Spring Music 2023

Hit-Boy Has Something To Say

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Hit-Boy
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Rarely does the sequel become better than the original.

Hit-Boy returns to a familiar concept of keeping your composure in difficult times on his latest album Surf Or Drown. It ends on “Composure, Pt. 2,” a continuation of a record he was featured on with Nas that concluded King’s Disease II. The 35-year-old producer and occasional rapper has a gift for rhyming, delivering personal hardships and reflections on career bumps with an open heart. He mentions the times visiting his father Big Hit in jail when he was younger, how Kanye West told him face-to-face that he was holding him back, and nearly losing everything. “2017, I was laid out on the floor, crying / my account had read that I had zero dollars / I felt like Anthony Hopkins, I had to find solace,” he raps.

The lyrics hold the meaning of keeping your head above water, overcoming any obstacles that halt your success. Hit-Boy says six years ago, he was down on his luck. “Having millions of dollars, having label and artist deals and it all goes away,” Hit says over Zoom, likely referring to his Hits Since ’87 (HS87) imprint with Interscope. “You got to look yourself in the mirror and be like, ‘What am I without all of this shit?’ I was already great, you know what I mean? So I just took that route instead of folding.”

“Composure, Pt. 2” is Hit-Boy’s way of sharing lessons learned, telling fans he rode his wave instead of drowning in the sea of his pitfalls. It’s another reason to not just check Hit-Boy for his beats, but for his rhymes too. He’s been in the conversation these past few weeks for his raps after responding appropriately to Hitmaka, who spoke about his catalog during a Hot 97 interview earlier this month for not having any radio hits. Hit-Boy dropped “Slipping Into Darkness” after teasing his “Control”-esque verse in the studio that has him rapping over an Alchemist beat and Al rapping over a Hit-Boy beat. Full of ammunition for contemporary producers including Hitmaka, he called out Southside, Metro Boomin’, and DJ Mustard in the same song, even claiming he was the best student Kanye West has ever had. It’s that kind of confidence that makes Surf Or Drown an album that raises the bar for him as a rapper, coming at the art form with a chip on his shoulder.

Without asking Hit-Boy directly about Hitmaka, he makes a point about separating himself from other producers. “If you really look at what the dude Yung Berg is saying, ‘Oh, he ain’t got no radio hits.’ Okay, that’s what defines you? That’s what makes you the shit?” Hit says, sounding fired up after suggesting several hundred thousand dollars go into getting radio play.

“Every song I ever made I wasn’t trying to make a radio song. I always made shit that I thought was ill. That’s why when I do catch a radio song, it doesn’t sound like the other shit on the radio. “Clique” didn’t sound like anything on the radio when it came out. “N****s In Paris,” whatever the case may be. I’m always trying to be ahead of the curve. That’s just my thing, taking my power back. I can’t say I’m defined [by the radio] because I’m No. 1 on RapCaviar or I’m defined by No. 1 on Billboard. All that sh*t can be gone. I’m going straight off the hip with this sh*t. I’m going off all talent. I don’t have any homeboys at these companies. ‘Oh, we automatically gonna put Hit-Boy in there.’ I don’t think hardly any of the sh*t I do with Nas is going on RapCaviar for whatever reason, let alone my own s*it. I gotta compartmentalize and understand that this game is the game and you gotta play it how it goes. Or just play this sh*t on your own rules and how you want to do it.”

Whatever rulebook Hit is playing with, it is clearly working. He has enamored hip-hop heads for his unrivaled run producing for Nas, Benny the Butcher, Pacman da Gunman, Dreezy, and Musiq Soulchild. In between, he hasn’t stopped releasing solo music, kicking off his return with “CORSA” featuring Dom Kennedy, followed by more singles like “The Tide.” Hearing Hit-Boy and Nas on “The Tide” together is like witnessing Styles P and Jadakiss go back and forth, making no mistake that Nas has rubbed off on him. “I get to learn so much. It’s just like a dictionary, a book full of knowledge of years and years of just hip-hop, street shit. He be on his fly shit. Whatever it is, I can sit there and really talk to him and just really learn,” he says.

Surf Or Drown was a year-and-a-half-long journey, with some of the beat ideas formulated during the pandemic but all coming to fruition after the fact. “It was a real development process because at first I wasn’t even going to call it Surf Or Drown,” Hit says. “I had a whole other name for it, but I was just making songs and I kept updating my playlist every time I would make a new song. And I just felt everything I was doing was getting better because I’m producing with so many artists, I’m able to just download a lot of their DNA. So, I’m applying that directly to what I do and it’s just working out great for me.”

As a whole, the album is a continuation of the Hit-Boy universe with appearances from Dom Kennedy (“State Champ,” “CORSA”), Curren$y (“Tony Fontana III”), North London rapper Avelino (“2 Certified”), James Fauntleroy and his son C3 (“MTR”), who previously appeared on Nas’ “Once A Man, Twice A Child,” and Hemet, California’s own Spank Nitti (“Just Ask”). Hit wrestles with topics like how desensitized we are in seeing graphic images of the deaths of PnB Rock and Takeoff on social media and how hard it still is to grasp Nip’s absence in hip-hop every day, rapping on “Just Ask,” “Truthfully, I ain’t trust sh*t since y’all took Nip/I’m thankful for all the messages that I took in.”

“It’s ridiculous,” Hit says. “I got three of my Grammys in the studio, one of them is with Nip. Then I got three pictures of Nip in my studio just because to me it is mind-blowing that I was able to make his last song that he put out. Willingly and wholeheartedly, I helped put that together. It’s crazy how our relationship has always been rooted in family.”

“My dad, Big Hit, who is rapping on my intro, he’s back in prison now but when he came home in 2013, he was doing music,” Hit continues. “Nip was supportive of that, he would tweet it out. He would pull up, rock with my dad, chop it up with him, whatever the case was. It’s always been respect. It’s deeper than just the music.”

Hit also included the instrumentals of the Surf Or Drown songs he recorded on for other rappers to drop freestyles. “It’s my gift to the culture,” he says. “If Kanye put all the instrumentals for Late Registration up when I was 18 years old listening to that, I could’ve been freestyling to them shits. I just thought it was ill. Also, one of my favorite moments in hip-hop was when Dr. Dre released The Chronic instrumentals. I might’ve been 13, 14. I used to load all those instrumentals and try to get bars off of them.”

