NEW MUSIC | US HIP-HOP ALBUMS RELEASED IN JANUARY

The year gets off to an impress­ive start with a flurry of not­able releases:

 Payroll Gio­vanni & Cardo - Big Bossin’ Vol. 2 (Def Jam Record­ings)The duo set the bar high with an excel­lent slice of synth heavy smooth­ness that pays homage to 90s West Coast G‑Funk.

 PGCARDO4D

 

 

 

 

 

Plan­et Asia - The Golden Buddha (Brick Records LLC)

The West Coast lyr­i­cist brings wis­dom and diversity on his latest impress­ive release, fur­ther solid­i­fy­ing his status as one of the under­ground’s finest.

 PLA4D

 

 

 

 

 

Evid­ence – Weath­er Or Not (Rhymesay­ers Enter­tain­ment, LLC.)

The Dilated People releases his third solo album which fea­tures an all-star pro­duc­tion line-up and rhymes delivered with a con­fid­ence and clar­ity that few can match.

EVIDENCE 4D

 

 

 

 

 

The Alchem­ist — Par­is x La x Bruxelles Instru­ment­als (ALC Records)

In 2017 The Alchem­ist pro­duced a series of records for over­seas artists and releases the beats-sans-emcees to sat­is­fy his loy­al fol­low­ing of instru­ment­al heads.

TA

 

4H

 

 

 

 

 

Wil­lie The Kid - Watch The Fly (The Fly LLC)

A four-track EP that sees Wil­lie The Kid drop vivid rhymes with his usu­al non­chal­ant eleg­ance over mel­low production.

 THFLY4H

 

 

 

 

 

Domo Gen­es­is & Evid­ence — Aren’t U Glad You’re U (OFWGKTA)

The Odd Future artist col­lab­or­ates with the afore­men­tioned Evid­ence who oper­ates in a pro­du­cer capa­city to cre­ate a short and sweet EP release.

 DG4H

 

 

 

 

 

Acey­alone & DJ Fat Jack — 43rd & Excel­lence (That Kind of Music)

The legendary Acey­alone, known for his bam­booz­ling flow and abstract lyr­i­cism, col­lab­or­ates with DJ Fat Jack to cre­ate one of the more access­ible pro­jects in his extens­ive catalogue.

adfj

4H

 

 

 

 

 

Ankh­le­john — Lordy By Nature (UUV) (FXCK RXP)
 
The men­acing, gritty Wash­ing­ton D.C. nat­ive ensures his impress­ive year in 2017 con­tin­ues in 2018 with a dark nine-track EP which will keep heads nodding.

AJ4H

 

 

 

 

 

Ghost­face Kil­lah & Apollo Brown - The Brown Tape (Mello Music Group)

An offi­cial reis­sue of 2013’s release, the Detroit pro­du­cer remixed Ghost­face Kil­lah’s Twelve Reas­ons To Die and it’s worth a listen if you missed it the first time around.

GKAB

3D

 

 

 

 

 

Dave East — Para­noia 2 (Def Jam Record­ings / Mass Appeal Records / From The Dirt)

The Har­lem rap­per shows that des­pite his cros­sov­er appeal he remains groun­ded in the streets that raised him, pro­du­cing a refresh­ing take on NY narratives.

DE3D

 

 

 

 

 

Pois­on­ous DiggsVolume 84 (Gold Chain Music)

West Coast artist Killa Kali con­nects with pro­lif­ic pro­duc­tion duo Dirty­Diggs to cre­ate a sol­id offer­ing on this sev­en-track EP release.

PD3D

 

 

 

 

 

Kyo Ita­chi – Gen­kidama (Shinigam­ie Records / Modulor)

The French-based pro­du­cer brings togeth­er a who’s who of under­ground hip-hop and lets them wreak hav­oc over hard-hit­ting boom-bap production.

 KITA3D

 

 

 

 

Nature Scrap Paper (Deep Con­cepts Media)

Nature’s career has been littered with incon­sist­ency. At his best he has held his own with AZ and Nas but this EP’s pro­duc­tion feels imbal­anced, pre­vent­ing the under­rated emcee from reach­ing his potential.

NATURE

2S

 

 

 

 

 

Roy­al FlushNight Time Edi­tion (N.A.B. Records)

Known for releas­ing one of hip-hop’s most under­rated albums, Ghetto Mil­lion­aire, Roy­al Flush struggles to recap­ture the magic and ends up a few cards short over mediocre pro­duc­tion on his latest release.

RF

2S

 

 

 

 

 

Ras Kass, El Gant & J57 – Jamo Gang EP (Aven­ida Records)

Ras Kass has remained one of hip-hop’s most impress­ive lyr­i­cists since he deb­uted in the mid-90s but this latest release suf­fers from char­ac­ter­less pro­duc­tion from the usu­ally more reli­able J57 and feels con­trived and uninspired.

RK2S

 

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Alex Gordon

Between 9–5 I’m a pas­sion­ate teach­er for teen­agers with spe­cial needs and dis­en­gaged young people. From 5–9 I’m a left-wing hip-hop head who fell in love with the music in the mid-90’s. Also have an equal love for jazz, soul and funk, am an avid record col­lect­or, lov­er of live shows and occa­sion­al DJ.

About Alex Gordon

Between 9-5 I'm a passionate teacher for teenagers with special needs and disengaged young people. From 5-9 I'm a left-wing hip-hop head who fell in love with the music in the mid-90’s. Also have an equal love for jazz, soul and funk, am an avid record collector, lover of live shows and occasional DJ.