mixtape

There’s hardly a rapper out right now who is as prolific as Drakeo The Ruler yet still completely lowkey. Following his triumphant release from prison last year, he’s been on a roll with new music, collaborating alongside major names like Drake and Saweetie, while maintaining a steady stream of solo projects.

Today, the rapper unveiled his latest project. This time, alongside Ralfy The Plug. The two rappers merge for their brand new project, A Cold Day In Hell. Laced fourteen tracks in total, the duo enlist a slew of collaborators to bring the project to life like Jay Critch, Desto Dubb, Icewear Vezzo and more. The late Ketchy The Great also has two posthumous verses on the project.

Check out the latest from Drakeo and Ralfy below. 

Rapper XV has remained a favorite from the blog era. Projects like Everybody’s Nobody received the utmost praise as many began to take notice of his skillset. He continued pushing the boundary musically while maintaining a firm grip on his lyrical prowess on projects like Vizzy Zone and Zero Heroes.

XV has continued to flood the streets with new music over the past few years but in the last few months, he’s made a strong indication that he has big plans ahead. On Friday, he blessed fans with a brand new three-song effort titled, Soil. The project spotlights his pen game while Mike Summers holds down the production on all three songs.

Check out the latest project from XV below and sound off in the comments with your favorite song from the project. 

New York-bred DJ Megan Ryte finally treated listeners to her highly-anticipted debut self-titled project. The Hot 97 DJ released the project Friday (April 16), citing the special place the project, which took three years to complete, holds in her heart.  

“Here we gooooo!!! The official tracklisting to my debut album DJ MEGAN RYTE dropping at midnight!!!” penned Ryte on Instagram Thursday (April 19). She continued, “I’m soooo thankful for every artist who had my back and was open to doing the records I wanted to make! And every producer (love ya) and their teams and all the labels dealing with my calls.” 

She also revealed an upcoming deluxe edition of the project. The star-studded list of guest appearances on the debut project includes Rich the Kid, Jamaican dancehall artist Kranium, Griselda talents Conway the Machine and Westside Gunn, Yung Bleu, Remy Ma, and more. Check out DJ Megan Ryte’s self-titled project and let us know what you think down in the comments.  

Tracklist 

1. Kwesi Arthur feat. Kwesi Arthur

2. Fly feat. Casanova, Rich The Kid, Kranium

3. Mirage feat. Wyclef Jean, Yung Bleu

4. Fall Thru feat. Flipp Dinero, Guapdad 4000

5. Money Counter feat. Skillbeing, Yung M.A

6. Remy Ma feat. Remy Ma

7. Strapped feat. Sleepy Hallow

8. Bun B feat. Bun B

9. Warner Meadows feat. Warner Meadows

10. Oscuro feat. Malyo

11. One Chance feat. Jay Gwuapo

12. DJ Premier feat. DJ Premier

13. You Gotta Love Me feat. Conway the Machine, Westside Gunn

Though Headie One has witnessed tons of international success in the last year, his frequent collaborator RV is striving to make a similar impact. The North London rapper is the latest to put on for his ends with his latest project, Rico Vondelle. Stacked with fifteen songs in total, the rapper offers a potent and strong introduction for anyone whose unaware. For day one fans, it offers a better glimpse into the depth of his artistry.

The drill-centric body of work does include a slew of collaborations with many familiar faces from the drill scene such as Abra Cadabra, Headie One, of course, Yxng Bane, Frosty, K-Trap, Chip, Backroad Gee, and more.

Check out the latest project from RV below and sound off in the comments with your favorite track. 

He’s known for giving his renditions of hit tracks, so it’s only fitting that Jacquees delivered an album’s worth of songs. He previously got into a tit-for-tat with Ella Mai after his cover of her charting single “Trip” gained steam, and Jacquees has capitalized off of the controversy by continuing his reputation as a cover star. The 13-track project is hosted by DJ Drama’s longstanding Gangsta Grillz and fans will find some of their favorite songs being belted out by the self-professed “King of R&B.”

Jacquees has opted to tackle hits from Usher, Jaheim, Jon B., Jazmine Sullivan, and more, including more recent releases from Coi Leray and Mooski. There are a handful of appearances on the record from Erica Banks, Bandit Gang Marco, Vedo, and Donnell Jones. Stream Quemix 4 and let us know what you think.

Tracklist

1. Track Star
2. Anything
3. Can You Handle It
4. Down With You
5. I Wanna Know
6. On It ft. Vedo
7. They Don’t Know ft. Bandit Gang Marco
8. Where We Wanna Be ft. Donnell Jones
9. My Apology
10. No More Parties ft. Erica Banks
11. I Need a Girl
12. When We Make Love
13. Lay Ya Down

LUCKI has been prolific in his own way, steadily building on his discography with a relatively consistent musical output. Today, that output expands with the release of his new two-pack drop Almost Woke, an EP that features a pair of tracks in “LifestyleBrazy” and “No Joke.” While closer to a single than an EP, what with a total runtime of four minutes, it’s a solid glimpse into the rapper’s current musical headspace.

Opener “LifestyleBrazy” finds LUCKI taking to a melancholic beat by Brent Rambo, who whips up a somber piano loop and some lo-fi percussion. Though he doesn’t stick around for too long, LUCKI makes the most of his time with a lengthy verse, his laid-back style blending effectively with the understated production. “Who this on my phone? Treat these hoes like 12, keep going over the limit, I’vе been buying pints from Zelle,” he raps. “Capped out for his imagе, label put him on the shelf / Lifestyle brazy, lifestyle pay me / Ain’t got shit to show, say he humble like he Jay-Z.”

