Image credit: Epic/Sony

Following a documentary and a selective interview run, Future officially returns with a new album titled The WIZRD, his seventh. The project sees 20 tracks and appearances from Young Thug, Gunna and Travis Scott. Speaking with Rob Markman at Genius, he explained the meaning behind the title:

“My uncle used to always call me ‘the wizard’… Rest in peace, but that was his thing. He called me ‘the wizard’ and it was just showing love to him and dedicating the album to him and the name that he respected and I feel like I’ve worked for. I’ve worked to become everything he’s seeing before it even happened.”

Stream The WIZRD below.

YNW Melly – We All Shine

Image credit: YNW Melly

Currently-incarcerated Florida rapper YNW Melly releases his new album We All Shine, which sees 16 new tracks from the rising star — including “Mixed Personalities,” which features Kanye West and comes accompanied with a Cole Bennett-directed visual. Check it all out below.

Toro y Moi – Outer Peace

Image credit: Carpark

Genre-bending artist/musician/producer/DJ Chaz Bundick — better known by many as Toro y Moi — has returned with a new album titled Outer Peace, his sixth official and latest since 2017’s Boo Boo. The project comes with 10 tracks and appearances from Abra, Wet and Instupendo. Chillwave returns for 2019.

James Blake – Assume Form

Image credit: Polydor

Following his dope collab with Metro Boomin and strikebreaker Travis Scott, James Blake liberates his new album Assume Form, his fourth official album and latest release since 2016’s The Colour In Anything. Assume Form boasts 12 tracks and — in addition to the aforementioned — appearances from André 3000 (!), Moses Sumney and ROSALIA. Vibes await below.

Suggested Articles:

NEW ALBUM FRIDAY: 21 Savage, The-Dream, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie & More

NEW ALBUM FRIDAY: Vic Mensa, Kodak Black & More

The post NEW ALBUM FRIDAY: Future, James Blake, YNW Melly & More appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

by Phoenix Vazquez

HOA Bossman has been making waves as of late, especially with the release of his introspective L.I.F.E. project, which details life growing up in Brooklyn with gritty imagery and finesse that will make you think you’re back in ’93 again. His unique style, coupled with an effortless flow is reminiscent of East Coast hood classics, such as Juice, New Jersey Drive and Above the Rim. With a Bobby Shmurda co-sign and features on major media outlets, HOA Bossman is well on his way to carving out his own lane.

After a crazy week with the release of his “Trust,” featuring Theo Ferragamo, HOA Bossman gave us a few minutes of his time to discuss the impact growing up in Bed Stuy,Brooklyn had on his childhood, social media and that special when he fell in love with hip-hop. Check it out below.

RESPECT: What’s the story behind your stage name, HOA Bossman?

HOA Bossman: Well, the HOA part comes from a media website called House of Aura I started with a few of my close friends. Bossman comes mainly from my mom because I was a stubborn child and that was her nickname for me, but it also comes from the moves I’ve made in the streets and in my life, and the way I carry myself and make decisions.

RESPECT: Your music has a surprisingly nostalgic sound, who were your major influences while growing up?

HOA Bossman: Well, being lucky enough to be born in Brooklyn in 1991 & living in Bed Stuy has been a huge influence, so it goes without saying that my favorite rapper is Biggie. I am also blessed to be in love with sounds; I’ve always had an open ear to music. I try to hear everything I can, going from Toro Y Moi to Wu Tang to ‘N Sync in 5 minutes. I’m always wanting to hear more, which helps as well.

RESPECT: When did you know you wanted to pursue a career as a hip-hop artist?

HOA Bossman: I’ve always wanted to make music, since I was a kid. When I was around 10 years old, I would remix lyrics to songs on the radio and throw my own words into it, or blend songs together. I took music more seriously when my grandmother passed away in front of me a few years back, so I was able to express how I felt about all of my life situations at that moment. Since she was one of my closest friends, I decided to just write about it all, and that’s how I ended up writing my first song, “Long Days, Longer Nights”

RESPECT: How did you come up with the concept for your deeply personal, latest project, L.I.F.E.?

HOA Bossman: It sounds really cliche but life is why I made L.I.F.E. I didn’t want to go crazy by bottling up emotions, and plus I really just rap about my life 24/7. I don’t believe in speaking about experiences that I never had. I don’t fear expressing myself or sharing my life because we’re all human and I know that I’m not the only person who deals with these problems. I think people need to put down their phones and hold more real-life, genuine conversations, because we all have more in common then we’d ever know.

RESPECT: What was it like growing up in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn and how did is shape your outlook on life?

HOA Bossman: Seeing the sh*t I saw in Bed Stuy and all over Brooklyn helped me grow up fast, and made me a man before my time. It was bittersweet because it prepared me for life but kinda robbed me from my childhood.

RESPECT: You’ve been buzzing as of late, with features in The Source, MTV and Vice. Has social media played a big part in building your fan base or do you take the more grassroots approach?

HOA Bossman: The internet is everything nowadays. You can’t really name any new artists who blew up without it. However I look at every performance and interaction with people in real life as opportunities to gain new fans and supporters.

RESPECT: Describe that exact moment when you fell in love with hip-hop.

HOA Bossman: It’s hard to say. It might have been when I first heard “Suicidal Thoughts” by Biggie in like 1994 or 1995. That sh*t was crazy. I never knew you could express or talk about such deep emotion in songs like that. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to die because no one really dies, but I feel that a lot of people have had the thought that if they weren’t here, maybe it wouldn’t be as bad. I guess this was why I wrote “My Escape.”

