Summer still has some gas in the tank when it comes to new music drops. This week, one of the biggest execs in the game delivers a compilation album stacked with major names, a revered Atlanta lyricist drops his first LP in nearly four years, a genre-defying artist from Louisiana puts out the second installment in a series of projects and more.
Following a masterful rollout over the past few months, DJ Khaled comes through with God Did, an 18-track compilation LP with a tracklist that reads like a who’s who of hip-hop’s biggest artists.
For his 13th studio album, Khaled used his A-list industry status to net guest appearances from only the best of the best across multiple eras of the rap game. Led by the previously released single, “Staying Alive” featuring Drake and Lil Baby, God Did sees Eminem and Kanye West appearing together on the same track for the first time in a minute with “Use This Gospel (Remix),” which was produced by Dr. Dre and The ICU.
One of the most anticipated features leading up to the release of God Did is from Jay-Z, who rounds out the album’s title track alongside Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, John Legend and Fridayy. Other heavy-hitters who’ve contributed to the large-scale offering include Future, who rhymes with Lil Baby on “Big Time,” and Lil Durk, 21 Savage and Roddy Ricch, who each provided vocals on “Keep Going.” From there, artists like Juice WRLD, Travis Scott, City Girls, Kodak Black, Jadakiss and plenty more all show out to make God Did one of the most star-studded projects of 2022.
In revealing the high-profile track list on Twitter earlier this week, DJ Khaled expressed his excitement for the release of God Did, presenting the project as if it were a gift given to the rap game by God himself.
“The Holy Scripture,” tweeted the We the Best exec. “This is a gift to the world. This is a gift to the fans. This is a gift for us. God did.”
With his first solo studio album since 2018’s DiCaprio 2, JID satiates his eagerly awaiting fan base with the release of The Forever Story. With a subtle announcement teasing that the LP was on its way back at the beginning of August, the Dreamville spitter hit up Instagram to let his 1.3 million followers know that The Forever Story is “the most important album [he’s] ever created.”
With two previously released singles leading the way, “Dance Now” with Kenny Mason and “Surround Sound” featuring 21 Savage and Baby Tate, JID unveiled the rest of the 15-track album’s songs in a unique way that completely falls in line with his thought-provoking brand.
Just a few days prior to when the project was scheduled to drop, the Atlanta MC posted The Forever Story‘s final track list on Instagram but decided to hold back on revealing the remaining guest appearances. However, within a few hours of the initial post, JID let the features fly, highlighting contributions from artists like Lil Wayne, Yasiin Bey and Lil Durk.
While showing love to the aforementioned artists and producers like DJ Scheme, Hollywood Cole and DJ Khalil, JID accompanied the track listing with a heartfelt IG caption directed at everyone who brought The Forever Story to fruition.
“The official features on The Forever Story,” wrote the “Stars” rapper. “Wanna say thank you to everyone who helped put these words and sounds together. This meant the world to me because none of this [was easy] and you gave your all to my vision.”
Autumn! continues on his steady path of consistently dropping new sounds with the release of Golden Child, Chapter 2. After hinting to fans that the second installment of his Golden Child series was en route back in July, Autumn! officially announced the project’s official release date at the tail end of last week.
After having dropped his Antagonist! album in April and the ##B4GC2 ##B4GC2 EP at the end of July, the follow-up to 2021’s Golden Child, Chapter 1 serves as the Louisiana native’s third project to come out this year.
The revered plugg rap artist’s latest project is comprised of completely new material for fans to sink their teeth into, as it wasn’t led ahead of time with any previously released singles save for a teaser snippet from the song “E36*.” The Iankon-produced track features a guest appearance from 2022 XXL Freshman Cochise.
Golden Child, Chapter 2 comes as Autumn! has just completed A Qwik Tour 2, a string of summer performances that saw him hit stages in cities like Miami, Washington, D.C. and San Diego, Calif.
Check out projects from Dro Kenji, Meechy Darko, Roc Marciano, Mayhem Lauren and more below.
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God Did
DJ Khaled
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The Forever Story
JID
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Golden Child, Chapter 2
Autumn!
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Anywhere But Here
Dro Kenji
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To Dream In Color
Rapper Big Pooh
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Playing With Fire
ShooterGang Kony
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Lice Rerelease
Aesop Rock and Homeboy Sandman
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Black Vladimir
Mayhem Lauren and Daringer
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The Elephant Man’s Bones
Roc Marciano and The Alchemist
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Gothic Luxury
Meechy Darko
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Little Nycky
Nyck Caution
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In the Beginning, Vol. 2
Declaime & Madlib
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W13 EP
IDK
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Queen Radio, Vol. 1
Nicki Minaj
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Dollar Menu 4
Mach-Hommy