Here is the 5th extended play from Buffalo, New York emcee Jae Skeese. Starting in 2010 off his debut mixtape W.A.C.K. (Women, Alcohol, Cash & Kicks), it wasn’t until a decade later where he & 7xvethegenius gained wide exposure as the very first signees to Conway the Machine’s very own Drumwork Music Group. The Big Ghost Ltd.-produced 3rd EP Authenticity Check & the sophomore effort Abolished Uncertainties both elevated Skeese’s popularity in the last couple years. Coming off the Superior-produced Testament of the Times & elevating from Ground Level though, Ill Tone’s producing The Good Part succeeding 40 Hours.
“Paralysis” chops up a soul sample to get things going talking about feeling like nobody’s above him whereas “Accelerant” featuring Conway the Machine & Stove God Cook$ finds the trio aggressively going at the throats of those who got the game wrong. “Curt Menafee” featuring Cory Gunz goes for a summery direction instrumentally talking about putting it all on the line leading into “S.W.G.M. (See It, Want It, Got It, Mines)” end the 1st half by speaking of taking what’s his.
Fuego Base & Sule appear on “Raiden” kicking off the 2nd leg with all 3 of them aggressively talking about wanting the finer things closer in reach just before “Worldwide” featuring Talib Kweli & T.F links up so they can discuss how far they wanna take it musically. “Mua” hops over a victorious beat to talk about getting his cake up & winning in the biggest ways while “No After No” featuring Brother Tom Sos & Consequence finishes with each artist explaining that they never stopped chasing their goals after being counted out.
I completely understood what Jae Skeese was doing trying give lesser known local artists a bigger platform although I’m still on the fence with that EP over an entire year later, but The Good Part has to be my personal favorite project of his since Testament of the Times. From the penmanship to the higher profile guest appearances & Ill Tone’s production, it’s already been implied that they’re gonna make an entire series out of this & this inaugural entry checks off every box regarding why they should.
Flying Lotus is a 42 year old producer, DJ, rapper, songwriter & filmmaker from Los Angeles, California who made his debut 2 decades earlier with the positively received 1983. He would later sign to Warp Records, dropping a string of acclaimed follow-ups from Los Angeles & Cosmogramma to Until the Quiet Comes & You’re Dead! throughout the course of my adolescence. Of course I’d be remised to forget the underrated DU∆LITY mixtape he dropped under the Captain Murphy alias. Flamagra in the spring of 2019 was the last time we heard FlyLo secularly, coming off the Yasuke & Ash soundtracks to drop his 7th extended play through his own label Brainfeeder Records in tandem with Ninja Tune.
The title track begins with this 36 second intro that will likely be used during an [adult swim] bumper at some point within the near future whereas “Captain Kernel” goes for a glitchier vibe instrumentally working in some additional synthesizers. “Antelope Onigri” throws it back to the IDM sound that defined Los Angeles & Cosmogramma over a decade earlier leading into “In the Forest: Day” hooking up some psychedelic synth melodies that feel like an acid trip.
“Brobobasher” continues the final leg of Big Mama blending elements of drum & bass as well as glitch and house music for almost a couple minutes while “Horse Nuke” starts off by heading for an ambient direction for the opening minute or so until combining both wonky & techno for the remaining 102 seconds. “Pink Dream” however sends off the EP by cooking up an animated beat that would remind some people of the 3rd generation of video games 4 decades earlier.
Considering that he’s signed a handful of artists I’ve liked in the past such as Kamasi Washington or Hiatus Kaiyote & Thundercat, it makes me happy to hear Flying Lotus making an independent return to his electronic roots over the course of Big Mama’s brief runtime & only a month away from Distracted. His production takes an experimentally maximalist approach to IDM, glitch hop, wonky, glitch, nu jazz, ambient, chiptune, drum & bass & techno almost like a machine malfunctioning right in front of our very eyes.
This is the 9th studio LP from Kansas City, Missouri emcee Joey Cool. Starting out as a long-time affiliate of local independent hip hop powerhouse Strange Music dropping a total of 4 mixtapes & a studio album on his own until Tech N9ne decided to officially sign him to the Snake & Bat in 2017, he then dropped an eponymous sophomore effort the next spring followed by Old Habits Die Hard as well as Coolie High & I Tried to Be Normal Once. Coming off the break he took last year following The Chairman of the Board as well as the Mario Casalini-produced Enjoy the View & Roller Coaster, he’s making a return by saying Time Will Tell.
