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Future — I Never Liked You
Future might be reclining in a sleeping mask on the cover of his new album, I Never Liked You, but the Georgia rapper is as energetic as ever on the star-studded new release.
Pluto’s What a Time to Be Alive partner-in-rhyme Drake appears on this album twice [“I’m On One” and the Tams-assisted “Wait For U”]. Elsewhere, Young Thug, Gunna, EST Gee, and Kodak Black pop up for guest appearances and Kanye West shows up for a verse about his high-profile current events to round things out.
Hndrxx’s longtime collaborators join him behind the boards here as TM88, Wheezy, and Southside pull up with some beats. Others like Moon, MoXart Beatz, and DY lend a hand and ATL Jacob handles a bulk of the production.
“Putting this project together is just people understanding that I love hard,” he told GQ in a recent cover story profile. “Probably love the hardest. I wanted to showcase my skills as far as melodies and topics and being vulnerable…I’m putting myself out there.”
He went on: “Sharing my lifestyle with the world. Sharing my pain with the world. Sharing my ups, sharing my downs with the entire universe. I believe in the energy of the universe and manifestation. That’s why I’m giving myself, because I’m willing to correct myself. I don’t want to just…be wrong. I’m willing to give you all of me, so you can tell me how to build on me, and make me a better me.”
Stream I Never Liked You below.
Kehlani — blue water road
Lani Tsunami heads out into the ocean for her latest wave. Two years after It Was Good Until It Wasn’t, Kehlani sets sail with a new LP in the form of blue water road.
The project is full of familiar faces, including collaborations with Justin Bieber, BLXST, Jessie Reyez, Syd, and Thundercat, among others. Pop Wansel, Some Randoms, Wes Singerman, and Roget Chahayed are among the album’s producers.
Taking to Twitter, Kehlani spoke about the LP’s significance. “This album means the world to me,” she wrote. “It feels like a breath, a smile in the sun, feels like saltwater. I hope you have fun with it. Take it in. Summer’s around the corner. Blast that shit. I love you!”
Blast away below.
Action Bronson — Cocodrillo Turbo
It’s an Action-packed release day in music as Action Bronson unveils his newest project, Cocodrillo Turbo. The album’s title flexes Bronson’s bilingual game as cocodrillo is crocodile in Spanish.
The celebrated rapper-turned-chef cooks up with the likes of Conway The Machine, Roc Marciano, and longtime partner-in-rhyme Mayhem Lauren. Producers include Griselda mainstay Darigner, frequent collaborator The Alchemist, and Bronson himself, among others like the aforementioned Roc Marci.
Bronson swims all over this album, which he says was inspired by water. “I first came up with this album while in the water,” he said in a statement to press, according to NME. “I’ve spent many lifetimes in the water. I’m just a water man. I was born in the water, I’m a water sign.”
That water inspiration carries onto the music on songs like “Jaws.” “It’s the fuckin’ crocodile,” he raps on the track. “Goat blood drippin’ from my chin, it’s an easy kill / My jaw’s made of steel / My attitude’s like Richie Aprile / Let’s keep it real / If you signed me to a 50 mill deal, it’d be a steal.”
Wale — More About Nothing
More mixtapes are hitting the DSPs as Wale meets Seinfeld once again with the streaming release of More About Nothing, the DMV spitter’s lauded 2010 mixtape.
Fans may recall, of course, that this is just one of the projects on Wale’s About Nothing series, which also includes The Mixtape About Nothing and The Album About Nothing. All of these offerings were obviously inspired by “the show about nothing.”
A younger Kevin Durant makes a cameo on this project. Wiz Khalifa, Fat Trel, Tiara Thomas, and Avery Storm are among the effort’s guests. Snippets from “Seinfeld” appear throughout, as well, carrying the theme from one song to the other.
“This jawn was like my debut for real, the artist I wanted to be, the things I wanted to do without being told what to do,” Wale said in a video teaser he released for the DSP drop. “It means a lot to be putting this out 10 years later. Everything was just crazy 10 years ago. Everything in between been a journey, it’s been a blessing.”
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Justin Bieber & Don Toliver — “Honest”
Don Toliver continues his ascent with the release of a new collaboration, “Honest,” with Justin Bieber. The track was produced by Azul Winter, BEAM, and Sonni.
“Off top, you the sun in my morning / I tried to get away but it’s boring,” Bieber sings. “You’re my safe haven.” Toliver adds: “Fuck that McLaren, I’m ridin’ a Jeep / I got in the club with all of my thugs, I’m packin’ that Pistol Pete.”
To celebrate “Honest’s” release, the guys dropped off a new music video directed by Lyrical Lemonade’s Cole Bennett. The snow-filled visual takes the duo through nature for a special effects-filled clip full of ice, gunshots, and fire.
Listen to “Honest” and watch the visual below.
