dried oil-rich soil-compound borne of decomposing vegetation; often found in bogs and still utilized as a fuel-source on the island) to smoke the malted barley used in the distillation process.

But contrary to common belief, Islay isn’t the only place on the planet you’ll find peat-smoked whisky. Distilleries all over the world, including the US, are making their own smoky whisk(e)y expressions. And some of it’s pretty damn good.

When figuring out the right peat-smoked whisk(e)y for you, it’s important to select one that isn’t going to completely overpower your palate with smoke. You have to run before you walk with this sort of dram.

“A common theme when talking with both chefs and mixologists alike is ‘balance,’” says Christopher Chamberlain, national beverage development manager for E. & J. Gallo Winery in Modesto, California. “And balance is particularly essential when we discuss peat-smoked whisky.”

In an effort to find the most well-balanced, easy-entry peat-smoked whiskies for fall, we turned to the experts. Read below for some classic picks mixed with a few bold takes from some of our favorite bartenders.

Lagavulin 16

Dante Wheat, bartender and founder of Raw Pineapples in Louisville

Lagavulin 16. There isn’t anything more “fall” than sitting in a big ass chair while enjoying a smokey, citrusy Islay whisky neat, and doing absolutely nothing for an afternoon.

Corsair Wildfire

Randall Restiano, beverage director of Eataly NYC Flatiron in New York City

I love Corsair Wildfire American Malt Whiskey. It is the sign of the American dream — being passionate about something and producing it till the point you are successful.

The whiskey is completely produced in-house in Tennessee using 100% hickory-smoked barley. At 100 proof, it is warming for the cold but also balanced and perfect for all winter foods.

Jura 10

Christopher Chamberlain, national beverage development manager for E. & J. Gallo Winery in Modesto, California

While many single malts may pocket themselves into one specific flavor category, Jura 10 Year Old delivers a perfect balance of sweetness and smoke. It provides nothing less than a smoked whisky that is balanced by notes of citrus, coffee, and chocolate, allowing you to gravitate into more complex flavors without diving into the extremity of a heavily peated whisky.

Lagavulin Distiller’s Edition

Fanny Chu, head bartender at Donna in Brooklyn, New York

I love Lagavulin’s Distiller’s Edition. It has perfect peat and fruit flavors for sipping and pairing with chocolates or simply enjoying neat on a cool, fall night.

Bruichladdich Octomore

Andy Printy, beverage director at Chao Baan in St. Louis

As they say, go big or go home. Bruichladdich Octomore is the most botanically peated scotch on planet earth. Not a small price tag, but available and expresses both the smoking of the malt and the unique botanical profile of peat and malted barley.

Designed for fire pit conversation and flannel shirt fashion shows.

J. Riddle Peated Bourbon

Gavin Humes, bartender at Scratch|Bar & Kitchen in Los Angeles

The J. Riddle Peated Bourbon is exciting and different. With the proliferation of Scotch and the infatuation with peat and smoke, this is a unique twist on that style. Using a bourbon whiskey but adding the peated note really makes for a whiskey that’s memorable and fantastic.

Compass Box Peat Monster

Hayden Miller, head bartender at Bodega Taqueria y Tequila in Miami

If I’m going for peated whisky, it’s going to be Compass Box Peat Monster. It’s a very peat forward bottle, named appropriately. Pours and drinks well. Smoky, rich, and perfect for slow sipping.

Laphroaig 10

Nick Cole, bartender at Kimpton Sawyer Hotel in Sacramento

The best smoked and peated whisky would have to be Laphroaig 10. People who drink smoked and peated whisky — scotch — typically know what they are drinking. Laphroaig 10 is a standard and a staple for any bar. You really just can’t go wrong in the fall.

New Riff Backsetter

Roberto Berdecia, bartender at La Factoria in San Juan, Puerto Rico

To be honest, I haven’t tasted it yet… but I have heard a lot of great things from an American peated whiskey called New Riff Backsetter. The other smoked American whiskeys I have tried are not that special. On the contrary, peated scotch single malts are a blast — starting from Lagavulin 16, Laphroaig 10, and Ardbeg Wee Beastie.

Ardbeg Ten

Nestor Marchand, director of food and beverage at Plunge Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

I love Ardbeg Islay Scotch. Specifically, the distillery’s flagship offering Ardbeg Ten. Plenty of peat-smoked, plus the famous iodine flavor from the maritime qualities of the Islay Scotches.

Over the past year, Nicki Minaj has laid a few verses over some of hip-hop’s most popular records. This year she remixed Doja Cat’s “Say So” track, helping to boost the song to No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart. Last year, she remixed Pop Smoke’s breakout hit, “Welcome To The Party,” DaBaby’s “Suge,” Lil Baby and Gunna’s “Drip Harder,” and Meek Mill’s “Going Bad.” Keeping the streak going, Nicki returns with a thrilling verse to remix Detroit rapper Sada Baby’s bubbling track, “Whole Lotta Choppas.”

