1. PremRock - Did You Enjoy Your Time Here...?

PremRock’s Did You Enjoy Your Time Here…? is a dense, carefully constructed album that moves through moods and textures with a storyteller’s precision. The New York rapper, known for his work with ShrapKnel and his long-standing presence in underground Hip Hop, delivers verses packed with sharp imagery and layered references. His writing leans into introspection without losing a sense of humor, balancing wit and weight in a way that makes each track feel like a conversation unraveling in real time.

Production across the album shifts between hazy loops, crisp drum patterns, and eerie synth textures, creating a backdrop that mirrors PremRock’s measured delivery. Contributions from producers like Blockhead, ELUCID, YUNGMORPHEUS, and Small Professor add variety without disrupting the album’s cohesion. Tracks like “Steal Wool” with Pink Siifu and “Aim’s True” with AJ Suede and Curly Castro bring in distinct voices that add depth to the album’s already rich palette.

The writing is as tight as ever, with lines that land like offhand observations but reveal themselves to be deeply considered. “A Good Man is Hard to Find” feels like a slow-burn meditation on morality, while “Receipts” with billy woods plays out like a verbal chess match. “Plunder!” carries a more chaotic energy, its frenetic pacing matching its themes of excess and collapse. Even at its most abstract, the album never drifts into obscurity—there’s always an anchor, a phrase or an image, that keeps the listener locked in.

While Did You Enjoy Your Time Here…? follows in the footsteps of Load Bearing Crow’s Feet, it feels less like a direct sequel and more like a response. Where the previous album was weighty and contemplative, this one moves with a sharper edge, a little more playful but no less thoughtful. PremRock’s voice remains steady throughout, never rushing, never stretching for effect. His presence is lived-in, the work of an artist who has spent years refining his approach, shaping his delivery until every word lands exactly as intended.

By the time the closing title track rolls around, the question posed by the album lingers. The answer is subjective, but one thing is certain—PremRock is an artist who knows exactly what he’s doing, and he’s doing it exceptionally well.

Release date: March 21, 2025.

2. clipping. - Dead Channel Sky

clipping.’s Dead Channel Sky crashes in like a dial-up modem screech—jarring, nostalgic, and impossible to ignore. The Los Angeles trio—Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes—returns after five years with a cyberpunk-inspired album brimming with industrial noise and glitchy tension. Unlike the horrorcore of Visions of Bodies Being Burned, this record pulses with digital paranoia—glitchy synths, relentless beats, and a world humming with technological menace. It’s chaotic, overwhelming, and thrilling.

From the start, the album is aggressive. The modem squeal of “Intro” bleeds into “Dominator,” a pounding track built on hardcore rave elements, with Diggs’ rapid-fire delivery slicing through the chaos. “Change the Channel” slams with breakbeats and stuttering synths, while “Run It” builds a relentless chase with deep bass and skittering percussion. The pressure momentarily lifts on “Keep Pushing,” where piano and strings introduce a brief calm before the beat snaps back.

Structurally, the album sprawls over 20 tracks, moving like a mixtape with abrupt pivots. Interludes like “Simple Degradation (Plucks 1-13)” crackle with disjointed noise, reinforcing the cyberpunk aesthetic. Some under-two-minute cuts spark with ideas but fade before fully developing. The constant shifts keep things dynamic, though sometimes leave moments underexplored.

Despite the sprawl, standouts emerge. “Mirrorshades pt. 2” pulses with hypnotic glitch-house loops, featuring a sharp verse from Cartel Madras. “Dodger” races forward with drum-and-bass rhythms, while closer “Ask What Happened” layers breakbeats and dreamy synths under Diggs’ raw, historical verses.

Guest features add texture. Aesop Rock’s off-kilter flow quirks up “Welcome Home Warrior,” while Nels Cline’s warped guitar distorts “Malleus” into eerie dissonance. Tia Nomore’s hypnotic hook on “Scams” lingers over a knocking beat. Each collaboration shifts the sonic landscape, keeping the album unpredictable.