Whether you’re a new Hit-Boy fan or have been on his wavy shit since day one, Hit originally wanted to be a rapper before switching to production. He started rapping when he was 13 years old, getting inspired by Bow Wow and other artists on BET’s 106 & Park and Rap City. “I’m seeing all these people that look like me that’s doing their thing, getting money, getting tours, getting fresh. I wanna be a part of this. I literally just picked up a pad, I ain’t know what I was going to write,” Hit says. “I didn’t even understand that I had a story, coming from a pops who was locked up. My parents had me when I was 15, 16. I already had a story, but just putting it into context so people could understand. That’s what I had to learn.”

Hit was in pursuit of being his best self, developing his aesthetic and figuring out his rhyming style until he found his voice. There are blog-era relics you can dig up that have early Hit-Boy raps like Cyhi The Prynce’s “Entourage” or “Old School Caddy” with Kid Cudi during his G.O.O.D. Music days. But everyone’s collective minds remember that one day in the summer of 2012 when he dropped “Jay-Z Interview,” causing Rap Twitter to go crazy over his rapping abilities. “Jay-Z Interview” not only showed people that he could rap, but it allowed him to start his journey as a producer rapper. “It was a real, started from the bottom type of thing. A lot of people were like, ‘Oh, why is he rapping? He just made ‘N****a in Paris.’ Why is he freestyling?’ I got a lot of that and I had to really fight through that,” he says. “And just seeing people dissing the sh*t out of me. Now, I am at the point where it doesn’t matter if you’re showing me love or hate, I’m just gonna look at it as all the same. That’s one person’s perspective and I’ma appreciate the love and just ignore the hate.”

Early reactions online have said Surf Or Drown is Hit-Boy’s best rapping thus far, showing his growth and improvement over the years. You can see the progression from his solo efforts HITstory, Tony Fontana, and The Chauncey Hollis Project. And not to mention the collab albums he’s done with Dom Kennedy as Half-a-Mil.

Now that Hit-Boy has gotten praise for reenergizing Nas and modernizing his sound to Grammy-winning status, you can expect to see more Hit-Boy raps on a consistent basis, working on two additional volumes of Surf Or Drown for 2023. On the music industry side of things, he is in a better place to relaunch and rebrand Surf Club, a collective of young artists, producers, and writers. According to Hit, Surf Club has a new joint venture with Empire Publishing that was announced in January, he plans to sign artists through his label deal with Def Jam, and he has the creative control and freedom to release his rap music independently. If you think Hit has accomplished everything already in his mid-30s, he’s far from the level of greatness and influence on the next generation where he wants it to be at. As long as he remains humble and applies himself to be a better artist, he’ll get there.

“I used to say I want to have No. 1 albums on Billboard as an artist,” Hit says. “You want to be the best, you want to be considered the greatest. But it takes a lot of things to happen to get you to that place. Just as long as I keep progressing and I am personally getting better, then I’m good. I’ma be where I am supposed to be wherever I am going.”

Discovering The Easter Eggs In SZA’s Dreamy ‘S.O.S Tour’

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sza sos tour 2023
Getty Image/Ralph Ordaz

Thursday night (March 23), I went to the first evening of SZA’s sold-out Los Angeles tour dates at the Kia Forum where she performed songs from her No. 1 hit album SOS and her critically acclaimed debut album Ctrl. It was truly an ethereal experience filled with oceanic splashes of glowing reds, yellows, oranges, soft purples, and pretty pinks, intertwined with bright sparkling lights.

While many were in attendance to simply watch Solana perform “Kill Bill” or her soon-to-be-hit-record “Snooze,” I wanted to see how all the Easter eggs she’d been placing into her music videos since 2014’s “Babylon” video aligned with her show. Puzzles are my thing, what can I say?

This particular puzzle started on December 8, 2022, the day SOS was released. It was a full moon, which is said to be the perfect time to set intentions of releasing things that no longer serve you. That had to mean something, right?

The day she shared her tour dates, I immediately noticed that it was set to take place right in the bosom of Pisces season on February 21 while the new moon was in Pisces (her moon sign) and wrapping on March 19. The original final date of the tour was March 22, during the Aries full moon. The full moon is said to be the best time to manifest fresh intentions. From there I got lost in a rabbit hole of discovery.

Aware of these connections, I was better able to understand her tour performance — which could be seen as something like a Broadway play where SZA is acting out the journey of saving herself with help from the stars. When the show began, SZA sat on the ledge of a board, mimicking her cover art, as she rapped the unreleased “PSA.” Then, she took a dive into the ocean.

That moment reminded me of the “Babylon” video when she fully immersed herself in a lake, leaving behind $7 (a number that is significant for many reasons) and a note that read, “Gone fishin’,” an idiom for checking out of reality. Fishing for what? Wisdom.

sza babylon video
YouTube

As she got into “Seek & Destroy,” “Notice Me,’ “Love Galore,” and “Broken Clocks,” I noticed her performing on a boat dock.

It’s reminiscent of her “Broken Clocks” video where the kids from Camp SZA are shown running to a lake to hang out. TDE’s own Jay Rock is there too and he holds a lifesaver.

sza broken clocks video
YouTube

When she spit the words to her title track “SOS,” it looked like she was on the side of a ship or a submarine. Then she eased into, “Blind,” a song about discovering that everything you need to be great is already inside of you. ”It’s so embarrassing / All of the things I need living inside of me / I can’t see it,” she crooned. “It’s so embarrassing / All of the love I seek living inside of me/ I can’t see, I’m blind.”

Although there’s no music video, I peeped that the lighthouse she was singing in front of was from her Saturday Night Live performance. Lighthouses guide ships safely to the harbor, especially when the weather is difficult and dangerous.

Next up was the Darkchild-produced banger “Shirt,” a song that was well worth the wait — as was the live performance for it. Now, at the end of the “Broken Clocks” video, she gets beat up at a strip club, causing her nose to leak and putting a bloodstain on her shirt, while her friend yells “Sis! Wake up!” Jay Rock’s music plays in the background. In the “Shirt” video, she tells LaKeith Stanfield, “Color is light, light is energy, everything is energy.” Also, while she dissociates n another part of the video, we witness SZA attempting to grab a fish.

sza broken clocks and shirt video
YouTube

Following “Shirt,” she got into “Smoking On My Ex Pack” while impressively doing a full-on costume change. Then, boarded a ship named SOS, and on the back, it read “Ctrl Fishing Co.” Appearing in a flowy black outfit, a beautiful performance of “All The Stars” took place along with Ctrl goodie “Garden (Say It Like Dat).” So far, the ride on her ship appeared to be pretty tranquil even as she rocked out to “F2F” alongside her glorious, stand-out guitarist.

