The countdown is on to the end of 2019 – and several event R&B and hip hop albums are rumoured to drop over the coming months. But, with stealth release the default marketing strategy, what can fans look forward to?
The Barbadian superstar Rihanna will hopefully air her reggae album, tagged R9 by the RiRi Navy. And The Weeknd has initiated the promo campaign for his nocturnal Chapter VI, sharing a snap of an oblique billboard on social media. These days the British pop-soul fave Adele is nearly as elusive as Duffy. Nevertheless, in June of 2018, UK tabloid The Sun "exclusively" reported that she'll have an album this Christmas. Adele issued Hello in October 2015, a month prior to 25, so the timeframe would check out.
That restless creative Kanye West was ubiquitous in 2018, but twice postponed his album Yandhi – now in limbo. This year, aside from hosting his largely private Sunday Service series, he's been off-grid. Meanwhile, Yandhi demos have leaked. Coachella (and Splendour In The Grass) headliner Childish Gambino isn't in any rush to yield his supposed retirement album either. The copious Drake – who had the double-set Scorpion in 2018 – has latterly distributed The Best In The World Pack and, last week a loosies collection, Care Package. If the 6 God drops another joint in 2019, as speculated, he'll risk overexposure.
Cardi B's Invasion Of Privacy was a key 2018 album – and she's consistently canvassed a second for this year. But has the Press rapper had time? After all, she has cut features like Lil Nas X's Rodeo, shot the movie Hustlers (as part of an ensemble cast with Jennifer Lopez), and met US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. However, hip hop's '90s female icons are mounting comebacks. Missy Elliott – who raps on Lizzo's Tempo – mentioned an album, details unknown, in her August Marie Claire cover story. Philadelphia's Eve, living in London with her entrepreneur husband Maximillion Cooper, has just unleashed the dancehall banger Reload (featuring Konshens) – with either an EP or LP in the pipeline, according to her local label Liberator. The OG Queen Bee, Lil' Kim, will have an album entitled 9, her first since 2005's The Naked Truth – release date still TBC.
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There is also talk of new projects from today's avant-urban trailblazers – among them SZA, who teased music on her Australian tour, Jorja Smith and Raleigh Ritchie. HER, whose eponymous compilation took the Grammy for Best R&B Album, is expected to make an official debut. The enigmatic vocalist has unfurled the single 21 – smooth R&B evoking Sade and Lauryn Hill. The Louisville, Kentucky trap-soulster Bryson Tiller has resurfaced with the synth groove Blame, indicating that his long-awaited third foray, Serenity, is imminent. Then the cult Detroit rapper Danny Brown has announced a fifth album, Uknowwhatimsayin?, supervised by Q-Tip. As of present, it's unscheduled.
So which releases are definite? Here OG Flavas highlights the 15 big albums – some available, others anticipated – that you'll be playing for the remainder of 2019.
Beyonce, The Lion King: The Gift
Queen Beyonce has had a monumental year focussing on side-blockbusters. In April, she unveiled Homecoming: The Live Album, documenting 2018's Beychella spectacular. She's then curated The Lion King: The Gift, which, while tying in with Disney's reboot of the mid-'90s animation, explores black heritage, identity and longing. Beyonce has called the album "sonic cinema". Of course, in the movie, she voices Nala, childhood sweetheart of Simba (Donald Glover).
Beyonce surely recognises the value of groundbreaking soundtracks – her first acting role in MTV's clever Carmen: A Hip Hopera in 2001. Bey's The Lion King is comparable to Kendrick Lamar's Black Panther The Album, and Drake's playlist More Life, with songs by her and peers. Symbolically, she partners with K-Dot himself on Nile, a transitory synthscape by Sounwave. Beyonce has reached out to stellar African artists and producers – Nigeria's Burna Boy showing a mellow facet on his solo Ja Ara E. But she's courted criticism for neglecting Kenya's talent, considering that The Lion King reimagines its savannahs. Still, The Lion King journeys through gospel, kwaito, gqom and Afrobeats and (Lemonade-y) R&B. With Find Your Way Back, Beyonce references the original Circle Of Life. Her gospel-soul ballad, Spirit (which Labrinth co-produced), appears both here and on The Lion King's main OST. Yet it's eclipsed by the tuneful Brown Skin Girl, with Beyonce, SAINt JHN, WizKid and daughter Blue Ivy.
