This week’s hip hop releases were ruled by the new school. After sporadically dropping a string of music videos for its singles, YoungBoy Never Broke Again delivered his new album, Still Flexin Still Steppin, on Friday. The Louisiana rapper continues to prove that he’s committed to overworking everyone else in the game. Despite his career being hampered by legal troubles, he claws forward with frequent releases that evidence his hunger. Our early favourite from the new project is “Bat Man”, earning it a spot on our Spotify playlist “FIRE EMOJI” this week. 

Another young cat that came through with heat on Friday is Lil Gotit. The Alamo Records signee and YSL affiliate shared a mixtape executive produced by London On Da Track and entitled Superstar Creature. Lil Gotit, who is also the brother of burgeoning star Lil Keed, has undeniably been in his bag. He dropped two solo projects last year, Crazy But It’s True and The Real, as well as a joint EP with producer 10fifty. The fact that he teamed up with one of the hottest trap producers for Superstar Creature is nothing short of a blessing. He spazzes all over London’s beats, especially on “Bet Up” and “No Worries.” 

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Calboy is another 20-year-old artist who we’ve had our sights set on and his new EP proves again that he’s deserving of our attention. Long Live The Kings boasts features from G Herbo, Lil Baby and Lil Tjay, so you already know we had to put one of those exhilarating collaborations on “FIRE EMOJI.” “Givenchy Kickin” made the cut. 

Last but certainly not least, we pay tribute to Pop Smoke, who we tragically lost on Wednesday. It may sting to listen to an artist’s music shortly after their passing, but Pop Smoke’s makes you feel “Invincible.” Let his voice rumble and roar through speakers this weekend and forever. 

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While Valentine’s Day coincided with New Music Friday this year, this week’s releases weren’t particularly lovey. There were a few exceptions though. Everyone’s favourite on-and-off couple, Kehlani and YG, surprised us with their first collaboration, “Konclusions”, confirming that they are on at the moment. If you wanted a somewhat sappy anthem this V-Day, whether you’re single or not, they had you covered. We also selected a romantic cut from Justin Bieber‘s new album, Changes, for our “FIRE EMOJI” playlist on Spotify. On “Forever”, Biebs, Post Malone and Clever commit to being in their relationships for the long-run. 

While the first verse of “Thug Love” may start out with A Boogie wit da Hoodie asserting that “this ain’t no fucking love song”, the rest of his lyrics suggest otherwise. It may be a tad too raunchy to qualify as a traditional love song, but the affectionate sentiment is there regardless. So I guess you could say we did end up with celebrating Valentine’s Day with our playlist additions. We’re always trying to spread love. On top that, “Thug Love” allowed us to get some representation from A Boogie’s new album, Artist 2.0. 

This week also blessed us with new tracks from the freshmen class of melodic rappers. Two of its members, Calboy and Lil Tjay, teamed up for “Barbarian”. Another skilled crooner Polo G hosted some other young talents on “Go Stupid”, which called upon NLE Choppa and Stunna 4 Vegas to drop verses on the Mike WiLL Made-It/Tay Keith-produced beat. YoungBoy Never Broke Again could also be discussed in this category. With Still Flexin Still Steppin set to drop next week, YoungBoy delivered two singles in advance to get us ready. “Knocked Off” made it onto our playlist. 

Follow HNHH on Spotify.

Follow FIRE EMOJI on Spotify.

Follow R&B SEASON on Spotify.

Follow our freshly-updated Wake & Bake playlist here.

Follow our G.O.O.D. Music playlist (for a GOOD ASS FRIDAY) here. 

Last week, in the realm of hip hop releases, we were able to dedicate most of our focus to Lil Wayne‘s album, Funeral, as it was a week otherwise filled with new singles. This week, that is not the case. We got blessed with a bunch of great projects and we’re thrilled to add some of their hottest cuts to our Spotify playlist, “FIRE EMOJI”. 

Pop Smoke is one of the most buzzing rappers in the game right now, so it was an ideal time for him to follow last July’s Meet The Woo EP with a full-length sequel. Meet The Woo 2 boasts thirteen tracks and a bunch of features. Pop Smoke enlisted fellow up-and-comers like Fivio Foreign and Lil Tjay for earthquake-inducing bangers, but he also collaborates with heavy-hitter Quavo to “Shake The Room”. The beat was too crazy on that one to not include it in our playlist. 

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While we knew Meet The Woo 2 was coming, Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats caught us by surprise on Friday with their collaborative project, UNLOCKED. The rapturous tracks came accompanied by an animated short film that you must see and may have raised the bar for creative rollouts in 2020. Kenny Beats, whose producer tag is ubiquitous these days, furnishes the Miami rapper with ferocious beats that match his uncontainable energy. “DIET_” is a perfect example that these two pair perfectly. 

Last but not least, we have a single for you. Not just any single, but a Nicki Minaj single. The queen herself came out of semi-retirement this week to drop off “Yikes”, a song title that is fitting given the scandalous week she had, but we’re not gonna get into that now. This is about “Yikes”, a searing assertion that Onika cannot be played with. God bless The Barbz for bullying her into completing and releasing the track this week. 

Follow HNHH on Spotify.

Follow FIRE EMOJI on Spotify.

Follow R&B SEASON on Spotify.

Follow our freshly-updated Wake & Bake playlist here.

Follow our G.O.O.D. Music playlist (for a GOOD ASS FRIDAY) here.