It was back in February when Fivio Foreign, Kanye West, and Alicia Keys collaborated on “City of Gods,” an impressive anthem that eventually made it onto West’s Donda 2 album. As of today (April 7), Hemz, Lil Mav, the AyoAA, The Chainsmokers, Ojivolta, Tweek Tune, Dem Jointz, and West-produced track is further extended by Keys herself, who tickles the ivories of New York City by reiterating:
With “City of Gods (Part II)“, Sylvia Zachary and Sing Lee create a accompanying video that features Keys arriving in an unusual Mercedes Benz, adorned with a heavy amount of jewelry and a high-profile guest appearance by rap legend Slick Rick. Keys appears to be riding into the distance with an effect that makes it appear as if she is headed into the future.
The artist’s eighth studio album released last year was titled KEYS and featured 26 tracks over two volumes along with contributions from Mike Will Made It, Swizz Beatz, Pusha T, Lil Wayne, Swae Lee, and more. According to an interview with the multitalented artist, this was the process of creating the album:
ALICIA was my last project and I knew KEYS would follow suit. It was imperative to me that I stay true to my core as I did with ALICIA. I spend just as much time at the piano as I can writing songs, creating timeless music.”
It will come as no surprise that Knucks will unveil his new record Alpha Place this May, which will include 13 tracks and (as of this article) some contributions from Venna and SL, both of whom appear on Knucks’ latest offering, “Nice & Good.” The self-produced offering finds the two emcees reflecting on things they remember from their hometowns:
Despite the black-and-white style of the accompanying clip for “Nice & Good,” much of the clip is shot in black and white, including scenes showing Knucks and his masked counterpart interacting with heavy on the street, interspersed with scenes of a police officer that may or may not be doing anything wrong. A courtyard party breaks out toward the end, and everything gets colorful.
It will be followed by Knucks’ 2019 project, London Class, which features 12 songs contributed by kadiata, Loyle Carner, Venna, KXYZ, and Sam Wise. From that time forward, Kilburn talent has increasingly gained popularity as a featured artist, appearing on top tier songs such as Skiifall “Ting Tun Up Part II,” DC “Bobby & Rowdy,” Kojey Radical “Payback,” and Swindle “BLOW YA TRUMPET.”
NIGO released his latest album, I Know NIGO, last week, consisting of 11 tracks with contributions from Tyler, A$AP Rocky, The Creator, Kid Cudi, Pharrell Williams, the late Lil Uzi Vert, Pop Smoke, and more. There is a second appearance by Pusha T on the standout track “Punch Bowl” where he shares the spotlight with his brother No Malice as Clipse and “Hear Me Clearly,” the track of which later became an official single, featured Virginia emcee delivering his best coke raps over productions by Luca Starz, ThaMyind, Kanye West, and BoogzDaBeast:
On the small screen, viewers can watch Pusha T bring his bars to life courtesy of AWGE (who I Know NIGO has contracted to handle the visual work). Pusha raps and stacks bricks before another woman in the clip, rides the subway with his carriers, and participates (or demonstrates) an apparent robbery-in-progress, among other fascinating moments.
He added that both Pharrell and West will contribute production to his long-awaited album, which will see songs from both artists split into two sides: both will “mix” the songs, while West will just produce his own.
On his portion of the album, Pharrell devoted his attention to song composition, song structure, flow patterns and callouts. In terms of Kanye West’s approach, he focused more on the bars and the neck-breaking bop that came from the beat. My goal was to get the best results out of both of them, since they have different tastes in music.”
A week ago, Buddy dropped his second studio album, Superghetto, which featured 10-tracks and guest appearances by Blxst, T-Pain, Tinashe, and Ari Lennox. A visual for “Hoochie Mama” was released along with the album, a Roofeeo-produced track in which Buddy balances his quest for some female accompaniment with his vivid account of life in Compton:
This video for “Hoochie Mama” is presented by madebyJAMES, and begins with a shot of Buddy playing outside. Additionally, he participates in some boxing at the gym full of attractive ladies, gets into some flirting with an attractive woman in his neighborhood, and much more.
In its official debut, Superghetto is Buddy’s first album after Harlan & Alondra, which appeared in 2018 and incorporated collaborations with Ty Dolla $ign, Guapdad 4000, Snoop Dogg, A$AP Ferg, and Khalid. Harlan & Alondra then received a deluxe upgrade in the form of four additional cuts and assists from artists such as BJ The Chicago Kid, 03 Greedo, Ari Lennox, JID, and more. Keeping that momentum going, he teamed up with OverDoz in 2020. Kent Jamz produced Janktape Vol. 1. together with the two. Furthermore, he has contributed vocals for artists such as Smino, Robert Glasper, Smoke DZA, and Zacari.
During his artistic journey, R&B singer-songwriter Devvon Terrell reflects on the impact of the irreplaceable contributions made by his family through his latest project, Boys Don’t Cry. Among the tracks on that newly released collection are guest appearances by That Kidd Vee and Kai Ca$h, as well 11 tracks produced by fellow artist, L. JEAN. Terrell’s new single Boys Don’t Cry was accompanied by the video for the title track, which featured a powerful performance of emotional expression as Terrell coped with some challenging life circumstances:
“Boys Don’t Cry is an album I composed in remembrance of my grandfather and family,” Terrell explained. Detailed recollections of my childhood and the village where I spent my childhood. In this album you are able to learn more about how the ideologies and belief systems I have grown to believe in were formed and cultivated.”
Before the album was released, there were a lot of consistent singles including “Popular,” uplifting “Let It Go,” emotionally vulnerable “Flowers Freestyle,” as well as the upbeat “Better” with Kai Ca$h. In addition to his solo material, Brooklyn-born JQ has contributed verses to tracks such as “FMX” by Mike Classic and Kevin AntoniYo, along with “3 AM” by Larry Ohh, KyE Nathaniel, and Biawanna. 2020’s Vol. 2: Deja Vu.was Terrell’s last full-length work.
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