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EARTHGANG — Mirrorland
EARTHGANG lands on a new career milestone. After joining J. Cole’s imprint, the Spillage Village team unleashes its 14-song Dreamville debut, Mirrorland.
The rising duo marks this special occasion with some familiar faces, including Young Thug, T-Pain, Kehlani, Arin Ray, and BJ The Chicago Kid. Meanwhile, Bink, J. Cole, DJ Dahi, Childish Major, Elite, and EARTHGANG’s own Olu offer production.
Olu recently explained what it feels like to finally release this project after such a long wait during an interview with Pitchfork. “I feel like an elephant mama,” he said. “An elephant gestation period is around 18 months—I feel like I’ve been carrying this baby for a long time. So far, a lot of our shit’s just been through the words and music, but with this album, we’re definitely going to give everything a visual atmosphere.”
EARTHGANG played an important role on this year’s Revenge of the Dreamers III LP. The Dreamville compilation featured the group on cuts like “Down Bad,” “Swivel,” “Wells Fargo,” and “1993.” Now, they branch out on their own with their Dreamville debut. Reflect on Mirrorland below.
Post Malone — Hollywood’s Bleeding
Post Malone’s back. On the heels of his massive success with Stoney and Beerbongs & Bentleys, the “Rockstar” crooner unleashes his third official album. This one, titled Hollywood’s Bleeding, was inspired, at least in part, by the City of Angels.
As such, the album turns into a red carpet of sorts. Malone taps some of the biggest names in hip-hop for this album, including Travis Scott, Future, Meek Mill, DaBaby, Lil Baby, Swae Lee, and Young Thug. Singers SZA and Halsey also join Post on this 17-song effort, as does rock icon Ozzy Osbourne.
Hollywood follows several hit singles, including “Wow,” “Sunflower,” and “Goodbyes.” Malone recently beamed about the offering during a sit-down on “The Tonight Show.” “On this next album, we’re doing a lot of cool, very fresh stuff,” he explained. ““It’s exciting. It’s a long process that goes into it, but finally, towards the end, we kind of rallied and made it work, which is exciting for me.”
Fat Joe, Cardi B, Anuel AA — “Yes”
Cardi B continues an impressive run alongside Spanish-speaking superstars from around the world. In the wake of collaborations with Ozuna, Bad Bunny, J Balvin, and Chris Jeday, the “I Like It” hitmaker joins Anuel AA and Fat Joe on the Cool & Dre-produced “Yes.”
“Whole life on parole, can’t talk to felons,” Joe raps. Cardi adds: “I’ve been in my bag, hopping out of jets / Been runnin’ shit, and still ain’t out of breath / I could lay a verse and lay these hoes to rest / Catch your ass in traffic, hope you say it with your chest.” AA drops bars in Spanish.
This isn’t the first time Bardi has collaborated with Anuel. The two previously teamed up on “Ahora Dice (Remix),” which also featured Balvin, Offset, Arcangel, and Jeday. Meanwhile, Don Cartagena teamed up with Anuel on “Liberace (Remix),” which also starred Arcangel, Nengo Flow, and De La Ghetto. Say “Yes” to Cardi, Joe, and Anuel below.
Mahalia — Love and Compromise
Mahalia delivers Love and Compromise, her highly-anticipated follow-up to 2016’s Diary of Me. As the title suggests, the soulful songstress offers up 13 new cuts inspired by relationships, trust, accommodations, and more.
Burna Boy, Terrace Martin, Lucky Daye, Ella Mai, and Hamzaa all add features to this project. Maths Time Joy, Swindle, Felix Joseph, Jonah Christian, DJ Dahi, Pop Wansel, and more provide production. Eartha Kitt’s voice also makes an appearance here.
Parts of the album are personal, according to the singer. “I’ve never met someone who had the same situation as me. So I think that’s why I want to write about it, and I want to talk about it, and experience as much of it as I can. And that’s what the album kind of is,” she told Billboard.” It is about love, and it’s about all of the compromises that I’ve had to make around love, whether that be work, family or friends. But honestly, the way I differentiate is, I just have loads of stories and friends who tell me their stories, and it inspires me.”
Stream Love and Compromise below.
Ras Kass — Soul on Ice 2
Almost 25 years after releasing his heralded Soul On Ice LP to critical acclaim and underground reverence, Ras Kass unloads the sequel. The West Coast veteran even references the original on the opening track, “Silver Anniversary”: “25 years in the making / ‘Nature of the Threat’ still more relevant than ever.”
To celebrate his newest release, Ras called on some famous faces. The album’s guest roster includes Snoop Dogg, CeeLo Green, Immortal Technique, Everlast, Styles P, Lil Fame, and more. Pete Rock, Diamond D, DJ Green Lantern, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League and more add beats to the 17-song collection.
The album also allowed Ras to “take some inventory,” as he told Talib Kweli on his “People’s Party” podcast. “I’ve been doing this for more than half my entire life. We’re blessed to be able to look up and have that kind of journey. Whether it had all the bubbles and 18 Bentleys and all that, that’s not what’s valid to me. [What’s valid is] the fact that I got to pursue my dream, have a life, and have a career doing something I love.”
Stream Soul on Ice 2 below.
XXXTentacion — ? (Deluxe)
One year after the late XXXTentacion released his ? album, the deceased rapper’s team unveils the LP’s deluxe edition. Featuring a young X on the cover, this iteration of ? comes as a triple LP featuring songs off the album, instrumentals, A Ghetto Christmas Carol EP, and voice memos.
Those voice memos offer a window into the rapper’s perspective during ?’s creation. For instance, X excitedly praised his work on “the remedy for a broken heart (why am I so in love). “This brings the vibe of 17 straight into this new album,” he says in one of the clips. “I feel like it’s fire. It might just be a hit.”
XXX broke onto the scene with a fury, dissing Drake for allegedly borrowing his flow. He then catapulted to greater success with the release of 17 and ?. Criticism also rose, as the controversial rapper was charged with “aggravated battery of a pregnant victim, domestic battery by strangulation, false imprisonment, and witness tampering,” according to Pitchfork. Last year, he was shot and killed at 20 years of age.