“Swank Lord Back” produced by Mario Casalini begins with an skit until the beat kicks in during the 2nd half of it talking about the Swankiest of Strangeland being in action again after taking a year off whereas “Talk That Shit” flexes that he’s completed his contact with Strange over a C-Lance instrumental. “International Coolie Anthem” boisterously shrugs off the fact that life can be a little busy at times leading into the rap rock-inflicted “Known Associates” thanks to Burna Music addressing someone he considered a brother.
We get a fusion of R&B, pop rap & trap on “Work of Art” talks about a woman that he firmly believes is the one for him just before “Yam Jam” featuring Kstylis & Roblo Dastar moves on from there with a tedious strip club anthem. ReadyRockDee & Richie Evans both appear so they & Joey can give off some of that “Main Character Energy” over a Wyshmaster beat prior to him asking how can he “Carry On” living in a world he can’t change, losing his mind because of the pressure.
“You Feel It” wraps up the 1st half of Time Will Tell going for an upbeat direction courtesy of Lowkey tha Wizard confident he’ll be earning more as long as he’s still breathing while “Set It Off” featuring King Iso, Rittz, Tech N9ne & X-Raided after “Tracker (Swanky’s Saloon)” interlude finds all 5 of them talking about Strange being the best in the business. “Moonwalking Under Glass” featuring Ubiquitous fuses jazz & trap to continue the 2nd leg explaining that they’re not gonna get the full picture if there are some pieces missing.
Saigon & X-Raided join Coolie in grittily reminding anyone who “Must’ve Forgot” all the bullshit when they didn’t while “Go Fast!” talks about the urge he gets to run a couple laps whenever things get too slow for him. “Brunch in SoHo” combines a vocal sample with some hi-hats recalling going from the hood to sippin’ mimosas while “Franchise” takes a more energetic approach in general talking about nobody has to wish him any sort of luck because he’s only gonna get a lot bigger going forward.
“Midnight in the Town” featuring G Watts & Kye Colors moderately brings all 3 of them together over a cloudy Matt Phoenix instrumental to drop territorially hardcore verses although The Chairman of the Board saves the best for last while “This is My Love Song” stylistically departs from the hip hop sound he became known for in favor of experimenting with R&B, doing it better than I could’ve imagined. “Swanktified” ends the album talking about continuing to scorch shit because those of importance know his name fusing rap & gospel.
There are moments on Roller Coaster that I still enjoy almost a year & a half later, but I can’t argue if anyone would have Time Will Tell as their favorite thing Joey Cool has ever made. Especially since I personally would put it up there with self-titled, Old Habits Die Hard & Enjoy the View. This & the latter both make the finest examples of how far he’s come since those earlier projects in terms of versatility & songwriting regardless of a few guest performances lacking.
Gnarls Barkley is a neo-soul duo from Atlanta, Georgia consisting of producer Danger Mouse & singer/songwriter Cee-Lo Green. Both of whom met each other in the late 90s when Cee-Lo was performing at the University of Georgia & Danger Mouse won a contest to DJ the show. Their debut single “Crazy” celebrating its 2-decade anniversary next weekend would become one of the biggest hits of the 2000s, later dropping the full-length debut St. Elsewhere & a sophomore effort The Odd Couple under Warner Records. However in the wake of Goodie Mob’s disbandment & the Dungeon Family preparing for a follow-up to Even in Darkness in which Cee-Lo teased to be their “farewell album”, he & Danger Mouse are making a victory lap of their own releasing what they’ve been calling their 3rd & final LP through 10K Projects.
“Tomorrow Died Today” passionately begins with this atmospheric instrumental singing about how we’re all the same in death whereas “I Amnesia” soulfully asks if anyone would remember him if he came back to life from the grave. The only single “Pictures” blends neo-soul & country soul nostalgically remembering when they used to take the MARTA train system in the 8th grade just before “Line Dance” shifts towards a funkier vibe singing about thinking outside the box to get in his bag.
