Asset.Radio is a weekly playlist of new hip-hop releases curated by OGM contributor Aidan Werder (@aidantheasset). See last week’s here.
Tune in weekly for a fresh batch of 25(ish) new releases, or throw on shuffle for a random sampling of new music from some of the most original and compelling artists in hip-hop.
The goal of Asset.Radio is to paint a picture of what the cutting edge looks like, answering questions like: Which artists are bringing something new to the table? What are the cool kids listening to? Who is an asset to the culture?
For Asset.Radio.22.6.3 (June 2022, Part 3), we have what may be the strongest playlist of the year. In the Drizzy Drake: “It’s all good if you don’t get it yet… We’re just waiting for you to catch up… We caught up already.”
And keep in mind, this is all in the humble opinion of Aidan the Asset.
Starting off with the Drizzy-sized elephant in the room, Drake dropped a dance album that everyone is going to love by the end of the summer whether they know it or not. Outside of the 21 Savage feature, “Sticky” is easily the most friendly to those who were expecting something different, and “Currents” is nearly a full-on Jersey Club track (shoutout to Newark’s Bandmanrill for popularizing the Jersey club sound).
Aubrey’s surprise album unfortunately stepped all over the release of Kevin Gates’ long-awaited Khaza, but the super general still came through with an incredible project, represented here by “Ups and Downs.” It’s also worth noting that hidden gem, Highway’s new song “Next Weekend” would sound perfectly at home on Honestly, Nevermind.
Lil Baby dropped a banger with two of Detroit’s finest, Veeze and 42 Dugg “U-Digg,” Kay Flock and Fivio Foreign “Make a Movie” on their hard-hitting NYC drill collab, and Westside Boogie dropped a killer album with one of the best Soulja Boy verses ever on the chilled-out “Can’t Even Lie.”
From the “Soundcloud underground” contingent, we have “Y Not?” from Lucki ahead of his new project, SoFaygo’s “Count Me Out” off his B4 Pink EP and K Suave’s “DayCare.”
The category-defying Sauce Walka deserves his own special shout-out for Al Rage Walka, an album full of rage bangers like “Big Bands” across which he fully embraces the sound of the youth and infuses it with his one-of-a-kind trap sound.
The streets are represented this week by Chicago’s newest star PGF Nuk, Dallas’ BigXthaplug and SleazyWorld Go’s ominous collab with Offset, “Step 1.”
There’s also a big showing from the softer side of the streets this week, brought to you by CEO Trayle’s uncharacteristically soulful “We Was,” Money Man’s gentle “New York,” and Hotboii’s touching “Rich How I’m Dying.” Not to mention the tender-voiced Scorey on “No Names,” Pollari’s Tony Shhnow-aided “4am in Agoura” Remix and Inglewood’s MCM Raymond sliding on the laidback “Jimmy Choo Freestyle.”
From across the pond, London’s AJ Tracey dropped the infectious “Seoul,” which originally went viral as a freestyle on the popular NYC-based show, On the Radar with Gabe P.
A few songs that truly defy any of the above categories: Duke Deuce’s uniquely crunk “Animosity” with Lil Yachty, the previously unthinkable ILOVEMAKONNEN / NBA Youngboy collab “All My Shit is Stupid” and the indescribable Smiley on “Rush Hour Freestyle.” There’s also “Ain’t Going Back” from newcomer Rican Da Menace channeling the regional bouncy club sound from her native Baltimore.
And finally, the lone lyrical-miracle representative, Chance the Rapper and Joey Bada$$ finally give the people the collab they’ve been wanting for about a decade with “The Highs & The Lows.”
In closing, if you find yourself feeling lost while making your way through this list, or asking yourself what happened to “real hip-hop,” just remember what Drizzy said while sitting in the nightclub in his house surrounded by people dancing to his own No. 1 album that supposedly everyone hates. After all, he’s “just waiting for you to catch up… We caught up already.”
Listen to Asset.Radio.22.6.3 below, and tune in every week for a fresh batch of new releases
