Philadelphia, Pennsylvania rapper/producer slayr preluding Fabula Nova & 7th Heaven with his 12th extended play after signing to Columbia Records. Recording music since he was only 11, he’s already dropped his last 11 EPs along with a full-length studio debut & a couple mixtapes. The most notable being Half Blood, which I’d rank amongst the greatest tapes of this decade due to it’s boundary pushing take on rage as well as digicore & pop rap. Earning a spot on the 2026 XXL Freshman Class however, he’s striking while the iron’s hot by dropping Avant Nova.
The self-produced “promise” samples “The Peace” by underscores shouting her out for clearing it & asking if his lover wants his heart whereas “switch my swag” featuring prettifun finds the pair talking about not switching their swag for shit. “nova” reaches the halfway point fucking up his brain & after “i got taste” rehashes his XXL freestyle, “having anxiety is annoying” delves into the relatable feeling of anxiousness. “raise my voice” ends the EP with a 2-parter.
It’s already been made clear of how proud I was of slayr for being a part of this year’s XXL Freshman Class alongside Chris Patrick & La Reezy, the latter of whom dropped his debut album Skiddle Bandana earlier this week. But even it doesn’t surprise me that Avant Nova only maintains the pop rap & rage components of his style since he’s now on a major label, I’m still adamant of Fabula Nova being another riveting entry in his discography.
Jack White is a 51 year old musician, singer/songwriter, producer, businessman & actor from Detroit, Michigan known for being the frontman of the seminal garage rock revival duo The White Stripes. He would later drop his solo debut Blunderbuss under his own label 3rd Man Records in tandem with XL Recordings & Columbia Records in 2012, which was followed up with Lazaretto & Boarding House Reach prior to him declaring his independence in 2022 with Fear of the Dawn & Entering Heaven Alive respectively. His previous full-length No Name has quickly become his most beloved statement since The White Stripes’ disbandment & his 7th studio LP looks to dethrone it.
“G.O.D. & the Broken Ribs” accompanied by the b-side “Derecho Demonico” each get the ball rolling with a fusion of blues rock, alternative rock, punk blues, hard rock, garage rock revival & rap rock retelling the story of Adam & Eve in addition to breaking down is only rule of not starting what he can’t finish. “There’s Nobody Here” gives me some punk blues/garage punk vibes singing about sending smoke signals in the air with no one around while “Raising the Grain” commandingly heads for the catacombs where the river flows.
Meanwhile on “You’ll Never Fix Me”, we have Jack embracing a noisier sound encouraging to turn the lights off since he’s seen & heard enough just before “Nobody Knows” finds himself confused by all these questions until he suggests that it could be the human ego speaking to him. The final single “Dollar Bill” combines blues rock & garage rock revival with acid rock to sing about money & power while “I Can’t Believe What I’m Hearing” gives the impression that it was most likely conceived following his impending divorce from his 3rd wife Olivia Jean.
“Thick as Thieves” turns the blues punk influences back up singing about a loyal relationship where they fulfill each other’s needs while the bluesy “All Alone Again” explains that there isn’t an obstacle stronger than greed. “She’s in a Frenzy” continues from there exploring themes of envy & after “Making Contact” criticizes big tech for misinformation dominating social media these days, “Neighbors Blues” spends the last 5 minutes radiating some heavy Led Zeppelin vibes to vent that the people living next to him never have anything kind to say.
Carrying over the raucously frenetic energy of No Name a couple years ago, Jack White dethrones Frozen Charlotte’s predecessor to become his most intimate solo album & my favorite of his since leaving Columbia. The hard & blues rock styles are being prioritized more than his previous outing although we still get hints of punk blues, garage punk, psychedelic rock, alternative rock, garage rock revival, rap rock & acid rock packing a punch that longtime fans will quickly recognize that additionally leaves an open door to anyone who’s been recently introduced to Jack through this.
O.G.C. or the Originoo Gunn Clappaz are a trio from Brooklyn, New York consisting of Louieville Sluggah, Starang Wondah & Top Dog. Their 1996 debut DaStorm is widely regarded was one of the greatest albums Duck Down Music Inc. has ever put out although their 2nd & to date final full-length The MPire Shrikez Back was more moderately received. 3 decades later & the Boot Camp Clik subunit who also formed The Fab 5 with Heltah Skeltah are finally returning to drop off a 3-pack in celebration of their debut’s anniversary.
