Liim Announces New Album ‘A Sunflower Garden In Harlem Is Hard To Find’

Today, Harlem rapper Liim officially announced the release of his second studio album, A Sunflower Garden In Harlem Is Hard To Find, which is set to arrive on August 28. To celebrate the announcement, he has shared a new single titled "1980," featuring a guest appearance from Queens artist AJRadico.

The upcoming project follows a string of successful releases earlier this year, including June's "Is Loving Really Bad?" and the May track "R.I.P. Peace." Both songs showcased Liim’s signature style, characterized by playful lyricism set against slippery, rhythmic grooves.

"1980" marks a distinct departure, leaning into a nostalgic aesthetic with a vocal delivery reminiscent of the golden era of hip-hop. Liim cites the classic films Paid in Full and Juice as primary inspirations for the track. "Paid In Full and Juice are just two movies that are where I'm from," Liim explains. "I grew up in almost every scene, and I think what those movies do for me is they spike memories." The track features a seamless transition between Liim’s punchy bars and AJRadico’s viscous flow, all anchored by warm, resonant piano chords.

The single is accompanied by a cinematic music video that captures the gritty, dreamlike atmosphere of his Harlem upbringing, complete with stylized cartoon elements. As fans await the full album, "1980" serves as a compelling preview of what to expect from the project.

Dylan DeJong-Dougherty.

From Notebooks to Suno: Garret Murko’s Seriously Is a Debut Thirty Years in the Making

There’s a difference between an artist who’s new and an artist who’s finally letting you in. Garret Murko is the second kind.

The Knoxville MC’s debut album Seriously dropped after nearly thirty years of him writing bars nobody else ever heard — long-form verses, stacked syllables, no hooks to hide behind. He’d been living a whole other creative life as a horror and sci-fi writer, filling notebooks with lyrics on the side, never planning to put any of it out. Then he found Suno, went back through everything he’d written, pulled the pieces that told one story, and had the album built in three weeks flat.

That story doesn’t play it safe. Seriously goes after how people treat each other, how governments run things, and how we relate to God — Murko’s not afraid to question divine attention and infallibility head-on, which is rare territory for the genre. “I write to hold a mirror up to humanity,” he says. “I ask if we’re making the right decisions as a species. I don’t exempt myself from that question.”

Real ones will recognize the throughline back to Tampa Bay. Murko grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida, alongside foster siblings his parents took in — one of them Sherwin Petrucelli, who you know now as DJ Winn. Petrucelli put Murko on to hip-hop, produced his first recordings, and got a group project close enough to a label deal to feel real — until the death of a groupmate shut it down. Murko went quiet on music for years after that, but he never stopped writing. The bars just went into notebooks instead of studios.

Thirty years of bars, three weeks to build the album. Pull up.

Lifers Group’s “Count My Blessings” is A Testimony in Gratitude

Three decades ago, prison rap didn’t exist as a category. It existed as a fact of life for the men who invented it. Lifers Group is one of the few groups left who can say that with a straight face, and “Count My Blessings,” their new single with X-Raided, sounds like proof of the claim rather than a nostalgia act cashing in on it.

What strikes you first isn’t the production, though the late Phase 5’s beat is melodic in a way that almost undercuts the weight of the subject matter, an uptempo bounce riding underneath lyrics about confinement and loss. It’s the tone. This isn’t a group performing survival for effect. Lifers Group has been documenting incarceration since before most contemporary rappers were born, and on this track that experience shows in the difference between performance and testimony. Where younger artists often narrate prison as a badge, Lifers Group treats it as a wound they’re still tending, three and four decades later.

The pairing with X-Raided gives the song its structural spine. Two artists, two coasts, one shared biography: both served life sentences, both built their art inside cells rather than studios. Their verses don’t compete for space so much as confirm each other, a kind of call and response between men who don’t need to explain themselves to one another, only to us.

The title does real work here. “Count My Blessings” isn’t ironic. Where “Prison Life” and “State N#mber,” the two singles that preceded this one, dealt in warning and documentation, this track turns toward gratitude: the strange, complicated relief of having made it out when so many others didn’t. That shift matters. It reframes the entire project, hinting at where the group’s forthcoming album, reportedly titled “Takin No Prisoners,” intends to go. Not just chronicling the damage of incarceration, but sitting with what it means to survive it.

