For this post, I decided to reveal some albums that have either been in the works a little longer than the masses would like or (SPOILER) seemingly disappeared at the snap of Thanos’ fingers with half of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Either way, 2018 would be an excellent time to let these bodies of work fly.

Ab-Soul – Longterm 3

A post shared by Ab-Soul (@souloho3) on Jun 4, 2017 at 6:14pm PDT

Now, hear me out on this one: I know this is a bit of a curve-ball, but what better time to receive this than now? Back in 2016, Ab-Soul revealed to the Rap Radar podcast that his highly-coveted Longterm series would be four installments deep — the third would be coming soon and the fourth would be his last album. Longterm 2 dropped 8 years ago, and an album off-shoot — Longterm Mentality — arrived a year later. Given that it’s also been 2 years since Do What Thou Wilt., I’d say that 2018 is the year for another Soul release.

[SIDENOTE: We know that Jay Rock is dropping soon…it would be nice to get some new Isaiah Rashad and ScHoolboy Q as well.]

Pusha T’s King Push (And All Of The GOOD Music Albums That Kanye Promised, Really)

A post shared by Pusha T (@kingpush) on Feb 16, 2017 at 6:44am PST

Yes, I know. You either hate Kanye West, or you really hate Kanye West. With that said, I simply can’t help it: prior to his return to MAGA land, he revealed that he would be producing and dropping albums by Pusha T, Teyana Taylor and freakin’ Nas over the next couple of months. In addition: not only would he be delivering his own follow-up to The Life Of Pablo, but he’d also be liberating a Kids See Ghost joint album with Kid CuDi. Please ‘Ye: Pusha T is supposed to be out this Friday. I hope you’re on schedule in Wyoming.

Lil Wayne – Tha Carter V

A post shared by Lil Wayne (@liltunechi) on Apr 2, 2017 at 4:43pm PDT

Nicki Minaj and Drake are dropping their fourth and fifth albums, respectively, this June. As both artists have remained relatively consistent with their releases, their Young Money boss — Lil Wayne — has literally seen his career in park since 2013’s I Am Not A Human Being II. All that’s happened since is a rather ugly legal and personal battle between Weezy and surrogate father Birdman (there was the Free Weezy Album in 2015, but whether or not it deserves to even count is debatable…also, Dedication 6). A couple of years ago, the New Orleans veteran spoke of a forthcoming album titled Funeral; with that said, everyone is still waiting for the now-mythical Carter V project…the very project that Birdman promised is finally coming. Given that the two have been rather cozy recently, it’s hopeful that the long-awaited album will see the light of day soon.

Travis Scott – Astroworld

A post shared by flame (@travisscott) on Mar 6, 2018 at 2:57pm PST

So, Wikipedia states that this project is expected to drop Friday. If so, it would be a day to rejoice, given that Travis Scott had promised that Astroworld would arrive last year. Now, that isn’t to say the artist-producer hasn’t been blessing his fans with tunes: December’s Huncho Jack — Scott’s collaborative release with Migos‘ Quavo — has been keeping the fans fed this year. With that said, if Astroworld is anything like Scott’s top tier Rodeo and Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight, then I know that it would be of an entirely different caliber…”Watch” is certainly a good sign of things to come. Plus, maybe we’ll get a heartful tribute to daughter (with Kylie Jenner) Stormi.

50 Cent – Street King Immortal

A post shared by 50 Cent (@50cent) on Jan 22, 2018 at 5:19pm PST

Animal Ambition, Power, The Kanan Tape, Den Of Thieves…50 Cent‘s been working. Hell, he even beat his bankruptcy case like it owed him money. But seriously, it’s been since 2011 at least — when the hell is Street King Immortal dropping? Get the strap.

HONORABLE MENTION: T.I. – The Dime Trap

A post shared by TIP (@troubleman31) on May 1, 2018 at 6:27pm PDT

I loved Us Or Else, but if there’s a better way to truly remind people who invented Trap music (outside of complaining about it in interviews and social media), I don’t know it.

