By Nathalie Lum, Courier Sports Editor
December 2016 is looking to be a promising month for hip-hop. Many of the projects to be released are from artists who haven’t dropped any music in years. Artists such as Childish Gambino, Kid Cudi, and J. Cole have been ghosts in the music industry recently but are resurfacing this month. Other artists such as Drake, Gucci Mane, Post Malone, and Yasiin Bey are also dropping new projects.
Gambino, Cudi, and Cole are all artists who have had critically acclaimed albums, yet have not released any projects in two or more years. Gambino’s last mixtape, “STN MTN/Kauai” was released in 2014 and displayed his singing ability more than his rapping. He is dropping an album titled, “Awaken, My Love!” in addition to the two singles he already released from the tracklist. Kid Cudi has been out of the rap game for some time now, due to his struggles with depression. He seemed to have fallen off after his prime in 2009. However, this year, he made a subtle return to the industry by performing at music festivals and appearing on songs with Travis Scott. J. Cole just announced the release of his long awaited follow up to his last album and is titling the new project, “4 Your Eyez Only.” His last album, “2014 Forest Hills Drive,” was his most commercially successful project and was certified double platinum with no features. Cole has set the bar high for himself and is expected to be back and better with this upcoming release. Considering these artists have have been M.I.A. over the past couple years, they are the most highly anticipated releases of December.
There are other artists whose upcoming projects are also something to be excited about. Gucci Mane, Post Malone, and Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def) are all dropping albums this holiday season. Most notably, Drake is releasing a mixtape titled, “More Life.” He has released three of the mixtapes singles through Apple Music, two of which have topped the charts. With his hit record “Views,” which came out earlier this year, Drake is arguably the most popular rapper in the game right now. Hopefully all of these December releases live up the expectations.
