The Round-Up: Best Songs of The Week ft. Frank Ocean, J Dilla, Nas and More [Playlist]

Excuse the late pass, good folks. Still shaking off all the green and purple from last week’s memorials. But the added three days of cushion afforded Frank Ocean just enough time to drop a new cut and prove once and for all that r&b’s great recluse is done withholding. He premiered two versions (’cause Frank’s always got twoooo versions) of the new song “Lens,” one with Travis Scott, who shares headline space this week with Kendrick Lamar, as supporting talent for the Compton rapper’s freshly-announced DAMN. tour along with D.R.A.M.. 

But it wasn’t all Frank and Kendrick last week; the long-awaited posthumous J Dilla album, Motor City, managed to pack a couple unheards into its 19-track bag, a new slow-burn special arrived by way of Dutch-Iranian star-on-the-rise, Sevdaliza, and Black Thought popped up on the new David Banner single “Who Want It” with Watch The Duck. Then there were the stake-claiming releases of Ric Wilson and Jacob Banks, each on the cusp of their own big moment, each making their mark with respective standouts. Oh, and DJ Shadow produced a new track for Nas that is perhaps the Queens legend’s best showing of the decade.

All these things and more can be heard in this week’s installment of The Round-Up below. Subscribe to our Spotify channel today for a broad range of only the truest notes.