Hip-Hop
New Music Friday: 7 Songs You Need to Hear
Each Friday, Consequence of Sound rounds up the most exciting new music to hit our inbox. Today, May 8th, brings fresh releases from Angela Muñoz, Reo Cragun, Nana Adjoa, BandoKay, Peter Bibby, Berwyn, and Ariel View. Take a listen below, and keep track of all our favorite New Sounds via our exclusive Spotify Playlist. Angela Muñoz -“So Young” [embedded content] 18-year-old Los Angeles singer Angela Muñoz got her start collaborating with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad on their 2018 project The Midnight Hour. Now, she’s ready to step into the spotlight on her own with the upcoming release of Introspection, due out on June 26th through Linear Labs. The hypnotic “So Young” serves as the album’s latest single. Reo Cragun – “Cuss You Out” [embedded content] Following opening stints...
Tekashi 6ix9ine Releases First New Single Since Prison “GOOBA”: Stream
Tekashi 6ix9ine has returned with his first new single since his release from prison. Check out “GOOBA” via its colorful, NSFW video below. According to TMZ, the video was filmed in the rapper’s backyard, as he is currently under house arrest. It’s been over a year since the troubled rapper pled guilty to racketeering, firearm possession, and drug trafficking charges. He also admitted to being involved in an attempted hit on a rival gang member, as well as the shooting of Chief Keef. But after cooperating with prosecutors — some have called it snitching — the artist born Daniel Hernandez rejected witness protection and then behaved like such a model prisoner that his release date was moved up. He subsequently got out of prison even earlier than expected, when the coronavirus cri...
Will.i.am Promises the New Black Eyed Peas Album is ‘On Some Next Level-ness’: Exclusive
The Black Eyed Peas took over Billboard‘s Instagram on Friday (May 8) to dish about life in quarantine and their long-awaited new album. “I’m really excited about this Black Eyed Peas album,” Will.i.am teases exclusively in Billboard‘s latest IGTV video. “RITMO’s a smash. ‘Mamacita’? Smash. Last time I was excited about a project like this was [2009’s] The E.N.D., when we did ‘Boom Boom Pow’ and ‘I Got a Feeling,’ ‘Meet Me Halfway,’ ‘Imma Be,’ ‘Rock That Body’ — I feel the same way. Lordy, lordy, lordy! It’s on some next level-ness.” Meanwhile, newest member J. Rey Soul, who’s replaced longtime member Fergie as the lone female singer of the gr...
Ka Releases New Album Descendants of Cain: Stream
Brownsville, New York rapper Ka has released a new album called Descendants of Cain. It was initially only available for digital purchase via his website, but has now been released on digital streaming services. Listen below. Descendants of Cain follows his 2018 record Orpheus vs. The Sirens and it’s his seventh studio album overall. Technically, though, this is the rapper’s first full-length under the name Ka since he released Honor Killed the Samurai in 2016, notes Pitchfork. It will likely take multiple spins to catch on to everything Ka references on Descendants of Cain — an intentional move on his end. “Since I don’t depend on my music to eat, it’s given me the freedom to have fun and not expect anything from it,” he explains on his website. “I’m always surprised when p...
Kehlani’s Star-Studded New Album ‘It Was Good Until It Wasn’t’ Is Here: Stream It Now
Today is Kehlani Day. The two–time Grammy nominee returns with her sophomore album It Was Good Until It Wasn’t, featuring assists from Tory Lanez, Jhené Aiko, Masego, Lucky Daye and James Blake. Spanning 15 tracks, It Was Good Until It Wasn’t is the followup to 2017’s SweetSexySavage, which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. The rising R&B artist went on to claim the “Rule Breaker” award at Billboard’s Women in Music 2017. She’s clearly been missed. Kehlani was the top trending topic on Twitter in the hours after the album dropped on digital music platforms. Stream the new album in full below.
Lil Durk Returns With ‘Just Cause Y’all Waited 2′ Mixtape: Stream It Now
Lil Durk just dropped a big release, Just Cause Y’all Waited 2. The Chicago-bred, Atlanta-based rapper’s new mixtape dropped at midnight and features assists from Georgia locals Gunna and Lil Baby. The 27-year-old hip-hop artist chatted with Forbes ahead of its release, and spoke of how the lockdown is the right time to release music. “My next project was going to be with Metro Boomin. We can’t really move forward because everybody’s in the house or social distancing,” he explained. “I’ve already got the music. The title is based off everybody waiting on Metro—Just Cause Y’all Waited 2. I think it’s just the best time, because people are all ears. You see people on the Gram, you see people on Tik Tok. It’s the best time for streaming at this ...
