Music

MASA Album ∙ Hip-Hop/Rap ∙ 2025 YoungBoy Never Broke Again Last year, the Baton Rouge rapper’s relative silence spoke volumes. After a staggeringly prolific run in the previous years (one album and six mixtapes in 2022, two albums and two mixtapes in 2023), YoungBoy released just one record in 2024. Days before the intended release of his seventh album,  I Just Got a Lot on My Shoulders , he was arrested on a number of charges, and he spent much of that year in a Utah county jail before receiving a 27-month prison sentence after accepting a plea deal in a federal gun case that had been ongoing for years. It was the latest in a seemingly endless series of setbacks for the rapper, whose “Legal issues” section on Wikipedia is nearly as long as the one for “Career.” YoungBoy’s 2025 has so far been much brighter, beginning with his release on probation in April after years of house arrest. Then, on May 28, he was granted a presidential pardon , ending the lengthy legal battle that had ...

  Episodes Album ∙ Hip-Hop/Rap ∙ 2025 Gucci Mane It would have been impossible to predict what would come next when Gucci Mane released his debut album  Trap House  in 2005, leading this century’s most influential hip-hop subgenre and skyrocketing the East Atlanta rapper to stardom. But since his release from prison in 2016, the trap pioneer has been transparent about the mental health struggles that informed the ups and downs of his 20-year career. Released, as per tradition, on 10/17 (which Atlanta officially declared “ Gucci Mane Day ” in 2023), Gucci’s 17th solo album is accompanied by his second book,  Episodes: The Diary of a Recovering Mad Man , in which he gets real about his long road to redemption. “I done did all types of stupid shit,” he admits frankly on “ Episodes Intro ,” summing up his early-career legal drama in a nutshell. Much has changed for the trap icon, but some things stay the same: on “ Back Cooking ,” he reunites with longtime collaborat...

TYCOON Album ∙ Hip-Hop/Rap ∙ 2025 Ty Dolla $ign With help from big-name guests, the LA rapper lives up to his fourth LP’s title. Ty Dolla $ign has long established himself as one of contemporary R&B’s most versatile architects, frequently blending the melodic structures of soul with the rhythmic foundation of trap music . His single, “TYCOON,” is a perfect encapsulation of his matured artistic vision, moving past themes of hedonism to explore a more nuanced subject: the quiet confidence of achieved success. The track defines the “tycoon” not through extravagant boasting, but through smooth, minimalist production and a melodic delivery that signifies effortless control and enduring self-made wealth. It is a meditation on influence, legacy, and the stability that comes from becoming an undisputed boss in both life and business.  The central thesis of “TYCOON” revolves around the achievement of financial and artistic autonomy. Unlike the frantic energy often associated with...

Perfect Storm: Sorry 4 The Rain Album ∙ Hip-Hop/Rap ∙ 2025 Hurricane Wisdom A sprawling project of trap grit and introspection from the Florida MC. Hurricane Wisdom’s project, “Perfect Storm: Sorry 4 The Rain,” is a definitive statement of artistic identity, capturing the complex duality of the North Florida rapper's persona. The title itself functions as a thematic thesis: the “Perfect Storm” symbolizes his undeniable, overwhelming surge into the music industry and the controlled chaos of his life, while the parenthetical “Sorry 4 The Rain” offers a humble, reflective apology for the emotional fallout and turbulence required to achieve that success. This mixtape, spanning a substantial tracklist, masterfully fuses the melodic sensibility of "pain music" with the assertive energy of contemporary trap, establishing Wisdom as a compelling voice for the hopeful underdogs and survivors.  The album’s sonic landscape is characterized by its expert fusion of regional sounds ...

30 Days Album ∙ Hip-Hop/Rap ∙ 2025 Money Man Money Man has solidified his unique position in contemporary hip-hop by consistently merging the gritty narratives of trap music with the analytical language of finance and entrepreneurship. His track, “30 Days,” is a concise and potent expression of this aesthetic, using a short, specific timeframe to explore themes of patience, discipline, and the strategic waiting inherent in wealth accumulation . The song is a testament to the artist's foundational belief: that true financial success is not characterized by reckless spending but by methodical planning and the ability to endure the necessary lag time between investment and return.  The central motif of the song is its title. “30 Days” is immediately established as a finite, crucial cycle—it could reference the duration of a business deal, a probation period, the maturity of an investment, or the gap between income statements . Money Man’s lyrics dissect this period, treating tim...