Suddenly the ocean wave patterns became turbulent with rain pouring down as she performed the choreography to “Low” upon the deck of her ship. After wowing us all with the splits, SZA disappears into a sea of darkness.

Then, a bright light circulated the stadium, and to my left, a lighthouse resurrected in the middle of the audience. My eyes followed the light until it landed on SZA, who was adorned in a fairy-like yellow dress and floating in an orange lifeboat while singing “Supermodel.” Fans below were blessed with a rain of flowers sprinkled over their heads. With each song she performed, the closer to the lighthouse she got.

Once she returned to the stage for performances of “Kiss Me More” and “Love Language,” however, she was underwater with fish and a large anchor. Then, a large red shipping crate appeared to emerge from the ocean at the beginning of her “Kill Bill” performance and into “I Hate U,” where streams of water cascaded behind her. According to an interview with Rolling Stone, SZA originally envisioned herself sitting atop a shipping crate for her cover art.

SZA wrapped with “Good Days.” Back into her golden fairy-like dress, she was peacefully seated on the same board from the start of the show but instead, she glowed with the sun. “Half of us chasin’ fountains of youth and it’s in the present now,” she sang as a final reminder to the thousands of supporters who came out in the rain to see her.

SZA’s SOS Tour was indeed an immersive experience based on the Easter egg hunt alone (and I didn’t even detail all of the eggs!). At the end of the show, she teased the visual for “Low” which is expected to drop “soon.” The way SZA utilized her power to steer herself into a massively successful album that has touched people across the globe coupled with holding down the No. 1 spot for 10 weeks straight and a sold-out tour is absolutely inspiring. And if my intuition is correct, SOS could be making a return to No. 1.

Lil Keed Was A Fascinating, Versatile Chameleon Of Rap

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lil keed talk to em 2 review
Ralph Ordaz/YSL Records

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

On “Muso Kuso” from his new, posthumous album Keed Talk To ‘Em 2, Atlanta rapper Lil Keed sounds suspiciously like his mentor Young Thug. From the guttural, yowling flow he affects alongside guest rapper Nav, to the nasal, high-pitched whine he tacks onto the ends of his bars, he near-perfectly duplicates the YSL impresario’s most distinctive vocal traits. Normally, this kind of thing might not even be notable for a trap rapper operating under the banner of an older, more experienced contemporary.

But just two tracks earlier, Keed appeared to be set on channeling the more brusque, blunt-ended style of trap rap pioneers like Jeezy and Yung Joc. On “Go See,” the album’s blustering, boisterous intro, Keed sounds like he stepped out of a time machine freshly arrived from a decade earlier. And on “Bags To The Sky,” the bridge between the two tracks, he’s a SoundCloud rapper, floating along on a cotton candy beat as he delivers a signature chirpy chant of a hook, giving his take on the briefly dominant sound of the late 2010s.

These three tracks perfectly encapsulate and preface a project that displays all of Keed’s fascinating, chameleonic versatility, his way of refusing to settle into one recognizable style for an entire project. The second installment of his Keed Talk To ‘Em series – and unfortunately, the last – is as freewheeling and loose as its title suggests. Here is a rapper at play, trying out and discarding new styles as he sees fit, showing off, and getting down. It’s perhaps a glimpse behind the scenes of the album recording process that circumstances forced into being an album itself.

You often hear rappers talk about recording hundreds of songs in the course of creating a new project, then having to whittle that daunting number down to a playlist that could reasonably be finished in an hour or on the average commute. And while many of those sketches never see the light of day – barring the leaks that have become increasingly common in the digital era as hard drives go missing and hackers waylay file exchanges – this is what often takes place in those sessions: Play.

In the 50 years since rap was first recorded for mass consumption, dozens of unique approaches have been developed, copied, modified, and evolved from the relatively straightforward rhyme schemes of old. And rap has also slowly absorbed traits of outside genres as it incorporated new technologies and production styles that allowed for greater experimentation. The landscape is truly sprawling, and oftentimes, an artist wants to try out all those toys in the toy box before settling on the one or two that will come to define the sound of a song, album, or catalog.

The time to do this is mostly behind closed doors. Hip-hop is as much a branding exercise as it is a musical genre; the most successful artists have clearly defined, easily recognizable cadences, vocal tones, beat choices, and even ad-libs. You just know when you’re hearing a Jay-Z verse – even a verse that was merely penned by him and performed by someone else – or an Eminem screed or a sermon by Pastor Future. And as much as that’s how artists build their legacies and set the foundation for long careers, any veteran artist can also tell you, it gets boring.

This is why someone like Common does an album like Electric Circus or Kanye West drops 808s & Heartbreak. However, the reception for such experimentation can vary wildly – just look at the two examples mentioned above. So, for many artists, there’s more benefit in experimenting out of the spotlight, fine-tuning any planned musical shifts, and only gradually showing off that versatility in the interest of slowly evolving into a different kind of artist or sharing a different side of themselves.

Lil Keed had two great advantages going for him in that respect. The first was timing; he had the good fortune to come into his own as a rapper just when streaming and the internet have been eroding the barriers between subgenres of rap. Taking it even further, because so many young rappers are developing their craft in the spotlight as a result of SoundCloud, Instagram, and song leaks, fans are much more receptive to big musical shifts. The other great advantage Keed had was being signed to one of the more nurturing artistic environments in the music business today.

Young Thug, who once paid Lil Baby an impressive sum to give up trapping and stick to rapping, allowed Keed to try things. You could just about hear the support he was being given on projects like Long Live Mexico and his Trapped On Cleveland mixtapes. As much as Keed operated in the mode of modern trap, he never felt restricted. He didn’t need to sound like Thug or Lil Baby or Young Scooter or any of his influences. He just did, bouncing from track to track employing whichever flow felt right on the beat. It makes sense; this is what Young Thug always did, so of course, he’d allow his artists similar freedom (the freedom he was often criticized for enjoying at a similar phase of his own career).

Keed is able to take this even further, veering dangerously close to boom-bap traditionalism on “Lost My Trust” with Cordae, getting introspective on “Can’t Fall Victim” and “Self Employed,” and even taking a gospel-R&B tack on album closer “Thank You Lord.” Keed stood out because he was so unconstrained by the boundaries that usually box in other rappers. He could do anything, so he did. It’s a shame that the world was deprived of the opportunity to see what he would do given the tools and toys that will undoubtedly continue to be added to hip-hop’s ever-growing repertoire of styles, sounds, and new technology.

Keed Talk To ‘Em 2is out now via YSL and 300 Entertainment.

