Quality Music is Right Around the Corner

Get Your Calendar Out

This year has seen the reveal of several highly anticipated hip-hop/rap albums — Kanye’s The Life of Pablo, Beyoncé’s Lemonade, Frank Ocean’s Blonde, to name a few— as well as some surprise gems — Anderson .Paak’s Malibu, Kendrick Lamar’s Untitled. Unmastered. Although we are past many of the high-profile releases there are still plenty of reasons to be excited. Here’s what to look for come September:

September 2 — Isaiah Rashad

It’s hard to believe how long its been since Isaiah Rashad’s impressive debut album, Cilvia Demo, but the wait is finally over come September 2nd as he prepares to release his sophomore LP, The Sun’s Tirade. Top Dawg Entertainment has been notorious for long roll-outs, starting with the maddening two and a half year wait for Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly. Since then, things haven’t been much better for fans of the Southern California record label’s excellent crew. Between ScHoolboy Q’s latest wait (29 months), Isaiah Rashad’s (30 months), SZA (27 and counting), and Ab-Soul’s next album (who even knows), TDE has made a habit of making the public wait and wait and wait. Well, after the brilliant ScHoolboy Q album Blank Face LP, we can finally rejoice in new Isaiah Rashad music.

Rashad became the fifth core member of TDE in 2013 and at the time it seemed like he was destined to become the overlooked step brother to the Black Hippy (Lamar, Q, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock) brotherhood. Well, that’s no longer the case. With Ab-Soul’s dropoff and Jay Rock’s good-not-great 90059, Rashad has become number 3 on the TDE depth chart.

Rashad’s singles — “Nelly”, “Smile”, and “Free Lunch” — have all been solid, though it remains to be seen which, if any, will make the final cut. Either way, it’s enough to get excited about, especially as this brings us even closer to whatever gold SZA releases next.

September 16 — Mac Miller

While TDE makes us sit around anxiously waiting, Mac Miller has embodied a different approach altogether. After making his major label debut last September with the beautiful and introspective GO:OD AM, he is right back at it with what already feels like his best work yet in The Divine Feminine. Instead of waiting around for production, Mac’s at his best when he is working on his own. However, with Warner Bros. Music backing his projects, he is able to work with significantly more resources available and it is showing through his music. Mac Miller appears to have discovered his sound and is currently making his best music — which is saying something.

The roll-out couldn’t have been better planned, either. Catching Anderson .Paak on his incredible hot streak (which, lets be honest, isn’t even a streak, he’s just absolutely incredible) with the catchy “Dang!” and then following it up with the mellow and soothing “We” proves he knows what he is doing.

The trajectory Mac has taken over the past six or seven years is pretty incredible when you look at it. As a high school senior gifted with impressive flow and a stoner-centric vibe, there was no doubt about the success he came into. The bigger question was whether he had the staying power to make it in a fickle hip-hop landscape. Even as he improved over the years, the marketability of his music seemed to be tapering. Mac — for the most part — moved past the “Donald Trump”-party-themed music for slowed down drug ballads. It wasn’t for everybody; but then again, nothing is.

Since Watching Movies with the Sound Off dropped in September 2013, though, much has changed for Mac and those changes are easily discernible in his music. He found sobriety, moved in with his girlfriend, and began making music that reflected those changes. GO:OD AM was as personal as it was great — which is to say, very — especially on tracks like “Perfect Circle / God Speed” where he is straight-forward discussing his faults and setbacks.

The past three years have seen a welcome change for Mac Miller —for us looking from the outside — and I would feel good betting that he thinks the same. Nothing comes easy, even to those with other-worldly talents. Between consistent releases, addiction, recovery, and everything in between, it only makes me more excited for what he’s coming out with next.

September 23 — Mick Jenkins

Mick Jenkins has yet to become a household name and even if he never does, his latest music has demonstrated just how impressive a song-writer he is and that is certainly expected to continue when he releases The Healing Component. Never one to shy away from making political statements through his music, Mick’s latest single “Drowning” (accompanied by a very powerful music video) has him confronting oppression in today’s society through the best tool at his disposal: his music.

Mick has always seen himself as a voice of the people and just as there are people down and out — whether it be from racial injustice or addiction — there are others who see the world with unbridled optimism. Prior to “Drowning”, Mick released a single titled “Spread Love” which, surprise, is about using whatever you have at your disposal to spread love and dismiss hate.

With a voice as deep as the water he often speaks about, Mick lays out meaningful and motivating rhymes better than most. The only thing Mick lacks is commercial appeal; I think he’s okay with that.