Is it a “fun” listen? No. It isn’t meant to be. But as hip-hop’s conversation around prison reform grows louder, and as more artists treat jail time as content rather than consequence, “Count My Blessings” is a necessary corrective. A reminder that somewhere underneath all the performative toughness, there are people who actually paid the price the genre likes to romanticize.

Lil Uzi Vert Drops Surprise EP ‘Maverick “Almost Forever”’ After Lollapalooza Cancellation

Lil Uzi Vert spared no theatrics for their 31st birthday, surprise releasing a new EP, Maverick "Almost Forever", and crashing Major Lazer's Lollapalooza set on Saturday to perform "Just Wanna Rock" among other songs.

Uzi had been slotted to play Grant Park on Friday evening ahead of headliner Charli xcx when Lollapalooza's officials projected a statement on the stage announcing the rapper’s cancellation “due to weather issues.” But the four-time Grammy-nominated rapper showed they're not one to be rained out.

Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Marc Jacobs

Maverick "Almost Forever" is Uzi's first project since 2024's Eternal Atake 2, and it arrives exactly a decade after The Perfect LUV Tape. The drop doubles as a birthday tradition and perhaps a peace offering for the deserted festival fans.

Why 50Rimmy Is Defying the Rap Industry’s Gambling Narrative

Every rapper says they don’t gamble. Most of them are lying. 50Rimmy might actually mean it.

The Atlanta-born, Philly-based artist has spent his short but steady run building a case for himself as a believer first, a rapper second — and on his new single “No Gamble,” he finally says the quiet part out loud. This isn’t a flex record. It’s a confession dressed up as one.

50Rimmy’s whole appeal has always been that he doesn’t sound like he’s performing. Pull a line from Kevin Gates’ playbook — no filter, no polish, no separation between the man and the mic — and you’ve got the blueprint 50Rimmy’s been running since he stepped into a studio in 2023 on nothing but his grandmother’s word that he was built for something bigger. That’s not a metaphor for him. That’s the actual origin story. And on “No Gamble,” you can hear him still living inside it.

The instrumental doesn’t do much to get out of his way, and it doesn’t need to. This is a record built on cadence and conviction, not production tricks. The hook lands like something that was chanted before it was written — “no gamble, no bet, no chance, just faith” — the kind of line that turns into a crowd’s line by the second listen. It’s not clever. It’s not supposed to be. It’s a mantra, and mantras don’t need to be clever, they need to stick.

What’s most interesting about “No Gamble” is what it reveals about the bigger picture. Stack it next to “Going Forward” and “Going Hard” and a throughline starts to show: this is an artist building a mythology in real time, one single at a time, each one a chapter in the same sermon about faith, family, and refusing to fold. Whether that’s calculated or just who he genuinely is almost doesn’t matter — it’s working, because it doesn’t feel like a pitch. It feels like a guy talking to himself and letting the rest of us listen in.

Is “No Gamble” going to cross over to the pop charts? Almost certainly not, and that’s not the point. It’s a single for the people already riding with 50Rimmy, and a pretty effective recruitment pitch for everyone else. In a genre currently drowning in irony, there’s something almost disarming about an artist this sincere. He’s not gambling. He’s just certain — and three singles in, he’s starting to make a believer out of you too.

Loe Shimmy Wants to Own the Summer on “Aruba”

If you’re a frequent reader of The FADER, you know we’ve been fans of Loe Shimmy for years. Back in 2022, writer Brandon Callender highlighted “Not The Same” and “On The Run” as essential rap listening, and last year’s Rockstar Junkie produced one of our top songs of 2025. We’re far from Shimmy’s only longtime fans: Drake has been following the Florida rapper’s career just as long, and recently hit him up for a standout feature on HABIBTI.