070 Shake, Modus Vivendi
The North Bergen, New Jersey rapper/singer 070 Shake has been active for a spell with the 070 Crew. Aligning herself with Kanye West's GOOD Music, she dropped the adventurous EP Glitter early last year. But Shake really generated heat when she cameo-ed on various albums from GOOD's Wyoming Sessions – crucially Ye. The Dominican-American dramatises Scar, the broodiest sequence on Beyonce's The Lion King: The Gift, alongside Jessie Reyez. Come 23 August, she'll present her debut, Modus Vivendi (the Latin phrase for "mode of living"). As with KiD CuDi, Shake is determined to confound categorisation – her influences encompassing Queen, My Chemical Romance and Paramore. As such, she's connected with producer Dave Hamelin, formerly of the Canadian indie band The Stills, plus Mike Dean. Expressive, hyper-melodic and experimental sonically, the singles Nice To Have and Morrow fall somewhere between Angel Haze, James Blake and Savages. Though Shake is being heralded as a new queer presence in hip hop, she's asserted her fluidity in interviews, telling Pitchfork, "I don't really identify myself as queer or gay or anything. I just like girls."
Mabel, High Expectations
Mabel McVey initially aroused curiosity in the UK music scene because of her family ties. Indeed, she's the daughter of hip hop icon Neneh Cherry and producer Cameron McVey (known for his work with Massive Attack, All Saints and Sugababes). But, since premiering on SoundCloud in 2015, Mabel has steadily established her own identity – and ambitions. She's just sprung a sanguine debut, High Expectations, onto the world. Unafraid of popdom, Mabel has recorded with top hitmakers: Steve Mac, Fraser T Smith and Snakehips. Already High Expectations has given us the high-street bops Don't Call Me Up, Mad Love and, most indelible, Bad Behaviour (stamped by dancehall don Dre Skull, the alt-Diplo). High Expectations maintains the energy, with Dua Lipa-style house, dancehall, Afrobeats and Mabel's beloved late '90s R&B. It does have introspective moments. Ok (Anxiety Anthem), helmed by MNEK, is a midtempo affirmation, Mabel's voice lightly Auto-Tuned. I Belong To Me is a traditional ballad with attitude. Above all, in singing about love, selfhood and mental health, Mabel is super relatable.
Chance The Rapper, The Big Day
The mega hip-hop album of 2019 so far is undoubtedly Chance The Rapper's The Big Day – out days after he withdrew from Splendour "due to illness". The independent Chano has previously marketed his releases as mixtapes – the last, 2016's gospel-driven Coloring Book, nonetheless scoring the Grammy for Best Rap Album. The Big Day is his first "owbum" – and it's blithe hip-pop.
The project was inspired by Chance's marriage to Kirsten Corley in March (the couple, who have a daughter, split, only to reconcile). The Big Day finds the 26-year-old reflecting on maturity, faith, bonds, commitment and domesticity – his optimism the opposite of nihilistic mumble rap. Chance is particularly revelatory on We Go High, alluding to past infidelity (and adapting Michelle Obama's famous maxim). With 22 tracks (including interludes), The Big Day is lavish. The guest list, too, is enormous. Ben Gibbard – the frontman of Death Cab For Cutie – sings on the nostalgic Do You Remember. More OMG, the legendary Randy Newman instills 5 Year Plan with a Hollywood gravitas.
Many a retro R&B hit is a wedding song – cue Jagged Edge's Let's Get Married. Suitably, The Big Day carries a '90s R&B feel over gospel – John Legend gracing the buoyant opener, All Day Long. I Got You (Always And Forever) has vocals by the New Jill Swing group En Vogue, Ari Lennox, and gospel royalty Kierra Sheard. SWV elevate Found A Good One (Single No More) – unusually wholesome Miami bass. And the hip-house Ballin Flossin, with Shawn Mendes, samples vintage Brandy. Though Nicki Minaj cameos twice, Houston's Megan Thee Stallion brings the hot girl summer on Handsome– token trap.
