The Best New Hip-Hop This Week

May 10, 2025

The Best New Hip-Hop This Week includes albums, videos, and songs from JID, Leikeli47, and Stormzy.

Okay, so, I fudged it a bit. JID didn’t put out a new single this week, per se, but he did put out a moody trailer for his new album, God Does Like Ugly, which, for the purposes of this week’s column, is enough for top billing in my book. We’ve been waiting on word for this thing for almost too long, and now that we know it’s on the way, it’s worth celebrating.

Elsewhere, some of the genre’s most adventurous genre benders have made grand returns after some time away. That includes Leikeli47, who not only ditched her signature mask, but also announced the impending release of her long-delayed album, For Promotional Use Only, with “Soft Serve.”

It also includes Stormzy, who returned to his gritty grime roots with his “Sorry Rach!” freestyle.

Russ inched a another single closer to Wild with the video for “Crazy.”

And That Mexican OT teamed up with Lil Wayne for the lighthearted “Baby Mad At Me.”

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending May 9, 2025.

Blac Youngsta — Thuggin Dolo

Memphis’ Blac Youngsta has quietly been one of rap’s more consistent producers, dropping a project a year like clockwork. This year’s contribution to his growing canon is Thuggin Dolo, a 10-song effort that fits its title, with no features and a cohestive sonic structure consisting of the hardest-hitting Memphis trap around.

Lefty Gunplay & JasonMartin — Can’t Get Right

Lefty Gunplay got the biggest break of his career last year when he connected with Kendrick Lamar for the GNX standout “TV Off.” Now that he’s cleared up some of the business fallout, he teams up with another Hub City stalwart in JasonMartin (FKA Problem) for a collaborative effort that lets him ease into his newfound role as a budding star.

MIKE & Tony Seltzer — Pinball II

MIKE and Tony Seltzer’s previous Pinball turned out to be a fan favorite, so why not go back to the well? This time around, they’re joined by Lunchbox, Niontay, Sideshow, and of course, Earl Sweatshirt. It’s another fun diversion from the nominally bookish New York rapper, enjoying the best of all worlds: heady, intricate rhymes with bouncy, loose production.

Starlito & Don Trip — Step Brothers 4 Life

It’s appropriate, with so many other collaborative projects releasing this week, that we get a new project from a creative partnership that has been going for nearly a decade strong. The latest Step Brothers project lives up to its billing, with some truly chilling production and blunt, hammer-fisted storytelling.

Anycia — “No Scrub”

Anycia has been teasing a Gangsta Grillz mixtape with DJ Drama for a couple of months now. One of the first inklings we’ve gotten of the upcoming project finds the Atlanta upstart blending the old with the new, plugging her contemporary flow into a Lex Luger-ish beat harkening back to a more rowdy time in her city’s trap rap history.

Billy Woods — “Dislocated” Feat. Elucid

Coming from Woods’ recently released new album Golliwog, “Dislocated” operates in the perfect, eerie space to suit the horror vibes of his album’s origin story. Haunting, with a cutting edge of social commentary, “Dislocated” and Golliwog won’t appeal to every rap fan, but they certainly stand out against the modern backdrop.

E-40 — “Beating They Ass”

The Bay Area boss issues a stern warning to anyone overlooking his legacy, while reminding them of all the things he’s done to earn it.

Luh Tyler — “Rock N Roll”

Luh Tyler continues to be one of Florida’s most charming and charismatic rising stars. Taking a cue from the recent success of Gelo’s throwback tunes, Tyler employs a Mannie Fresh-esque beat here, over which he unreels his usual tongue-in-cheek wordplay and almost innocent big-money boasts.