New Hip Hop This Week: Ovrkast., Strange Fruit Project, Souls of Mischief, Johnny Venus and More

The album of the week. The East Oakland rapper-producer follows his 2025 breakthrough While The Iron Is Hot with 12 tracks that started as an expansion of that record and grew into their own project over a year and a half, finished at a week-long writing camp in L.A. with string arranger Aaron Paris in the room.

The sound is jazz-leaning and sample-heavy, in the line of Madlib, J Dilla and the Bay Area beatmakers, and he aims high: Clash says he looked to Kendrick’s DAMN. and Jay-Z’s 4:44. Joey Bada$$ and Nali join him on “STATIC”, Samara Cyn and MAVI on “KNOCK”, Niontay on “Wata” and Self Proclaimed Narcissist on “PANE”.

Two weeks ago “Won’t Back Down” with Rapsody made our first playlist. Now the full EP is here: eight tracks from the Waco, Texas trio of producer-emcee S1, Myth and Myone, with an S1 interlude (“Becoming”) right in the middle.

Blu, who was all over our Vol. 001, shows up again on “Honor”, Theory Hazit jumps on “Super Man” and Deontaye Daywalker on “See My Pain”. A short, focused return from one of Texas’ most underrated crews.

Not a rap record, but if you sample soul, you need this one. Producer and composer Adrian Younge and singer-songwriter ALA.NI spent nearly a decade on these ten songs: the first sessions happened in Los Angeles in 2018, with Younge cutting instrumentals by day and ALA.NI writing at night, and the second half was recorded in 2020, just before the pandemic.

Younge later added string arrangements at his Linear Labs studio. ALA.NI wrote the title track after learning her father had been diagnosed with cancer, and the whole album carries that weight.

Oakland week, part two. The Hieroglyphics legends behind ’93 ’til Infinity link up with 88rising’s collective 1999 WRITE THE FUTURE, who already had them on “yes LOvELy” from their 2024 debut hella. That song comes back remastered on this five-track EP.

The guests make it a must: Phonte of Little Brother on “Up With the Sun”, Jay Worthy on “Road Runnin” and Dame D.O.L.L.A with Brookfield Duece on “Nothing Without You”. Bay Area rap royalty with nothing left to prove.

EARTHGANG’s Johnny Venus finally drops his solo debut, 12 tracks that collect the singles of the past months: “SARAHTONIN” (it was in our Vol. 001), “PORSCHE 911”, which he wrote with The-Dream and produced himself, and the darker “NIGHTMARES”.

6LACK joins him on “SO BEAUTIFUL”, and the album closes with the Spillage Village family on “CAN YOU PRAY FOR ME”. Atlanta through and through.

The R&B album of the week. Five years after Overgrown, Joyce Wrice names her second album after her Japanese middle name, which translates to “city girl”, and trades the guarded mood of the debut for romance and risk.

JID raps on “Catch Me If You Can”, Ty Dolla $ign gets his own version of “Crack The Code” and there are spots for Eem Triplin, Rio Da Yung Og, Odeal and Mack Keane. The lead single “Fly (Someone You Love)”, with Salimata, was co-written with Lido and Jay Versace.

First announced for August, the Houston rapper’s new album finally lands: 12 tracks produced by Kizzo that connect Houston, Lagos and London and put his Nigerian roots at the center.

The guest list is huge: Busta Rhymes opens the album on “CHINEKE” (more Busta in our Dillagence II story), Labrinth is on the single “ALL OR NOTHING”, plus Sia, Malice of Clipse, Paul Wall, Adekunle Gold, Flavour, ODUMODUBLVCK and Hanumankind.

The Detroit storyteller and the L.A. production crew Real Bad Man (Real Bad Boldy, Killing Nothing, Conversational Pieces) are at it again, and New York’s Wiki slides in with that loose, conversational flow.

It’s the first taste of their next album together, Strobelight, which Apple Music lists for October 13. Mark the date.