It’s a slower week for music due to July 4th but a few new hip hop albums landed including G Herbo (ft. Polo G, 21 Savage, Lil Tjay & more), YN Jay, Yungeen Ace, and the “lost ’90s Declaime and Madlib album. We also got new singles from Nas, Shygirl/slowthai, Jaykae/Jorja Smith, Rico Nasty, J Balvin/Skrillex, Big Boi/Killer Mike, Toosii, Rubi Rose, Brent Faiyaz/Drake, BigWalkDog, Lil Yachty, Sheff G, Doja Cat/Eve, and more. Read on for all the rap and R&B we posted this week…

NAS – “LIFE IS LIKE A DICE GAME” (ft. FREDDIE GIBBS & CORDAE)

Nas has released a finished version of his 1993 freestyle “Life Is Like A Dice Game” with help from Hit-Boy and guest verses from Freddie Gibbs and Cordae. Read more about it here.

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SHYGIRL – “BDE” (ft. SLOWTHAI)

Genre-defying art-rap artist Shygirl follows last year’s great ALIAS EP with “BDE,” which features fellow UK rapper slowthai (whose Happyland festival she plays in September). It’s a rumbling, moody, experimental rap song and Shygirl and slowthai sound great together.

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JAYKAE x JORJA SMITH – “1000 NIGHTS”

UK grime MC Jaykae and UK soul singer Jorja Smith team up over a clattering beat (from producer Erzah) on this appealing new song.

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RICO NASTY – “MAGIC”

Rico Nasty is set to release a new mixtape called Rx this summer via Atlantic/Sugar Trap, and it’ll feature new single “Magic,” which finds Rico showing off her singing pipes over a chilled-out backdrop.

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J BALVIN & SKRILLEX – “IN DA GETTO”

Two superstars of reggaeton and EDM, respectively, J Balvin and Skrillex have put their heads together for a new song that heavily samples David Morales & the Bad Yard Club’s 1993 dance hit “In De Ghetto.”

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BIG BOI & SLEEPY BROWN – “LOWERCASE (NO CAP)” (ft. KILLER MIKE)

It’s a Dungeon Family reunion with Big Boi, Sleepy Brown, and Killer Mike on this moody, wobbly new song, which is presumably off Big Boi and Sleepy Brown’s upcoming collaborative album.

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JANELLE MONAE – “STRONGER”
Netflix’s new animated series Stronger, which Barack and Michelle Obama produced, debuts on July 4, and includes this uplifting single from Janelle Monae. The series, which is about civic engagement, will also feature H.E.R., Andra Day, Brandi Carlile, and other musicians.

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BLXST – “MOVIE” (ft. BINO RIDEAUX)

“I’m tryna make this shit a movie,” rising LA rappers Blxst and Bino Rideaux said on their recent single “Movie,” and that’s just what they did with this new six-minute music video, which is more like a short film.

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IDK – “PRADADA BANG” (ft. YOUNG THUG)

Maryland rapper IDK’s new album USEE4YOURSELF comes out next week, and today he’s shared this melodic new single featuring Young Thug.

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TOOSII – “HEART COLD”

North Carolina’s Toosii’s delivery exists somewhere between singing and rapping, and his croon sounds great on this catchy, melancholic song.

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RUBI ROSE – “TWORK”

Lexington, KY-based, Cardi-B-co-signed rapper Rubi Rose has released her first single of 2021 and you can read more about it here.

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COMMON – “IMAGINE” (ft. PJ)

Common raps over a classic soulful backdrop on his new song “Imagine,” and the powerhouse hook from PJ really seals the deal.

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DVSN & TY DOLLA $IGN – “I BELIEVED IT” (ft. MAC MILLER)

OVO-signed R&B duo dvsn and LA crooner Ty Dolla $ign are planning to release a collaborative album on OVO, and lead single “I Believed It” is a promising, soulful single featuring the late Mac Miller.

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BRENT FAIYAZ – “WASTING TIME” (ft. DRAKE, prod. THE NEPTUNES)

R&B singer Brent Faiyaz has released a new Neptunes-produced song that puts a fresh spin on late ’90s/early 2000s R&B, and it features a rapped verse by Drake.

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YAJIROBE – ASHBY TAPE

In addition to playing bass in the great screamo band Infant Island, Kyle Guerra is also a hip hop beatmaker under the moniker Yajirobe, and he just released the 9-song Ashby Tape with that project. Kyle made the beats, and raps come from a variety of guests, including Alfred., Ty Sorrell, Kwallah, and others. If you’re into the heyday of the Def Jux/Rhymesayers alternative rap era, you should give this a listen.

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BIGWALKDOG – “WHOLE LOTTA ICE” (ft. LIL BABY & POOH SHIESTY)

Mississippi rapper BigWalkDog recently signed to Gucci Mane’s 1017 label, and his new single “Whole Lotta Ice” features the gigantic Lil Baby and his 1017 labelmate Pooh Shiesty (who was indicted this week over involvement in an alleged shooting and robbery). As you’d probably expect from Baby and the 1017 crew, it’s a very fun dose of Southern pop-rap.

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KONSHENS – “BOOM BANG” (ft. DAVIDO)

Jamaican dancehall star Konshens and Nigerian Afrobeats star Davido team up on the groovy “Boom Bang,” and they sound great together. It’ll appear on Konshens’ upcoming album Red Reign.

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LIL YACHTY – “LOVE MUSIC”

Atlanta rapper Lil Yachty goes in an almost chillwavey direction on his first single since Michigan Boy Boat, “Love Music.”

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SHEFF G – “START SOME SHYT”

Sheff G remains one of the leaders of Brooklyn drill, and he’s in typically hard form on his first single of 2021.

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EBHONI – “ROTATION”

Rising R&B artist Ebhoni returns with a hazy, hypnotic new single, “Rotation.”

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HEADIE ONE – “POUND SIGNS”

Prolific UK drill rapper Headie One is in fine, hard-hitting form over clattering production on this new single.

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DOJA CAT – “TONIGHT” (ft. EVE)

Just two days after releasing her third album Planet Her, Doja Cat release a deluxe edition of the album with five bonus tracks, including one featuring Gunna and one featuring Eve. The track with Eve finds Doja singing over maximalist 2000s R&B-style production, and Eve comes in with a bulletproof verse.

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For even more new songs, browse our daily ‘New Songs’ lists. For more hip hop news, browse our ‘Hip Hop News’ category.

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10 Best Rap Albums of 2020

See the full top 50 here.