Freddie Gibbs, “$oul $old $eparately.” We’ve seen a lot of rappers reflect on the superficiality of stardom and the lack of happiness it often brings over the last few years. On his fifth solo album, $oul $old $eparately, Freddie Gibbs opts instead to examine the cost of attaining success and stardom.…

Danger Mouse and Black Thought, “Cheat Codes.” The last time audiences were graced with an official collaboration between renowned producer Danger Mouse and a prominent hip-hop artist was in 2005 with MF DOOM (as DANGERDOOM). The wait is finally over, as Black Thought joins forces with Brian Burton and takes center stage…

Under that moniker DJ Shadow, Joshua Paul Davis in 1996 gave sample-based music one of its first hit albums with Endtroducing. He transcended the established norms of ‘90s hip-hop by incorporating elements of ambient music, electronica and “sampledelia.” Davis found more common ground with U.K. trip-hop than West Coast G-funk—which might…