To say that Swae Lee has been hard at work on his upcoming album would be a major understatement. The Rae Sremmurd artist has been plotting his sophomore solo LP, Human Nature, for quite some time now, and it looks like going into isolation with nothing but time on his hands has paid off, at least productivity-wise. On Saturday (June 13th), Mike Will Made-It, founder and CEO of EarDrummers Entertainment where Swae has been signed since 2014, offered an update on the status of Human Nature, and it looks like the producer has a lot of work ahead of him. Mike revealed that Swae had sent him upwards of 700 songs to sift through.

Trippie Redd has been on a tear these days, following the momentum set by his recent album A Love Letter To You 4 -- a project many concluded to be the best of his still-young career. Now, Trippie is gearing up to keep the streak alive with his brand new album Dreamer, taking to Instagram to reveal the classy watercolor-painted artwork.

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While he doesn't provide a tracklist, he does reveal that the album will be arriving on June 18th, next Friday. In the interim, he invites his fans to flood the comment section with his signature "1400," a request to which they happily oblige. Should you be intrigued in knowing a little more about Redd's upcoming body of work, know that the young rapper recently previewed an upcoming single, one that really emphasizes his strong ear for melody. 

And if that wasn't enough, Akademiks recently came forward to hit Trippie with a major co-sign, teasing an impressive release across the board. "Trippie Redd played me his whole album yesterday," he wrote, a few days ago. "That shit is def fire.. imma just leave this tweet right here that I can say 'told you so' when it drops." While Ak's promising words gestate, behold the album artwork below and look for Dreamer to arrive in full on June 18th.

Chloe x Halle continue to display their unbelievable talent with their latest cover medley, in which they've flawlessly mashed up Lauryn Hill, TLC, and Aaliyah with their new single, "Do It." The songstress sisters shared the video to Instagram, indicating that these were just a handful of the artists whose music had serve as inspiration for their upcoming sophomore album, Ungodly Hour, dropping tomorrow (June 12th).

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in honor of our album coming out this friday, here is a mashup of songs from a few of the artists who’ve inspired us ??

A post shared by chloe x halle (@chloexhalle) on Jun 10, 2020 at 5:31pm PDT

In the clip, Chloe pays keyboard while she and her younger sister, Halle, harmonize with ease. They begin with some of Ms. Lauryn Hill's "Ex-Factor" before interjecting a snippet of Aaliyah's "More Than A Woman." They then shift gears by taking on TLC's "Creep," blending it with their latest single, "Do It," which dropped last month.

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Last Monday (June 1st), Chloe x Halle announced that they would be postponing the release of Ungodly Hour in light of recent events. The album was originally slated to drop last Friday, June 5th, but they decided to delay it until June 12th "in solidarity of all the beautiful black lives lost." The duo explained their reasoning in a video posted to their social media channels. 

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we’ll be postponing our album to June 12th in solidarity of all the beautiful black lives lost ✊??

A post shared by chloe x halle (@chloexhalle) on Jun 1, 2020 at 6:11pm PDT

Though Conway has already confirmed that his retirement would mark a bittersweet run to his absolutely epic 2020 campaign, the music he’s set to leave behind may very well numb the pain — if only for a while. For now, we’re in the midst of awaiting his upcoming album From King To A God, the lead-up project before his long-anticipated Shady Records debut God Don’t Make Mistakes. 

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Today, Machine took to Instagram to unveil the official album artwork, appropriately spooky considering his preferred aesthetic. Not unlike his compatriot Westside Gunn’s Pray For Paris artwork, Conway’s captures that high-art feel, depicting an imposing diety with blue skin sitting aloft with crystal ball in hand. While there are many interpretations to glean from the LP’s cover, it does go a long way in setting a tone — at once luxurious and intimidating — the Griselda way.

If that wasn’t enough to entice you, remember that From King To A God also features a stacked cast of supporting players, including Drake, 2 Chainz, Havoc, Westside Gunn, Benny The Butcher, Freddie Gibbs, and Dej Loaf. On the production side, we’re looking at Havoc, Beat Butcha, Daringer, Rick Hyde, and several as-of-yet unidentified parties. While The Machine hasn’t given us a release date, his increasing post count seems to indicate we’ll be seeing this one soon. Check out the cover below, and sound off — is Conway sitting on an album of the year contender?