As for “Turn Your Heart Back On”, we have Cee-Lo over a peppier beat wondering if anyone’s listening or simply hearing leading into “Let Me Be” suggesting everyone to leave him alone so he can have some time & understanding. “Cyberbully (Yayo)” starts the 2nd half on a more futuristic note suggesting the possibility of a cyborg being inside of him while “Perfect Time” turns up the psychedelia singing about now being our greatest opportunity to do everything we want until our demise comes.
“Sweet Evil” confesses that he feels like a God in some earthly form while “Boy Genius” sings about everything being fine if someone doesn’t understand you because it might mean you’re a genius. “The Be Be King” expresses a desire of staying true to himself rather than wanting to be someone else like the rest & after “Sorry” issues an apology for losing the war of peace, the final song “Accept It” sends off the coda singing about Heaven being out there on the dance floor tonight in addition to the Devil hitting some moves when he has the chance.
There were always plans for Gnarls Barkley to make 1 last LP after The Odd Couple, but wound up going on hiatus until last Thursday due to other creative endeavors & have finishing what they started by making an entire full-length dedicated to the city that made them. Danger Mouse’s production incorporating contemporary R&B, pop soul, smooth soul & psychedelic soul paired with Cee-Lo Green’s introspective songwriting join the likes of Jill Scott’s independent comeback To Whom This May Concern & more recently GENA’s debut The Pleasure is Yours in terms of neo-soul thriving in 2026.
Kendra Egerbladh a.k.a. waterbaby is a 28 year old singer/songwriter from Stockholm, Sweden whom the Seattle, Washington indie label Sub Pop Records signed in the summer of 2023. Her debut extended play Foam followed right away later & left a great deal of listeners divided, although I could see the artistic potential she had fusing alt-pop as well as bedroom pop & alternative R&B. She has since released half of her 2nd EP as singles between last May & the previous month, looking to outdo herself nearly 33 months afterwards.
We get some pianos all over the intro “Sink” singing about the steady waters asking her to either leave or believe whereas the title track blends chamber pop, bedroom pop & bossa nova expresses her desire to be seen as someone worthy. “Clay” featuring her brother ttoh combines art pop, chamber pop, chamber folk, folktronica & bedroom pop to look back at a past break-up while “Beck n Call” also featuring ttoh fuses sophisti-pop, bedroom pop, jazz pop, pop rap & neo-soul so they can talk about their hearts being on lock.
“Minnie” starts the 2nd half of Memory Be a Blade by incorporating some strings singing about not wanting to disappoint all the people she made into believers just before “Minnie Too” goes for a jazzier vibe yearning to get away. The art rock, chamber pop, indie folk, neo-psychedelia, folk rock & post-Britpop lead single “Amiss” asks all sorts of questions regarding love while “Srs Ice” finishes the EP suggesting that she should build an attic inside of her own mind over some horns.
Even I would say Foam was a pretty average alt-pop/bedroom pop EP when it dropped a few summers ago, but the teasers building up towards Memory Be a Blade had me hoping waterbaby would display some artistic growth & I hope she capitalizes that whenever her debut album comes. The production’s noticeably darker take on the styles of chamber pop, bedroom pop, bossa nova, art pop, chamber folk, folktronica, sophisti-pop, jazz pop, pop rap, neo-soul, indie folk, neo-psychedelia, folk rock & post-Britpop improving her songwriting by using a previous breakup as a base to make the lyrics hit deeper.
Long Beach, California indie rock band Dutch Interior comprised of guitarist/vocalist Jack Nugent, guitarist/vocalist Conner Reeves, keyboardist/vocalist Shane Barton, drummer Hayden Barton, bassist/vocalist Davis Stewart & guitarist/vocalist Noah Kurtz celebrating a whole year of Moneyball with their 2nd EP. Their introductory extended play Kindergarten in 2021 would prelude their widely praised debut album Blinded by Fame, later making their Fat Possum Records debut with Moneyball around this time 365 days prior. As they get ready for a new era, they’re offering a brief extension of their most recent LP in the form of It’s Glass.
