• Nas and DJ Premier release Light-Years, their first full-length collaboration.
• 21 Savage returns with the menacing What Happened to the Streets? featuring Drake and more.
• Fred Again.. expands his “USB” project; Conway, Hercules & Love Affair, Leif, This Is Lorelei, and Fucked Up also drop new work.
H2: This week’s must-listen new albums
H3: Nas & DJ Premier — Light-Years
Nas and DJ Premier finally deliver a full-length record that documents one of hip-hop’s most storied partnerships. Light-Years closes a long-running chapter that began around Illmatic, and it leans into classic boom-bap production and Nas’s seasoned lyricism. The album arrives after the throwback single “Define My Name,” and serves as a statement piece that ties decades of collaboration into a cohesive project.
H3: 21 Savage — What Happened to the Streets?
21 Savage returns to darker streetside themes on What Happened to the Streets?, a 14-track set unveiled at Art Basel with cover art by Nigerian artist Slawn. The Atlanta rapper leans into a hypnotic drawl and nocturnal beats, and massive guest turns from Drake, GloRilla, Young Nudy, G Herbo, Latto, and Lil Baby push the record’s murky, menacing tone.
H3: Fred Again.. — USB002
Fred Again.. grows his ambitious “USB” project with USB002, expanding an “infinite” album concept that began in 2022. The new installment stretches beyond its initial eight-track frame to include collaborations with Caribou, Floating Points, Danny Brown, and Amyl and the Sniffers, blending club textures with melodic experimentation.
H3: Conway the Machine — You Can’t Kill God With Bullets
Buffalo’s Conway the Machine cements his place in modern East Coast rap with You Can’t Kill God With Bullets. The follow-up to Slant Face Killah rides vintage, sample-forward production and features contributions from the Alchemist, Timbaland, Roc Marciano, G Herbo, and AraabMuzik, mixing bravado with moments of vulnerability.
H3: This Is Lorelei — Holo Boy
Nate Amos, under the This Is Lorelei moniker, revisits and re-records songs from an expansive Bandcamp back catalog for Holo Boy. The record pulls from yacht rock, power pop, and experimental pop, showing a breezy, self-assured approach and an ear for hooks despite the songs’ scattered origins.
H3: Hercules & Love Affair — Someone Else Is Calling EP
Hercules & Love Affair spotlight Icelandic singer Elín Ey (Hips & Lips) across four hypnotic techno tracks on the Someone Else Is Calling EP. Andy Butler co-produced the project with Paranoid London’s Quinn Whalley, centering Elín’s “pure” vocal presence over acid-tinged club arrangements.
H3: Leif — Collide
Leif’s Collide lands on London label AD 93 as an experimental suite merging ambient, library music, neopsychedelia, and free jazz. The Welsh producer leaned on a battered Aria Pro II guitar to shape otherworldly textures that resist easy classification.
H3: Fucked Up — Grass Can Move Stones Part One: Year of the Goat
Fucked Up begin the finale of their ambitious Zodiac series with the Goat-themed record, combining choral harmonies, thunderous percussion, and prog-tinged punk structures. The ten-part project’s first installment promises companion pieces in the coming year.
Short, varied, and busy with notable names, this week’s slate offers something for rap fans, club-goers, and adventurous listeners alike. Stream the records to hear how legacy acts and rising producers shape 2025’s closing months.
Image Referance: https://pitchfork.com/news/8-new-albums-you-should-listen-to-now-21-savage-this-is-lorelei/
