It’s been quite a while since I’ve put one of these round ups out. Unfortunately I’ve had some laptop troubles and life often gets in the way of things you really want to do. I haven’t had time to go in to depth with this article but I just couldn’t let these releases go by without at least giving them a mention. Going forward I should be back to my usual format of giving all the releases a small review.
I told myself at the beginning of the year that I would slow down with music, try to just focus on the things I really wanted to listen to and give them more time. That has been thrown straight out the window because there has been so much good music coming out this year, I cant help myself.
So take a look through this article and catch up on all the music you may have missed. As always I’ve included a link to listen on YouTube (where possible) and a link to buy or download. You can also access all the YouTube tracks on a playlist here and here.
21 Savage – Slaughter King
Trap Mixtape.
6Blocc – Dark Side Of The Boom
Dubstepy, hip-hopy remix of the famous Pink Floyd album.
Abra – Rose
Synth pop vibes from the Awful Music camp.
Acre – Better Strangers
Noisy and experimental dance music.
Add-2 – Prey For The Poor
Soulful hip-hop.
Aesop Rock & Homeboy Sandman – Lice
Two of the best lyricists in hip-hop come together for a free EP.
Amine – Calling Brio
Hip-hop with some heavy beats and tribal vibes.
Apollo Brown – Grandeur
Hip-hop producer calls in a plethora of guest MCs to rap over his signature soulful beats.
Azizi Gibson – Prehistoric Till Death
Synth heavy hip-hop.
Bad Lucc – Breathe
Soulful hip-hop from the Jamla crew.
Big K.R.I.T. – It’s Better This Way
Southern hip-hop.
Blackalicious – Imani Vol. 1
Funky hip-hop from the West Coast legends.
Blended Babies – The Anderson .Paak EP
Somewhere between hip-hop and soul with some great beats.
Bones – Banshee, Frayed and HermitOfEastGrandRiver
Hip-hop / trap / grunge / indie genre hopper Bones hits us with more melancholy vibes.
Download HermitOfEastGrandRiver For Free
Botany – Dimming Awe The Light Is Raw
Interesting instrumental hip-hop.
Break – Simpler Times
Tech drum & bass.
Busdriver – Thumbs
Bizarre underground MC Busdriver taking things in a slightly less jovial direction.
Casey Veggies – Live & Grow
Hip-hop.
Cavalier – Lemonade
Off kilter jazzy hip-hop.
Cavanaugh – Time & Materials
Open Mike Eagle and Serengeti collaborate for a beautifully moody hip-hop album.
CGB – Think
Hip-hop with jazzy, golden age vibes.
Chase & Status – London Bars
Heavy weight D&B producers call in some big names from the grime scene.
Chinese Man & Tumi – The Journey
Bass heavy and fun hip-hop.
Chris Travis – Art Of Destruction
Dark, melancholy trap vibes.
Chuck Inglish – Everybody’s Big Brother
Hip-hop with a strong 80s gangsta vibe.
Constrobuz – Raw Dinner
Hip-hop instrumentals.
Curren$y – Canal Street Confidential
More smoothness from one of the most consistent and prolific hip-hop artists.
Current Value – Rocket Science
Heavy tech D&B.
Dam-Funk – Invite The Light
P-Funk.
Darkstar – Foam Island
Floaty electronica.
Da$h – 17 More Minutes and Skrewface
Hard hitting hip-hop.
Download 17 More Minutes For Free
Delorean – Perfect Black
Southern hip-hop.
Diddy – MMM
Club friendly hip-hop from the veteran.
Dirty Dike – Sucking On Prawns In The Moonlight
UK hip-hop from the High Focus crew.
The Doppelgangaz – Beats For Brothels Vol. 3
Boom bap.
Doug Hream Blunt – My Name Is Doug Hream Blunt
Funk.
D.R.A.M. – Gahdamn!
Spacey hip-hop / R&B vibes.
Drew Lustman – The Crystal Cowboy
Amen break heavy electronica.
