SOURCE: bet.com
As a pre-holiday gift, some notable mainstream and underground hip-hop artists have dropped new material. Making their long-awaited return as collaborators are Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre on “Missionary,” the Boss Dogg’s first entirely Dre-produced album in over 30 years. Also pairing up as a rapper-producer duo are Roc Marciano and The Alchemist on “The Skeleton Key,” their follow-up to the 2022 project “The Elephant Man’s Bones.” And don’t think that Will Smith has retired from music; he joins Joyner Lucas on the new single “Tantrum.”
Indie hip-hop collective Surf Gang and Chicago rhymer Valee match energies on their first collaborative effort, “Grey Sky London. The 5-track EP, which features cloudy lead single “Why Not,” makes a strong addition to Surf Gang’s previous joint projects, like “Hard Copy” with Bbyafricka and “Jack and the Beanstalk” with Lucy.
After announcing his new album, which made “SportsCenter” breaking news last week, Florida rapper Bossman Dlow steps into the spotlight on his debut album “Dlow Curry.” Bossman matches his southern appeal with fellow Dirty South guests Lil Baby, GloRilla, and No Cap, while Ice Spice, French Montana, and Babyface Ray bring their respective New York and Detroit flavors to the LP.
Days after releasing “The Skeleton Key” exclusively on the RocMarci.com website as a thank-you to fans, East Coast rapper Roc Marciano gets back to the grind on The Alchemist-produced “The Skeleton Key,” which is now on streaming platforms. With no guest features, the album’s journey brings listeners closer to Marciano, who masterfully blends gritty bars with Alchemist’s stripped-down and soulful production.
“Missionary” marks the second time that Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre have collaborated on an album since Snoop’s iconic debut “Doggystyle,” the duo sounds like they haven’t missed a beat. While getting back into their West Coast groove, featured on the 15-song album are BJ The Chicago Kid, Jhené Aiko, 50 Cen,t and Eminem, along with rock legends Tom Petty and Sting.
Two years after Will Smith hopped on the remix to Joyner Lucas’ 2020 track “Will,” the Academy Award-winning actor reconnects with his “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” costar on “Tantrum,” reigniting Smith’s rap comeback. Co-produced by Lucas and Leo Son, the rappers speak directly to their inner children on the track, showing determination to evolve past anger and past traumas.
Brooklyn drill rapper Sleepy Hallow puts on for his borough on his third project, “Read This When You Wake Up.” The album arrives just two days before Hallow’s Rolling Loud Miami set. By Sunday, fans should be familiar with his 20 new tracks, including Babyface Ray collaboration “Top Tier,” “Upgrade My Life,” and the previously-released “She Like (Fashion).”
After releasing his latest project, “Make the West Great Again,” in May, Los Angeles-based rapper Kalan.FrFr precedes his upcoming Mozzy-assisted album, “Lucky Her,” with the new single, “Dice Game.” In the song, Kalan proves he has motion, building off his reintroduction from Kendrick Lamar’s The Pop Out: Ken & Friends concert on Juneteenth.