Black History Month is already off to a great start. From Luis Fonsi to G Herbo, Big Boi, and Gunna, here are the Friday music releases you need to hear below.
G Herbo & Southside – Still Swervin’
G Herbo and Southside have teamed up for a new joint album, entitled Still Swervin’. The project features guest appearances from Gunna, Juice Wrld, Pretty Savage, and Lil 40.
The album appears to be a follow-up to Swervo, which was a full-length record from Herbo and Swizzle last year. “This just to heat the streets up all a lil bit b4 I get back in t#GHerbo mode… All gangsta sh*t,” Herbo tweeted ahead of the release. Stream Still Swervin’ below.
Jazzy Amra – Amra
Jazzy Amra is coming up as a mentee of Wyclef Jean, and her impressive debut album Amra – executive produced by Jean – tells her story while proving The Fugees co-founder’s ear for talent. The Bronx musician’s six-track project features uptempo heaters about ain’t shit exes (“Waste of Time”) and ballads that search for strength from pain (“Jazmine’s Diary”). “My inspiration while writing and recording my album was my every day life,” she told Billboard. “Through the music, I wanted people to get to know me and see the truth about what I have gone through. Good and bad.” The album also features guest appearances by Wyclef Jean and Jazzy’s fellow Heads Music signee OG Riley.
Luis Fonsi – Vida
Luis Fonsi is back with his ninth studio album, Vida. It’s his first studio LP in five years and follows the great success of “Despacito.” The original version of the song with Daddy Yankee has 5.9 million views on YouTube to date, and it’s remix featuring Justin Bieber remains one of the top three songs on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs list. Both versions of “Despacito” are featured on the album, along with the pre-released tracks, “Echame la culpa” withDemi Lovato, “Calypso” with Stefflon Don, “Imposible” with Ozuna y “Sola.”
Of the album, Fonsi told The Associated Press: “These songs come from very honest, real places. Many have to do with me, many don’t. But I felt that my life is there, in each song,” said Fonsi, remembering himself running between the studio to his house to other professional commitments while his wife was pregnant, Rocco was born and starting to grow. “That life, that excitement, that love that you feel as a father for a child, the most pure and intense form of love — it’s impossible not to reflect that in my music, in the way I communicate. Vida is all that. It’s my life.”
Stream Vida below.
Payroll Giovanni – January 30th
After dropping three projects last year, Detroit’s Payroll Giovanni is starting the new year with another album, January 30th. We’re only a few tracks in, but this looks to be more of the street savvy shit-talking that Payroll and Doughboy Cashout fans have grown to love from them.
Big Boi – “Doin’ It” ft. Sleepy Brown; “Return of the Dope Boi” ft. Killer Mike
Big Boi has shared two new tracks to kick off Feb. 2019. The first is titled “Doin’ It” featuring Sleepy Brown. It’s a mid-tempo song with a vintage style. The second is “Return of the Dope Boi” featuring Killer Mike. The track is another mid-tempo hit but comes with a more aggressive approach.
Listen to both songs below.
Gunna – “One Call”
While Gunna’s upcoming project Drip Or Drown 2 has yet to receive an official release date, the rapper is keeping anticipation with his latest single “One Call.”
The rapper announced the single on Instagram with cover art featuring an iPhone wrapped in a diamond-encrusted bracelet. “Bitch, I’m the man / Did it with no advance / Gave my nigga a chance / Tryna see what he gon’ do,” Gunna raps.Listen to “One Call” below.