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

Eladio Carrión Tells Us About His Star-Studded Album ‘3MEN2 KBRN’ And Collaborating With Lil Wayne

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Eladio Carrion
Gabriel Perez Silva

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

Eladio Carrión is ready to make Latin trap global with his new album 3MEN2 KBRN. After solidifying himself as one Latin music’s leading rappers, he proves that his knockout flow can hold up alongside the icons of American hip-hop. Carrión’s latest LP includes features from Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, Migos’ Quavo, and Future.

Carrión has set himself apart from other Latin rappers thanks to his bicultural influences. He grew up living his life between the states and Puerto Rico. Throughout his career, Carrión has teamed up with Latin superstars like J Balvin, Rauw Alejandro, Arcángel, Bizarrap, and Karol G. He broke through in 2019 thanks to Latin Grammy-nominated hit “Kemba Walker” featuring Bad Bunny.

Like his Walker tribute, Carrión continues to salute sports superstars who inspire him like with the fierce “Mbappé” remix featuring Future. He also teams up once again with Bad Bunny in the swaggering “Coco Chanel.” 3MEN2 KBRN is Carrión unleashing his full force as a Latin trap star alongside his idols and close friends.

“As a kid, growing up, listening to these artists, and now collaborating with them, it’s a dream!” Carrión says about his album’s all-star ensemble.

In April, Carrión will be performing at both weekends of Coachella. That will lead up to his Sauce USA Tour, which kicks off in May. Over Zoom, Carrión caught up with Uproxx about his latest LP, the mind-blowing collaborations, and hitting the road in our latest Q&A.

What was the experience like to blend the Latin and English rap worlds on your album 3MEN2 KBRN?

I just keep trying to build that bridge between Latin and American culture because I’ve been influenced so much by American hip-hop, but you know I do Latin music. It’s just that: making that connection stronger.

How did the “Gladiador” remix with Lil Wayne come together?

Bro, I manifested the sh*t out of that. Ever since I made the track, I always said, “I’m going to drop it, but if Wayne wants to hop on it, I’m doing the ‘Gladiador’ remix any time he wants to jump on.” Thank God, he got on it for the album. It was perfect.

What did you think when Lil Wayne was down to team up with you?

That’s my favorite rapper! He’s the reason why I go hard on this so much with my punchlines. He’s the reason why I’m picky with my bars. “Gladiador” is one of my favorite intros that I’ve done in my life. Just having him on that song specifically and knowing that it was meant for him and that he liked it. That he heard it and said, “Oh sh*t!” It’s a very big thing for me. He was amazing!

What was the experience like to work with Future on the “Mbappé” remix?

We met in Miami. We linked up over there. We talked for awhile. I had to go back in the studio to do my stuff and that’s when he killed it in his studio and recorded it. And we did the video the next day. It was dope! We closed out [Bad Bunny’s restaurant] Gekkō. There were a lot of people there. It was super cool.

What did you think when 50 Cent decided to feature on the song “Si Salimos”?

I couldn’t even believe it! 50 doesn’t record with anyone. He’s on his producer vibe right now. For him to take time out of his day to really kill that track — because he killed it — it means the world to me.

After years of grinding in the music industry, how do you feel to have an album with your idols on it?

That’s where you have to keep on grinding. That’s where the grinding gets harder. I’m just ready for more work. I’m going to keep on upping the bar.

What was the experience like to reunite with Bad Bunny for the song “Coco Chanel”?

It was cool! I went to LA. We met up. We were locked in for a couple of days. It was just cool to keep up with him because he’s a very busy person. I’m very busy too. To have a couple of days to sit down to talk and just make music, it was super dope to put something out with him again.

By having Quavo and Rich The Kid with yourself and Ñengo Flow on “Peso A Peso,” you’re definitely bringing the worlds of Latin and English rap together.

I think that’s one of the songs that people are going to most like because beat-wise and just how Quavo killed it too. He spoke Spanish. Rich spoke Spanish too. Ñengo killed it! I think that’s going to be one of the easiest songs for both the Latin side and American side to digest because the beat sounds kind of Latin and trap. It’s going to be one of the biggest hits of the album.

How do you feel to be performing at Coachella this year?

I feel amazing! For them to consider me, to go there off of Latin hip-hop, it’s a big thing. People who usually go there are more like pop singers. Just to be like an underground artist, to go there, it’s amazing.

What can we expect from your performances at Coachella and your upcoming US tour?

A lot of me sweating [and] jumping around. Maybe jumping into the crowd. Having people jump into the crowd. Just mosh pits. Just trap sh*t. A crazy light show. I always give it my all. My fans don’t expect me to do less, so I got to bring my A-game every day.

Bad Bunny is one of the headliners at Coachella this year. Is there a chance that we could see you two on the stage together?

Hey, you never know in Coachella! You never know.

What do you want to accomplish next?

Just get better at everything I do. Keep on practicing my art. Keep on going to the studio. Keep on writing songs and focus on tours to give my fans a good show.

3MEN2 KBRN is out now via Rimas Entertainment. Listen to it here.

Ric Wilson Is Leading A Dance Revolution In Hip-Hop

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Ric Wilson Interview
Michael Salisbury

Hip-hop and electronic dance music have a lot in common – more than you might be aware of at first blush. Obviously, they share roots – both cultural and geographical – growing out of New York’s dense urban center to become internationally ubiquitous. They were both started by DJs in the inner city using innovative techniques to transform existing genres like disco, soul, and even gospel to offer an outlet for communities that were often ignored and oppressed.

They are both, at their cores, protest music, even when they don’t seem like it. They are a protest against that oppression. They are demands to be heard. They are revolutionary in that they invite their practitioners to defy the obstacles set in their path by system and circumstance. They feed the fire in the hearts of those looking for an escape, for liberation, even if it’s only for a moment or a night.

Nobody knows this better than Chicago rapper Ric Wilson. Like the shared history of the genres he blends together like coffee and cream, his name might not be familiar to you yet. But, if there’s any justice in the world, it will be. And it’ll happen soon; in just over two weeks, Wilson’s dropping a new EP, CLUSTERFUNK, with collaborators A-Trak and David “Dave 1” Macklovitch from Chromeo, two of dance music’s most prolific and respected producers today.

The nine-track project finds Wilson, who garnered critical acclaim in 2020 with his and Terrace Martin’s joint EP They Call Me Disco, branching out from the nu-disco elements that defined his early work and first put him on tastemakers’ radars, incorporating A-Trak and Dave 1s electro-funk sensibilities. But as their chunky bass licks and glittering keyboards move listeners’ butts, Ric aims to uplift spirits and raise awareness with his revolutionary-minded raps.

