Who Is The Leader Of The New School? (Audio Playlist)

Life is too short to listen to bad music. So…let us fight through it for you and only supply you with the good stuff. Despite the reports, Hip-Hop is alive and well and, in many ways, is better than it’s ever been before. Not only are we able to go back and listen to all of our favorites, at the click of a button, there is also a ton of great music still being made by artists, young and veteran alike…if you know where to look.

To help with that task, we’ve created 2 playlists. One features more recent music–songs that have been released within the last year or so–while the other is throwback, focused on the 80s and 90s. We will update each of these playlists regularly, so, if you like what you hear, subscribe to follow us on Spotify.

This Throwback Playlist Celebrates The Hip-Hop That Is Never Played-Out. (Audio)

Today, we celebrate the newer music. In the last few months, some of the best and brightest of today’s Hip-Hop generation have emerged to put their stamps on the culture. In December, seemingly out of nowhere, J. Cole released his amazing 4 Your Eyez Only. The album stood with Cole’s best work, focusing inward on how his life has changed over the last few years. February brought Big Sean’s I Decided, and it, too, was some of Sean’s finest and most personal music. That month, Chance The Rapper took home 3 Grammy Awards for his historic Coloring Book, which became the first mixtape to take home such an award. From there, things only heated up.

Oddisee released his stellar The Iceberg, filled complex and intelligent lyricism, accompanied with live instrumentation. Joey Bada$$ dropped “Land of the Free,” his most political work to date. Brother Ali returned with his first new material in 5 years. And, Drake released his record-breaking More Life playlist. Since then, just a week later, Kendrick Lamar has signaled the arrival of his new album on April 7, and has already shot 2 scorching new tracks from the bow. Logic, has similarly entered the fray and put everybody on notice that he’s not to be overlooked. Meanwhile, Freddie Gibbs is back, too, and he’s still keepin’ it gangsta.

Raekwon Discusses His New Album, Working With OutKast, His Wu-Tang Classics & More

Other recent additions include Raekwon (who released a new album on March 24), Rick Ross, Nick Grant, Sampha, Syd (from The Internet), Keith Murray and more. They join Nas, Pusha T, De La Soul, Solange, Anderson .Paak, Elzhi and too many great artist to name. There’s Hip-Hop, Soul and Funk, because no one can live on Hip-Hop alone.

Hit shuffle, press play and enjoy.