Today is Friday, which means there’s a ton of new releases to look forward to from some of your favorite Hip-Hop and R&B artists to help you unwind and enjoy the weekend. Check out VIBE’s picks for the songs and albums you should check out to close out your work week and soundtrack your weekend festivities.
Masego, Devin Morrison – “Yamz”
A clever, quiet storm-inspired pseudo-panty-dropper, Masego and Devin Morrison‘s “Yamz” demands the attention of R&B purists. While the duo’s sultry singing and the song’s seductive production may suggest an appetite for lovemaking, a look at Masego and Morrison’s lyrics reveal the “yams” in question are checks, not cheeks. “Can I get to the yams?” they sing in unison over lush synths, a deep baseline and romantic keys. “Sweet yams, show me the way, ’cause I got bills to pay.”
Appropriately, Masego took to Twitter to joke about his ode to money potentially becoming a lucrative Thanksgiving anthem comparable to Mariah Carey’s vice grip on Christmas. Only time will tell, Uncle Sego. — Austin Williams
Mack Wilds – “Simple Things”
Four years since his last release, Mack Wilds returns to music with “Simple Things,” stripped-down interrogation of complex romances. “It’s been some time since our last full-on release,” the recent Broadway star told VIBE earlier this month, “so, it makes sense to lead with something from my own personal experiences and my heart. Like most of our stories, love just happens to be complicated. This is just that; a complicated love song.”
The single is sensual, moody and introspective, and hopefully a sign of more Mack Wilds music to come. In the meantime, if you’re ever in New York, be sure to catch Wilds in his Broadway debut, Thoughts of a Colored Man, which opened for previews Oct. 1. — AW
Snoop Dogg – Algorithm
Having recently joined Def Jam Records as Executive Creative and Strategic Consultant, Snoop Dogg presents Algorithm, his first full-length project on the label. Led by the singles “Big Subwoofer” featuring Mount Rushmore, “Murder Music” featuring Benny The Butcher, Jadakiss and Busta Rhymes, Algorithm isn’t short on bangers.
The album also includes a smoothed out Eric Bellinger and Usher collab, a Dave East and Fabolous pairing, and multiple standard Snoop Cali grooves. Also showcasing rising talents like October London, Malaya, HeyDeon, Choc, Nefertitti Avani, JANE HANDCOCK, Algorithm is an explosive project that finds Tha Doggfather playing double duty as both performer and curator with impressive results. — Preezy Brown
French Montana – They Got Amnesia
Having lamented what he feels is a lack of respect for his resume, French Montana comes out swinging on They Got Amnesia. The Bronx rep’s latest offering finds him as motivated as ever. Wasting no time asserting himself, Montana opens the proceedings with an epic intro: “How You King.” The track is a sonically rich offering that captures the attention of listeners in short order.
From there, the rapper unleashes an onslaught of bangers, with a list of standouts that include “I Don’t Really Care,” “Touch The Sky,” “Didn’t Get Far,” and “Push Start.” Add those highlights in with blockbuster singles like “FWMGAB” and “Panickin” featuring Fivio Foreign and They Got Amnesia exceeds expectations as a body work worthy of multiple spins. — PB
Max B – Negro Spirituals
The wait for Max B’s arrival back to the streets continues, but that hasn’t kept Biggavel from making his presence felt with a string of releases over the past few years. Following 2020’s Charly EP, the crooning Harlemite gives listeners another stimulus package in the form of Negro Spirituals, a collection that sees Max B recapturing the magic that made him a star during the late-aughts. Channeling 2Pac’s All Eyez On Me classic “Picture Me Rollin’” on “Don’t Make Me Cry,” and reuniting with partner-in-rhyme French Montana on “Blackout,” Max B proves he’s still got more than enough left in the tank to keep fans interested in his return. Additional heaters like “75 in the Can,” “Revolution,” and “Slow Down” also raise Negro Spirituals‘ replay value, making it a solid, if not flawless, effort from the incarcerated star. — PB
Adele – 30
Led by a pristine first single in “Easy on Me,” thoughtful interviews that primed listeners for a more self-reflective take on heartache, and a public thirst for grown ass music, Adele’s 30 delivered exactly what it needed to. Her first release in six years, 30 continues the singer’s run of autobiographical albums, with this one centering the journey she traveled from hurt to healed after her 2019 divorce.
Along the way, there’s “My Little Love,” a devastating track on which she explains her separation from ex-husband Simon Konecki to their young son. Another early standout is “Love Is A Game,” a nearly-seven-minute closer that punctuates the album’s themes of love found, lost, and mourned. — AW
Check out some other notable releases from this week’s New Music Friday below:
Freddie Gibbs, Jadakiss – “Black Illuminati”
Saweetie – “Icy Chain”
Russ – “Losin Control, Pt. 2
EST Gee – “Lamborghini Geeski”
Mooray, Benny The Butcher – “Never Fail”
Flipp Dinero – “Riche$”
Tyga – “Lift Me Up”
NLE Choppa – “I.Y.B.”‘
BlocBoy JB, SpotemGottem – “M.E.M 2 Jacksonville”
Flyy Guy Jai – “Been Real”
Big Boi & Sleepy Brown – “Animalz”
Isaiah Rashad feat. Young Nudy – “Deep Blue”
Cozz – “Addicted”
The Cool Kids & Larry June – “All Or Nothing”
LATheGoat feat. L8LOOMER- “Minimum Wage”
Apollo Brown, Stalley – “No Monsters”
Rasheed Chappell, XP the Marxman – “Hefty Loc”
Deniro Black – “Big Enough”
Akee Fontane – “Blue Magic”
Kheris – “Drop Top Thang”