This week’s best new hip-hop

This week’s best new hip hop features albums, videos and songs from Blxst, G Perico and more.

It’s another slow week, which means another opportunity for rap fans to engage with some of the under-the-radar hip-hop released this year. Another possibility would be to go even further back; While De La Soul finally got to streaming last week, Death Row Records’ catalog followed suit, returning to DSPs this week after a year-long absence.

But there is still a lot of new things to discover. Black Thought and El Michels Affair’s new single “Glorious Game” is worth a try, as is B. Cool Aid’s “Soundgood,” Lola Brookes’ “So Disrespectful,” and Rae Sremmurd’s “Tanisha (Pump That)” — though The less said about Logic’s It Was A Good Day cover, the better. Then of course there are the albums, EPs, mixtapes, singles and music videos below.

Here’s the best of hip-hop this week ending March 10, 2023.

Blxst — Just to clarify 2

The placement of this four-song EP on this list again begs the question: is California rhythm singer Blxst a rapper or a singer? And once again the answer remains: Who cares? His optimistic musings about love, lust, and loyalty work equally well through either lens; here he gets some contemporary assistants from Golden State natives Larry June and Roddy Ricch, who offer a slightly grittier perspective to Blxst’s silky vocal recordings.

Conway the Machine & Jae Skeese — Pain delivers profit

A seven-song offering adds another full clip to Conway’s growing arsenal of collaborative efforts post-2022 What has been blessed cannot be cursed with Big Ghost Ltd. This time the rugged Buffalo native teams up with a local producer who puts a twist on Conway’s usual ominous orchestration. Guest-starred by 7xvethegenius, GooseBytheway and SK Da King, but the former Griselda gangster is at the heart of this project, which follows his established modus operandi fairly closely.

DaeDal™ — Someone is at the door

From time to time, Tidal recommends a new release that wasn’t even close to my radar, but suddenly grabs my attention when I quickly allude to it for this column. Here is one of them. Hailing from South Florida, DaeDalTm’s Atlanta roots shine through in its fiercely melodic reflections on the twists and turns of the streets. Across the album’s 13 tracks, DDT hums his way through some of the most cinematic examples of the trap genre I’ve ever heard, and while his Hood anecdotes are familiar in form, he delivers the narratives with an unusual eye for detail.

G Perico & DJ Drama — Hot Shot: Gangsta Grillz

DJ Drama’s hot phase is somehow still going on; After using his Gangsta Grillz brand name on projects with French Montana and Kash Doll (and that was just this year), the Philly DJ puts his seal of approval on South Central’s latest G Perico. Best known for his Eazy-E-esque voice and updated G-Funk sound, Perico shuts down here, taking unique twists from what fans might be used to and even crossing color lines to connect with RJMrLA. You might not have thought of post-hyphy and jazz rap collaborating, but that’s exactly what’s happening on high flyer.

Garren — Spiritual Warfare

Another artist technically categorized as a singer, Garren, a native of Angeleno via Compton, leans towards a more rhythmic performance here over an absolutely explosive 808-driven production. It’s a stark change from how he behaved in 2022 Is that what you want? – here he’s more boastful, brash and boisterous, sounding a little more like veteran rap crooners like Kevin Gates and Fredo Bang than LA singers like Eric Bellinger. It’s a change that works.

Babyface Ray – “Spill My Cup”

Detroit rappers aren’t, for the most part, known for their introspection, but if there were one person developing that reputation, it would be Babyface Ray. And he would live up to that, as evidenced by this release from his late-2022 album MOB. The gentle piano instrument belies its hard-won observations about life on the rough side of the tracks – the tracks in this metaphor are 8 Mile Road.

Hunxho – “Uh-Huh” Feat. T-Shirt Grizzley

Two rappers who take drastically different approaches to the art form of collaboration can lead to some pretty disastrous results, but every once in a while it comes down to a collusion of opposite tastes that complement each other rather than clash. That’s exactly what’s happening here, with the rappers’ shared dissatisfaction forming the unifying element that holds them together.

JayDaYoungan – “Dirty Soul”

It’s a bit heartbreaking that the Louisiana artist was killed off before he ever really got the national recognition that was coming his way, but on the bright side, I think more people can learn about him, and a few more Jewels in it are catalog worthy of attention. “Dirty Soul” reflects both sentiments, with the late rapper sounding just as devastated about his circumstances as fans are about his loss.

Sha Ek – “Box/Bluff”

Danny Brown might not think highly of New York drill-rappers who sound like Batman, but that’s not stopping the subgenre from going strong. Surely he was thinking of screaming little guys like Sha Ek, who at 19 doesn’t even look like he could get into an R-rated movie on his own. But once you’ve gotten past his looks, there’s a connection and anger behind his apparent romp – and a genuinely compelling stage presence and theatricality that’s very Batman-esque indeed.

Some of the artists featured here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.