“I Don’t Need You” kicks things off with a dusty 3 & a half minute intro with some sampling chops talking about making money independently while “Make Peace” instrumentally embraces a boom bap vibe advising all low budget muhfuckas to sit down. The closer “Still Starang” produced by Rockwilder finishes the EP with my favorite track here, spending the final moments of 3:30 looking back at their careers going from touring the world to kicking it with Joey Bada$$.
Wasn’t anticipating O.G.C. to coincide Buckshot’s self-produced 3rd album The Payback dropping earlier today & despite having to pick the latter for being the best of the 2, I still think 3:30 makes for an average return for the Gunn Clappaz although I’d definitely say it’s better than The MPire Shrikez Back. All 3 members haven’t lost a step in terms of lyricism or chemistry, but I wish the production stood out more similarly to the outro since both of Francis McCracken’s contributions were merely passable in comparison.
Kelela is a 43 year old singer/songwriter & producer from Washington, D.C. who signed to Warp Records following her debut extended play Cut 4 Me in the fall of 2013 She would go on to follow it up with the Hallucinogen mixtape 24 months afterwards as well as the critically revered full-length debut Take Me Apart almost a decade ago & returning for the sophomore effort Raven. For the past few months already, she’s been teasing her 3rd studio LP by dropping a handful of singles & the main course is here in time for summer.
“Idea 1” blends neo-psychedelia, ethereal wave, shoegaze, dream pop & post-rock singing about existing in this current political climate whereas “Point Blank” combines alternative R&B, UK bass, east coast club, atmospheric drum & bass, Baltimore club and post-dubstep confessing that she’s too spent to weep. “Goin Down” has a bit of an alternative rock flare to it singing about the feeling of there being no way out just before “Outta Time” fuses alternative R&B, neo-soul, neo-psychedelia, UK bass & psychedelic soul observing that time’s running out.
As for “Against Me”, we have Kelela focusing more on the alternative R&B side of things acknowledging the demise of a relationship unfolding in front of her while “Crystalize” concludes the 1st half of New Avatar asking this person why they can’t get things right when she loved them the most. “Retaliation Lullaby” delicately sings about avoiding the loss of sight while “Linknb” mixes neo-psychedelia, indie rock, trip hop, dream pop, baggy, Jersey club, bounce & alternative R&B embracing a new identity.
“Don’t Piss Me Off” brings the drum & bass elements back in the picture issuing a warning to anyone looking rain on her parade while “New Life Forms” featuring Fousheé finds the pair joining forces for a hypnotic alternative R&B duet. “The Bridge” featuring PinkPantheress links up for the ultimate alternative r&b, future garage, 2-step, post-dubstep & dark garage single while “If We Met Again” sings about giving up on this person lying to her.
For almost a decade already, Kelela has consistently proven herself to be an artist pushing the alternative R&B subgenre forward with a short discography. Take Me Apart was my favorite of hers until this point & now New Avatar has taken over that spot for it’s explorations of neo-psychedelia, alternative rock, future garage, dream pop, indie rock, ethereal wave, shoegaze, post-rock, UK bass, east coast club, atmospheric drum & bass, Baltimore club, post-dubstep, neo-soul, psychedelic soul, trip hop, baggy, Jersey club, bounce, 2-step & dark garage finding solace in confrontation.
Show Me the Body is a post-hardcore trio from New York consisting of drummer Jack McDermott, bassist Harlan Steed & frontman Julian Cashwan Pratt. For the past 17 years, they’ve dropped a total of 3 full-lengths as well as 3 extended plays & a couple mixtapes. A vast majority of which came out under Loma Vista Recordings other than Yellow Kidney in 2013, enlisting Connecticut producer Kenny Beats to produce their 4th studio LP in it’s entirety the same day FATHERS made their eponymous debut.
After the horn-heavy “Overture” intro, “Eat for Peace” blends post-hardcore with noise rock & hardcore punk talking about radical love compelling him to fight whereas “No God” combines post-hardcore & rap rock to discuss explaining that you gotta break down to realize what’s at stake. “Good Time” rebelliously expresses their desire of the band always lookin’ for some fun leading into “Dance in the USA” fusing post-hardcore, rap rock, industrial rock, noise rock & dance-punk encourages to embrace the struggle.
“Do What’s Right (Happy)” winds down the last half of Alone Together discussing the things that people do to keep them satisfied just before “See You Again” after an interlude militantly sings about no grave or cemetery being capable of missing the 2 friends they’ve recently lost. “Mileage” keeps hitting us with more hardcore vibes boasting that they’re fueled up while “New Line” sings about a woman running back to her man after a couple days.