“Ground Scores” begins with alt-country & slowcore-tinged 2nd single singing about finding beauty within the chaos whereas the 3rd & final single “Go Fuck Yourself” incorporates these pianos to explain all the things they don’t like regarding their hometown. “Say Anything” kicks off the 2nd half going for a lo-fi direction so Davis can tell his partner that he knows what it’s worth but once the lead single “Play the Song” by their love of repetition & memory, the acoustic “I Have No Clue” ends by singing about a woman Conner doesn’t even know on top of some acoustics.
In a way, It’s Glass feels like a short extension of Moneyball considering that Dutch Interior are taking the very same ideas they had for their Fat Possum debut over a year ago & evolving them in ways that sound intimately bigger than when they demonstrated their tendency to connect the dots. It can be a bit shapeless compared to its predecessor at times but nevertheless, these guys make it clear that the only constant of their career is the band’s consistent artistic evolution.
This is the 32nd extended play & Roc Nation Records debut from Vallejo, California emcee LaRussell. For the past 8 years, the man originally known under the moniker Tota has been steadily hustlin’ in the west coast underground by putting out his last 31 EPs along with 5 full-length albums & 7 mixtapes as of me writing this. Personal favorites include the Hit-Boy produced Rent Due, the sequel Rent Paid, the Mike & Keys-produced Party on the Westside & Black Boy Fly. However, he’s having Lil Jon fully producing Something’s in the Water.
“I’m From the Bay” after the “United Bay of America” gets things started with a hyphy beat talking about coming from the northern parts of the sunshine state whereas “Wigglin’” succeeding the titular skit goes for a bit of a g-funk vibe almost counting money until his face turns blue. The synthesizers continue to seep their way through expressing a desire to do “More for Me” & after the Marshawn Lynch skit, “Wake Shit Up” reaches the halfway point talking about his involvement in bringing this crunk shit back.
After the “Chuy Gomez” skit, Kalan.FrFr joins LaRussell to moderately recall a “Hot Summer Night” out in the west coast while “Get Off Me” does a better job at maintaining the hyphy vibes talking about how saucy he is. “I Got Flavor” instrumentally keeps throwing it back to ‘06 when “Blow the Whistle” became amongst Too $hort’s most celebrated singles once again boasting his distinctiveness, but then “You’ve Reached LaRussell’s Phone” turns out to be the 5th & final skit.
“How Far Can You Go?” winds down the final minutes of Something’s in the Water posing that very question to the world & further elaborating the reality of those who don’t put in any effort never knowing if they’ll achieve any art of success until Malachi appears on the outro, helping the leader of the Good Compenny collective in making the kind of music that would make a “Thug Cry” & having a heart full of regret soon as the doves start soaring in the air even if his feature wasn’t much better than Kalan’s.
Something’s in the Water marks a full circle moment after LaRussell was listening to “Tell Me When to Go”by E-40 featuring Keak da Sneak or the previously mentioned $hort Dog single “Blow the Whistle” on the radio 2 decades ago, getting Lil Jon to snap out of that whole guided meditation phase he was in the middle of a couple years ago & nostalgically celebrating his hometown for a hyphy-lenient Roc Nation debut although neither of the guests stuck out in addition to the amount of skits being unnecessary.
GENA a.k.a. God Energy, Naturally Amazing is an alternative R&B/neo-soul duo consisting of Dallas, Texas singer/songwriter Liv.e alongside Detroit, Michigan producer & multi-instrumentalist Karriem Riggins. Getting to know each other through a mutual collaborator, their kinetic synergies have resulted in them teaming up loosely naming themselves after Tisha Campbell’s character on the Warner Bros.-owned sitcom Martin & sparking excitement for a full-length studio debut amongst everyone who’s familiar with either artists’ work.
“Who’s Got a Problem with GENA?” comes out the gate by singing an irresistibly funky instrumental asking if anyone has smoke with her or Karriem whereas “Theybetterbegladihavetherapy” goes for a bit of a jazzier direction pleading for her boundaries to be respected. “Left the Club Like “Really N***a!?”” lyrically tears a deceitful man up into complete shreds just before “You’ve Outdone Yourself Today, Huh?” sings about keeping your head up over a vocal sample.
