Upcoming Albums — Future x Meek Mill x Kendrick Lamar

Future recently released the new artwork upcoming album titled, Honest, formerly titled Future Hendrix. In an interview with ELLE he talked about the new direction of the album:

I started going in another direction after I made the ‘Shit’ record. It just flipped the whole album. I got in a whole other mood when I went in the studio. I just started recording, recording, recording as much as possible. I just got in a great zone. I was able to capture the best moments. It helped me make a classic album. It’s just going to be very timeless.

The album and previous artwork were expected to be released 11.26.13, but has since been delayed. There’s no word on when the album, or track listing, will surface.

Meek Mill is up at bat for his sophomore album set to be titled, Dreams Worth More Than Money. The title coincides with his 2012 debut, Dreams and Nightmares. In an interview with Rap-Up he briefly discussed what fans could expect on the album:

You can expect just quality music. You know me, I’m a street rapper. I come with that street shit, so I’m just comin’ with that onanother level right now and takin’ them to a different place.

The album is set to drop sometime this summer. No official date just yet.

Following his Grammy and All-Star performances, Kendrick Lamar has announced that he has a new album in the works as well as a joint album with Black Hippy (Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock). His yet to be titled album was set to be released sometime in September. In the recent Kendrick / Schoolboy Q Billboard cover story, this was written at the end of the article.

In 2014, TDE hopes to lock and load its most ambitious slate of releases: Rashad and the label’s first nonrap signing, New Jersey-based female singer-songwriter SZA, will be coming with albums, as will original team members Jay Rock and Ab-Soul. Meanwhile, Free thinks the long-awaited debut from Black Hippy – the supergroup featuring Lamar, Q, Rock and Ab-Soul – is likely to appear in 2014; Tiffith indicates that TDE is planning to release a new Lamar album this coming September, too.

Album Review: Braveheart

It was 2008 when Ashanti had last released an album, but she’s back with a new material and new management. Before I even get into my favorites and what I think about the album as a whole let me give a kudos to Ashanti for taking the independent route. It’s not an easy task and due to the fact that she wears as many hats as she does that is clearly the reason behind the constant delays of this project. Despite that, I’m impressed lyrically with this album. Well, here are my top 5 (in no particular order):

• ‘Never Should Have’
• ‘Scars’
• ‘Runaway’
• ‘3 Words’
• ‘I Got It’ (feat. Rick Ross)

The album features 13 tracks and is a great balance of ballads and club songs. My favorites are definitely the ballads. As much as I disliked, ‘I Got It,’ when she first released it simply because I didn’t think it was her best vocally, it has definitely grown on me. That’s primarily due to radio play. She’s been through a lot in 6 years as would any person. With time comes growth, loss, etc. and from that you learn and gain experience. Ashanti shares that through her music. For all those wondering about her on/off relationship with Nelly read between the lines of the lyrics; especially my top 5.

NEW MUSIC — Ciara x Future, ‘Anytime’