DC's poster boy Wale is preparing to drop his fourth studio album, The Album About Nothing, a week from tomorrow. Today brings us a preview of the work to come as his single "The Summer League" featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Kanye West has surfaced. Listen to the groups encouraging pleasantries below and pick up Wale's The Album About Nothing on March 31 on iTunes.
music
VibeRotation 15 /
InTheRough's VibeRotation playlists continue with number 15. The newest member to the collection carries a contemporary theme as it features music released mostly within the last three months. It pays homage to one of 2015's early projects, Joey Bada$$'s B4.DA.$$ with a track that deserves more air time, same story for Drake's "Madonna". West Coast styles flow throughout playlist highlighted by a new track from Jhené Aiko that released yesterday. Atlanta group Two-9 and Timbaland signee, Tink appear as I have certainly joined their fan clubs, especially after listening to B4FRVR and browsing the young lady's ample catalog. Some house influences are sprinkled in as well. Give VibeRotation 15 a spin below and be sure to follow ITR on SoundCloud!
Earl Sweatshirt - Grief /
Joey did it, Kendrick did it, Lupe did it, now it’s Earl’s time. Due March 23rd, Earl Sweatshirt’s project “I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside” was announced yesterday after some controversy regarding his label and the announcement of his album on iTunes. Accompanying the minor twitter rant was a music video for a single from the album, “Grief”. The song is filled with anxious but pointed bars directed at other wack rappers and the industry, as well as the pitfalls of even the lesser-celebrity lifestyle. While this thematic content isn’t new territory for the Odd Future affiliate, “Grief” and it’s lo-fi production sets our expectations for the content of this album to be focused around Earl’s experience so far in the rap world, and the choices he’s made in light of it. With some of the most creative and colorful lyricism in popular rap and Hip Hop today, Earl has set the bar high for himself, and we really look forward to whichever creative direction the young artist decides to go. However, as Hip Hop seems to be the focal point of the music environment in 2015, Earl’s success is directly dependent on how he sounds relative to his peers, such as Kendrick Lamar and Drake. Both of whom broke Spotify records for total streams in a day with their most recent projects, “To Pimp A Butterfly” and “If You’re Reading This It's Too Late” respectively. Whereas just last year fans were clamoring for the next track to bump, it’ almost difficult for listeners to keep up with the newest releases, and even more difficult for artists to make an impact and stay relevant. Check out the track below.
Tinashe- Amethyst Mixtape /
Having released Christmas singles as well as her debut album, Aquarius, California native Tinashe continues to be in the giving mood with a welcomed release of her new mixtape Amethyst. The seven-track project, which was all recorded in her bedroom over her 2014 Christmas vacation, features another California based artists in Iamsu, as well as production from Ryan Hemsworth, DJ Dahi, and more. The album can be streamed and downloaded below, enjoy!
Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly Available Now /
A week ahead of schedule, Kendrick Lamar has released his second studio LP, To Pimp a Butterfly. Due to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, the tracklist for the project was released several days ago. Perhaps the surprise drop was not only a result of the recent events of the past several days, but also in fear of the album leaking a la Dark Sky Paradise and many other studio albums. Regardless, the highly anticipated album is available to stream below. Stay tuned with InTheRough for more developments on K. Dot's latest project.