On the verse, Nicki reveals right out the gate that she recorded the verse while nine months pregnant, floating effortlessly on the track’s fast-paced production. Just a day before the remix arrived, Nicki Minaj celebrated the birth of her newborn baby boy by sharing some of the congratulatory gifts she got from a number of celebrities including, Beyonce, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, and others on Instagram. Beyonce shared a card that read “Welcome to motherhood. God bless you and your family,” while Kim and Kanye shared one that simply wrote, “Congrats! We love you!” The post also arrived after rumors of a collaboration between her and Cardi B seemed to arise, leaving fans to word if the two rappers put their beef to rest behind closed doors.

Listen to the “Whole Lotta Choppas” remix here.

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

After staying quiet for the most part since the release of his 2018 album, I Am > I Was, 21 Savage has been at the top of hip-hop headlines for the past few weeks. This mainly comes as a result of his new joint album with Metro Boomin, Savage Mode II. Outside of that, 21 Savage has delivered a few guest verses over the past year and a half and delivers another one, this time alongside a fellow ATLien, T.I. Together, the two rappers get things rolling on “Thank God,” which appears on T.I.’s new album The L.I.B.R.A (The Legend Is Back Running Atlanta). The track is a mellow effort that finds to two rappers reflecting on their road to fame and the years they spent relishing in stardom. All in all, they look up to the skies and say a “thank you” to the heavens for letting them see their success out.

As for T.I.’s new album, the project delivers 20 songs to fans for his first release since 2018’s Dime Trap. The album was preceded by a pair of singles, “Ring” with Young Thug and “Pardon” with Lil Baby. On The L.I.B.R.A, fans can expect to hear guest appearances from Snoop Dogg, Rapsody, Conway The Machine, Rick Ross, his son Domani, Benny The Butcher, Jadakiss, Killer Mike, John Legend, and more.

Listen to “Thank God” in the video above.

The L.I.B.R.A (The Legend Is Back Running Atlanta) is out now via Grand Hustle/EMPIRE. Get it here.

Lucky Daye and Leon Bridges entered the R&B and soul world about a half decade apart with Leon’s entrance coming in 2015 courtesy of his Coming Home debut while Lucky’s came in 2019 with his Painted debut. While one may not have paired the two artists together initially, the two have a bit more in common than expected. They both hail from the South, with Leon and Lucky calling Fort Worth and New Orleans home, respectively, and both were also nominated for Grammy awards for their debut albums. Now the two singers come together for their first-ever collaboration, a soulful number entitled “All About You.”

Lucky and Leon first teased the track last week in a photo that presented the two singers on stage together with a drum set and keyboard setup behind them. Delivering the truck without making their fans wait too long for it, “All About You” finds them voicing their frustrations about a partner who only seems to care about themselves and their feelings. “It’s all about you / It ain’t about me,” Lucky and Leon sing on the track. “I got feelings too / That you clearly can’t see.” Frustrated with their failed attempts to appeal to their love interest, they are both pushed closer and closer to the decision of moving on to make themselves happy.

“All About You” follows Leon Bridge’s “Sweeter” single, which served as a celebration of Blackness in his Texas hometown. As for Lucky Daye, the track is his third collaboration of the year following “Can You Blame Me” with Kehlani and “Faces” with Buddy.

You can listen to “All About You” in the video above.

Kehlani is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

After keeping fans waiting for well over a year for its release, Ty Dolla Sign finally confirmed the release date and title for his upcoming third album. Entitled Featuring Ty Dolla Sign, Ty confirmed the album would arrive next Friday, October 23, and supplied a lengthy explanation for the album’s title, which was formerly Dream House. While a title and a confirmed date, especially one that is just a week away, may be enough for fans, Ty keeps the gifts coming with a new single alongside Jhene Aiko and Mustard.

“By Yourself” finds Jhene Aiko returning a guest feature favor after Ty appeared on “Party For Me” from her Chilmobo album. The two also appeared together on “Body Language” from Big Sean’s Detroit 2. On the producer side of things, the new single is Ty’s first single produced by Mustard since 2017 when he produced his “Love U Better” track. For “By Yourself,” Ty takes a moment to praise the Miss Independents in his life and commends the women who push through life and take care of their needs by themselves. Jhene steps through with a verse of her own showing that she’s an example of a woman who does it by herself.

In the Instagram post that revealed his new album title title, Ty explained why he decided go with Featuring Ty Dolla Sign:

Many people have said that when you see a song that says, “featuring Ty Dolla $ign,” you know it’s gonna be fire. As humbled as I am when I hear that, I can’t say I disagree[…] I decided to name my third studio album “Featuring Ty Dolla $ign” because there is truly something for everybody on this album. It features some of my most talented friends, on some of the best music I’ve made in my career.

You can listen to “Be Yourself” in the video above.

Featuring Ty Dolla Sign is out 10/23 via Atlantic and Taylor Gang.

