Today is Friday, which means there are a ton of new releases to look forward to from some of your favorite Hip-Hop artists. To help you unwind and enjoy the weekend, check out VIBE’s picks of songs and albums you should hear and add to your soundtrack of weekend festivities.
Roc Marciano – Marciology
2024 PIMPIRE RECORDS / MARCI ENTERPRISES
Hempstead, Long Island’s own Roc Marciano adds to his legend with his latest release Marciology, his first album since his 2022 project The Elephant Man’s Bones. While that effort was produced by The Alchemist, Marci—whose beats have scored albums by the likes of Stove God Cooks and Flee Lord—does the majority of the board work on this outing, with additional sonics from Alchemist and Animoss.
Cooking up a spellbinding beat on the album’s titular track, the indie stalwart drops bruising couplets, boasting, “This is guaranteed to make the city shake/ The pinky ring 150K/ That’s enough to break your little piggybank” atop thudding percussion and xylophones. Marci’s hot start continues with “Goyard God” and “Bebe’s Kids,” while he rejoices in the fruits of his labor on the Animoss-produced heater “Tapeworm.”
“This rap sh*t is fun, it’s passive income/ Still made a bag and then some,” Roc muses, while “Floxx” finds him reflecting on his days as a trouble youth hustling for cheap thrills. Featuring appearances by Larry June (“Bad Juju”), CRIMEAPPLE (“Killin’ Spree”), Jay Worthy (“On The Run”), and more, Marciology marks another collection from the Marciano catered and curated for his loyalists. – Preezy Brown
DJ Premiere And Snoop Dogg – “Can U Dig That?”
TTT
It’s always a treat when two icons meet, and DJ Premier and Snoop Dogg welcome listeners to the West Coast on their smoothed-out collaborative cut, “Can U Dig That?” Featuring vocal samples from The Game, the track finds Tha Doggfather paying homage to his homeland and his fellow representatives; Premo compliments Snoop’s laconic flow with sturdy drums and hazy synths.
According to DJ Premier, whose creative history with the Long Beach, Calif. rapper dates back to the early 2000s, “Can U Dig That” was originally recorded some time ago for a since-shelved, but recently revamped for mass consumption. “My manager and I launched our label TTT (To The Top), and we decided to call Snoop as one of my first album collaborations,” he revealed in a statement accompanying the song’s release.
“Snoop recorded a demo of the song, and it went into my vaults unfinished,” DJ Premier professed. “Fast forward, our initial plan for an album changed, and we decided to just release singles. Snoop updated his lyrics and now it’s ready for our audience to ride out to—Can U Dig That?” – PB
Kodak Black – “Non-Believer”
2024 Vulture Love, LLC, under exclusive license to UMG Recordings, Inc.
Kodak Black makes his best attempt at getting to an earnest, reverent bag on “Non-Believer.” He reflects on his transgressions and asks the lord for forgiveness, but the track also seems lke he is trying to decide between being Christian, Jewish, or Muslim. He references aspects of all of these religions and activities he does to align with them.
There’s still the internal conflict of being who he always is, as he discusses sex with a woman and getting flexes off. However, for the most part, he considers his mortality and how much he struggles being himself over somber guitar strums and soft drums. He sums up this new journey in his life with the line “I’m a reaper but I’m righteous.” That should say it all. – Armon Sadler
Concrete Boys – “Family Business”
YouTube screenshot
Camo!, Karrahboo, and Lil Yachty represent Concrete Boys on “Family Business” and it’s a refreshing listen. Hip-Hop has been lacking cyphers where rappers simply get bars off, and the group of artists brings just that. One by one, they get their two verses off while skating across the bombastic production. Camo! handles the slick-talking, Karrahboo is feeling violent, and Lil Boat, as per usual, blends melodies and shapeshifting flows into a record that ends up being a balanced diet.
“Family Business” feels fun and free, like they were in the booth saying “Nah nah, let me get back in” after hearing each other’s verses. This is a strong preview to what could end up being a really good compilation album. – AS
Moneybagg Yo & Rob49 – “Bussin”
2024 CMG/N-Less/Interscope Records
Moneybagg Yo continues his run as one of the most dedicated “songs for women” rappers on “Bussin.” While the production feels more fit for pregame football warmups, his lyrics are fully dedicated to the ladies who always look right; from their hair, to makeup, to all aspects of their beings. Admittedly, Rob49 brings the energy down with a pretty lazy, uncreative verse.