It’s a combination that sets him apart from his contemporaries in both hip-hop and dance; while similar artists like Channel Tres and Duckwrth also combine dance and rap, rarely do they sprinkle in references to collective economics and curses on unabashed capitalists like Elon Musk. The challenging political material might turn off listeners in another context, but Wilson hopes that the toe-tapping beats will be the sugar to help the medicine go down.

“That’s the content that I always was talking about my music,” he tells Uproxx while sipping an Orange Sunrise smoothie at Kreation juicery in Hollywood. He first began soaking up progressive politics at an early age, courtesy of Chicago Freedom School, a program that teaches teens in the Windy City about past social justice movements and teaches them to organize in their communities.

“My first performances, I was performing at protests,” Wilson recalls. “And I realized that I was starting to get on stages or panels and I was just talking about Black Death and it was just taking apart on me at some point. So I wanted to not keep talking about this oppression stuff. I want to talk about this real shit but then also feel like, ‘How can I do this in a way that I don’t feel so sad all the time and what’s the way that I would want to digest this and what’s something that I haven’t seen yet?’ What if we take Azealia Banks type beat and I talk about Black liberation, what that means to me? Or my own liberation or talk about things around me. So, that’s essentially where that idea came from. And sooner or later, that’s the thing that did make people notice.”

Among those people who noticed were Fool’s Gold founder A-Trak and Dave 1, who learned about Ric’s music through the rapper’s manager. The trio connected during the pandemic in 2020 and started working together throughout the quarantine, finishing the project in the past year. “It was nice to have someone like A-Trak guiding me through a project,” he says of the collaboration. “He was able to hear things and bring out certain things that I couldn’t even hear.”

The growth is evident in songs like the title track and the Zapp-influenced opening track, “Whiskey In My Coffee,” over which even the usually jubilant Ric sounds invigorated. Then there’s “Git Up Off My Neck,” featuring a surprising guest appearance from Dead Prez rapper Stic.man. It’s a voice and subject matter you might not have expected when you first hear the beats, which beg for dance floors to fill before Ric and Stic take advantage of the captive audience to spit some real Fred Hampton shit.

“I feel like in 2020, n****s as artists were important people, especially because niggas had to make a choice,” he explains of the potent move. “It was either literally fascism or talking about my version of what you think liberation is, and then the snowball effect into n****s looking into communism and socialism and all that. Because everyone’s like, ‘What’s the solution?’ You ask a n**** to ask questions and critique sh*t and ‘what’s the solution’ for so long, they’re going to try to look for it.”

It’s a much more proactive approach than a number of artists who got politically active in 2020 – and given the timing of its release, potentially even more effective. But he’s not going to stop at just one EP. He says he’s got a full-length release lined up for after CLUSTERFUNK drops, and he plans to play his first headlining shows in Los Angeles and New York soon as well. Like the dance musicians and rappers that inspired him, he continues to look for ways to spread the message of liberation. And he might have found just the right time for his unique blend of sounds, as the past year has seen a renewal of interest in the Black roots of EDM thanks to projects by Beyonce, Drake, and more.

“For sure Drake and Beyonce were listening to Kaytranada and Channel Tres,” he jokes. “But then what I also thought was really cool though, both of them tapped into a lot of people that have been doing this for a while. Drake tapped in with Black Coffee. I did a lot of sh*t with Defected, and I was working Huntington John and Luke Solomon and them, and Beyonce tapped into that scene. Got so many young Black writers that are in the dance world that now have a Grammy.”

And while those were revolutionary works in their own ways, what Ric Wilson is doing is shockingly original. Maybe enough so to help spark a major shift in awareness of dance-rap, to guide hip-hop as it incorporates sounds and sensibilities from its cousin genre, and to wake audiences up to the possibilities of liberation.

The Artists To Refresh Your Spring Listening

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New Spring Artists
Via the artist

As the seasons change and the weather warms up — allegedly, anyway — it’s time for a spring cleaning. While it’s important to take care of the cobwebs around your apartment and finally donate that musty bag of clothes in the back of your closet, it’s also an apt time to refresh your go-to playlists. No, we’re not telling you to stop streaming SOS, but it might be good for your mental state to mix it up a bit…

Without further ado, here are ten artists to help you shake off the winter blues, from a Korean rapper that mashes up punk rock with hyperpop to a queer Chicano singer that wants to smooch on all his homies. And best of all? None of these tracks would feel out of place on a playlist with “Kill Bill” and “Snooze.”

GALE

For fans of: Rosaliá, Avril Lavinge

Last November, GALE scored her first Latin Grammy win for a co-write on Christina Aguilera’s latest Spanish language album, Aguilera — but it’s her own tracks that will have you slamming the repeat button. It’s no surprise that the singer was raised on Shakira and Avril Lavinge; her latest tracks mirror the IDGAF-itude found on Laundry Service and Let Go.

Check out: “Problemas,” “D Pic,” “Nuestra Canción”

Adanna Duru

For fans of: SZA, Kali Uchis

Early in her career, Adanna Duru appeared on both The Voice and American Idol, but it’s clear the singer, now 26, has since taken time to figure out who she is as an artist. Despite proving to be more than capable of a big vocal moment, Duru has discovered a necessary ingredient that makes her soulful debut EP, Nappy Hour, sound like pure butter: restraint.

Check out: “ur a bitch,” “POP!”

Bentley Robles

For fans of: Jonas Brothers, Charlie Puth

It’s impossible to make it through Brooklyn-based Bentley Robles’ catalog without cracking a grin. Whether he’s begging his homies to “come taste my lips, it’s just platonic” on the horny “kiss my friends,” or answering Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro” from a queer, Chicano perspective with “salvatore,” Robles is a much-needed dose of serotonin for the coming spring season.

Check out: “kiss my friends,” “salvatore,” “kim kardashian”

Noelle

For fans of: Carly Rae Jepsen, Halsey

Raised on the Tyendinaga Mohawk territory in Ontario, Canada, Noelle was exposed to a menagerie of influences, from jazz greats like Sarah Vaughn and Nat King Cole to the native wind flute and powwow drum of her indigenous roots. After finding her footing through viral YouTube covers, the singer found her voice writing her own songs — the latest of which have a sparkling, synth-heavy sound.

Check out: “Cold Killer,” “Mars”

Whiterosemoxie

For fans of: Travis Scott, Omar Apollo

Not many artists would think to draw inspiration from a bizarre Young Thug tweet, but that’s exactly what Detroit’s whiterosemoxy did on bass-heavy “girls die,” spinning Jeffery’s rumination into a thesis on the bittersweet feeling of life’s resets. The poignant track is a sample of the artist’s forthcoming debut full-length album.