As for “Unspokerrn”, we have Liv.e taking some heavy inspiration from none other than the Queen of Neo-Soul herself Erykah Badu trying to figure out how she & her partner got to the point they’re at in their relationship currently leading into “TGD” singing about everyone knowing the way shit goes around her hood & the women’s preference of doing it. “readymade” slickly makes it clear to her lover that she doesn’t want to regret standing beside him while “Douwannabwitastar!?” ends the 1st leg of The Promise is Yours jazzily asking if anyone wants to be with someone famous.
“This is So Crazy” gets the 2nd half going for a more futuristic direction in general & has it’s moments that somewhat remind me of the late Prince while the 3rd & final single “Lead It Up” hopping over a smooth beat singing about making a man out of this person if it were up to her. The jazz influences are brought back in full effect on the 2nd single describing “HOWWEFLOW”, but then “DoobieDooWew” a lot like “Unspokerrn” is another example of Liv.e & Karriem embodying the spirit of Erykah Badu materially both vocally & instrumentally.
Wrapping up the LP’s final moments, the lead single “Circlesz” was a great alternative R&B/neo-soul lead single to kick off The Pleasure is Yours’ rollout assuring her romantic interest that she’ll follow him around & take her time with him while the summery “Dream a Twinkle” yearns to make it far with the person she’s been dating. “Thatsmyluvr” sings about her partner being heaven sent blending some crooning background vocals with jazz horns prior to “omo iya ati baba” closing the album thanking God for giving us life & calling for parents to protect their children.
Liv.e has had done some dope features for Earl Sweatshirt & MIKE within the past several years, so the idea of her linking up with one of the 313’s most renowned percussionists in Karriem Riggins based off all 3 teasers resulted in colliding each of their jazz-inspired styles for a playfully improvisational alternative R&B & neo-soul LP with some elements of psychedelic soul & hypnagogic pop incorporated to a lesser extent that I would say rivals Jill Scott’s independent comeback To Whom This May Concern only a couple weeks earlier in ranking amongst the greatest R&B of 2026 not even a quarter way through the year.
Atlanta, Georgia emcee/producer Tha God Fahim with his 2nd extended play of the month & his 72nd overall. Starting as an affiliate of Griselda Records & being 1/3 of the Dump Gawds alongside Mach-Hommy & Your Old Droog, we also can’t ignore the massive discography that he’s managed to build for himself, some of the standouts include Breaking Through tha Van Allen Belts & Dump Assassins. He’s been putting out amongst his best material in the past few years like the Camoflauge Monk-produced Dark Shogunn Assassin, the Nature Sounds-backed Iron Bull, the Nicholas Craven-produced Dump Gawd: Shot Clock King series, the Oh No-produced Berserko, the Mike Shabb-produced Dump Gawd: Rhyme Pays, Tha Supreme Hoarder of All Pristine Wealth, Supreme Dump Legend: Soul Cook Saga produced by Cookin’ Soul & Machine Gun Vocabulary produced by Cartune Beatz. Last time I covered him was when Slam Dump & the self-produced Ultimate Rapper 5000 Guillotine towards the end of 2025, running it back with Drega33 for a Slam Dump sequel.
“Behold It” sets it all off with a soulful opener talking about not letting life slip away whereas “Il Find” featuring Jay NiCE continues the chipmunk soul vibes so they can discuss keeping the streets on smash regularly. “Freedom N Knowledge” goes for a smoother vibe instrumentally suggesting not reach for his belt when his discography speaks for itself leading into “Broken Hope” jazzily talking about every dog having it’s day.
The song “Became Great” chops up more soul samples to push towards Slam Dump 2’s final moments admitting that he had to let go of people he used to go to school with while “1up” featuring Jay NiCE reunites the pair 1 last time stripping the drums so they can talk about being on a power level with no estimate. “Venomous” spends the final couple minutes ripping a chipmunk soul instrumental explaining that he had to learn how to adjust to the diabolic world we’re living in & that it’s never too much.
I have no doubts that Season 2 of the Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap series will be resuming sooner than later, so it isn’t really too much of a shocker that Tha God Fahim would drop off Slam Dump 2 on the same day Nature Sounds reissued Tha Dark Shogunn Saga 2 for streaming ahead of it’s 10-year anniversary when next January rolls around. Drega33’s production maintains the predominant chipmunk soul sound that we heard on the predecessor a few months earlier & Lethal Weapon 4, occasionally taking some inspiration from drumless & jazz rap rather than continuing the lo-fi boom bap direction Solar Lottery primarily embraced.