Much of the production is by Chance's old Chi-Town associates Nico Segal (formerly Donnie Trumpet) and Peter Cottontale – likewise credited on Jamila Woods' Legacy! Legacy!. Forget those mixed reviews of The Big Day – it has bops and, as the new Will Smith, Chance owns his cheesiness.
Sampa The Great, The Return
The Zambian poet, MC and singer Sampa The Great won the Australian Music Prize (The AMP) for 2017's deeply groovy mixtape Birds And The BEE9. But, on 13 September, she'll deliver an album proper, The Return, via Ninja Tune. The singles Final Form and OMG have a more festive hip hop sensibility than Birds…, Sampa celebrating her cultural roots while ruminating on diasporic experience. She has also collaborated extensively, recording with the likes of Ecca Vandal (Sampa duetted on the punk-rocker's hip hop Your Orbit), Melbourne R&B vocalist Thando, and sister Mwanje Tembo. Today Sampa commands an international following. This year alone she's taken her show to Africa, Glastonbury and the US. Oh, and Jada Pinkett Smith declared Sampa her "new fav artist" on Twitter.
BROCKHAMPTON, Ginger
The Texan super-posse BROCKHAMPTON, fronted by the mercurial Kevin Abstract, have branded themselves as a transgressive "boy band" for the cloud rap epoch. In 2018, BROCKHAMPTON made their major label debut with the inventive Iridescence, which, tracked at London's Abbey Road Studios, traversed… drum 'n' bass. It hit US #1 but, inexplicably, was missing from critics' 'end of year' lists. In downtime, Abstract issued a solo psychedelic opus, Arizona Baby, which Jack Antonoff co-produced. It was slept-on commercially – sad face. BROCKHAMPTON will stealth Ginger sometime this month. They've aired the songs I Been Born Again – Odd Future-esque dub-trap – and, now, the even weirder If You Pray Right. BROCKHAMPTON toured Australia last year, blitzing Listen Out. They're back in January for FOMO 2020.
Briggs, Briggs For PM
Briggs' work ethic has seen him emerge as a polymath in the Australian entertainment industry. The Yorta Yorta man is a rapper, writer, actor, comedian, activist and label owner (the cred Bad Apples Music). In 2016, Briggs teamed with the Funkoars' Trials as AB Original for Reclaim Australia, winning The AMP. Next, he'll release his first solo album since 2014's Sheplife. Briggs For PM is tipped for November. Briggs has shared a statement single, Life Is Incredible – his response to Pauline Hanson's white supremacist sloganeering. The MC protests Indigenous mortality rates while mocking white fragility. Briggs cut the trap track in Los Angeles with Auckland producer Troy Samuela and Scottish singer-songwriter Greg Holden.
Common, Let Love
Common was Chicago's hip hop hero well before Kanye West, let alone Chance The Rapper. The socially-conscious MC premiered with Can I Borrow A Dollar? back in 1992. In recent years, Common has pursued a Hollywood career. But, having inked a new deal with the indie Loma Vista Recordings (home to Denzel Curry), he'll present Let Love on 30 August. Common has disseminated a poetic single in Her Love – a sequel to his mid-'90s classic I Used To Love Her in which he personifies hip hop as a woman. Her Love features Canadian R&B-type Daniel Caesar, plus Detroit's Dwele, with hitherto unheard jazz-hop beats from J Dilla. Notably, Common namechecks the late Nipsey Hussle. Let Love is the companion to Common's candid second memoir, Let Love Have The Last Word. Among the album guests are Leikeli47, Jill Scott and Leon Bridges.
Jessica Mauboy, Hilda
Australia's reigning queen of R&B, Jessica Mauboy last had an album, Beautiful, in 2013. She has kept busy – repping Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest and starring in the TV show The Secret Daughter. But, on 18 October, Mauboy will release her fourth LP, Hilda. Word is that the Darwin homegirl is re-embracing her urban roots – and, as she told Andrew Denton's "Interview". Mauboy launched the roll-out for Hilda (a family name) with the single Sunday – slick R&B produced by Warren "Oak" Felder proteges The Orphanage. She's currently promoting the piano-led ballad Little Things, redolent of Beyonce's 4 era.