The song “Trust” could potentially be the catchiest one here detailing the struggles of finding reliability in people while the “Finale” was really the 3rd & final spoken word intermission preceding the “Overture” intro & the interlude respectively. The title track spends Alone Together’s last minutes dabbling with industrial rock, posing the question of friend or foe since it’s either one or the other & sending blessings to the people who’re standing individually.
Dog Whistle often gets mentioned as Show Me the Body’s most celebrated album even if some would debate it was surpassed by Trouble the Water, but the NYHC outfit might’ve outdone both of those. Kenny Beats’ dichotic production soundtracks Julian Cashwan Pratt’s themes of putting belief in action more hardcore punk & noise rock-oriented although there are lesser influences of industrial rock, post-hardcore & rap rock being displayed.
Atlanta, Georgia rapper diamond* making his official YSL Records solo debut with a brand new mixtape. A member of the ØWay collective, his full-length debut Nø Idøls last summer caught the attention of Young Thug around the same time he signed Tezzus & their eponymous debut as the Uy Scuti Bøyz a few months earlier was met with disappointingly mixed reception. The Resurrectiøn recently became Tezzus’ most celebrated material & Bling Slime looks to join the conversation.
“Man øn the Møøn” gets things going talking about being the flyest artist his age in the room over some synthesizers & hi-hats whereas “Almighty Dølla” has a more hypertrap vibe instrumentally boasting his thick pockets & his refusal of backing down. “WYD2” produced by both thr6x & Zaan gives us a sequel to a 2024 single the latter also produced just before “4s” featuring Young Thug talks about pouring up Sprite with the guy over more rage beats.
Pz’ appears on “Hedis n Pelles” to energetically put dope in the pot & let it marinate leading into “GG” embracing a bit of a pluggier sound talking about rocking out shows. “Hørsebit” featuring Lil Righteous references the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings division WWE’s Big 5 pay-per-view events the Royal Rumble while the cloudy “3 Wishes” lets Sk8star handle a bulk of the rapping, likening himself to Derrick Rose in the 4th quarter.
“STFU” winds down the last few moments of Bling Slime talking about not beefing with anyone because his squad likes to spin over a hypertrap instrumental with a pitched vocal sample while “Burgers n Fries” featuring southsidesilhouette finds the pair promising to kill anyone who touches their chain, which is ironic because of the recent incident between che & 9 Vicious. The outro “Matter øf Time” ends the tape talking about sticking to the script since it’s what got him here.
Bling Slime to me seemed like it had the possibility of dethroning Nø Idøls but even if that album still does a better job at displaying diamond*’s artistic range, it’s a still worthy prelude to his sophomore effort Jubilee next month. The production’s a lot less experimental & cloudy, maintaining the elements of trap along with rage & plugg. I also felt like a great deal of the guests other than an underwhelming selection or 2 delivered.
This is the full-length studio debut from New Orleans, Louisiana based emcee/producer La Reezy. Introducing himself in 2023 off the Reebornmixtape, he would go on to follow it up with the debut EP We All Need Help as well as both Welcome to La Reezyana & Pardon Me, I’m Different preceding the self-produced Lareezyana Shakedown last September. The latter I would personally tell you is the greatest thing he’s made so far. Coming off Free99$ & the Leader of da Uthhowever, Skiddle Bandana’s finally arrived.
“Curly Headed Boy” begins with a 96 second self-produced intro talking about him going crazy whereas “Hot” takes a groovier vibe instrumentally flexing his increasing popularity within the past year. “Family Bizzy” was a profoundly touching choice of a single talking about his relatives leading into “Normal Struggles” embracing a summery atmosphere to the beat shrugging off problems that many of us are facing.
As for “Pretty Girl Bullshit”, we have La Reezy over a cloudier instrumental talking about all the issues that arise when it comes to gorgeous women just before “How Did You Love Me?” begins to question the sincerity of a female trying to hit on him. After the “Hold Yo Crown” interlude, “Melanate Me” continues the 2nd half taking pride in being African American while “God Forgive Me” recalls protecting a loved one who died from cancer during a robbery.
The title track winds down Skiddle Bandana’s last few moments admitting that he could go for a hug right about now while “Aight” soulfully yet moodily talks about doing simply fine these days. “Gold Chains” serves as a boisterous continuation of the black excellence themes that were explored a little bit ago & the outro “We Live” concludes the album pondering of every limitation reveals itself to be a blessing in disguise, encouraging all to open their eyes.