New surprise mixtape & the 12th overall from Detroit emcee Babytron. Coming up as a member of the ShittyBoyz along with his childhood friends Stanwill & TR Dee signing to Lando Bando’s own The Hip Hop Lab Records, he also branched out on an impressive solo career for himself as well as the side groups Lewis & Clark and the Dookie Brothers. But the last couple years was probably his biggest yet landing interviews ranging from No Jumper to even Rolling Stone following the release of Luka Trončić until signing with EMPIRE Distribution later that same month & Bin Reaper 2: The 2nd Coming that same fall. Bin Reaper 3 ended the trilogy with a 2-disc effort, the bootleg Style EP wound up being disappointing & the full-length LP 6 made up for it as did Megatron 2. His collab mixtape Mario & Luigi with Certified Trapper wasn’t all that great either, Tronicles was cool, Luka Trončić 2 did a solid job of recapturing the energy of the original & now he’s Out on Bond Again only 24 hours away from former 3-time WWE women’s world champion AJ Lee ending Becky Lynch’s 2nd reign as WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion at Elimination Chamber XVI.
The title track sets it all off with a Detroit trap beat talking about recently getting caught with a controlled substance in Atlanta, Georgia whereas “Barkin’” includes a line about juggalos, alluding to the fact that Motown Rage fronted by his dad Mr. Sadistic was signed to Psychopathic Records almost 2 decades earlier. “2026” references former The Crash Mundial Pesocompleto Campeon & NXT Tag Team Champion Cinta de Oro leading into “JJ” talking about being a self-made millionaire.
Rio da Yung O.G. joins Tron for “911” produced by Danny G to spit some of that gangsta shit while “USA” talks about visiting almost every state in the country. “Tell Me” makes a reference to both former 17-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE United States Champion & 4-time WWE tag team champion John Cena and former CWA Heavyweight Champion, 6-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, WWE Hall of Famer, 6-time WWE world champion, 3-time WWE United States Champion, 6-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE Tag Team Champion, TNA Wrestling co-founder & AEW’s current Director of Business Development Jeff Jarrett.
“Geek Time” featuring 1900Rugrat finds the 2 decently trading a handful of brief verses with one another while “Curtis Granderson” reaches the halfway point experimenting with a funkier vibe instrumentally talking about taking anyone’s money if they’re giving it away. “Goldeneye” refers to one of the greatest Nintendo 64 games of all-time while “iCarly” featuring BLP Kosher displays their chemistry with each other over a Pi’erre Bourne beat, including a reference to WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson’s fight against former WWE United States Champion Logan Paul’s brother Jake.
Jorjiana appears on the single “Carhartt” talking about their experiences of being Michiganders but once “Offset” combines a cloudy backdrop & some 808s explaining that one’s life would be the cost of fucking with the Dog $hit Militia at large, “Say No to Drugs” hops over an uncanny Jakesand instrumental talking about people living in the past because of discontent regarding their lives in the present day & suggesting those who ain’t benching enough to get their weight up.
“Rice Street” featuring Scatz trades the mic back-&-forth with each other for the entirety of a singular verse referencing WWE Hall of Famer, 7-time WWE world champion, 7-time WWE tag team champion & WWE Hardcore Champion The Undertaker alongside WWE Hall of Famer, former SMW Tag Team Champion, 3-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 12-time WWE tag team champion & WWE Hardcore Champion Kane a.k.a. former 3-time WWE tag team champions The Brothers of Destruction while “Wondering” asks himself who’ll be there when shit gets sticky. “IDK?” ends the tape with him confessing to the uncertainty regarding of how he’ll pass.
The original Out of Bond extended play is widely considered by many Babytron fans to be the weakest entry across his entire discography & the sequel makes some slight improvements above it’s predecessor although I wouldn’t put it in the same category as Luka Trončić or the Bin Reaper trilogy. There are only a couple guests that I could’ve done without, but I’d love to hear Danny G or Jakesand produce an entire body of work for him since I feel like they’ve always been able to bring the best out of him & I appreciate that it’s a bit shorter than some of Tron’s latest output.
Legends Will Never Die 