Ty Dolla Sign is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

For almost five years, Justin Bieber fans waited and wondered when their beloved pop star would make his return with his fifth album. Moments into the new year, Bieber gave that that answer with the announcement of his “Yummy” single, which would later appear on his fifth album, Changes. While some may have believed that Changes was the only full-length effort fans would get from Bieber, the pop singer made it clear in the last month that may be more in store from him in 2020. Fueling rumors towards his sixth album, Bieber returns with Benny Blanco by his side for his “Lonely” single.

The new single finds the two working together for the fourth time in their careers, including Bieber’s No. 1 tracks “Love Yourself” and “Cold Water” with MO and Major Lazer. For their latest collaboration, Bieber and Benny tone things down in comparison to their past upbeat records. On the record, Bieber reflects on his rocky rise to fame filled with the “sh*t I did as an idiot kid,” as he says on the track. While he admits to the wrongs he committed along the way, Bieber says it was even harder to navigate through it all without someone he could trust.

The single arrived after Bieber launched a “new era” with Chance The Rapper for his “Holy” single. The track was attached to a heart-warming video that found Bieber and actress and singer Ryan Destiny as a couple who suffered from a series of unfortunate events in their life, all over which pushed them closer and closer to rock bottom. Luckily a Good Samaritan arrived to save their day and provide them a momentary wave of comfort.

You can listen to “Lonely” in the video above.

If I told you a few years ago that Nas would be more active than Joey Badass in 2020, you would’ve probably laughed at me or told me stick to my trap music.

However, that’s how it’s been over the past three years. Nas has delivered three albums during that span and Joey Badass is just making his return with what fans hope is an album just as good as his first two efforts, B4.Da.$$ and All Amierkkkan Badass. As he continues work on that third album, Joey Badass links up with Nas as the two Brooklyn native bring their talents together to supply a pair of verses each to Statik Selektah’s new single, “Keep It Moving,” with Gary Clark Jr.

The track, which is set to appear on Selektah’s upcoming The Balancing Act project, is wrapped in a soulful sample of Isaac Hayes’ “Walk On By.” Without a hook for the two rappers work around, Nas and Joey Badass trade a pair of verses on the track with Nas leading the way before letting Joey steps through with some bars of his own. As a whole, the track is centered the two rappers’ determination to not let life’s obstacles and hardships slow them down or stop their from their overarching goals.

“Keep It Moving” arrives after Nas delivered his thirteenth album, King’s Disease, and Joey Badass made his return in the summer with The Light Pack EP.

Check out the video above to hear “Keep It Moving.”

Lana Del Rey is currently working on her Norman F*cking Rockwell follow-up, an album that she’s been teasing over the past couple of months. Despite the teases, she has yet to give fans a time frame for when they can expect the new album. However, it seems like it will be sooner than later as the singer unveils the album’s lead single, “Let Me Love You Like A Woman.” Sharing her first solo single of the year, Lana delivers her latest track, “Let Me Love You Like A Woman.” The track finds her speaking to an unknown love interest that she has seemingly known for only a short time. Despite this, Del Rey is prepared to run off with them and live out the enjoyable future she envisions with them.

The single arrives after Lana Del Rey revealed its title in an update about her Chemtrails Over The Country Club album last month. In the update, which she gave from the set of the music video for the album’s title track, she said the album would be “coming out soon,” but in the music industry, “soon” can mean anywhere between three months and three years. If the album arrives by the end of the year, it would be Del Rey’s second project of the year following her Violet Bent Backwards Over The Grass poetry book.

On a more recent note, Del Rey joined Matt Maeson for a gentle remix of his “Hallucinogenics” track.

You can listen to “Let Me Love You Like A Woman” in the video above.

The rollout for Drake’s upcoming sixth album, which he revealed is titled Certified Lover Boy, began with the release of his “Laugh Now Cry Later” single with Lil Durk. Since the song’s release, Drake has left fans to chase rumors and guess when his highly-anticipated project will arrive. In all honesty, the wait for Certified Lover Boy hasn’t been as grueling as fans may have expected thanks to Drake and his will to work with a wide range of different artists including 21 Savage, Bryson Tiller, and DJ Khaled. Adding another name to the guest feature list, Drake joins Yung Bleu for a remix of his “You’re Still Mine” track.

The remix touches down just days after Yung Bleu posted an Instagram DM conversation between him and Drake that shows the Toronto rap star expressing interest in remixing one of his tracks. “Let’s do that remix,” Drake says in one message. “I just need a version of that song with a open verse.” Until just before the track’s release, the song Drake referred to was unknown but we know now he chose “You’re Still Mine” from Yung Bleu’s newly-released Love Scars EP: The 5 Stages Of Emotions. On the remix, Drake and Yung Bleu step forth as toxic exes who refuse to let their past lovers move on and build a life without them. Begging for their return, the two artists lay off lines like “She don’t wanna go to sleep, she angry / Lately she been noticin’ he ain’t me,” while reminiscing on the past relationship and ways it could be better.

Listen to the “You’re Still Mine” remix above.