EarthGang – Strays With Rabies
Soulful Southern hip-hop with some lush beats.
Electric Wire Hustle – Aeons EP
Hip-hop infused electronic music.
Eric Dingus – Is There In Truth No Beauty?
Sparse and ambient hip-hop remixes.
Erick Sermon – E.S.P. Erick Sermon’s Perception
Hip-hop veteran back at it.
Ethereal – Final Fantasy and I Think I’m On Fire 1 & 2
Deep and drugged up hip-hop from the Awful Records camp.
Download I Think I’m On Fire 1 For Free
Download I Think I’m On Fire 2 For Free
Falls – You Have Been Keeping
Dark and ambient instrumentals.
Father – Papicodone
EP of minimal hip-hop bangers from the Awful Music figurehead.
Finale – Odds & Ends
Detroit Boom Bap with an edge produced by Oddisee.
Fis – The Blue Quicksand Is Going Now
Atmospheric electronic noise.
FKA Twigs – M3LL155X
Experimental electronic R&B flavours.
FloFilz – Speakthru
Chilled instrumental hip-hop with a few guest MCs.
The Foreign Exchange – Tales From The Land Of Milk And Honey
Beautiful neo soul from Phonte and Nicolay. Taking the sound in some new directions.
Frank Nitt – Frankie Rothstein
Detroit hip-hop.
Freddie Gibbs – Shadow Of A Doubt
Freddie Gibbs back to his gangsta rap vibes.
Frenic – Monomyth: Separation
Intricate hip-hop instrumentals.
Friendzone – While You Wait EP
Instrumental cloud rap vibes.
Future & Drake – What A Time To Be Alive
Two of the biggest names in hip-hop give us an album full of bangers.
The Game – The Documentary 2
The Game’s big return delivers so great moments.
Gerald Jacobs – The Loudest Quiet
UK hip-hop.
Gillie Da Kid – Welcome 2 Gilladelphia
Hip-hop.
GOD – The Gospel
Crazy flows and some great trap beats.
Goldlink – And After That We Didn’t Talk
Forward thinking hip-hop.
goreshit – nrrv4
Heavy dance music with a serious hardcore influence.
Guilty Simpson – Detroit’s Son
Gritty Detroit hip-hop.
Hubert Davis – Framework
Chilled out instrumental hip-hop.
Hurt Everybody – 2K47
Futuristic hip-hop from Chicago.
Hyroglifics – No Drama EP
Tech D&B.
Iberian Juke – Iberian Juke & Friends
Great compilation of footwork and juke from around the world.
Illa J – Illa J
Somewhere between soul and hip-hop.
iLoveMakonnen – iLoveMakonnen 2
Bizarre R&B and trap vibes.
J-Live – How Much Is Water
Undergound hip-hop.
Jadakiss – Top 5 Dead Or Alive
Hip-hop.
Jakes – Deep In The Trench
Dubstep.
Jay 305 – Inner City Hero
West Coast gangsta vibes.
Jay Rock – 90059
Hip-hop.
Jeremih – Late Nights
R&B.
JGivens – Fly Exam
Jazzy underground hip-hop.
Jlin – Dark Energy
Intense footwork.
Joanna Newsom – Divers
Incredible return from the incredibly talented singer songwriter.
Joe Budden – All Love Lost
Hip-hop.
John Givez – Soul Rebel
Soulful mixture of R&B and hip-hop.
Jonwayne – Here You Go Pt. 1 & Pt. 2
High quality instumental hip-hop.
Junglepussy – Pregnant With Success
Hip-hop.
Kardinal Offishall – Kardi Gras Vol. 1 The Clash
Dancehall legend back with a more hip-hop heavy album.
Key – Screaming Dreams Prelude
Hip-hop.
Kirk Knight – Late Knight Special
Boom bap hip-hop fromt he Pro Era gang.
Kelela – Hallucinogen
Complex electronic R&B.
Knxwledge – H.S.PRT8.8, H.S.PRT9, WT.PRT9 & WrapTaypes
New instalments for two of the experimental producer’s album series and a compilation of some of his best reworks.
