While Live Life Fast, the second album by Roddy Ricch, has a promising premise—how living to excess can be tempting but isn’t sustainable—Roddy struggles to deliver on this thematic structure. Live Life Fast Roddy Ricch Atlantic, Dec. 17 6/10 Live Life Fast features a series of excellent instrumentals, but Roddy Ricch…

J. Cole performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Oct. 20, 2021. Matt Pang/STAFF. OAKLAND — Months following the release of his acclaimed new album, The Off-Season, J. Cole is finally back on stage bringing his self-reflective new tracks to life. On Wednesday, he brought his most prominent collaborators and…

The Chicago drill scene is alive and well. Between Polo G’s Hall of Fame and, now, G Herbo‘s 25—we may have a new trend setting up to define the next era of hip-hop. 25 G Herbo Epic, July 2 7/10 The new record follows G Herbo’s 2020 album, PTSD, on which the rapper reflected…

It’s been three years since J. Cole released KOD, his last album, and announced his next project, The Off-Season. Since then, he’s maintained a contentious place in hip-hop in no small part due to thinly veiled criticisms he’s lobbed at other rappers like Kanye West, Lil Pump and Noname on tracks…

Childish Gambino performs at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco during the Outside Lands Music Festival on Aug. 10, 2019. Joaquin Cabello/STAFF. Donald Glover, also known as Childish Gambino, released what looks to be his new album Saturday night on the site DonaldGloverPresents.com. The link, which was later tweeted…