new release

Kanye West is planning to release 3-hour spoken word album

Kanye West loves to talk, and now fans will have the opportunity to hear him talk in an extended listen. The mercurial rapper/producer is reportedly planning to release an entire album of spoken word content. ContactMusic reports that the project, which currently has no tentative title or release date, will be a vinyl release and will be over three hours long.

What are you listening to? ‘Shakira’

Sexy singer Shakira returns on her latest, self-titled album–her first since becoming a mother last year. Though she’s not quite the pop culture ingenue she was when she emerged in the late 90s/early 2000s, the booty-shaking beauty is still quite the compelling artist. So it’s a shame that so much of what makes Shakira Shakira gets lost on Shakira.

What are you listening to? ‘Young Money: Rise of an Empire’

Young Money: Rise of an Empire is the second official studio compilation from the YMCMB roster following 2013’s Rich Gang. This set features the expected list of A list stars, both from the label and across mainstream hip-hop. Lil Wayne is the centerpiece, and while this feels like a showcase for the lesser-known talents on the Young Money team, it is noticeable that Young Money mainstay Drake is only featured once.

What are you listening to? Rick Ross’ ‘Mastermind’

Rick Ross returns with Mastermind, his highly-anticipated sixth studio album and follow-up to 2012’s God Forgives, I Don’t. On his latest project, Ross continues his musical trademarks–the ones that have served him so well up to this point and helped to establish his persona. Rozay is still very much into excess, he wallows and revels in it. Wealth and consumption are at the forefront of his mind, yet again, and depending on your taste, it can sound either invigorating or woefully tiresome by the time you get mid-way through Mastermind.

What are you listening to? Schoolboy Q’s ‘Oxymoron’

The buzz around Schoolboy Q has been building for the better part of two years. The L.A. rapper’s gift for wordplay, dark sense of humor and marijuana fixation became well-known amongst hip-hop’s underground; and with the release of his 2012 indie album Habits and Contradictions, Q officially became hip-hop’s “Next Big Thing.” Also, his TDE compadre Kendrick Lamar went from underground sensation to major superstar during that time, setting up high expectations for Schoolboy Q’s major label debut, Oxymoron.

What are you listening to? Talib Kweli’s ‘Gravitas’

On his new album Gravitas, Kweli manages to find the middle-ground between hip-hop’s more thoughtful content and it’s more trivial — and he sounds a lot less contrived than he did when he attempted to pull off the same trick on 2013s overly-calculated Prisoner of Conscious. On Gravitas Kweli seems much more comfortable dabbling in different aesthetics — and that results in the most complete album he’s released in a decade.