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Dreamville — Revenge of the Dreamers III
It’s the return of the Revenge. Four years after Revenge of the Dreamers II and five years after the inaugural installment, Dreamville’s roster joins forces once again for the star-studded third edition.
This one comes with much fanfare. Earlier this year, J. Cole and the rest of Dreamville announced the Revenge III sessions on social media. Several artists, media personalities, athletes, actors, and others were invited to watch and/or participate in the recording of this compilation, which highlights Dreamville acts like Ari Lennox, Lute, Bas, Cozz, Earthgang, and J.I.D.
Anticipation grew with the release of R3’s singles like, “Costa Rica,” “LamboTruck,” “Down Bad,” and “Got Me.” But the album also includes appearances by Vince Staples, Saba, Ski Mask The Slump God, DaBaby, Maxo Kream, Yung Baby Tate, Baby Rose, Buddy, Smino, and more.
Cole explained the album’s purpose on its accompanying documentary: “My whole career, I’ve been in a room with me and, at most, a select few that I fuck with, but I’m reaching a point in my career, over the past year, where I’m like, I don’t wanna look back 20 years from now, and be like, ‘I never worked with nobody. I never had no fun.’ I had this idea: Let’s go somewhere, lock in, and invite a bunch of outside producers and artists to come fuck with us and make this album.”
Upon the LP’s release, Cole took to Twitter to reflect on the process once again. “Know that this album represents community and the unheard unsung artist that fight and bleed daily to be felt. There will be someone you never heard of on this album. Look them up and support them if they resonate with you. A follow goes a long way,” he tweeted. “Same goes for the producers that go unheard and make beats all day every day hoping to cut through. To the producers and artists that came through but didn’t make the album, you are there in spirit. Thank you for your presence, the energy of those sessions was the most magical.”
Get some Revenge below.
Jaden Smith — ERYS
Jaden Smith introduced fans to SYRE with his 2017 album. Two years later, he returns with the reverse in the official follow-up, ERYS.
There are some nods to the original here. Where SYRE launched with four songs titled “B,” “L,” “U,” and “E,” this one begins with four cuts named “P,” “I,” “N,” and “K.” A$AP Rocky, who appeared on SYRE’s “Breakfast,” also comes back around for ERYS’ “Chateau” and the deluxe version’s “Ghost – Remix.”
But ERYS also stands on its own. Besides Rocky, Jaden nabs Kid Cudi, Tyler, the Creator, Trinidad James, and Lido to lend their vocals to the project. Of course, Jaden’s sister Willow Smith also appears on the album while the likes of Tay Keith, Lido, Yuki, OmArr, and others offer assistance on the production tip.
Jaden recently summed up the similarities and differences between SYRE and ERYS. “They’re kind of like two personalities,” he told Beats 1. “It’s kind of like the angel and devil on my shoulder and SYRE is the angel….SYRE is the nice one, kind of the more sensitive one, and ERYS doesn’t care at all…I’ve just been so emotional for so long and talked about all of my feelings for so long…For me, I have to show the other side.”
Meet ERYS below.
Westside Gunn — Flygod is an Awesome God
Griselda keeps the music coming. In the wake of Benny the Butcher, who released The Plugs I Met last week, Westside Gunn unleashes his newest project, Flygod is an Awesome God.
Usual suspects accompany Gunn on this set, including Alchemist, Daringer, Conway the Machine, and the aforementioned Benny the Butcher. But Westside also draws other contributors for this endeavor, including Madlib, Raekwon, Evidence, DJ Muggs, Mayhem Lauren, and more.
Gunn shared his gratitude shortly after releasing this LP. “Thank u to EVERY fan and supporter I ever had thank u for letting me give u my new ART piece, and half this shit gonna go over ppl head but this painting is special,” he wrote on Instagram. “If u don’t get it it wasn’t for u and I still love u, now share this MF and get LIt, everybody be safe.”
Stream Flygod Is An Awesome God below.
Post Malone feat. Young Thug — “Goodbyes”
Young Thug joins Post Malone on the latter’s latest single, “Goodbyes.” Shortly after releasing his own “The London” single with J. Cole and Travis Scott, Thugger joins forces with Posty on a catchy new track about saying farewell.
“I want you out of my head,” Malone sings on the track. “I want you out of my bedroom tonight / There’s no way I could save you / ‘Cause I need to be saved too / I’m not good at goodbyes.”
Over Louis Bell and Brian Lee’s production, Thug offers his own verse. “I want you out of my life,” he raps on the track. “I want you back here tonight / I’m trying to cut you, no knife.”
Malone teased material with Thug back in 2017. “We got some killer shit tucked away,” he told XXL at the time. “It’s just tough, you know, [with] both of our schedules, actually getting into the studio and finishing shit up.”
Say hello to “Goodbyes” below.
Machine Gun Kelly — Hotel Diablo
Welcome to a hellish hotel. One year after releasing Binge, Machine Gun Kelly unloads his latest body of work in Hotel Diablo, which translates to Hotel Devil or Devil Hotel. The album was led by MGK’s Travis Barker and YUNGBLUD-assisted single, “I Think I’m Okay.”
Elsewhere on the project, Kelly calls on some other famous names for guest slots. The record features appearances by Lil Skies, Trippie Redd, Madison Love, and Naomi Wild, among others. TBHits, Ronny J, SlimXX, and Alex Lustig are among the album’s producers.
MGK, who is coming off a major feud with Eminem, said this album would be deeply personal. “I love it, man. I’m really proud of it,” he told Alt 98.7. “I feel like it’s an evolution album for me, a mature album…[The cover is] a kid picture of me and I realized that ended up being the picture that became the cover because it felt like I was addressing some things from, as a kid, that I wanted to say the whole time.”