Check out: “girls die,” “whts rght,” “CALL!”

Vivi Rincon

For fans of: Olivia Rodrigo, Phoebe Bridgers

Vivi Rincon’s debut EP, crash landing, opens with the vulnerable ballad “if we lived on the moon,” a delicate track in which she confesses the struggles of being in a queer relationship. With stingers like, “we’d never think twice about who we’d offend, and we’d never say we’re just friends,” it’s clear that Rincon has the songwriting goods — a promise she makes good on through the project’s bitter (but relatable!) closing number, “the party.”

Check out: “if we lived on the moon,” “the party,” “overflow”

Lil Cherry

For fans of: Doechii, Doja Cat

South Korean rap sensation Lil Cherry’s unique sound can be found at the intersection of hyperpop and punk rock, and it was developed with guidance of her older brother and producer GOLDBUUDA. Last year, the sibling duo dropped their adrenaline-soaked collaborative album, Space Talk, which included the belligerent, Rico Nasty-assisted “Catwalk.” Most recently, the rapper flexed her agility by teaming up with MVW and TiaCorinne for a more subdued contribution to the hazy “Tru Tru.”

Check out: “Catwalk,” “Tru Tru,” “PYE LIFE”

Blake Rose

For fans of: Shawn Mendes, The 1975

If you haven’t been introduced to Perth export Blake Rose yet, get familiar. The 25-year-old made his U.S. television debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden last month and followed it with a solid 7-track EP, You’ll Get It When You’re Older – the bulk of which was self-produced.

Check out: “Use Me,” “Demon,” “Already Be Dead”

Ayleen Valentine

For fans of: Taylor Swift, mxmtoon

It’s actually shocking that singer-songwriter-producer triple threat Ayleen Valentine is only 21-years-old given the sheer intricacy of her work. The Berklee dropout’s latest project involves releasing sets of singles in pairs as a way to explore the idea of opposites.

Check out: “anesthetized,” “stars”

iyla

For fans of: Kehlani, Ariana Grande

The Los Angeles native’s latest EP, Appetite for Disaster, begs to not be put into a box. The project sees iyla cooing jazz-influenced harmonies on one track, spitting rhymes over a trap beat on another and yodeling — yes, yodeling — on another. On standout track “Sad Bitch Bad Bitch,” the singer shares a meme-worthy mantra: “I don’t get mad, I get pretty/ Can’t have me, I’m too busy.”

Check out: “Mona Lisa,” “Sad Bitch Bad Bitch,” “2LATE”

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

Masego Is A Journeyman Who Trusts The Music To Guide Him On His Savory Self-Titled Album

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Masego 'Masego' review
EQT Recordings/Capitol Records

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

Masego’s approach to music has always been as smooth as the sweet symphonies that leave the end of his trademark saxophone. His cool demeanor has produced records as out-of-the-box as “Old Age,” as funky as “Girls That Dance,” and as flavorful as “Silver Tongue Devil.” With a smirk and the crack of a smile, Masego can step to the mic and do whatever he wants – successfully at that.

His 2018 debut album Lady Lady was a formal introduction to Masego the person. The 25-year-old singer at the time was full of youth which produced an album that portrayed his witty, flirtatious, and at times, tender-hearted persona. His 2020 project Studying Abroad balanced the highs and lows of love with a tropical backdrop that nearly distracted you from his qualms in romance. Nearly three years after that project’s release, Masego returned with his self-titled sophomore album which is a wonderful blend of the best elements in his discography. With Masego, the “Tadow” singer dances through the unfulfilled aspects of his life while also noting that music will always be the least of his worries.

Masego is the project I’ve always wanted from Masego. Though its 14 tracks have yet to exist in the world for more than a week, the elements that make up its full composition are so strong that when combined, it requires the “magnum opus” title to be bestowed upon it. Give it time and you’ll see that to be true. Studying Abroad is a body of work that resulted from Masego pushing himself out of his comfort zone to learn and experience new blends, tones, and so much more with music. Masego is the result of those learnings when combined with the sturdy foundation that Masego built upon to become the dazzling singer and instrumentalist that we know him to be today. If Lady Lady and Studying Abroad had a missing puzzle piece between them, Masego would be that piece.

This is evident through records like “You Never Visit Me” which combines elements of jazz and funk with the freeing feeling of riding in a convertible on a sunny day with your hands in the air. Its chorus is available for a fun call-and-response moment for an audience because of the changes in Masego’s tone throughout each line. Then there’s “Say You Want Me” which is steered by tropical drums and the same inspiration that blanketed Studying Abroad. It’s flavorful and tantalizing as Masego weaves through elements of afrobeats and dancehall to reel a woman into his bed after she knocked him off his seat. These warm records make up a slim percentage of the whole album, and it’s for that reason that they’re so refreshing and noteworthy when their turn comes on Masego.

Though the music isn’t a concern on Masego, nor is it for Masego himself, there is a bit of grappling that the singer is left to do in other areas of life. The failed reciprocation of love is the overbearing issue for Masego on his sophomore album. “You Play With My Heart” sounds like it’s set at a diner where Masego sits and dwells to no end about a woman who was unserious at best about loving him. Steam from a presumably hot drink floats to his face as he wearily sings about his latest qualms in romance. “You play you with my heart / I lay in the dark,” he croons. “You play with my heart / You were dancin’ with a star.” Moments before, Masego put his wit on display on “Afraid Of Water” for a double entendre that paints a shallow woman with nothing to offer beyond the surface as someone who can’t swim and fears the blue waters. Even when he does find someone suitable for himself, it ends with their departure and Masego’s disappointment as we see on “Down In The Dumps.” Car notes could’ve been paid and trips to Monte Carlo could’ve been taken, yet their premature exit – which has Masego in his feelings – has caused them to miss out on it all.

Right there, another aspect of Masego comes alive. The expectations Masego had for fame are far from reality. “Remembering Sundays” is a weary reflection of the days before the fame when serenity and tranquility were easier to come by. He doesn’t miss it per se, but his current lifestyle has made him more appreciative of it. His quarrels with fame spill into the combative “Who Cares Anyway” for a swing at the so-called tastemakers and critics that have misunderstood and attempted to box in the ever-so-diverse and genre-spanning singer. If you couldn’t tell that Masego is a man of music and nothing more, this record is proof of that. “I mean, yeah, we getting money / Yeah, we getting notoriety,” he quips. “But nowadays y’all looking real, real dumb / I had to say something.” Moments of appreciation for his position aren’t hard to find on Masego. “Sax Fifth Avenue” is a playful pun on “Saks Fifth Avenue” and a salute to his trustee saxophone that has earned him the attention that performing on Saks Fith Avenue could bring. As the album concludes, “In Style” opens the gates for a triumphant and sax-laden ode to the spotlight he currently stands in.

