As crazy as it is to believe we are halfway through 2021, and some great tunes have released so far, but some albums are LONG overdue. Some hints of new music dropped from artists like Ari Lennox, Isaiah Rashad, and Silk Sonic. Some artists have not made a single peep, so it could drop any day now.
Could this be the year Rihanna releases R9? The follow-up album of DAMN might finally be dropping from Kendrick Lamar. Here are The Most Anticipated Music Albums of 2021, the records we can’t wait for our ears to hear.
Ari Lennox
Ari Lennox’s debut album came out in 2019, Shea Butter Baby was credited as the ‘Best R&B album of 2019’ by Rated R&B. Since then Lennox has been certified platinum by RIAA for the album’s top single Shea Butter Baby featuring J.Cole. Dreamville’s lady of the soul is rumoured to be releasing an album soon. Lennox was seen in the studio with Grammy-winning producers J. White and Missy Elliot. Lennox gave us a little tease on her Instagram story about the album, “Wish y'all could hear these records. So [freakin'] beautiful. Organized Noize is the [ish.] Feeling so blessed. God is so so good” she wrote. Organized Noize is the legendary production crew who helped with the creation of albums by Cee-Lo Green, Gnarls Barkley, and OutKast.
Silk Sonic
The album that I didn’t know I needed, but so glad that I do now. Leave The Door Open is the perfect song to introduce us to what we have in store from Anderson. Paak and Bruno Mars join forces and create a funk band Silk Sonic. An Evening With Silk Sonic is set to release later in the year, with Bootsy Collins as the ‘special guest host’ of the album, taking the role of the master of ceremonies on the opening track. There have been rumours that singers H.E.R and Victoria Monet might make an appearance in the album, as both artists mentioned their eagerness to join the band. Either way, Silk Sonic will be taking us back in time with the sweet sounds of the ’70s with funk, R&B, and jazz.
Childish Gambino
Rewind to March 21st, 2020 when Childish Gambino surprised released 3.15.20, the socially conscious, eerie album which featured Feels Like Summer- renamed as 42.26. Donald Glover- the creative mind behind Childish Gambino- told the audience of the 2018 This Is America tour that he will “see you for the last Gambino album.”, but with the surprise album, this left his fans wanting closure. On November 6th, 2020 Gambino tweeted an announcement of new music that he was excited about. “last music project was probably my best," he said of 3.15.20, "but the one coming will be my biggest by far.”.
Drake
With the follow-up of the top-charting Scorpion, the highly anticipated Certified Lover Boy is set to release sometime throughout 2021. The OVO artist has been dropping hints here and there for his fans, by dropping singles like Laugh Now Cry Later, Toosie Slide, Life is Good and Going Bad. As a gift to his fans, Drake released his mixtape Dark Lane Demo Tapes which had features from Chris Brown, Young Thug and Palyboi Carti. Could we expect these artists to be on the album too? And as the Toronto native will be releasing his 6th album, we can expect big things since the number 6 is a special number to Toronto.
J.Cole
For those who are fans of the infamous J.Cole, it will came as a surprise that Dreamville’s poster child’s next album was be called The Off-Season and not The Fall Off as hinted in the final song of the KOD album 1985 (Intro to ‘The Fall Off’). According to an interview Cole did with Angie Martinez The Off-Season has been in the works since 2016, if this album has been cooking for 6 years now, you know it will be good. The album has been left on the back burner due to projects with Dreamville and their record release Revenge of the Dreamers IIII. The album released on May the 14th, and it did delivery. Definitely worth the wait.
Kenderick Lamar
As he is credited as one the best rappers alive right now, Kendrick Lamar is rumoured to be dropping his album this year. During the year 2020 (before COVID ruined everything), Lamar was set to be booked and busy during the summer. Kendrick was enlisted to headline in both local and international music festivals. From Montreal to Germany. Bill Werde the Editor Director of Billboard spilled that Kendrick is nearly done and that the album has a strong rock influence. With what we have seen from the past with To Pimp a Butterfly we know that Kung Fu Kenny knows how to blend, sample, and take influence from other genres.
Noname
I am not going to lie, when Noname said that she was going to stop making music I cried a little. But the Chicago rapper made her return with her latest single Rainforest (an amazing song btw) and announced that she will be releasing her second album Factory Baby. This album will be a follow-up to the five-star reviewed Room 25, while Rainforest is the latest drop from Noname, she released Song 33 last year as a response to J.Cole after his criticism of her in his song Snow On The Buffer. However, she revealed that she later regretted writing and releasing that song. “I tried to use it as a moment to draw attention back to the issues I care about, but I didn’t have to respond. my ego got the best of me. I apologize for any further distraction this caused.” Also, Noname said that all profits made from the album will be put towards various mutual aid funds.