Loe Shimmy at The FADER offices on June 11, 2026.Vivian Medithi / The FADER

Shimmy has been on a determined run since that spring guest appearance, from singles “Body Dangerous” and “Bag Rite” to a “Pretty Girlz Love Matcha” popup, all in support of his latest album Pretty Girlz Run The World, out today. The new record has standout features from Brent Faiyaz, Summer Walker, and Sexyy Red, but Loe spends most of the record blissfully solo.

On the D3-produced album highlight “Aruba,” Shimmy floats over moody piano, singing about sex on the beach and telling a woman hitting on him to read some music journalism: “Go check the stats, go check the plastic, got me on The FADER.” Thanks Loe!

Revisit our interview with Loe Shimmy earlier this summer about unlocking new flows on Pretty Girlz Run The World.

The Ken Carson Xperiment Pop-Up in LES Was Total Pandemonium

The ESSX store on the Lower East Side was complete mayhem when I arrived. Ken Carson merch has a way of inciting that kind of fervor. Fans began lining up as early as 8 a.m., hours before the doors were scheduled to open at noon, all in the hopes of having their Project X vinyls signed or securing a permanent memento in the form of a signature to be tattooed later. When the OPIUM rapper finally arrived around 4:35 p.m. in a blacked-out SUV, the crowd transformed into a frenzied mob, pushing and surging to get closer to the artist.

Inside the venue, Ken Carson moved through the space, browsing his own collection while trailed by a swarm of photographers. During his visit, he took a moment to watch highlights of the FIFA World Cup semifinals between France and Spain. When asked about his preferred team, he remained coy, though he offered a nod of agreement to the prospect of an English victory.

A Scene of Uncontrolled Energy

Outside the glass, the atmosphere was equally intense. Fans pressed against the storefront, desperate for a glimpse of the star. The situation quickly overwhelmed the combined efforts of store security, personal bodyguards, and the NYPD officers stationed to maintain order. After just ten minutes of attempting to engage with his supporters, Ken was forced to retreat deeper into the store for safety.

The challenge then shifted to logistics: how to safely extract the young star from the store and back into his waiting vehicle. Ultimately, the team opted for a swift exit, leading to a chaotic dash as fans knocked over barriers and spilled into the street. Within five minutes, the crowd outside of ESSX had completely dispersed, leaving behind the remnants of an event that felt as volatile and fleeting as an experiment that had finally run its course.

Loe Shimmy Unlocks New Flows on His Next Album

Loe Shimmy is determined to make 2026 his biggest year yet. As he looks toward the horizon, the Florida rapper is focused on total dominance, aiming to capture the energy of every season with his upcoming project. When he stopped by The FADER offices in mid-June, he made his ambitions clear: “Summertime coming up, it's time to take that over. We want to take over the fall, winter, summer, all that.”

Following a standout appearance on Drake’s Habibti, Shimmy maintained his momentum with the release of “Body Dangerous.” The track serves as the first offering from his highly anticipated album, Pretty Girlz Run The World. While he describes the project as being more oriented toward his female fanbase, he assures listeners that the record remains packed with the hard-hitting, club-ready anthems that defined his earlier work. His creative process, once defined by sheer volume, has shifted toward a more intentional approach, focusing on intricate song structures and exploring new sonic pockets.

The album’s title was born from a spontaneous moment in the studio last fall. “I had said it in a song before that, and I was telling my boys in the studio, I was telling the engineer, ‘bruh, the tape should be called Pretty Girlz Run The World.’ Dedicate this one to the girls,” Shimmy explains. This theme became the guiding light for his recent recording sessions, particularly those held in Miami, where he challenged himself to collaborate with new producers and experiment with different vibes.

Evolution is at the heart of this project. Compared to Rockstar Junkie, Shimmy notes that the sound is smoother and more melodic. “Different beats got me flowing different. Unlocking new flows,” he says. This dedication to craft extends to his rigorous editing process, where he treats his songs like paintings, constantly refining structures to take them from a seven to a ten. “I got an ear for it for real, and if you keep listening, you'll see the errors. It’s just the ear, you gotta have that ear for this shit and you gotta love it.”

Beyond the music, Shimmy maintains a specific set of studio essentials to keep his creative energy high. From 1942 for the guests to a steady supply of Skittles and hot tea, he curates a comfort zone that allows him to create without distraction. As he prepares to share Pretty Girlz Run The World with the public, he remains confident that the sheer amount of music he has generated—and subsequently refined—will resonate with fans across the board.