Masego spotlights the musician that is Masego. At nearly 30 years old, the singer is a seasoned journeyman who trusts the music to guide him to his destination. Sure, he’s still working to grasp the elusive concepts of dating and fame, but at least there’s something that can aid him in recognizing and expressing the successes and failures within it. While many use a self-titled project for their official introduction to the music world, Masego waited nearly a decade into his career to do that. There’s probably a good reason for that, but I’d have to guess that it has something to do with this being the perfect encapsulation of everything that makes Masego, Masego. So with every blare of the saxophone, croon of the voice, and witty lyrics, know that Masego has mastered the music, and evidence of that lives within the hypnotizing elements of Masego.

Masego is out now via EQT Recordings/Capitol Records. Find more information here.

Rolling Loud Los Angeles Made Good Use Of Its New Venue In 2023

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rolling loud los angeles 2023 recap
Getty Image/Ralph Ordaz

Just when I was beginning to worry that I had seen everything Rolling Loud has to offer, the 2023 festival in Los Angeles showed me something new. I don’t know if Lil Yachty’s Sunday night set will be a one-off curio or the blueprint for the evolution of the punk-rap festival’s format, but it delivered a level of production that more of the fest’s mainstays should at least think about adopting – especially those who want to grow beyond the limitations of its audience for that real four-quadrant appeal.

Meanwhile, Rolling Loud continues to be one of the best “starter” festivals around. Even compared to bigger-name, more local events like Coachella and Lollapalooza, Rolling Loud has probably the best handle on both its format and its audience, leading to a level of enthusiasm unmatched by any other festival in the increasingly crowded market. And while sticking so closely to its dedicated format led this weekend to long stretches of samey-sounding material and lots of lineup recycling in general, even this can be useful for the kids who are just getting their feet wet in the festival scene.

That demographic, actually, constitutes a lot of the Rolling Loud audience. This is purely anecdotal, but it didn’t surprise me to note that those attendees in my vicinity who seemed to have the best grasp on the timing of the festival’s sets and the chillest overall demeanor were those wearing Rolling Loud merch from prior festivals – but never more than a year old. It’s always fun to see the teen boys bounding from stage to stage with all the energy of a year-old golden retriever puppy when a leisurely saunter will do the job most of the time.

Likewise, for a show in early March, with a cloudy forecast and lows promised in the 40s, there are always so many young women trying to pull off the skimpy outfits they’ve seen on social media, only to end up draped in layers of merch tent hoodies to fend off the chills and light drizzles that skittered down periodically throughout the weekend. Rookie mistakes, surely – but the kind that I’m sure they’ll look back on fondly in the future, laughing at their youthful naivete as they bundle up for their more experienced festivals.

This year’s event brought a new location: the Hollywood Park area outside of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. This was also the biggest improvement over the last California show in San Bernardino. First off, it’s just such a scenic venue, with a gorgeously-lit lake sprawling out from beneath the majestic dome. I’d have loved it if this view had been more incorporated into the orientation of the stage near it. Meanwhile, the wraparound setup reminded me of the first few Rolling Loud festivals in LA at Banc Of California Stadium but with a few changes.

First, the good: There was no dust or grass or rugged terrain to navigate, with the streets lining the stadium offering the food concessions, water stations, and rest areas all in an easily traversable thoroughfare with few choke points. Getting around the fest was a breeze. And including three entrances not only increased the sense of convenience but also the feeling that the organizers had prioritized safety, preventing bottlenecking in any one part of the festival grounds as new arrivals got themselves oriented.

Unfortunately, evoking the Banc Of California setup also leads to this year’s fest losing points. In 2018 and 2019, the stage positioning allowed VIP fans to easily get from the two main stages without leaving the VIP area, making it a true VIP experience. This year, the separation between the two main stages left the VIP sections cut off from each other. Meanwhile, all the VIP activations – a barbershop, tattoo parlor, and hair salon – were all situated at Levi’s Stage, leaving the amenities for the GoPuff Stage feeling a little scarce.

Meanwhile, the more underground Culture Kings stage was angled kind of awkwardly, competing with the sound from Levi’s and lacking a spotlight. While its positioning close to the North entrance seemed planned for more exposure for the more underground acts, it felt more closed off once I realized that it was more or less a straight shot between the Levi’s and GoPuff Stages. Once fans were inside, their only incentive to go anywhere near the third stage was if they really wanted to see Kamaiyah, RJ, or OT Genasis (although the latter certainly made the trip worth it with his sneakily hit-laden setlist and roguish, recklessly charming stage presence).

As far as the programming goes, I can’t offer many complaints – but I don’t know how many compliments I can give either. It didn’t feel like this year’s lineup was sufficiently different from any prior year; I’ve seen DaBaby, Future, Kodak Black, Lil Wayne, Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty, Rich The Kid, Ski Mask The Slump God, and Trippie Redd at previous Rolling Loud iterations, and while they were all mostly pretty good, it seems like most of the variety at the fest is in its midline performers. I did enjoy Tyga bringing out YG to perform “Go Loko” and announce their upcoming joint album. Compton.

Destroy Lonely was a new name to me but cut from the same cloth as goth-rock rappers like Playboi Carti, Trippie, and Uzi, he just didn’t seem to stand out – although he attracted a massive, truly exuberant crowd that speaks to the popularity of that sound at the moment. And, not to put too fine a point on it, but there are so many problematic names involved — including among the headliners — that it’d take another paragraph to point out the litany of abuse charges down the lineup.

At various points throughout the fest, it also felt a lot like watching performers doing karaoke to their own music. In some cases, like that of Coi Leray and Kodak, it seemed as though they were more intent on dancing while the song played than in actually rapping their songs (although that was still more entertaining than one local duo, whose stage presence was so lacking I won’t mention them here, so I won’t hurt any feelings). Still, I’ve been to a lot of “real hip-hop” shows, and to be honest, at least they gave something visual and appeared to be having fun. I’ve seen way too many rappers rapping at the floor while rooted to one spot to ever complain about Coi’s twerking or Saweetie’s choreo (Nicki Minaj’s pop-out during Wayne’s set was fun, but plagued by sound issues).