Normani
Dancing With a Stranger, Diamonds, and Motivation have all dropped, but when will Normani drop her debut album? Fans of the singer have been anxiously waiting for her first album for more than two years since the breaking of Fifth Harmony. However, Normani has said that her album’s release date will be aligned with God’s will. For the cover story of Teen Vogue in 2018, Normani opened about her faith, saying that she believes that God has big plans for her and that she wants her music to change people’s lives. But, she did say that it is coming soon.
Post Malone
Recently Post Malone’s manager revealed that the rapper will be dropping something special later this year. Posty has been keeping his fans on the edge of their seats since releasing his last album Hollywood’s Bleeding and the biggest hit of 2019 Sunflower which was featured in the Oscar-winning film Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse. During the pandemic throughout 2020, Malone has said that during that time he dedicated his time to making new music and vibing with energy. “I’m working on an album now. There’s so much to say in these times that will give people hope and hopefully uplift people’s spirits. Because it’s a dark time in America. It’s a dark time in the world. Honestly, for a songwriter to be in the house all day is a blessing and a curse. In the darkest of times, I’m just trying to make something beautiful out of it.”
Isaiah Rashad
It has been 5 years since TDE cult-favourite Isaiah Rashad dropped his album The Sun’s Tirade. Over the past years, Rashad has given his fans a taste of what to expect, but other than that the Tennessee native rapper has been quiet. That was until he dropped the single Why Worry in 2020. With it, Isaiah announced that his third album will be titled The House Is Burring, which we can expect later this year.
Rihanna
Where do I start? Fans of Rihanna have been anxiously waiting for the singer to drop her album for nearly 5 since ANTI. Is the wait finally over? In a story for Vogue for 2020 in March Rihanna said that she was “very aggressively working on music”, yet R9 has still yet to have a release date. Thankfully, we have a bit of insight into what we can expect. The singer has been working closely with the infamous The Neptune, in September of 2020 we got a little teaser of an unreleased song. Singer-songwriter Skylar Grey shared some tunes that take influence from reggae melodies. Rumors have it that the album may have features from Shaggy, Vybz Kartel and more. We can expect a Caribbean joint coming from Barbados’s Babe herself.
SZA
Just like Rihanna fans, fans of SZA have been waiting for what seems like forever for the singer to drop her second album. Since releasing her debut album CRTL in 2017, we have seen the artist rise to fame with her Contemporary Soul/R&B sound. In August of 2020 SZA confirmed is coming soon. That same year she released Hit Different that had a feature from Ty Dolla $ign and produced by The Neptunes. In an interview with Kerwin Frost, SZA confirmed that she will be having special features from BROCKHAMPTON, Justin Timberlake, Post Malone, and Jack Antonoff. At the beginning of the year she dropped Good Days, it seems that we can expect a lot of big things from SZA, maybe even the Best Hip-Hop/Soul album of the year?
Tierra Whack
On Halloween of 2020, the Philly native rapper Tierra Whack dropped a new single Dora. The animated music video represents Whack experimentally glowing up in the rap game. With her debut album in 2018 Whack World, we can expect for there to be her signature playful sound in her next album. We know that Tierra Whack is cooking something special, especially since we hear the pandemic-inspired lyrics that she shares on Instagram. Whack fans can expect from her before the year ends.
Travis Scott
For the past year now Travis Scott has been hyping up his fans for his forthcoming album Utopia. With the previous release of his 2018 album ASTROWORLD, we can expect big things from the Houston native. The last album had features from Frank Ocean, Drake, Kid Cudi, just to name a few. In an interview with I-D Magazine, Scott revealed that he will be making a new sound for his next project. We can expect songs like Highest In The Room, The Last Time, and Franchise ft. M.I.A and 21 Savage to be on the tracklist.
Vince Staples
Recently the Long Beach rapper signed to Motown Records and announced to his fans that new music is coming. Staples’s undeniable talent and blunt truths were shown in his last album FM! Since the release of his last album Vince launch a web series The Vince Staples Show, which features new music, and sketch comedy skits. The first episode that aired was in August of 2020, which also debuted his single So What. Recently, Staples had a song featured in the film Queen & Slim soundtrack. With all the new music that Vince Staples has dropped in the past year, we can expect his forthcoming LP by the end of 2021.
If you are just as excited as us, let us know down below who you are most excited for!
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