Next up is “No Joke,” a more uptempo counterpart — though even LUCKI’s livelier drops are still relatively laid back. Over a spacey instrumental by Plu20 Nash, Lucki lets fly a quick flow as he flexes in his own unique way. “Ni*gas be like fuck Tunе like Gillie,” he raps. “Ni**as be fans of me, they envy / Get that emotion shit for my mama / I’m still a weirdo with a semi.”

Brief though it may be, it’s still a solid drop from LUCKI and a promising sign of things to come. Keep an eye out for his next move, whatever that may be. 

Potential 2021 XXL Freshman iann dior is on a roll. The young, genre-fluid artist has been putting in work for some years now, and following last year’s massive Billboard Hot 100-topping single “Mood” with 24KGoldn, several fans are waiting to see what iann dior has in store for listeners when he eventually releases a full-length follow-up to last summer’s I’m Gone.

This year alone, the rising artist has released a couple of collaborative singles, including “F*ck Up” with tristan. and “First Time” with Illenium, and today, the Puerto Rico-born rapper and singer has surprised his fans with a short new EP, titled Still Here.

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Although iann dior fans likely would have preferred more new music from the nothings ever good enough multihyphenate, Still Here is a solid two-pack EP that features an emotional guest appearance from A Love Letter To You 4 artist Trippie Redd, keeping their collaborative streak from 2019’s Industry Plant alive. The Big 14-assited song, “shots in the dark,” kicks off the brief EP, and the heartfelt song even incorporates a nod to Trippie Redd‘s classic song “Love Scars.” The other song housed on the Still Here EP is “don’t wanna believe,” which serves iann dior’s first solo track of 2021.

Check out iann dior’s two-pack EP Still Here below and let us know if you’re feeling it.

Tracklist:

1. shots in the dark (feat. Trippie Redd)
2. don’t wanna believe

British rapper AJ Tracey has achieved excellence in his field, continuing to make a name for himself across the globe with his sophomore studio album Flu Game. Getting tons of looks in North America, the 27-year-old London-born artist draws influence from Michael Jordan’s famous 1997 playoff game, having his own flu game and assuming the role of a rising basketball star on his latest project.

The new sixteen-song album includes features from NAV, Kehlani, T-Pain, SahBabii, Millie Go Lightly, and others. AJ Tracey also grabs verses from Digga D, MoStack, and Mabel. Production is handled by The Elements, Take A Daytrip, Pxcoyo, AoD, YOZ BEATZ, and more. 

At this point, there is no stopping AJ Tracey. Listen to his sophomore studio album below and let us know your favorite song from it.

Tracklist:

1. Anxious
2. Kukoč (feat. NAV)
3. Bringing It Back (with Digga D)
4. Cheerleaders
5. Draft Pick
6. Eurostep
7. Cherry Blossom
8. Glockie
9. Little More Love
10. Top Dog
11. Summertime Shootout (feat. T-Pain)
12. Perfect Storm
13. Coupé (feat. Kehlani)
14. Numba 9 (feat. SahBabii & Millie Go Lightly)
15. Dinner Guest (feat. MoStack)
16. West Ten (with Mabel)

Queens, New York-born and Atlanta-based artist Nebu Kiniza is back today with his first project since 2018’s From Me 2 U.  That dreamy full-length effort perfectly captured the post-SoundCloud rap era sound, and in addition to not sporting any guest features, From Me 2 U boasted production from the rising artist as well.

Three years later, Nebu Kiniza has treated his fanbase with a new seven-track EP, titled Back2Lyfe. Nebu’s latest release is a much more polished and chiseled effort, clocking in at just under a 20-minute runtime. On the production front, Nebu Kiniza is responsible for all of the beats on Back2Lyfe except for “Patience” and “Questions,” which were produced by Cam Beats and CHASETHEMONEY, respectively.

Also, Back2Lyfe sets itself apart from From Me 2 U by boasting several high-profile collaborations. Four of the EP’s seven songs include a guest appearance, making for a stacked new effort from Nebu Kiniza. Featured artists include Lil Keed, Future, Young Nudy, and Lil Tecca, with whom Nebu Kiniza shared the “Can’t Deny” single early last spring.

Check out Nebu Kiniza’s new project Back2Lyfe below.

Tracklist:

1. Raincoat
2. Straight Out The Lot
3. Abundance (feat. Lil Keed)
4. Weekend
5. Questions (feat. Future)
6. Can’t Deny (feat. Lil Tecca)
7. Patience (feat. Young Nudy)

Sometimes, it behooves a fan to take things back to the beginning. Though it can sometimes be jarring to dive decades into the past, especially given how much music can change over the years, it’s always interesting to see where the game’s legendary artists began their triumphant runs. In the case of Busta Rymes, the journey kicked off twenty-five years ago with The Coming, his first solo album following a scene-stealing, star-making performance on Tribe Called Quest’s Scenario. 

Today, Busta came through to deliver a 25th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition of his classic debut, expanding the original thirteen-track endeavor into a thirty-six-track leviathan. Granted, many of the new additions arrive in the form of instrumentals and acapellas, as well as a few notable remixes to round things out. One such remix of “Woo Hah! Got You All In Check” features Ol’ Dirty Bastard, a fan-favorite version that officially makes its streaming debut. 

While it’s not exactly a treasure trove of never-before-heard Busta Rhymes material, this revised version of The Coming should please longtime fans of the legendary rapper. Especially those who dabble in the art of emceeing themselves, as the instrumentals feature many classic cuts laced by DJ Scratch and more. Check it out for yourself, if only to see how Busta Rhymes first emerged onto the scene and forged a career that’s still going to this day.