Over the past few months, Dreamville-signed Atlanta rapper JID has been slowly but surely rolling out his third album, The Forever Story, picking up the threads he left on his 2017 debut The Never Story and its star-making 2018 follow-up DiCaprio 2. In January, he kicked off the new year and his album campaign with “Surround Sound” featuring 21 Savage and Baby Tate, then followed up throughout the year with an impressive array of guest verses demonstrating his lyrical prowess.
Today, he released the second single from The Forever Story, “Dance Now,” featuring rising fellow ATLien Kenny Mason, with whom he previously collaborated on the festival favorite “Stick” from Dreamville’s D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz mixtape earlier this summer. The new track dropped with a frantic music video that finds JID rapping as chaotic scenes whip by him including riot police, disgruntled citizens, and twerking exotic dancers.
In addition to his two singles, JID has raised his visibility this year with features alongside Denzel Curry, YSL rapper T-Shyne, R&B star John Legend, up-and-coming San Antonio rapper Mike Dimes, and hitmaking producer Dot Da Genius. He also dropped the “29 Freestyle” with a music video after performing it during his Governor’s Ball set.
Watch JID’s “Dance Now” video above. The Forever Story is out 8/26 on Dreamville/Interscope.
This past summer, Rolling Loud became one of the first major music festivals to hold a showcase after the pandemic all but the industry down. The Miami edition of the festival took place in late July 23-25 at Hard Rock Stadium, boasting headlining performances from ASAP Rocky, Travis Scott, and Post Malone. Elsewhere Lil Baby, 21 Savage, DaBaby (as controversial as his set was), Young Thug, Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, Roddy Ricch, Rod Wave, Lil Tjay.
For those who were unable to attend the festival, Rolling Loud has an alternative: Organizers recently released an “aftermovie” that captured all the wild and fiery moments of the Miami show. The 10-minute video features many of the aforementioned names, as well as others like The Kid Laroi, City Girls, Lil Yachty, Rod Wave, Morray, and more.
The video arrives less than three weeks before festival organizers bring the showcase to New York for a festival headlined by J. Cole, Travis Scott, and 50 Cent. Other performers for the New York show include Lil Uzi Vert, Gunna, Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch, Lil Durk, Jack Harlow, Rick Ross, Gucci Mane, Polo G, Moneybagg Yo, Joey Badass, Playboi Carti, Wale, Young Dolph, and Griselda Records.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Grammy-winning rapper Eminem’s newly signed artist Grip and Kenny Mason highlight this week’s edition of the SOHH Squad New Music Wednesday broadcast. Some of the most hungry and gritty rappers coming right out of Atlanta had their names called up to go for the crown and help one Squad member have serious bragging rights in […]
Kenny Mason continues to thrive as a talented genre-bending act, and with festival season around the corner — and with smaller concerts making a return, too — the Atlanta rapper is destined to have a great summer. Before all that, Mason returns with a new video for “Play Ball,” a track housed on his most recent project Angelic Hoodrat: Supercut. The video finds him accompanied by his friends as they take a leisurely bike ride through a neighborhood. The track’s gritty production serves as a nice juxtaposition with the serene landscape they ride in.
In addition to “Play Ball,” Mason has in recent months also dropped videos for “Pup,” “4ever,” and “Much Money.” All three can also be found on Angelic Hoodrat: Supercut, which he released back in April to commemorate the one-year anniversary on his debut album, Angelic Hoodrat. The new edition came with additional features from Freddie Gibbs, Denzel Curry, Angel White, and Ambar Lucid.
As for what’s next, Mason is preparing to hit the road for festival season. Mason has locked in sets at this year’s upcoming Rolling Loud Miami, Lollapalooza, Music Midtown, Firefly, and HIVE Music festivals.
You can watch the video for “Play Ball” above.
Angelic Hoodrat: Supercut is out now via RCA. Get it here.
Freddie Gibbs is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Atlanta upstart Kenny Mason had a breakout year with his 2020 album Angelic Hoodrat and its Supercut deluxe edition, but like most artists over the past year, he wasn’t able to celebrate or build on the momentum by performing his songs live on tour. As a compromise, he used his “Strays” video as a stage to perform his songs when there weren’t any available live, demonstrating his passionate energy and hyping fans up for the return of live shows. Today, he released “Strays 02,” a follow-up featuring a medley of Angelic Hoodrat songs, just a day after sharing the video for “4ever.”
As in the “4ever” video, Kenny occupies a cavernous darkened space with only a spotlight and a mic — in fact, “Strays 02” looks a lot like an extension of that video, which was likely excerpted from this longer performance. He sports his trademark Atlanta Braves jersey and goes for broke, showing off the diversity of styles he utilizes on Angelic Hoodrat, with a setlist that includes “Rih,” “PTSD,” the album’s title track, “Chevron,” “4ever,” and “Pup.”
With these songs and guest appearances with fan favorites like IDK (on “Cereal” with JID) and Freddie Gibbs (on Kenny’s own “Much Money“), Kenny’s maintaining that momentum, which will almost certainly result in an explosion of attention and accolades when he returns to the stage for real.
Watch Kenny Mason’s “Strays” video above.
Angelic Hoodrat: Supercut is out now. Get it here.