Out of everyone included in the 2026 XXL Freshman Class list a couple weeks ago, La Reezy undeniably stood out to me as the most talented artist of the bunch although Chris Patrick & slayr are both deserving of their spots too. Skiddle Bandana’s more conscious rather than trying to expand the pop rap sounds of Leader of da Uth, swapping out the chipmunk soul & bounce undertones in favor for elements of dirty south & neo-soul.
Madonna is a 67 year old singer/songwriter, producer & actress from Bay City, Michigan who signed to Warner Records back in the early 80s. She would drop an eponymous debut, Like a Virgin, True Blue, Like a Prayer, Erotica, Bedtime Stories, Ray of Light, Music, American Life, Confessions on a Dance Floor & the underrated Hard Candy primarily produced by The Neptunes for the label prior to her initial departure. MDNA as well as Rebel Heart & Madame X all dropped under Interscope Records to mixed reception, but has returned to Warner for her 15th studio LP & a sequel to Confessions on a Dance Floor.
“I Feel So Free” opens with a progressive house, dance-pop, space disco, spoken word, Baltimore club, hi-nrg, progressive trance & acid house single detailing the way she feels whenever she’s on the dance floor prior to “Good for the Soul” reminding the world to take a breath or let your hair down every now & then. “1 Step Away” continues from there singing about EDM not being as superficial as most people would like to think while “Bring Your Love” featuring Sabrina Carpenter blends dance-pop, diva house, garage house & Chicago house dismisses any commentary from their detractors.
We have Madonna during “Danceteria” dedicating an entire track to the New York nightclub where her career began 4 decades ago while the only song I could’ve done without “Read My Lips” featuring Feid moderately combines dance-pop, nu disco & Latin house to sing about people being broken on the inside. “Everything” makes up for it with a Ray of Light throwback confronting someone for always bringing her down just before “Love Sensation” sings about there being nothing she can’t do with her partner over a dance-pop/French house fusion.
“Love Without Words” gets the 2nd half going embracing a diva house sound taking us through a temple of sweat & surrender while “Bizarre” sings about the unique strangeness that comes with love, recalling Sean Penn’s marriage to her in the latter portion of the 80s. “School” conceptually takes the role of a teacher & a student hoping the latter tells her he loves her despite not knowing it while “Fragile” comes through with a powerful catharsis regarding her late brother Christopher Ciccone, whom she reconciled with prior to his death.
Winding down Confessions on a Dance Floor II’s last act, “My Sins Are My Savior” featuring Stromae leans towards a more tranquil side of things in terms of sound singing in French about looking for love in unfiltered places while “Betrayal” feels like a mix of Ray of Light & Erotica, telling a story that ends in Madonna being backstabbed. “The Test” featuring Lola Leon finds the mother/daughter pairing over an alt-pop/2-step beat repairing their relationship & “L.E.S. (Lower East Side) Girl” spends the album’s final minutes remembering where she came from.
Her tenure on Interscope wasn’t all that even if MDNA along with Rebel Heart & Madame X had select moments that I still go back to now, but Confessions on a Dance Floor II marks Madonna’s return to Warner by dropping her strongest LP in 2 decades. The housier production incorporates additional elements from dance-pop, progressive house, diva house, deep house, space disco, spoken word, Baltimore club, hi-nrg, progressive trance, acid house, garage house, Chicago house, French house, nu disco, Latin house, alt-pop, 2-step & progressive breaks similarly to it’s predecessor curated like a DJ mix so the Queen of Pop can escape from all the turmoil in her life.
Kicking off the 2nd half of 2026 with the 5th studio LP from Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Ken Carson. Breaking out in the SoundCloud scene & becoming a protege of local trailblazer Playboi Carti as one of the first artists to sign to the latter’s Opium Records, he would go on to drop a total of 5 EPs prior to his full-length debut Project X & coming off the mature sophomore effort X which Anthony Fantano infamously gave a 0. Coming off A Great Chaos & More Chaos however, he’s looking to Xperiment a lot more ahead of Cartunez.
Former 17-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE United States Champion & 4-time WWE tag team champion John Cena gets referenced on the intro “wheredoistart?” produced by Four3va whereas “deaf note” featuring Playboi Carti finds the 2 detailing their lifestyles. “shadeson” was disappointing since it’s pretty much a remix of “girl” off 2hollis’ major label debut star prior to “gynecologist” making up for it whether it be the instrumental from F1THY of Working on Dying to the lyrics detailing what he’d do if he wasn’t making music.