RESPECT: What do you define as success?

HOA Bossman: I view success as being able to make music, tour the world, and live off of music while providing for my family and friends, and also helping the world. I want to help everyone, from children to students to the elderly & everyone in between: better housing complexes, schools, policing, everything that needs improvement worldwide. I want to be a part of fixing everything if it’s possible.

The post Exclusive: HOA Bossman Talks Brooklyn, Success and Social Media appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

The post Toro Y Moi announces ‘What For?’ LP and shares “Empty Nesters” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

It’s been over a year since Dijon SAMO (FKA LaVi$h) released an official album. And today, we present to you his breakout work Life, As We Know It [LAWKI, for short]. We$t Coa$t born and bred, the Nouveau Riche Records (URNR.TV) representative began working on LAWKI in 2011. For two years, SAMO took the time needed and the space required for his creativity to reach new heights; he brought in his production team, ForeverToday, (primarily working with Sa’eed) to create the unique sounds that effervesce throughout the album. And as you’ll discover, a vast majoroty of the album is 100% original. Only “REM” (produced by Sa’eed) and “Vices” (NAEM) sample Toro Y Moi, a favorite of both SAMO & Sa’eed. SAMO has matured over the last two years, and it shimmers throughout the album. He’s also built quite the catalogue, including work with Rome Fortune (soon to be released), Western Tink, Buddy of i AM OTHER, Casey Veggies, Pyramid Vritra, LeftHandMitch, and Ceej of Two9.

The album was originally delayed after the Polaroid Co. threatened to sue SAMO for originally titling the album Polaroid (a reference to SAMO’s desire to capture the good and bad times that characterized his life). So he did what any self-respecting (and attorney-lacking) artist would do : he scrapped that whole project, changed his name from LaVi$h to Dijon SAMO, moved to New York, and renamed the album to LAWKI (but Fuck the Polaroid Co. was probably an alternate title). The final album was recorded in New York, Texas, and LA, charting his physical and artistic moves around the country. SAMO’s focus was to build his fan base nationwide, as he’s begun picking up speed in his hometown of Los Angeles, Texas (where he toured every major city) and New York City (headlining shows at SOB’s with Shabazz Palaces, and Santos Party House with Ree$e, Western Tink, and Sam RUBIK). And he’s not just courting the rap world. SAMO has been busy lately collaborating on a limited release of merch with URNR.TV, preparing the album’s visuals, and he recently shot a commercial for Pure Fix Cycles out in LA.

back cover

This album is SAMO’s most precious body of work, keeping his voice almost stubbornly alone on a majority of the tracks. Only NAEM, Buddy, and Niko G4 show their voices on this album. Even the production comes from close to home: 3rd Kingdom, Dijon SAMO (he included some self-produced tracks), ForeverToday (his production team), Chuck Wun (of FT), and Sa’eed (of FT) are the only producers on the 13-track album. Sa’eed, a longtime collaborator of SAMO’s, is also a Nouveau Riche favorite. His galactic tonalities and aerated pitches have projected him into a brand of music that few can simultaneously control and allow to auto-define. This mollifying sound is the basis for much of the album, targeting each track with whispers of his influence.

While SAMO’s attempt at garnering a wide audience are endearing, what’s most admirable about this project is its distinctly-relaxed, West Coast atmosphere. Yet there’s no hyphy nods, #BASED nuances, or three-wheel lick-hittin. SAMO is able to siphon the aura of his own particular experience(s) into this album, not rely on pre-existing aesthetics. He explores a host of sounds to capture and explore the aura of his Left Coastal perspective. His roots shine through each and every note on LAWKI. Whether he’s referring to his time in Atlanta’s Zone 6 [Z6ne], Brooklyn Akhis, or the Texas heat, he carries the distinctly-spreading sounds of his dear West Coast. His keen ear for easily-reflected sounds resonates throughout, elevating and dispersing his words directly into the essence of his listeners.

And through this atmosphere, he creates a symbiosis between his sounds : each “region” of rap carries its own aesthetics to those surrounding, amplifying each one’s influence on the other. His trap-hungry snares are accompanied by synth elevations: ATL meets the spirituality of the Pacific sun; his occasional boom-bap currents flow over a bed of hushed trumpets; NYC clobbers into the repose of a coastline cruise; his chopped/slurred drum pangs regain their calm from tamed keys: Screwston, TX slows to the graying skies of the misty Bay area. No matter where life takes SAMO (or, more accurately, where he directs his life), he has no choice but to nod to the sounds of his guarded core. LAWKI is one of the best examples of an author ignoring the perception that one must “know their audience.”

He isn’t speaking to anyone, for anyone, or under the authority of anyone. LAWKI is an unadulterated body of work. SAMO speaks from his own experiences, and projects himself into his own metrics of a successful life. Lending itself to no trend in particular, LAWKI presents a pure individual. Focused, thoughtful, and adventurous, the album reads like a suggestive manifesto. There are no messages or demands made, only an honest exploration of the person SAMO has grown to be. Discover him below.

Listen and buy the album on Bandcamp below.

or stream on SAMO‘s Soundcloud.

The post ALBUM PREMIERE : DIJON SAMO – LIFE AS WE KNOW IT (LAWKI) appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.