UNOFFICIAL MIXTAPE

New mixtape from Kur “180” available now!

Juicy J has been hyping this album up by previewing it on his Snapchat and finally announced the release date as May 15th, 2017 on Snapchat as well.

Not a standard group but a rotating collective, Rich Gang feature artists signed to Birdman’s Cash Money label. Launched in 2013, the first lineup of the collective featured Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Tyga, and Drake. They made their debut that same year with the single “Tapout” and the album Rich Gang. The mixtape featured a stacked roster of guests who included Mystikal, Future, R. Kelly, Yo Gotti, Rick Ross, Chris Brown, Kendrick Lamar, T.I., and many more. It peaked in the Top Ten of the Billboard 200 and at number two on both the R&B/hip-hop and rap charts. Subsequent one-off singles would appear over the years, the most notable being the 2014 single “Lifestyle,” which would help launch the careers of Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan. The up-and-coming pair would feature exclusively on the second Rich Gang mixtape, The Tour, Pt. 1. While the Rich Gang concept would be put on hold for a few years while Birdman was embroiled in label disputes with Lil Wayne, he returned with Young Thug in 2017 for the single “Bit Bak,” which would appear on Rich Gang II: Lifestyles. ~ Neil Z. Yeung & David Jeffries

Josh Tillman’s third album as Father John Misty is a wry and passionate complaint against nearly everything under the sun: Politics, religion, entertainment, war—even Father John Misty can’t escape Father John Misty’s gimlet eye. But even the wordiest, most cynically self-aware songs here (“Leaving L.A.,” “When the God of Love Returns There’ll Be Hell to Pay”) are executed with angelic beauty, a contrast that puts Tillman in a league with spiritual predecessors like Randy Newman or Harry Nilsson. A performer as savvy as Tillman knows you can’t sell the apocalypse without making it sound pretty.

An MC perfectly styled for the age of Future and Desiigner, Bronx rapper A Boogie wit da Hoodie hit the scene in 2016 with a funkier version of trap rap. Born Artist Dubose in Highbridge, the Bronx native spent some time in Florida before returning home and taking his music seriously. That was 2015; then in early 2016 he uploaded his first tracks to the Net. In March he dropped his debut mixtape, Artist, while April saw him drop “Bag on Me” featuring Don Q. With a Meek Mill and DJ Khaled co-sign soon after, and the Highbridge the Label mixtape released in May, the Atlantic label signed a deal with Highbridge and issued the singles “Bando” and “My S**t” in July. EP TBA followed in October. ~ David Jeffries

Rugged Atlanta rap gets a new dynamic duo on a murky, minimal EP that brings out the best in its precocious players. For producer Metro Boomin—in-demand architect of Drake and Future’s irrepressible “Jumpman”—it’s a chance to darken his palette with foreboding bells (“No Heart”) and muffled 808s (“Feel It”). And then there’s 21 Savage: dabbling with playful, raspy boasts (“Mad High”) while never losing the hard-edged authenticity of a true trap king.