Kode9 – Nothing
Experimental electronic music with strong footwork influences.
Kool A.D. – O.K.
Huge underground hip-hop mixtape.
Kool Keith & Kurious – Don’t Know Why
Underground hip-hop.
L-Wiz – The Orange Tree
Funky down tempo dubstep.
LE1F – Riot Boi
Interesting album from the gay rap scene.
LHF – For The Thrown
Mellow house music.
G Herbo – Ballin’ Like I’m Kobe
Trap mixtape.
Lil Ugly Mane – Oblivion Access
Underground hip-hop.
Little Simz – A Curious Tale Of Trials & Persons
UK hip-hop.
Lofty305 x F1lthy – Elise
Bizarre and floaty 808 heavy hip-hop.
Lucki Ecks$ – Freewave
Drugged out hip-hop.
Luv NY – Luv NY (Deluxe Edition)
Compilation of underground New York hip-hop.
Lymbyc Systym – Split Stones
Uplifting electronica.
Marc Renton – Out There
Tech D&B.
Marcus D & LA – The Golden Gun EP
Boom Bap.
Maxo Kream – MAXO 187
Trap.
Mbongwana Star – From Kinshasa
Tribal world music.
MED, Blu & Madlib – Bad Neighbour
Underground collaboration album.
Method Man – The Meth Lab
Wu-Tang legend back with another solid album.
Mick Jenkins – Wave[s]
Intricate and forward thinking hip-hop.
Mickey Factz – Y-3
Hip-hop mixtape.
Michael Christmas – What A Weird Day
Hip-hop.
Mindscape – Phantoms
Heavy D&B.
Milo – So The Flies Don’t Come
Poetic underground hip-hop.
Moresebya – Free Instrumentals 2015 Pt. 1 & 2 and ясновидение
Down beat hip-hop instrumentals from Russia.
Name Your Price Download ясновидение
Moss – Marching To The Sound Of My Own Drum
Hip-hop producer brings in a large cast of guest MCfor a boom bap style album.
Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire – Live Forever
Underground hip-hop.
Murlo – Odyssey
Complex instrumental bangers with a strong grime influence.
Mykki Blanco – C-ORE
Compilation curated by one of gay rap’s biggest names.
Naibu – Case Study
Liquid D&B.
Navie D – OPRA EP
Instrumental hip-hop.
Nef The Pharaoh – Nef The Pharaoh EP
Catchy Bay Area hip-hop.
Neroche – Elixir
Dark and moody instrumental hip-hop.
Nickelus F – Triflin
Hip-hop.
Nolan The Ninja – Fuck The Hype
Underground hip-hop.
NxWorries – Link Up And Suede
Knxwledge and Anderson .Paak team up for a soulful and jazzy EP.
Ohbliv – Raw Spirit Jewels
Instrumental hip-hop.
OG Boobie Black – The Boobie Trapp
Trap mixtape.
Opio And Free The Robots – Sempervirens
Jazzy hip-hop.
Pastor Troy – War In ATL
Trap mixtape.
Paul Wall – Slab God
Southern hip-hop.
DJ Paypal – Sold Out
Footwork with some real depth.
PeeWee Longway – Pounds Money Ammunition 2
Trap mixtape.
Pell – LIMBO
Hip-hop and R&B.
People Under The Stairs – The Gettin’ Off Stage Step 1
Boom bap hip-hop.
Potatohead People – Big Luxury
Synth heavy, funky instrumentals.
Prof – Liability
Underground hip-hop.
Pusha-T – King Push – Darkest Before The Dawn: The Prelude
Hip-hop.
Rabit – Communion
Ambient electronic noise.
Rapper Big Pooh & Nottz – Home Sweet Home
Soulful hip-hop.
Raury – All We Need
R&B and hip-hop.
Ray West & Kool Keith – A Couple Of Slices
Minimal soulful hip-hop.
Redman – Mudface
Hip-hop legend with a solid album.
