The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, videos, and songs from Lil Baby, Tee Grizzley, and more.
Friday saw the releases of new singles from Symba (“Can’t Win For Losing“), A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie (“Lay Up N Chill” with Pink Sweats), and Stormzy (“Hide & Seek“), along with the releases listed below.
Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending October 14, 2022.
Central Cee — No More Leaks
“When life gives you lemons…” — well, you know the rest. Life gave the UK drill upstart a great big handful of sour citrus but he’s found a way to make a sweet refresher, putting out his own four-track EP after a leak threatened to upend his plans.
G Herbo — Survivor’s Remorse: B Sides
That was fast. The turnaround between the A and B sides of Herbo’s latest full-length release was only a few days, but brought with it 13 new songs featuring A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Conway The Machine, and Young Thug after the initial 12 with Benny The Butcher, Gunna, and Offset.
Lil Baby — It’s Only Me
The most anticipated release of the week, Lil Baby’s third studio album sees him take on 23 tracks while attempting to edge his way out of the street-focused lane in which he’s operated for most of his career. Earlier this week, I pointed out how T.I. faced a similar crossroads with the release of King; Baby doesn’t pull it off quite as smoothly as his predecessor, but offers a worthy entry to his growing discography.
Mavi — Laughing So Hard It Hurts
Charlotte alt-rapper Mavi has accumulated quite the following over the last couple of years. While you may not have heard of him, those who have are some of the most zealous converts I’ve seen in all my years covering hip-hop. The 16-track follow-up to his 2021 album End Of The Earth offers sufficient reason. Mavi is one of those rappers who rides the line between avant-garde and soulful introspection very well, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see his profile rise sharply soon enough.
Tee Grizzley — Chapters Of The Trenches
After releasing his mixtape Half Tee Half Beast in spring of this year, the Detroit documentarian returns with a high-concept follow-up that presents each song as part of a story about a different character or incident in the life of a Motown resident..
Big Boss Vette — “Pretty Girls Walk”
St. Louis rapper Big Boss Vette is a new name but she already carries herself with the confidence of an established … well… vet. She’s got a polished flow and a good ear for beats; “Pretty Girls Walk” shows off both in a serviceable singalong portending strong possibilities for the future.
Doechii — “Stressed”
The trend of rappers premiering new songs on A Colors Show continues. The latest to join in is Doechii, whose latest single takes a hard left turn from the dance-influenced tracks for which she got attention earlier this year. This one’s a little closer to the established flavor of her TDE labelmates but she rides the beat with just as much charm as ever, detailing her efforts to keep calm in the face of a life of adversities.
Killumantii — “My Twin”
The Atlanta rapper offers up a bouncy single with a fun, flirty music video that evokes the exuberant energy of a girls’ night in. Kill’s been accumulating a fair degree of acclaim alongside fellow ATL upstarts Kali, Latto, and Omeretta The Great, and “My Twin” is a great example of that uplifting bond.
Nardo Wick — “G Nikes” Feat. Polo G
An unexpected but exciting combination of young voices, this one could have done with more soulful production such as the sort of music you’d find on one of Polo’s solo projects, but it certainly works on a lot of levels anyway.
Snot — “Simple”
Snot continues his musical evolution, emracing more of a groovy approach than his usual thrash-rap and proving to be every bit as effective, despite the tempo switch. Snot first showed glimpses of a desire to branch out on his album Ethereal earlier this year, and from all appearances, he’s going to keep that growth going on his next project.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.