This is the week hip hop has been waiting for for weeks. A big week in hip hop, there is music from Kanye West, J. Cole, and Mac Miller that everybody has been waiting for. Of course, those are the albums the self-proclaimed hip hop heads want to hear about, but there is also Kelly Rowland with a new album and Chicago newcomer, F.Stokes.
Because of the new marketing strategies, a lot of the albums released this week have already gone platinum. All the hip hop fans on Twitter should remember Jay-Z’s six tweets yesterday about the “new rules.” Clearly, the album sales and Billboard tracking is on its way out.
HHV New Album Weekly is now three weeks in and this week is the biggest one yet. So, here is a quick rundown of the albums coming out with Kanye West, J. Cole, Mac Miller, Kelly Rowland, F.Stokes, Mitchy Slick, and Statik Selektah are all coming out with new albums today. Find out what each purchase will bring by looking at it here.
Kanye West – Yeezus
Finally, Yeezy Season is upon the world and it would be almost blasphemous to mention any album ahead of this one. A couple of projections on buildings around the world and a “Saturday Night Live” performance and Kanye West is set to ship 500,000 copies in his first week. “New Slaves” and “Black Skinhead” have been pushed as the singles off the album. Yeezus was released earlier today and the project features ten new tracks. There is one guest appearance on “I Am a God,” featuring none other than the Heavenly Father, God.
Download Yeezus by Kanye West here.
J. Cole – Born Sinner
Much less-controversial, J. Cole is simply focused on good music with his Born Sinner album. J. Cole worked hard to break out of the shadow of his debut album. All of that work was not going down the drain for Kanye West, so J. Cole decided to face off against him. Instead of taking to downtowns across the world, J. Cole followed a more traditional route with his “Power Trip” single featuring Miguel becoming an anthem. Other features on the album include 50 Cent, Kendrick Lamar, and almost Nas.
Download Born Sinner by J. Cole here.
Mac Miller – Watching Movies with the Sound Off
Out of all the albums to come out this week, Mac Miller’s second time out, Watching Movies with the Sound Off has been in the works for the longest. Initially, the album was announced at the end of 2012. Mac Miller has been in the shadow of the other releases, but there are some who feel he may be able to sneak out on top in the first week sales battle. On this album, Mac Miller went West Coast with features from Tyler, the Creator, Ab-Soul, Earl Sweatshirt, ScHoolboy Q, and more. Action Bronson also appears on the new album.
Download Watching Movies with the Sound Off here.
Mitchy Slick – Won’t Stop
West Coast hip hop fans already know who Mitchy Slick is. He is controversial, at best, and he is also involved in this June 18 frenzy. Won’t Stop is his contribution. This album is compiled of previously unreleased tracks that are more street based. Songs included on the album include “Off Wit Heads” and “SuWooper Friends.” Some of the most well Known Southern California MCs such as Lil Fat Bat, Spider Loc, Sean Dees, and Bigg Tupp appear on the album.
Download Won’t Stop by Mitchy Slick here.
Kelly Rowland – Talk A Good Game
It is good to have a little R&B to go along with the heavy doses of hip hop. Kelly Rowland provided it this week with her Talk A Good Game album. The R&B legend returned with her fourth studio album and she already has had good feedback with her “Kisses Down Low” single. Before that, “Icy” with Lil Wayne was also doing well. The album also includes the “Dirty Laundry” single. Also, the album features appearances from Pusha T, Beyonce, Wiz Khalifa, and The-Dream.
Download Talk A Good Game by Kelly Rowland here.
Statik Selektah – Extended Play
Starting his new label, ShowOff Records, Statik Selektah released his Extended Play album. Boom bap is making a comeback and Statik Selektah could not be happier. He featured such names as Joey Bada$$, Raekwon, Mac Miller, Black Thought, Action Bronson, and Termanology are included on the new album.
Download Extended Play by Statik Selektah here.
F.Stokes – Fearless Beauty
Though he is a relatively new one, F.Stokes talked about Fearless Beauty to Hip Hop Vibe, so we have a bit of an unfair advantage. Representing Chicago, F.Stokes took over the internet with his “Carpe Diem” single and he has not looked back since then. It was actually yesterday when F.Stokes released Fearless Beauty, an album he put out on his own to deliver his personal message to the fans.
Download Fearless Beauty by F.Stokes here.
June 18, 2013 is indeed a great day for hip hop.