I was pleasantly surprised by Ice Spice. Say what you want about her monotone – which I think is really the primary complaint about her music, although her most vocal critics probably don’t have the vocabulary to pinpoint this – but her breath control is superb. She doesn’t write super complex bars, but she leaves so little space between them that I truly didn’t think she’d be able to rap them live. Not only did she do that, but she also nailed them, while actually utilizing the full stage and engaging with fans. Ice Spice is a star.

The only other knock on Rolling Loud – and this can actually apply to a lot of fests I’ve covered lately – is this weird commitment to cutting the one corner that absolutely no event should be cutting in the wake of Astroworld Festival 2021: Security. Not only was security generally scarce, but whenever it was in evidence, I didn’t have much faith in the guards to do much. On Friday night, scores of kids hopped the barricade into VIP, and while that certainly devalued the VIP experience, far more unnerving was how quickly that section filled up, creating another one of those potential crowd-crush situations. On Sunday, both during Uzi’s set and ahead of Future’s, I more than once overheard a PA announcement demanding fans take two steps back. To their credit, it seemed they were able to receive some degree of compliance.

I’d love to see more festivals work to get on top of these situations earlier, but as I wrote earlier, Rolling Loud seems to get its audience far more than some others. The organizers know that their audience is mostly excited kids overwhelmed by the prospect of their first concert, so they know exactly how to talk to them to get them to watch out for each other, pick each other up, and take stock of their surroundings – something kids have never historically been great at. But for those times when their inexperience gets the best of them, it’d be nicer to know that there are a few more responsible adults around to get things under control.

Still, it’s worth the live experience, even as the festival has begun to stream the main stages for 90 percent of the fest (Travis Scott’s comeback set was reportedly not streamed) (the stream did come in clutch when counterprogramming forced me to make a choice between two acts). The food, the views, the brand activations, the sense of community and camaraderie… all are essential parts of the experience (although for next year, I’ma need y’all to do some dribble drills before you jump on the basketball court, I’m embarrassed for you). And for anyone’s first experience, it’s very difficult to do better than Rolling Loud.

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

The Most Anticipated Hip-Hop Albums Of Spring 2023

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The Most Anticipated Hip-Hop Albums Of Spring 2023
Getty Image/Ralph Ordaz

Compared to the same time last year, it may not feel like hip-hop has been quite as productive. It’s been a great year for indie releases; Greedo came home with a new mixtape, underground faves Skyzoo and Oddisee both released excellent projects in January, and rising stars like Maxo and Nappy Nina crafted standout projects.

Likewise, plenty of buzzy faves released stuff; ZelooperZ, Ice Spice, Boldy James, Reuben Vincent, Big Scarr, Gloss Up, and Kash Doll all came back strong ahead of a flurry of end-of-month releases in February that seemed to signal a shift. Just check out Key Glock and Don Toliver‘s new projects. But looking forward, it looks like hip-hop’s penchant for surprise releases is gearing to strike, because although very few projects have been announced, such a wide-open field has to be inviting for anyone looking to make a name for themselves.

So, although things are looking pretty bare bones for the time being, here are the most anticipated hip-hop albums of spring 2023.

March 3

De La Soul — 3 Feet High And Rising, De La Soul Is Dead, Buhloone Mindstate, Stakes Is High, etc.

de la soul 3 feet high and rising
De La Soul

Okay, this one is a little bit of a cheat, I admit. None of these are new, so much as folks have been anticipating the coming of De La Soul’s long-lost catalog to streaming since… well… streaming started. Between a prolonged label dispute over publishing rights and a labyrinth of sample clearance issues, it seemed for some time that De La’s discography would be a curio consigned to the memories of Gen Xers and millennials, like the 100-point Wilt Chamberlain game. But here they all are, in high definition, 100 percent intact. The only downside is that Trugoy the Dove isn’t here to see it.

Masego — Masego

The Virginia-based polymath — he sings, raps, and plays the sax — is just about five years removed from his debut album Lady Lady. Since then, he has polished his self-devised TrapHouseJazz style and grown his fan base with a handful of strategically based viral favorite singles and a charming, charismatic social media presence that has rap fans very much looking forward to seeing what he does next.

Slowthai — Ugly

Fresh off the success of 2021’s breakout hit Tyron, the UK punk grime star is picking up right where he left off. Slow is known for the emotional push-pull of his music, which cycles through aggression and processing the trauma behind it. Ugly continues his tradition of fusing rap, rock, and electronic music with surprising vulnerability.

March 6

Talib Kweli & Madlib — Liberation 2

One of rap’s earliest experiments in the “free online release” mechanic gets a follow-up a decade and a half later as the Brooklyn MC reunites with one of rap’s most coveted producers. They’ve proven to be a match made in heaven in the past, and longtime fans are excited to hear the evolution of their chemistry.

March 10

6lack — Since I Have A Lover

It always feels iffy to include 6lack in hip-hop lists considering he’s as much of an R&B traditionalist as he is a bars-first rhyme spitter, and with every project, he can easily split the difference or go all-in on just one side of things. I feel prettty confident in saying this will be one of the better projects to come out this year, though.

March 11

Yeat — Afterlyfe

I’ll be honest and say I don’t quite have the best handle on what exactly makes Yeat so damn popular. There’s a unique blend of Gen-Z nihilism and deep-web-bred meme humor I suspect I’m missing (have I finally found myself on the other side of the Lil B equation?), but anyone with eyes can see that he’s having quite the effect on online discourse. Fans are looking forward to his next album, so I’m looking forward to his next album — even if only in hopes of finally “getting it.”

April

Lil Uzi Vert — The Pink Tape

There’s no hard date attached to this one as far as I can tell — and it would be largely useless, considering the release drama around this album so far, as well as Uzi’s last one, Eternal Atake — but Genius has a tentative April release date. Given Uzi has already blown through the original October date and another February one. All that has only served to increase the anticipation surrounding this release — especially since Uzi promised the delays were to ensure the tape wouldn’t “suck.”

Destroy Lonely — If Looks Could Kill

Similarly to Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape, this one is just posited by Genius for an April date, and simliarly to Yeat, there’s a buzzy, grown-up-confusing element to Destroy Lonely’s music that makes him heavily anticipated, but only by those “in the know.” A clear descendant of the SoundCloud Rap era he’s also a rap nepo baby (his dad I-20 was one of Ludacris’ Disturbing Tha Peace artists in the 2000s), but his vibe is very inspired by Trippie Redd and Playboi Carti — whose label he’s signed to.

May

Your guess is as good as mine. None of the usual forums or resources have any information about what might be coming out, but no one on our Most Anticipated Albums Of 2023 list has dropped yet, and just before summer would be an opportune time for anyone looking to dominate the latter half of the year.

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