“wrist” continues from there talking about being in kitchen serving up weight & deceiving a woman into thinking they’re locking in when Ken wants to fuck her friend leading into “edm” addressing the rumors of Xperiment & Cartunez fulfilling his ongoing contractual obligations. “truth” hops over an Art Dealer & Outtatown beat so he can drop a lengthy verse sandwiched between a chorus expressing his sincerest feelings while “outofmybody” talks about being a wireless plug.
As for “the ritual”, we have Ken setting the record straight regarding a woman acting like he’s her man when it’s false & finding a way to always prevail while the “interlude” feels more of a brief freestyle talking about others not being able to reach his high. “ghost” featuring Lil Uzi Vert speeds up the pace instrumentally so both of them can switch shit up for those moving too slowly while “drug kit” featuring Young Thug details being under the influence of drugs over a celebratory beat from DY & Tre Pounds.
“possession” continues the 2nd half of Xperimenton some more rage-inducing vibes talking about raking money in like a bunch of leaves that’ve fallen off branches while the distorted “fw00” discusses having money on his mind & the fact that he’s been setting trends for some time already. “somanybags” hops over another hypertrap instrumental to talk about being so geeked up where he can’t relax while “shopping” featuring Destroy Lonely prepares us for their collab tape trading the mic back-&-forth.
The song “amandabynes” brings some buzzing synthesizers into the picture talking about falling in love with a woman for who she is as a person & her being attracted to his timing but after “amnesia” runs it back with Art Dealer & Outtatown to confess that he forgot the times he’s seen this chick being addressed, “flamethrower” airs out his grievances towards a an ex-girlfriend whom he did so much for yet she still ended up leaving.
“knocking” brings a hypnotically futuristic sound to the table talking about someone he knew since Day 1 who’s changed so much that he doesn’t even have friends anymore while “addiction” references former WWE United States Champion & WWE tag team champion Logan Paul. “wedidit” featuring Playboi Carti concludes our Xperiment referencing current AEW performer/commentator, former 7-time WWE world champion, 11-time WWE Tag Team Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion & 3-time WWE Hardcore Champion Paul Wight while “Too Many Poles” talks about his stick having no switch over a Clayco beat.
Even if it’s not quite experimental as I hoped it would be, Xperiment could still debatably surpass A Great Chaos to become Ken Carson’s greatest full-length & it has me wondering whether or not Cartunez next Friday will join either of those albums in that same conversation. Excluding a small handful of songs that I felt were pointless, rage/trap production’s less watered down than More Chaos last spring & there’s a tight guest list.
This is the latest mixtape from Detroit, Michigan rapper WTM Solid. A member of the WRLD Tour Mafia, he also embarked on a solo career of his own a few years back with the debut EP Originatour followed by both Matter of Time & What’s the Difference?. Bigg as well as the full-length debut Imagine That at the beginning of last year elevated himself as an individual amongst the rest of WRLD Tour, coming off Street Gospel & $uper Amazing $uper Rich to drop a Touropean sequel.
“7 Words for You” opens up with a cloudy trap intro basically giving middle fingers to anyone who hating on his squad when they’re not doing shit themselves whereas “Foreign Dude” combines some synthesizers & 808s talking about unloading clips after making a bag. “Back on Bull$hit” instrumentally brings a darker vibe to the table treating hoes like the road while “Hard Tour Choose 1” atmospherically talks about getting it out the mud.
Meanwhile on “$olid Shakespeare”, we have Solid letting a woman who ain’t seen much spend an entire day with him leading into “Not Mine (My Turn)” having somewhat of an atmospheric flare to the beat talking about his haters wanting to see him fail. “Top of the Morning” reaches the halfway point of the tape talking about his preference for boring bitches just before “Livin’ 2 Fast” speaks of going from last place to working towards the top spot.
“N.L.M.B. (Never Leave My Babies)” talks about always being there for his children no matter how bigger he becomes musically while “$paceship” boasts of him having more power than the government itself. “Drama Call <3” advises someone who speaks too much around bosses to play it cool while “Lean on Me” talks about dropping projects for the love of the game. “Tyson Fury Fight” produced by WTM Niketech advises to turn your feelings off in order to achieve success & “Don’t Think Too Hard” giving a fuck less about who’s mad at him.
The original Touropean last summer was inspired by WTM Solid’s trip to France & for the follow-up, I don’t see myself coming back to it as much as the other 2 projects he’s dropped this year even if he carries over everything that made the predecessor so distinct 11 months earlier from the lyrics representing his squad overseas except he’s visiting the UK this time around to the Detroit trap production. BUT if he plans on continuing the series in the midst of visiting other countries, of course I’d be welcoming of it.
Legends Will Never Die 