Harlem’s Riviir Makes a Bold Statement with Debut EP ‘Stay Down (Turn on You)’

The Hip-Hop landscape is constantly evolving, but every so often, an artist arrives who demands your full attention. Enter Riviir, a visionary emcee hailing from the legendary streets of Harlem, New York. With the release of his debut EP, Stay Down (Turn on You), arriving June 26, 2026, Riviir isn’t just dropping music—he is building a movement rooted in authenticity, charisma, and a profound commitment to uplifting underserved communities.

What sets Riviir apart is his uncompromising dedication to the traditional tenets of Hip-Hop. In an era of short-form content, he sticks to the discipline of the craft, writing, producing, and arranging every track himself. Each song on this three-track EP adheres to the gold standard: a structured chorus flanked by three verses of at least 16 bars. This technical precision provides the perfect vessel for his socially conscious storytelling.

The title track, “Stay Down (Turn on You),” serves as a gritty, honest examination of life in the ghetto. By weaving personal narratives with sharp observations on loyalty, greed, and political systemic failures, Riviir paints a vivid, unvarnished portrait of survival. It is a testament to his creative agility that he successfully reimagined this track from an earlier version, proving that his vision transcends any single sample.

The EP pivots to deep empathy with “Head Kisses,” a minimalist masterpiece. Stripped back to a hauntingly simple arrangement of piano, bass, wind chimes, and cymbals, the track highlights the plight of women facing systemic abuse and abandonment. The inclusion of subtle record scratching serves as a nod to Hip-Hop’s roots, grounding the raw, emotional storytelling in a classic aesthetic.

Riviir closes the project with the bold, politically charged “Tinubu (Slave of the West).” Moving beyond domestic issues, the track turns a critical lens toward Nigeria and the broader African continent. By tackling corruption, social inequality, and the urgent necessity for global Black unity, Riviir positions himself as a vital social commentator. His willingness to address controversial leadership and advocate for collective empowerment marks him as an artist with a purpose far greater than just charts and streams.

Stay Down (Turn on You) is merely an introduction to a larger body of work, but it confirms that Riviir is a storyteller to watch.

Inside the Making of Bay Swag’s “LAYDERR” Music Video

Queens rapper Bay Swag is carving out a unique lane in the hip-hop landscape with what he calls “sexy drill”—a hedonistic, women-centered evolution of the drill sound. His latest release, the music video for “LAYDERR,” serves as a visual manifesto for this new direction, capturing a moody, high-stakes atmosphere that mirrors the track’s haunting production. The video marks his second collaboration with Chicago royalty G Herbo, reuniting the pair six years after their 2023 track “Quagen.”

The creative process behind “LAYDERR” was as spontaneous as it was intentional. Bay Swag explains that the collaboration with G Herbo came together through a stroke of serendipity. While driving home to Queens, a conversation with a friend about who would best complement the track led to a late-night studio session. “I call Herb, he answers, I see him in the studio,” Bay Swag recalls. “I turn all the way around, go back to the studio. It’s like three in the morning… we make the song in like five minutes.”

Crafting the Visual Narrative

For the visual component, Bay Swag turned to his frequent collaborator, the director Lavish of IME Studios. The concept was designed to reflect the paranoia and excess that come with newfound success. “The treatment was basically how people be coming around when you got something good going on,” he explains. The resulting imagery, featuring appearances by Marni and Millie, leans into a dark, club-centric aesthetic that Bay Swag envisioned the moment he closed his eyes and listened to the finished record.

Beyond the club scenes, the video features a striking shot of a billboard of Bay Swag on his home block. For the rapper, this was a non-negotiable statement of pride. “This is where I’m from. I represent Queens. I’m stamping it,” he says. As he prepares for his upcoming LP, which he promises will be a significant step up from his previous project, Damaged Thoughts, Bay Swag remains focused on authenticity and growth. With “LAYDERR,” he has successfully moved his sound into a sultrier, more confident space, proving that his major breakthrough is well underway.