Emeli Sande, Real Life
The Scottish singer-songwriter Emeli Sande enjoyed the UK's biggest album of 2012 with Our Version Of Events – the industry positioning her as the next Adele. Unfortunately, she's yet to attract similar global attention, despite performing at the London Olympics. Admittedly sombre, Sande's second, Long Live The Angels, was under-appreciated. She'll return with Real Life – delayed from June to 13 September. Sande has perfected a sophisticated millennial adult contemporary R&B/soul, liaising with producer Troy Miller – once Amy Winehouse's drummer. Real Life is all about stirring ballads. The gospelly lead single, Sparrow, is very Whitney Houston with its soaring vocals, marching drums and choir. Extraordinary Being is symphonic disco, a la Jamiroquai. The apex? The psy-soul You Are Not Alone, guided by Salaam Remi and James Poyser.
Stormzy, As-Yet-Untitled
The British grime phenom Stormzy staged a zeitgeist headlining set at Glastonbury in June, actually impressing Noel Gallagher. Donning a bespoke Banksy Union Jack stab vest, he was accompanied by Raleigh Ritchie, Chris Martin, Dave, Fredo and ballet dancers. The Londoner should build on that momentum this year with the successor to 2017's Gang Signs & Prayer. Stormzy has issued two singles: the street banger Vossi Bop, a UK #1, and Crown. The latter is gospel-hop produced by go-to guy Jimmy Napes and MJ Cole, UK garage auteur. Flipping an immortal line from Shakespeare's Henry IV, Stormzy sings soulfully, backed by a gospel choir and piano.
Mahalia, Love And Compromise
The UK soulstress Mahalia will circulate her break-out album, Love And Compromise, on 6 September. Last year she released the buzz Seasons EP, touring Australia with Falls Festival. Mahalia puts a sleek spin on '90s R&B, swingbeat and neo-soul, blending in club vibes like deep house, Afrobeats and dancehall. For Love And Compromise, she sought esteemed US producers such as Sounwave, DJ Dahi and Pop Wansel. The single, Simmer, featuring Burna Boy, has a ska lilt – but don't miss the new NAO remix with London's MC Flohio.
Allday, Starry Night Over The Phone
Adelaide's Allday ushered in a fresh wave of individualistic Australian hip hop in 2014 AD (After Drake). The subliminal rapper/singer has always favoured electronic stylings over boom-bap, while thematising interiority and undercutting masculine codes. Last month, he broadcast his defining album in Starry Night Over The Phone – its title prompted by a van Gogh painting. Allday writes about a break-up, but is droll AF. Intriguingly, Simon Lam, of the Melbourne electro-pop combo Kllo, serves as executive producer. Allday went viral with the single Restless – an Afrobeats number featuring hipster raves The Veronicas. The ambient Don't Wanna Push You Away Anymore is, like Allday's 2017 track In Motion, a Japanese Wallpaper production. The euphoric Rhythms could be a stadium anthem, akin to an Allday Purple Rain. The now Los Angeles-based star performed at Splendour. This month, he'll tour nationally.
Young Thug, So Much Fun
This year Atlanta's Young Thug has belatedly received props for inventing country-trap with his 2017 project, Beautiful Thugger Girls. He's even added his flavour to a remix of Lil Nas X's record-breaking Old Town Road alongside kiddie yodeler Mason Ramsey. The post-rapper has released multiple mixtapes, yet his biggest hits have been collabs (cue: Camila Cabello's Havana). But Thug has plugged a mysterious new enterprise, So Much Fun, exec produced by J Cole. Auspiciously, the single, The London, featuring Cole and Travis Scott with T-Minus' production, has proven his highest-charting Stateside. Will Thugger stealth an album soon?
Lil Uzi Vert, Eternal Atake
Philly emo rapper Lil Uzi Vert was meant to drop Eternal Atake – the follow-up to Luv Is Rage 2, housing XO Tour Llif3 – in 2018. Alas, it didn't materialise. In January Uzi jumped on Instagram to pronounce that he was "done with music" and, ominously, had "deleted everything". Uzi has publicly battled with his Generation Now label boss DJ Drama for ages over stalling. But the star now has new management with Live Nation, suggesting he'll break the deadlock. In May, Uzi informed revellers at Miami's Rolling Loud festival that he'd completed Eternal Atake's last song. Of Uzi's recent singles, the best is Sanguine Paradise, a goth flex. He also appeared on Tyler, The Creator's acclaimed Igor.
