Each month, tons of new music from many taste-spanning genres is released into a fast-consuming, unforgiving market; it can be tough to get a handle on what’s new before it’s on to the next. In an attempt to highlight the standout releases, at the end of each month, AUX staff re-cap the month in Punk, Metal, Indie/Pop/Rock, Hip Hop, Electronic, and Pop with the top five releases in each. Consider it your cheat sheet for year-end lists.

Top 5 Hip-Hop Releases: June Edition

 

Big K.R.I.T. – Live From the Underground

Finally, K.R.I.T. decides to sell something. His major label debut is his fourth stellar album in the last three years and somehow he found a way justify putting a price tag on this one. Krit wins again with his balance. He’s conscious but crunk, nostalgic but progressive. He walks the fine line almost impeccably. The Mississippi raised rapper/producer could be the kid the Dungeon Family put up for adoption because like Outkast and Goodie Mob did for Atlanta in the mid-90s, K.R.I.T. is putting Meridian on the map with consistently great rap music. (Def Jam/Cinematic Music Group) Key track: The biographical title track and its soulful reprise.

Curren$y – The Stoned Immaculate

Curren$y the Hot Spitta has released a handful of very cohesive albums in the last few years. He’d use one producer for the majority or all of the tracks on those LPs which limited the range of sounds but maintained the sort of sustained vibe a rapper like Spitta was able to thrive on. This project was completely different. Curren$y enlisted some of the top producers in the game and picked a batch of beats from the biggest pool he’s ever had to choose from. Fortunately, the consistency that his fans have come to expect from his releases is still here because Curren$y ties it all together with his descriptive lyrics and appreciable flow while the eclectic beats add a refined lustre to The Stoned Immaculate. (Warner) Key track: Curren$y reinforces the Summer of 2 Chainz with his own installment, “Capitol.”

Oh No – Ohnomite

There’s a lot of awesome going on here. Hip hop, in many ways, is a modern day by-product of blaxploitation or at the very least it employs similar gimmicks to the 1970s films. With that in mind, this is a brilliant idea: Oh No + Dolemite = Ohnomite, a project built on samples from Rudy Ray Moore’s soundtrack for his seminal pimp classic Dolemite. The best part of it all is that the music lives up to the notion as Oh No comes out blazing and enlists some top tier guests (Erick Sermon, Phife Dawg, MF Doom, and Sticky Fingaz to name a few) to pull it off. While the kitschy Dolemite has garnered an ironic cult following over the years, this Oh No project is an example of hip hop at its finest; any respect Ohnomite gets will be completely genuine. (Stone’s Throw) Key track: The bumping “Sound Off” with Termanology and Ea$y Money.

Azealia Banks – 1991 EP

Sure, it’s a brief EP after so much anticipation but it’s hard not be satisfied by the super cute rapper’s release. Azealia’s onto something here; a brashly clever approach (reminiscent of Slick Rick at times) with production that sounds like Crystal Waters circa ’93. It’s not like she’s a complete original but it’s clear she’s doing her own thing which has to be respected, especially when it turns out as listenable and catchy as this. When it’s all said and done, Banks might not win the female MC sweepstakes but that’s only because she didn’t enter in the first place. (Interscope) Key track: It’s old now but throw “212” on at a party and good things still happen.

Cadence Weapon – Hope In Dirt City

Not that it matters to him but this could be Rollie Pemberton’s most widely accessible record to date. He’s still the Cadence Weapon we love. His matter-of-fact flows that ride just a little off his thumping beats have become even cooler than they were in the mid-00s. With alternative hip hop moving towards the foreground of the genre, he’s primed to garner some positive attention, in predominantly hip hop circles, from his third album. Instead of assimilating to get comfortable, he’s been part of the successful effort to alter the genre to suit his liking. It could also just be coincidence but the confidence permeating from this record suggests otherwise. (Upper Class) Key track: The raw hip hop track “Cheval”.

Surprises, disappointments and albums to watch for next month

Surprise of the month: Waka Flocka Flame, Triple F Life: Fans, Friends & Family. It’s hard to say that anyone’s really expected anything more than some banging beats and a shitload of amped ad-libs from Waka Flocka’s sophomore effort and he definitely doesn’t disappoint. Yet, there’s some meat to this record; its title references a simple but sincere theme that recurs on many of the tracks and shines through the good ol’ knucklehead anthems to add a vulnerable dimension to Flocka’s tough-guy persona. The way he expresses his admiration for and dependency on family, friends, and fans suggests that he’s been through a few steps of evolution, which no one asked for but is always great to see.

Disappointment of the month: Maybach Music Group, Self Made 2. Rick Ross and Meek Mill plan to release albums this summer. They should be able to focus on their projects and not have to deal with pointless cash-grab compilations like this.

Out in July: New albums from a few guys you might have heard of (Nas, 50 Cent, and Rick Ross).