UK Rapper Ty Dies At Age of 47 from COVID-19
Nigerian-British rapper Ty has died at the age of 47 due to complications from COVID-19. According to The Guardian, Ty (born Ben Chijioke) was hospitalized in early April. He was subsequently put in a medically induced coma, and though he initially showed signs of improvement, his condition ultimately deteriorated. He passed away Thursday, May 7th. Ty’s 2003 sophomore album, Upwards, was nominated for the Mercury Prize, the annual award given to the UK’s best record. Other nominees that year included Amy Winehouse’s Frank, Belle & Sebastian’s Dear Catastrophe Waitress, Basement Jaxx’s Kish Kash, and Franz Ferdiand’s self-titled debut, which ultimately claimed the prize. Ty’s follow-up album, 2006’s Closer, featured collaborations with De La Soul, Zion I, and Speech of Arrested Dev...
DMX Wants to Go Head-to-Head With Jay-Z in a ‘Verzuz’ Battle
Swizz Beatz and Timbaland’s Verzuz series might serve as the battleground for a potential heavyweight bout between Jay-Z and DMX. During an interview with Drink Champs on Wednesday (May 7), the question of who DMX would be interested in competing against in Verzuz came up. With no hesitation, The Darkman replied “Jay.” Bemused by his answer, N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN promptly sought clarity, and when asked again, X doubled down and said, “Yeah! Who you think, n—a?” In the late ’90s, Jay-Z and DMX were Def Jam’s most successful stars. The friendly rivalry includes several rap battles between the legendary MCs, including their Backstage Freestyle match in 2000. In 1999, they also created the infamous supergroup Murder Inc, which starred both rappers ...
Travis Scott & Kid Cudi’s ‘The Scotts’ Blasts in at No. 1 on Streaming Songs Chart
It’s Scott’s fourth No. 1 and Kid Cudi’s first. Travis Scott earns his fourth No. 1 – and Kid Cudi his first – on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart with “The Scotts,” which debuts atop the list dated May 9. “The Scotts,” credited to The Scotts, Travis Scott and Kid Cudi, bows at No. 1 with 42.2 million U.S. streams in its first week, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. It’s Scott’s fourth leader and third as a lead artist. He first reigned in October 2018 as a featured artist, alongside Offset, on Kodak Black’s “Zeze,” for three weeks, followed by a one-week reign with “Sicko Mode” (January 2019) and the three-week leader “Highest in the Room” (October 2019). Three of those songs – “Zeze,” “Highest in the Room” and now “The Scotts” – debuted at No. 1, making Scott just the second artist t...
Lil Durk, Lil Baby, and Polo G Link Up on “3 Headed Goat”: Stream
Friday brings the release of Lil Durk’s latest album, Just Cause Y’all Waited 2, but he couldn’t wait to unveil one of the tracklist’s biggest collaborations. On the aptly titled “3 Headed Goat”, Durk links up with two of hip-hop’s most exciting names: Lil Baby and Polo G. Take a listen below. Spanning 15 tracks in all, Just Cause Y’all Waited 2 also boasts appearances from Gunna and G Herbo. He previously previewed the album with the lead single, “Viral Moment”. Lil Durk mostly recently popped up on G Herbo’s “Chiraq Demons”. Earlier this month, Lil Baby released a deluxe edition of his smash album, My Turn, and Polo G just dropped “DND” from his own upcoming album due out later this month. [embedded content]
Mobb Deep Proved Experience Outweighs Practice
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS The world seems to have gone mad since the release of Malcolm Gladwell’s The Outliers. Thanks to his 2008 best-selling book, everyone seems to think that all you need is 10,000 hours of practice to achieve greatness. While that may work on a skill or a craft, the rules go out the window when it comes to art. Prodigy and Havoc certainly put a lot of hours into making beats and rapping before they made The Infamous, but there are other powerful forces that truly shaped them into becoming artists. After all, 10,000 hours will only take you so far, and much of that greatness depends on perspective and experience. Editors’ Picks In this season’s final episode, host And...
Little Simz Releases New EP Drop 6: Stream
Little Simz has released the new EP called Drop 6. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. Drop 6 is her first solo release since last year’s excellent LP GREY Area, one of our favorite albums of 2019. The rising UK artist — whom Kenrdrick Lamar once said “might be the illest doing it right now” — recorded the new EP during one month of quarantine. Little Simz produced the tracks herself, with additional production from Kal Banx, BLK VYNL, St Francis Hotel, and OTG. While she started the EP at the beginning of April and finished it by the end, the interim was filled self-doubt and depression. In a statement, she wrote about getting in her own head, thinking, “‘This isn’t good enough, people won’t like this, it’s shit, the mix is trash,’ everything negative under the...