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The post 5 Albums That Need To Arrive This Year appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Image credit: TDE

Here’s a tour that should easily break records for 2018. Top Dawg Entertainment and its artists have announced The Championship Tour, which will feature everyone on its roster except Isaiah Rashad (?) — Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, SZA, SiR and Luke Skiiiwalker. Everything kicks off in May, as can be seen via the above schedule; tickets go on sale on the 24th of this month (Wednesday).

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The post TDE Announces ‘Championship’ Tour (Featuring Everybody) appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

June 2012: Top Dawg Entertainment’s Ab-Soul during his Control System period. Check out RESPECT.’s exclusive interview with the self-proclaimed Black Lip Bastard here.

The post PHOTO OF THE DAY: May 18th, 2017 appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Today, TDE’s Ab-Soul liberated his fourth studio album Do What Thou Wilt, which sees 16 tracks and appearances from Bas, ScHoolboy Q, Da$h, Teedra Moses, Mac Miller, SZA and more. One of the most notable tracks on the new release is the fiery, Juice of All Trades-produced opener “RAW (Backwards)”, which sees Soul delivering some direct shots to quasi-mythical rapper Jay Electronica:

I was like a swami of Jay Electronica until he
Figured Dizzle wouldn’t admit that he would body him for a milli
I told Kenny keep quiet, I’ma get him
We don’t need dirt on your hands getting the key to the city ya feel me
Hurts when your OG, who is supposed to be a G-O-D
Is standing next to King Kunta feeling like Toby…

If you recall, Electronica made some questionable comments about Soul’s labelmate Kendrick Lamar earlier in the year (“Kendrick wishes he could be me“) before apologizing months later. Whether or not Lamar truly forgave him (he seemingly fired off a few return shots as well), Soul clearly wasn’t one to do so; the above lyrics were preceded by an on-stage diss during Joey BADA$$ and Pro Era‘s second annual STEEZ Day festival in L.A.

You can check out “RAW (Backwards)” — as well as the entire album — below via Spotify and Apple Music. Who knows if Jay Elect responds, but one thing is for sure: it’s been five years since the Roc Nation artist claimed his album was completed (and even longer since his classic “Exhibit” collaborations with Just Blaze dropped). He could definitely use some inspiration.

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The post Ab-Soul Disses Jay Electronica On New Album [Stream] appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

After being pretty silent for much of the year (save for a notable social media burst here and there), Ab-Soul is now killing the “internets” with new music and visuals leading up to the release of his forthcoming album Do What Thou Wilt (DWTW). We’ve already seen and heard “Huey Knew” (with Da$h), “Braille” (with Bas) and “Threatening Nature;” now, we get a trippy black-and-white visual for “D.R.U.G.S.” (an acronym for ‘Don’t Ruin Us God Said’), which was directed by PANAMÆRA and sees the Carson, CA emcee dwelling into a variety of mind-bending scenes (one of which is NSFW).

In addition, Soul has also liberated the official artwork and tracklisting for DWTW, which boasts a slew of appearances from Teedra Moses, Kokaine, Javonté, Thundercat and more…fellow TDE artists ScHoolboy Q and SZA also contribute to the release.

You can check out “D.R.U.G.S.” — as well as the aforementioned artwork and tracklisting — below. DWTW drops this Friday, December 9th (pre-order via iTunes).

1. “Raw (Backwards)” Feat. Zacari (prod. by Juice of All Trades)
2. “Braille” Feat. Bas (prod. by Wondagurl)
3. “Huey Knew” Feat. Da$h (prod. by Willie B)
4. “Threatening Nature” (prod. by PakkMusicGroup)
5. “Womanogamy” (prod. by DJ Fu of Eardrummers)
6. “Invocation” Feat. Kokaine (prod. by Rahki)
7. “Wifey Vs. Wifi”/”P.M.S.” Feat. BR3 (prod. by Skhye Hutch)
8. “Beat the Case” Feat. ScHoolboy Q/”Straight Crooked” (prod. by Skhye Hutch/Taebeast)
9. “Portishead in the Morning”/”Her World” (prod. by PakkMusicGroup/Antydote)
10. “God’s a Girl?” (prod. by PakkMusicGroup)
11. “Now You Know” (prod. by A$AP P on the Boards)
12. “D.R.U.G.S.” (prod. by FrancisGotHeat)
13. “Evil Genius” Feat. Teedra Moses and Javonté (prod. by FrancisGotHeat & Tommy Black)
14. “Lonely Soul” Feat. Punch/”The Law (Prelude)” Feat. SZA (prod. by Sounwave, additional bass by Thundercat)
15. “YMF” (prod. by Bentley Haze)