Hutson and Snipes push deeper into electronic influences. While Splendor & Misery floated through sci-fi space and Visions roared with horror, Dead Channel Sky crackles with techno-infused chaos, like ’90s rave floors or rogue video game soundtracks. “Mood Organ” oscillates between abrasive kicks and melodic swells, while “Polaroids” layers vocal samples into a hazy hum. It’s harsh but meticulously crafted.

The album ties everything together with themes of digital decay, surveillance, and tech-induced paranoia. Some moments stretch thin, but when Dead Channel Sky connects, it’s electric. Industrial beats, glitchy synths, and Diggs’ rapid flow create a cyberpunk fever dream that’s impossible to turn away from.

Release date: March 14, 2025.

3. Goya Gumbani - Warlord Of The Weejuns

Goya Gumbani’s Warlord of the Weejuns moves with ease between jazz, Hip Hop, and soul, bringing a sense of natural fluidity. The Brooklyn-born, London-based rapper leans into rich instrumentation, letting live drums, bass, and brass breathe alongside his steady, unhurried delivery. His voice sits in the mix like another instrument, neither overpowering nor getting lost, balancing presence with restraint.

The album title references a description of Miles Davis, an artist known for reinvention, and Gumbani channels that spirit by approaching rap with a bandleader’s ear. Songs unfold like jam sessions rather than rigid structures, shifting between warm grooves and more meditative stretches. On “Beautiful BLK,” horns swell behind affirmations of self-worth, while “Firefly” carries the weight of a breakup over a laid-back R&B shuffle, guided by Fatima’s vocals. Guest appearances never feel like add-ons; lojii, Seafood Sam, and Yaya Bey weave in naturally, adding texture without disrupting the album’s cohesion.

Skits and interludes create movement between tracks, making the record feel lived-in rather than stitched together. Warlord of the Weejuns doesn’t force anything—it moves at its own pace, letting mood and melody lead the way.

Release date: March 21, 2025.

4. Vega7 the Ronin & Machacha - The Ghost Orchid

Underground boom-bap is crowded, with MCs and producers fighting for space. The Ghost Orchid cuts through the noise. Danish producer Machacha dials back his usual moody haze, trading it for a leaner, grittier sound—kicks and snares hit hard, sharpening every track. Vega7 The Ronin meets the energy with a razor-sharp growl, stacking clever twists and weighty ideas that stick. The sound crackles like dusty vinyl spinning in a basement, every bar locked tight in the groove. Machacha’s rugged production gives Vega7 room to shift gears—darting through rapid-fire rhymes before settling into a slow burn, always worth a rewind. This is grimy, raw, and impossible to ignore.

Release date: March 21, 2025. 

5. UFO Fev & Body Bag Ben - Thousand Yard Stare

Thousand Yard Stare is one of UFO Fev’s strongest projects, sharpened by Body Bag Ben’s raw, menacing production. The New York emcee locks into the beats with a steady, confident presence, delivering street wisdom and reflections with precision. His voice carries weight, balancing grittiness with moments of introspection.

Body Bag Ben builds a dark, textured backdrop with booming drums and eerie samples. Tracks like “Savignon Blanc” and “Shop Open” hit with urgency, while “4 Letter Words” stretches into a slower, more reflective space. The features add dimension—Royal Flush on “G-Code” and Lukah on “2 BIG 2 FAIL” bring different shades of toughness, while Vel Nine offers a smoother contrast on “4 My Young Boys.”

There’s no wasted space on this record. UFO Fev sounds locked in from start to finish, and Body Bag Ben’s beats push him to another level. In a crowded field of underground Hip Hop, this project stands out because of its chemistry. Fev’s storytelling and delivery meet Ben’s heavy, atmospheric production in an effortless but never predictable way.

Release date: March 21, 2025.

6. Lord Sko - Piff

Lord Sko’s Piff is a sharp, smoke-laced ride through New York’s underground, balancing classic influences with a fresh, modern edge. His pen is sharp, his delivery smooth, and the production rolls between jazz-soaked loops, cloudy trap, and lo-fi boom-bap. The Statik Selektah-produced “2nd Thought” lays down a warm, hypnotic groove while Sko carves out bars with an effortless confidence. “Bong Rips,” featuring MAVI and backed by Harry Fraud, leans into hazy, slow-burning introspection, while “Camel Eyes” finds Sko trading verses with Conway the Machine over a psychedelic beat.

