This week sees rap legend Lil Wayne returning with a new album, along with a Memphis rap staple delivering a career landmark, and new releases by three of R&B’s best voices. Read below for five albums from this week that you need to listen to.
Lil Wayne – Funeral
Lil Wayne will always be one of rap’s greats, and after unloading the previously shelved Tha Carter V in 2018, he’s now released a new collection of brand new music: Funeral. Weezy’s new LP is 24 tracks and features guest appearances like Big Sean, Jay Rock, Lil Baby, and The-Dream, with production by his early Cash Money brethren Mannie Fresh and Cool And Dre, among others. It should be interesting to see what Wayne has to say after several years of tumultuous legal battles with his mentor Bryan “Birdman” Williams. But in a 2019 interview with VIBE, he sounded excited about what he was creating. “[Before] it was just me going to the studio and saying, let me kill ten more songs and then I’m going to go home or do whatever I was doing. Now, it’s let me see what I come up with,” Wayne said. “Self-discovery, rebirth – call it whatever you want to call it but it feels awesome, I swear to God.” Apple Music | TIDAL
Yo Gotti – Untrapped
Memphis rap pillar Yo Gotti has been consistently releasing mixtapes and albums for more than 20 years, but this week marks a special occasion: his 10th studio LP, Untrapped. At a listening session for the album this week, Gotti said that the title was inspired by his personal dealings at the time: that when he began the album he was stressed and felt trapped, but that he felt freed by the time he completed it. The final album has Yo Gotti teaming up with the likes of Rick Ross, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Megan Thee Stallion, Rick Ross, Ty Dolla $ign, and many others. Apple Music | TIDAL
K. Michelle – All Monsters Are Human
Whether it’s on one of her previous three #1 Billboard R&B albums or her role on Love & Hip Hop, K. Michelle always has something to say – and we expect that to continue on her fifth studio album, All Monsters Are Humans. Aside from the single “Supahood” with Kash Doll and the City Girls, this album sees K’Michelle going solo, so she’ll likely bare all. Apple Music | TIDAL
Luke James – To Feel Love/D
Luke James became one of the most promising names in R&B since his debut album in 2018, and he’s been a VIBE staple ever since. This week, after taking time to focus on acting in projects like BET’s The New Edition Story and Lee Daniels’ drama Star, James has finally released his second project, To Feel Love/D. According to Respect-Mag, James says the album “[is] a body of music intended to spark a feeling of love or feeling loved.” The taut, 32-minute project brings sensual vibes and cameos by Big K.R.I.T., BJ The Chicago Kid, Ro James, and Samoht. Apple Music | TIDAL
Kevin Ross – Audacity, Vol. 1
I may be running late, but I discovered Washington, D.C. R&B singer Kevin Ross after hearing “Thing Called Love” as one of Rory’s “Sleepers” on the Joe Budden Podcast; the beautiful single was one of my favorite R&B songs of 2019. Turns out that Ross has written for the likes of Trey Songz, Nicki Minaj, Jamie Foxx, and Toni Braxton, and he flexes that pen and his expansive vocals on Audacity, Vol. 1, his first indie project after several EPs and one album through Motwon Records since 2014. Apple Music | TIDAL