It’s that time again when artists drop new albums, and today we have quite a few records to look forward to. This Fourth of July weekend is shaping up to be one with a ton of new releases with albums debuting from the likes of Gucci Mane, Pop Smoke, and more. In addition to that, Young Money rapper Lil Wayne has released a revamped version of one of his albums from five years ago to include some new tracks.
Pop Smoke: Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon
The featured project is Pop Smoke’s first posthumous album Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon, which was released under Victor Victor and Republic Records. Pop who used to claim the title of ‘King of New York’ sadly passed away in February of this year at just 20 years old when he was shot and killed in his Hollywood Hills home in Los Angeles. The promising rapper had recorded enough music to compile this new LP, which 50 Cent adapted and executive produced with the intention to carry on Pop’s legacy and immortalize him with his work.
After he died, Pop Smoke made his first solo Billboard appearance with his track “Dior,” which was also certified Platinum by the RIAA. A host of great features were recruited for Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon, including Roddy Ricch, DaBaby, Quavo, Swae Lee, Future, Tyga, Lil Baby, 50 Cent, and more. The 19-track compilation is Pop Smoke’s debut studio album, but hopefully, it won’t be his last posthumous joint and there is more waiting in the cut.
Gucci Mane: So Icy Summer
Gucci Mane has apologized since calling his label executives racist crackers and has released a new project called So Icy Summer with Atlantic Records. The album features 24 tracks and some hot guest stars like Future, Thugger, Lil Baby, 21 Savage, and others. The album is credited to Gucci Mane and The New 1017, so it also showcases the talents from his 1017 record label, including Foogiano, Ola Runt, Pooh Shiesty, and more.
Lil Wayne: Free Weezy Album
Lil Wayne is among the lineup of artists with new music to enjoy this weekend as the rapper has re-released his 2015 album Free Weezy to all digital streaming platforms. The revamped version of the album has additions as well as ommissions with new songs like “We Livin’ Like That” joining the tracklist while some from the original version like “He’s Dead,” “I Feel Good” and a couple of others have been removed. The album was exclusively available on TIDAL before, but now it can be accessed on Apple Music, Spotify, and more. In honor of the occasion, Lil Wayne released a new music video for his song “Glory,” which is the first track on the album.
Westside Gunn: Flygod Is An Awesome God 2
Westside Gunn has also released a sequel to his LP Flygod Is An Awesome God, which he dropped in July 2019. Flygod Is An Awesome God 2 is a 24-track LP which showcases the Griselda talents sans Conway the Machine. Though there are no features with Gunn’s brother Conway, there is a track with his cousin, rapper Benny the Butcher, who also forms the core of Griselda Records. The album has features from other Griselda artists as well, like Keisha Plum, Armani Caesar, and Boldy James, in addition to newcomers, Stove God Cook$, Rome Streetz, and more. Westside Gunn is currently managed by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation.
K Camp & RARE Sound: RARE Family
It has probably been a while since you heard about K Camp. The “Cut Her Off” hitmaker is back with new music in time for the Fourth of July weekend through his own creative collective RARE Sound. The album called Rare Family showcases various talents under the enterprise like Yella Breezy, Lil Bird, Mozzy, and more. The 12-track LP, which arrived today (July 3), marks K Camp’s fifth studio album. In a statement to HipHopDX, K Camp said, “RARE Sound the next biggest independent label in the world.”
Buckwild: Fully Loaded
It is only appropriate that we round out the lineup with Buckwild’s new album Fully Loaded as the title speaks to the influx of new releases we have to look forward to. Buckwild enlisted a ton of great MCs for this 10-track LP. Namely, Fly Anakin, Raekwon, Little Brother, Nick Grant, and more. “I put this album together based off the response from the collab projects I recently released with POUNDS (Trafficante) and Flee Lord (Hand Me My Flowers),” the producer told HHNM in a statement. “I love the reception they both got, along with my recent instrumental projects, Abandoned Beats and Essential Beats. So just looking to keep the momentum going.” Buckwild announced that the project would be delivered on Friday (July 3), but he ended up leaking it on Soundcloud a few days prior.
We definitely have enough new music to hold us over for this Fourth of July weekend and beyond. What will you be checking out first?
