Some long-awaited albums are set to come out this summer (to my dismay, an expanded edition of Kid Cudi’s Man on the Moon III won’t be one). Below I highlight three of the most anticipated from rap’s biggest names.
3. Drake — Certified Lover Boy
Billboard’s “Artist of the Decade” has been teasing his 6th(?) studio album (the counting gets a little dicey) since summer 2019, and tantalizing fans with leaks, short-length records, and missed release dates. Even the explanation hinted at for the delay, a leg injury of some sort, has fans scratching their heads.
The album’s title appears to be a reference to the long-standing joke about Drake’s supposed softness, recalling 2020’s overtly self-aware “Laugh Now Cry Later”. We’ll see if this indicates a consistent theme for the album, but the Toronto rapper hasn’t been afraid to mix styles in the past. A new release date hasn’t been nailed down yet, but Drake loves to find his way onto our summer playlists year after year.
2. Migos — Culture III
Unlike CLB, the final installment in the Migos’ genre-defining chronicle, Culture III, has a scheduled release date—and its this Friday! The album has been three years in the making, and follows interesting forays into solo work by the group’s members, Quavo, Offset, and Takeoff. On May 14, the Migos dropped their hard-hitting Culture III single, “Straightenin”, to announce their return to the trap scene.
The group appears to be embracing changes needed to avoid Culture II’s underwhelming reception among longtime fans, like trimming down the tracklist and returning to their street roots lyrically and stylistically. In just a few days we’ll see if the Migos will once again redefine hip-hop culture.
1. Travis Scott — Utopia
This list would be incomplete without mentioning Travis Scott’s forthcoming successor to Astroworld, hailed as among the best albums of the 2010s. To call him the King of Hype would be a massive understatement. Between his record-breaking No. 1 hits, sold-out Astroworld Festival this fall, and business partnerships with McDonalds, Nike, PlayStation, Fornite, and Christopher Nolan, Travis has refused to leave the public consciousness since his head dotted global landmarks back in 2018.
Sparing a few missed opportunities, like Huncho Jack, Travis has a near-perfect record of forging grand concept albums at the cutting edge of psychedelic trap. Rodeo was moody and dramatic, while Birds In the Trap packaged nihilistic hooks and woozy production. Meanwhile, Astroworld was the sonic reincarnation of an amusement park, with its relentless energy and classic Houston flair. Fans are eager to find out what kind of music they’ll experience in Utopia.
No release date has been shared yet, but with Travis set to headline Rolling Loud in late July, we could have an announcement any day now.