Subscribe

* indicates required
Okayplayer News

To continue reading

Create a free account or sign in to unlock more free articles.

By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy

The Round-Up: Best Songs of The Week - ft. Freddie Gibbs, Madlib, 9th Wonder, and More [Playlist]
The Round-Up: Best Songs of The Week - ft. Freddie Gibbs, Madlib, 9th Wonder, and More [Playlist]

The Round-Up: Best Songs of The Week - ft. Freddie Gibbs, Madlib, 9th Wonder, and More [Playlist]

Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY.

New heat to cap the week.

Happy Friday, good people. Release Day's upon us and the spoils are stellar.

Leading the album charge, Offset's long-delayed solo debut has finally arrived, but new pieces from Benny Sings, IMDDB, and Spelling should scratch any remaining itch for left-leaning Migos-less long-plays. And for the boom-bap brigade, a 9th Wonder-produced Smif-N-Wessun project packs a mountain of vintage soul flips and ace wordplay into a hard-hitting 43 minutes.

LISTEN: Spiritual Funk and High-Altitude Jazz to Calm a Bewildered Mind

The bulk of the week's bag, however, arrived by way of lush loosies, collaborative one-offs, and fiery campaign-starters for long-anticipated projects. Madlib and Freddie Gibbs hit the ground running with a menacing introduction to their upcoming Piñata sequel. Doja Cat and Rico Nasty joined forces on an early contender for "Trap Anthem of The Year." Sophie Faith joined lophile for a buzzing full-burn r&b spectacle. Kehlani tapped Dom Kennedy as purveyor of romance raps on a selection from her short and sweet While We Wait mixtape. Tierra Whack reached beyond the one-minute mark on an elastic exposition. And that's just half the script.

LISTEN: Disciples of Dilla: Modern Classics Haunted by The Late Production Pioneer 

Hear it all and more, along with selections from this week's album haul, in a new episode of The Round-Up below. Hit the link to subscribe to Okayplayer's Spotify channel for a running catalog of earworms and essentials, updated every week with Release Day's finest.

SUBSCRIBE