The last few weeks have been filled with a plethora of new releases in the world of music. From new singles from One Direction to full mixtape drops from Drake and Future, here’s a list of all of the must-listens and new-album hype.
Hip-Hop/Rap
Wiz Khalifa hasn’t been very active since his 2014 album release of “Blacc Hollywood” except for a few drops here and there, such as his tribute to the Fast & Furious actor Walker Evens after his tragic death. Recently, he’s been gracing the world with some new loose tracks to maybe prepare us for…something? His most recent single, “King of Everything,” is a song all about ambition and running the game, of course. Teaming up with producers Cozmo and ID Lab, the beat is modern and fresh combined with typical Wiz lyrics, making it a song to add to the collection of greats. This is definitely a must-listen.
Rapper G-Eazy just recently announced the release of his second album, When It’s Dark Out, (expected to hit the stores December 4), accompanied by the release of the first single off of the album, “Me, Myself, and I,” which features Bebe Rexha’s chilling vocals. The song brings with it a hypnotizing rhythm alongside G-Eazy’s heart-melting lyrics. After listening to this, I am very excited to see what the rest of the album will bring to the table.
Speaking of first single drops off of new albums, Kid Cudi surprised everyone at the end of the summer by dropping “Confused” which is his first single from his new album, Speedin’ Bullet to Heaven. Having not released a new album since 2014, this is awesome news for Cudi fans everywhere! But this album is going to be very different from the rest with the only sounds coming from a guitar, a bass, and Kid Cudi himself, giving the album a much more rock-n-roll inspired vibe.
Mac Miller recently released his new album, GO:OD AM, which I classify as his “victory lap.” With his Blue Slide Park album, he sounded like a typical white-boy frat rapper who made immature jokes about drinking and drugs. Watching Movies With the Sound Off was his first step in the transition from “that white boy from Pittsburgh” to a rapper that people can actually take seriously. His heavy psychedelic beats, however, scared people off to the point where his genius lyrics were ignored. In GO:OD AM, he has learned to control his lyrics and beats to create a very refined album. His lyrics are beautifully honest as he includes bits about his life when he was at his lowest or about his awareness of the hip-hop world’s perception of him as a white rapper. With awesome collaborations with other artists such as Chief Keef and Miguel, I think it is safe to say this might be his best album yet.
Alternative/Indie Pop
Just when you thought she couldn’t get darker than her 2014 album, Ultraviolence, psychedelic rock artist Lana Del Rey released her fourth studio album and third major-label record, Honeymoon. The album is full of love songs, but love songs to Lana sound a lot like a sad addiction. All of the tracks have a melancholy sound which seem to fade in and out one after another, but in a beautiful way. Many of her tracks open with a single guitar with the occasional accompaniment of drums for up to a whole minute before Lana even enters. And when she finally makes her entrance, it might take another minute or two to get to the chorus. Lana’s style has been completely consistent from her first album to now and I think her artistic integrity is undeniably superb. She knows exactly what she is doing and has done it again with Honeymoon.