Rich The Kid – Dabbin’ Fever
Trap mixtape.
Rich The Kid & iLoveMakonnen – Whip It Mixtape
Collaborative trap mixtape.
Rick Ross – Black Market
Hip-hop album with trap vibes.
Robb Banks – Year Of The Savage
Dark, 808 driven hip-hop.
Roots Manuva – Bleeds
UK hip-hop legend returns with an interesting album.
RP Boo – Fingers, Bank Pads and Shoe Prints
Frantic footwork.
RTKAL – Skunk Rock
UK hip-hop with ragga vibes.
Rustie – EVENIFUDONTBELIEVE
Rustie gets back to the sound of his early work with this album of bangers.
Sandpeople – Old Fruits
Jazzy instrumental hip-hop.
Scarface – Deeply Rooted
Hip-hop from the Southern legend.
SD – Just The Beginning
Trap.
Sean Price – Songs In The Key Of Price
Great underground hip-hop EP from one of the greats (RIP).
Semi Hendrix (Ras Kass & Jack Splash) – Breakfast At Banksy’s
Incredibly funky album from an unexpected duo.
Serial Killers (B-Real, Xzibit & Demrick) – The Murder Show
Hip-hop.
Sheek Louch – Silverback Gorilla 2
Hip-hop.
Sir Michael Rocks – Populair
Fantastisc futuristic hip-hop.
Slim Thug – Hogg Life Vol. 3 Hustler Of The Year
Southern hip-hop.
Smino – BLKJUPTR and S!ick S!ck S!ck
Innovative hip-hop EPs.
Download S!ck S!ck S!ck For Free
DJ Smokey – Evil Wayz Vol. 3
Psychedelic trap instrumentals.
Soul Chef – Good Vibes LP
Soulful instrumentals with some strong guest MCs.
Styles P – A Wise Guy And A Wise Guy
Hip-hop.
$uicideboy$ – Black $uicide Side C, $outh $ide $uicide, My Liver Will Handle What My Heart Can’t
Dark cloud rap vibes.
Name Your Price Download Black $uicide Side C
Name Your Price Download $outh $ide $uicide
Name Your Price Download My Liver Will Handle What My Heart Can’t
Supreme Ace – Trill Influence
Soulful hip-hop mixtape.
Talib Kweli – Fuck The Money
Free album from the underground hip-hop legend.
Talib Kweli & 9th Wonder – Indie 500
Underground hip-hop.
Termanology – Term Brady EP
Underground hip-hop.
Thelem – We Ain’t The Same EP
Dubstep.
Tim Jones – Everyday
Gangsta R&B vibes.
Tom Misch – Beat Tape 2
Instrumental hip-hop.
Toro Y Moi – Samantha
Interesting mixtape of instrumentals from the chill wave artist.
Tsu Surf – Newark
Hip-hop.
Twista – Livin’ Legend
Hip-hop EP from the fastest rapper alive.
The Underachievers – Evermore The Art Of Duality
Underground hip-hop.
Vanilla – Origin
Instrumental hip-hop.
VDon – The Opiate
Underground hip-hop.
Vibes Only Crew (v.o.c) – v.o.c EP2 vol.1
Footwork.
Wave Racer – Flash Drive
Synth heavy dance beats.
The Weeknd – Beauty Behind The Madness
R&B.
Wiki – Lil Me
Underground hip-hop from the Ratking MC.
YG, Blanco and DB Tha General – California Livin’
West Coast hip-hop mixtape.
Yo Gotti – The Return
Trap.
Young Thug – Slime Season 1 & 2
Mixtapes packed with bangers.
Download Slime Season 1 For Free
Download Slime Season 2 For Free
Yung Simmie – Basement Music 3
Laidback trap vibes.
Zero T – Golden Section
Drum & Bass.
2016
2 Chainz & Lil Wayne – Collegrove
Hip-hop.
AG Da Coroner – Sip The Nectar
Underground hip-hop.
Allan Kingdom – Northern Lights
Synth driven hip-hop / R&B.