Deluxe Editions have always been around, but never have they been quite so prevalent as they are today. And while the releases of yore tended to feature three or four new tracks, these days Deluxe Editions have become full-fledged albums. Albums that artists have occasionally touted as superior to the original version, leaving us wondering — why didn’t they just release the Deluxe first? In any case, fans are arguably benefitting from the trend, receiving twice the music, even if it can feel slightly rushed.

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Now, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie has taken to Instagram to announce Artist 2.0 Deluxe Edition (does that technically make it Artist 2.0 2.0?), penning a lengthy dedication to his loyal fanbase. “To the best fans in the world: Thanks for being patient and always supporting everything I do,” he begins. “It took a while to bring you this Deluxe because I wanted to make sure it dropped at a time that felt right.”

Confirming that the album will be arriving on June 19th, A Boogie also revealed that he’d be doing his part to help the young people of his community. “I am donating $100k worth of tablets/laptops to my old elementary school, PS 126, in the Bronx, so that they can do their remote learning in the safest way,” he continues. “With everything going on in the world, I believe it’s important to invest in the youth because by doing so, we are investing in a better future. I can’t wait to see y’all soon but until then, stay safe and take care of each other!”

Check out the album cover and announcement below, and look for Artist 2.0 Deluxe to drop on June 19th.

Ever since 6ix9ine came home from jail, legendary artist Akon has been going to bat for him. Akon defended why 6ix9ine ended up snitching on his fellow gang members and at one point, Akon seemed to be interested in doing a hit battle with Tekashi. Now, the two are going even farther with their newfound friendship as Akon has been hanging out at 6ix9ine’s house where the rainbow-haired rapper has his very own makeshift studio.

In the clip below, Tekashi and Akon are jamming out to a brand new track in which 6ix9ine speaks on being thrown in prison. Akon can be seen bobbing his head and eventually, we hear his hook from the classic track “Locked Up.” In 6ix9ine’s post, he refers to the song as “Locked Up Part 2” and that he is currently in album mode.

6ix9ine urged his fans to comment on the IG post and said that if he gets 100,000 comments, he will release the song. Tekashi has been teasing another track over the past few weeks and it was originally going to come out on June 5th but it got pushed back to June 12th.

With this latest collaboration in mind, perhaps there really is some steam to this whole 6ix9ine comeback tour.

Gunna is still riding high off of the release of his latest project, Wunna. Though the album arrived a few weeks ago and launched to the top of the Billboard 200, the rapper admitted that it’s been hard to celebrate with everything going on in the world. However, he’s still plotting on the release of the deluxe edition, as most his peers do when they drop an album.

The deluxe version of Wunna will launch along with a special edition collectibles item. The rapper took to Instagram this week to reveal that the Wunna Mann action figure will be available in the near future. But the action figure is only part of a bigger world surrounding his new album and his lifestyle. Along with Wunna Mann, there will be action figures available for Gunna, Wheezy, Young Thug, Turbo, Taurus, and Ator Keys.

“Wunna Mann?? & Duluxe Otw Who ready,” he captioned the post. 

“Gunna is Wunna. He’s wealthy, he’s unapologetic, and he got the D R I P. The life purpose of Wunna is to be seen, be heard, and communicate. Through his new project he will reflect this purpose in a warrior like manner — energetically, outspoken and recklessly, while shining his brightest light to others,” the product description reads.

Though no tracklist has been revealed for the deluxe version, it feels like it’ll be arriving in the neat future. Are you scooping a Wunna Mann action figure?

Those who respect lyricists understand that Talib Kweli is one of the great ones, especially when you factor in his Black Star work with Mos Def. And though the pair only connected for a single album, 1998’s Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, the album has endured as a classic, a fan favorite, and a testament to the pen game of both parties.

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To this day, there are those holding out hope that Black Star will drop off another album, as has been teased throughout the past few years. Now, Talib himself has confirmed that the pieces are coming together, and possibly rather soon. Speaking with Jimmy Fallon, with whom he actually shared a tent in Africa (“I learned a lot about white people living in a tent with you, Jimmy”), Kweli confirms that an upcoming Black Star album is actually in the final stages. He also reveals that it will be heavy on themes of racial inequality and black power, produced in its entirety by Madlib.

 “I got a new album with Diamond D,” says Talib. “Shout out legendary hip-hop producer Diamond D, but in the spirit of what we’re talking about, a lot of people have been hitting me up like ‘we need that Black Star album, we need that Black Star album.’ Me and Mos Def are in the final stages of the Black Star album. It’s produced completely by Madlib, so shoutout to Madlib and everybody at Oxnard. The new Black Star album is dealing with a lot of this subject matter. I’m working hard to get it out to the people.”