Bagg could’ve either handled this track on his own or tagged in someone else. There’s a slew of women rappers who would’ve brought the proper fire to this verse and accepted the praise the Memphis rapper was giving out. However, it’s still a great record that may find its way into many Instagram selfies and boomerangs over the next month. – AS
IDK and Joey Bada$$ – “DENiM”
After debuting their new joint record “DENiM” during their recent From The Block performance, IDK and Joey Bada$$ unleashed the official version and its accompanying music video. Produced by Tae Beast, Mario Luciano, and Rascal, “DENiM” finds IDK batting leadoff, dropping a stream-of-consciousness flow that ranges from couplets revolving around trinkets and rendezvous with misses.
Joey Bada$$ then commandeers the mic for a stanza, flexing on his doubters and detractors while noting his evolution into a boss and man of means. Despite being devoid of a hook, “DENiM” is far from lacking and packs an ample amount of replay value for your playlist’s rotation. – PB
BossMan DLow Feat. GloRilla – “Finesse”
2024 Alamo Records, LLC/Sony Music Entertainment
BossMan Dlow is the new heat on the block and has already shown off his “Finesse.” In a power play, he tapped GloRilla to jump on the remix and it landed well. It is unclear what motivated GloRilla to perform at the level she has recently, but she has been smoking verses lately and quieting any doubts on her ability to bounce back after a lackluster 2023.
“Finesse” is boisterous, aggressive, energetic; everything you would want from a song falling within this subgenre of Hip-Hop. It’s a good boost for BossMan, and a good way for GloRilla to bide time until her forthcoming mixtape EhhThang EhhThang. In short, everybody won here. – AS
GUTTR Feat. Method Man, Fame (M.O.P.), Sway – “Roll Call”
2024 Purfek Strom Group LLC / Fat Beats
RJ Payne, Ras Kass, and Havoc of Mobb Deep conduct a “Roll Call” on the newly formed trio’s latest salvo, which features appearances from Method Man, Lil Fame of M.O.P., and Sway Calloway. Set off by Ras Kas, the Western-bred wordsmith launches into his verse with fervor, warning, “I don’t clout chase, I outrace, so put some respect on it/ Like I pulled up at the Break on it.”
Next up is Method Man, who goes bananas with an electric string of couplets, name-dropping the likes of Marvin Gaye and LeBron James, with RJ Payne conveying his confidence and hunger with an impressive stanza of his own. Rounded out by Lil Fame and Havoc, Sway Calloway closes out the proceedings with a salute to all five emcees featured on the record, as well as his Sway in the Morning and The Wake Up Show fam. – PB
DJ Muggs and Mooch – Rocstar
2024 Soul Assassins Records
DJ Muggs joins forces with Mooch for ROC STAR, a project on which the Soul Assassin equips the lyricist with a succession of soundscapes to muse about his life and times as a street entrepreneur. On the introductory title track, Mooch reps for his native ground, declaring “I’m from Rochester, New York, ni**a, I’m not regular” atop haunting keys and rollicking guitar riffs.
Equating his music to a narcotic, Mooch delivers an early highlight in “Uncut Hope” before running roughshod over jazzy horns on “Belly Horns,” lamenting “the crown heavy, not the same as a coffin” on the latter standout. Handling the bulk of the rhyme work on ROC STAR, Mooch makes room for a handful of guests to join him. Rigz (“Walk Yours”), Times Change, and Mav (“Mav x Mooch x Times”) pop up for appearances on the project’s backend.
Besides his strong performances on “It Ain’t Ready,” Mazda,” and “Assets & Liabilities,” Mooch builds on his 2023 release Green Light with ROC STAR, which proves Muggs and himself to be a winning combination. – PB
Bfb Packman – Forget Me Not
2024 The Lunch Crew Company LLC
Bfb Da Packman rolled out Forget Me Not by advertising a Drake feature on “Olympic Sh*t Talkin,” which led many to believe the Flint, Mich. rapper would host the highly-anticipated response to Kendrick Lamar, Future, and Metro Boomin on his latest album. Unfortunately, he could not clear the verse, but the full album still arrived.
Despite Drake’s absence, he gets off a fun back-and-forth lyrical barrage with Rio Da Yung Og on “Olympic Sh*t Talkin.” DDG turns in a solid verse on “Delulu,” where they address both men’s and women’s delusion. This album is just a reminder that Michigan artists are some of the funniest rappers ever as it is loaded with crazy punchlines. The production is strong throughout and Icewear Vezzo, Skilla Baby, 03 Greedo, and more all deliver on their features as well. – AS
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