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The post Ab-Soul Drops New Visual For “D.R.U.G.S.” + Reveals Album Tracklist appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Following last week’s release, “Fire,” Rhapsody is back, but this week she’s letting haters and challengers alike know that she’s going to have them all in their feelings with her new single,“Mad.” Produced by the Soul Council’s Eric G., the fiery track addresses the folks that aren’t so thrilled about the explosive and long overdue rise of Rapsody, taking for granted that the rise didn’t come easy. After almost a decade of hard work and grinding, Rapsody notices that people are beginning to treat her differently and lets them know she’s on to the game of deceit.

Rapsody lets loose as she spits venom to her peers mad at her moves, saying:

“Jamla is the squad and Roc Nation’s still the family, man / You mad you just a family guy, watchin’ real families, mad / The First Family love me, the President say he a fan / They mad that a Black President is the best President we ever had / Tell ’em why you mad, son.”

Although Rapsody came with the heat, she’s definitely not done yet. Less than 9 hours later she’s returned with the Ab-Soul-featured “2AM” produced by Khrysis and 9th Wonder. The soulful beat blares as two trade verses for nearly five minutes of the beat switching instrumental.

As if dropping two amazing singles weren’t enough, Rapsody’s website is showcasing a countdown indicating we are in for something big in less than 24 hours.

Listen to “2 AM” (via 2DopeBoyz) and “Mad” below:

https://soundcloud.com/jamlaarmy/rapsody-mad-produced-by-eric-g

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The post Rapsody Gets Vicious with “Mad”, Drops “2 AM” Featuring Ab-Soul [Listen] appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Six months ago, Top Dawg Entertainment emcee Ab-Soul previewed new music and took it to Instagram to post “It’s mixing and sample clearing time…. Y’all know Wut happens after that,” indicating an album would follow. Turns out, he bluffed and there is still no timeline on when his album is dropping, but TDE’s boss is demanding one soon.

Top Dawg CEO Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith blames Ab-Soul for the super delayed project.  He took it to Twitter to vent his frustrations about the album that was supposed to be done months ago. He tweeted, “@abdashsoul & @MixedByAli holding up his album,” he posted. “I’m done takin the blame… they need 2 get da mixes right.. that’s the hold up. Get at them.”

He then commanded the two artists, Solo and Ali, the mix and mater, to make finishing touches on the album a priority to it can release. He followed up to the previous tweet by saying, “@abdashsoul @MixedByAli I just told my bosses (the fans) what the hold up is. Now I’m about 2 put my foot down. Have it done when I get back,” he demanded.

Back in February Ab-Soul was seemingly frustrated by not getting his shine in the TDE camp. He took it to twitter to say, “I’ll be ready when my #’s called. This bench is gettin warm as f*** tho mayne. Nonetheless, it’s important to move as a unit. It’s bigger than me. It’s family. Gotta respect that.”

Tiffith, responded with “when i put u in the game u better be on fire nigga….”

It’s clearly Ab’s time and he’s not ready. Nonetheless, Solo is beyond creative and we all know the level of sensitivity an artists has when it comes to their creations, but come on Ab, the last project we got from you was in 2014 with These Days…

We all are aware of Ab’s distincitve ability to create good music, now we’re just waiting on it. His fourth studio album, currently titled DWTW, is set to drop, but who knows when?

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The post TDE CEO Blames Ab-Soul for Super Delayed Album appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.