Anderson .Paak – Malibu
R&B / soul packed with sunshine vibes.
Audio Push – Inside The Vibe
Hip-hop.
Average Rap Band – El Sol
Bizarre hip-hop from Australia.
AyOh – MillennialComicBook
Instrumental hip-hop.
Baby Killa – Baby Killa
Instrumental trap.
Bas – Too High To Riot
Hip-hop.
Black Kray – Soulja Luv Rari World
Cloud rap.
Blu & Ray West – Crenshaw Jezebel
Mellow and jazzy hip-hop.
Boosie Badazz – Thug Talk
Trap.
Chris Travis – The Ruined
Cloud rap / trap.
Chuuwee & Trizz – The Smoke Out & Amerikka’s Most Blunted 2
Hip-hop.
Name Your Price Download The Smoke Out
Count Bass D – Dwight Around Your Lips & Instantly New
Hip-hop.
Cozz – Nothin’ Personal
Hip-hop.
Crimewave – fvckcrimewave
Heavy and dark hip-hop.
Curren$y – The Owner’s Manual & Weed & Instrumentals
Mellow hip-hop.
Download The Owner’s Manual For Free
Download Weed & Instrumentals For Free
Curren$y & Alchemist – The Carrollton Heist
Hip-hop and producer dream team with a great mixtape.
D-JaySremm – Trail Mix
Hip-hop.
David Banner – Before The Box
Hip-hop.
Daz -N- Snoop – Cuzznz
West Coast legends bring the funk.
Denzel Curry – Imperial
One of hip-hop’s most promising young MCs with another great release. Brutal bars and fantastic production.
Domo Genesis – Genesis
Mellow hip-hop.
Dream Junkies – Good Religion
Hip-hop.
Elzhi – Lead Poison
Long awaited return from the Slum Village MC.
Father – I’m A Piece Of Shit
Minimal and dark hip-hop.
Flatbush Zombies – 3001 A Laced Odyssey
Hip-hop.
French Montana – Wave Gods
Hip-hop.
Future – Evol & Purple Reign
Trap.
Download Purple Reign For Free
Hernän – Passing Levels EP
Footwork.
The Hip-Hop House – Mixtape Vol. 1
Scottish hip-hop mixtape.
Hodgy – They Watchin’ Lofi Series 1
Hip-hop.
Hus Kingpin – #HOKTRE (House Of Kingpin – The Revamp Edition)
Underground hip-hop.
Iamsu – Kilt 3
hip-hop.
iLoveMakonnen – Drink More Water 6
Bizarre trap and R&B vibes.
Iman Shumpert – Shumpman The M.D.
Hip-hop.
Ital Tek – Hollowed
Dark electronic music.
Ivan Ave – Helping Hands
Jazzy hip-hop.
Jace – Jace Tape
Hip-hop.
Jacquees – Mood
Smooth R&B.
Jahlil Beats & CRMC – New Levels New Devils
Hip-hop.
Jake One – PrayerHandsEmoji
Instrumental hip-hop.
Jazz Cartier – Hotel Paranoia
Hip-hop.
Joell Ortiz – That’s Hip-Hop
Hip-hop.
J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League – J.U.S.T.I.C.E. For All
Hip-hop.
Kamaiyah – A Good Night In The Ghetto
Hip-hop.
Kanye West – The Life Of Pablo
Highly anticipated album from one of hip-hops biggest names. I’m sure everyone has their opinions on this by now.
Kano – Made In The Manor
UK hip-hop / grime
Kendrick Lamar – Untitled Unmastered
Collection of unreleased tracks from hip-hop’s golden boy.
Killa Kyleon – Blessed To Raise Hell
Hip-hop.
Kilo Kish – Reflections In Real Time
Not sure how to classify this, some hip-hop vibes, bit of spoken wide style vocals, some singing, kind of alternative indie pop stuff. Whatever it is it’s a fun listen.
Knxwledge – HEX.9.8
Twisted jazzy reworks of classic R&B and hip-hop.
Koi Child – Koi Child
Funky hip-hop with a live backing band.
Kool Keith – Total Orgasm
Underground hip-hop.
THE KXNNEDYS – Any Last Requests
Hip-hop.
Kyo Itachi & Ruste Juxx – Meteorite
Underground New York hip-hop.
Lecrae – Church Clothes 3
Hip-hop.
Le$ – Dreamcast
Hip-hop.
Levelz – Lvl 11
UK hip-hop with big influences from grime and D&B.
Lex Luger – Lex Luger Experience: The Tour Vol. 1
Instrumental trap.
Lil Yachty – Lil Boat
Bizarre, synthy trap style hip-hop. You’ll either love it or hate it.
Lofty305 – Ice Cream World
Psychedelic cloud rap vibes.
Lord Sizzle – The Numerous Aromas Of Lord Sizzle
Cloud rap.
Lucki Eck$ – Son Of Sam
Dark and drugged out hip-hop.
Migos – YRN 2 (Young Rich Niggas 2)
Trap.
Mix Master Mike – Magma Chamber
Legendary turntablist with a great mix.
Nature – Target Practice
Underground hip-hop.
NEDLOG ERA – SGLP
Hip-hop.
Nef The Pharaoh – Neffy Got Wings
Bay Area hip-hop.
Nick Grant – ’88
Hip-hop.
N.O.R.E – Drunk Uncle
Hip-hop.
Nyck Caution – Disguise The Limit
Hip-hop.
Oddisee – Alwasta
Hip-hop.
OG Maco – The Lord Of Rage
High energy hip-hop.
One Be Lo – The Original Born Ones
Hip-hop.
Open Mike Eagle & Paul White – Hella Personal Film Festival
Creative underground MC and UK super producer team up for some lush funky vibes.
P.E.A.C.E. – The Green Mile
Hip-hop.
Peewee Longway – Mr Blue Benjamin
Trap.
Planet Asia & DJ Concept – Seventy Nine
Hip-hop.
Prodigy – RIP 1, 2 & 3
Free bundles of unreleased tracks from the Mobb Deep legend.
Quelle Chris – Lullabies For The Broken Brain
Strange and melancholy instrumental hip-hop.
Raz Simone – Trap Spirituals
Hip-hop.
RJD2 – Dame Fortune
Hip-hop producer with an interesting, genre defying album.
Rome Fortune – Jerome Raheem Fortune
Electronic hip-hop / R&B
Rubble Kings
Hip-hop soundtrack to the documentary on New York gangs.
Samiyam – Animals Have Feelings
Instrumental hip-hop.
Saul Williams – MartyrLoserKing
Rapper / poet with more innovative music that’s hard to define.
SBTRKT – Save Yourself
Smooth electronica.
Skeme – Before 4eva
Hip-hop.
Smoke DZA – He Has Risen
Hip-hop.
Soundz – Sheets EP
Smooth R&B.
Stalley – Saving Yusuf
Hip-hop.
Statik KXNG (Statik Selektah & KXNG Crooked) – Statik KXNG
Boom bap hip-hop.
Taso – Cold Heat Vol. 1 & 2
Footwork.
Tim Gent – For The Love EP
Hip-hop.
TM88 – 88 World
Trap.
Torae – Entitled
Hip-hop.
Tre Capital – I Can’t Die Yet
Hip-hop.
Trapo – She EP
Hip-hop.
Vampsterdam – PTSD
Dark and twisted trap vibes.
Vic Spencer & Chris Crack – Who The Fuck Is Chris Spencer?
Chicago MC duo with some interesting soulful hip-hop.
Westside Gunn – Flygod
Underground hip-hop.
Yo Gotti – The Art Of Hustle
Trap.
Young Dolph – King Of Memphis
Trap.
Young Thug – I’m Up & Slime Season 3
Two new albums / mixtapes from the divisive but brilliant trap innovator.
Yung Lean – Warlord
Cloud rap.
Zelooperz – Bothic
Strange, high energy hip-hop from Bruiser Brigade.
mooklife 