Grand Puba joins in on “Girbaud Talk,” which swings with jazzy finesse, and “Understand” with Curren$y turns self-assurance into an art form, blending luxury talk with a streetwise cool. “Randy Moss” closes the album with a reflective edge, Sko likening himself to the Hall of Famer while staying locked in his own lane. Throughout, the production shifts but never loses its identity, pulling from stoner-era blog rap, traditional New York grit, and woozy, off-kilter textures.

With his first release under Fat Beats, Sko keeps things tight and purposeful, honoring the past while embracing the present. His flow is agile, his beat selection is rich, and his world-building across Piff is as immersive as it is laid-back.

Release date: March 28, 2025. 

7. KRS-One - Temple Of Hip Hop Global Awareness

KRS-One’s legacy in Hip Hop is undeniable—one of the GOATs, no debate. The Bronx legend helped shape the genre’s conscious edge, his voice a booming force since the ‘80s. But lately, his releases—like Temple of Hip Hop Global Awareness—have been slipping out quietly, this one tied to a European tour with zero buzz. That’s on him: no promo, no push, just like he bragged back in ‘97—skills over hype.

This project carries that DIY feel—cheap, homemade cover art, stripped-down beats, all snares and echoes built for the stage, not the headphones. At just 35 minutes, it’s lean, almost skeletal, leaving you craving meatier grooves. Still, KRS delivers. His bars crackle—gruff, wise, sharp as ever, cutting through with 40 years of fire. The mood swings between preacher and warrior, his verses stacking tight over bare loops—a teacher still spitting lessons. Live, he’s untouchable, rocking crowds solo for hours with no crutches, just raw energy. That power shines through here, even if the album itself feels slight.

We’re still waiting for a heavyweight producer—Apollo Brown, DJ Premier—someone to give him the beats his weight deserves, and a label behind it to give the album some real promo power. Until then, this holds us over, proof that KRS-One’s lyrical grip hasn’t slipped.

Release date: March 21, 2025. 

8. Backxwash - Only Dust Remains

Backxwash’s Only Dust Remains is an album that doesn’t whisper or hint at its themes—it roars. The Montreal-based rapper and producer moves past the suffocating darkness of her previous trilogy into something more expansive, but no less intense. Across these ten tracks, she channels anger, grief, and reflection into a sound that fuses industrial rap, metal, electronic, and gospel elements with a newfound sense of movement and space.

Opener “Black Lazarus” starts with eerie choral harmonies before a crashing beat drops in, as Backxwash delivers verses that wrestle with mortality, guilt, and survival. The religious imagery that has long been a staple of her work returns here, but it feels more like an interrogation than a plea. “Wake Up” follows with a relentless build, its seven-minute runtime growing heavier as synths and distorted drums layer over each other. Backxwash’s voice rises in fury, the repetition of “wake the f*** up!” turning into both a personal and political rallying cry. The song shifts halfway through, briefly dipping into a warped gospel section before snapping back into the chaos, a moment of breath before the plunge.

“9th Heaven” introduces a different kind of urgency, its drum’n’bass beat pulsing beneath rapid-fire verses about addiction, labor, and searching for meaning. The song’s climax—an exultant cry of “I feel so motherf***ing free!”—arrives like a breaking wave, a rare moment of release amid the tension. “Dissociation” slows things down with an eerie post-rock instrumental, its melody weaving around reflections on depression and detachment. Chloe Hotline’s ghostly vocals float in the background, their softness contrasting with the weight of Backxwash’s words.

On “History of Violence,” Backxwash turns her focus outward, confronting the ongoing genocide in Gaza with unflinching directness. The intensity doesn’t let up with “Stairway to Heaven,” where a jazz-inflected intro gives way to a soaring guitar solo, as Backxwash raps about accepting the void rather than fearing it.

The album closes with the title track, its haunting Nina Simone sample framing a final meditation on identity, displacement, and defiance. “What I hope to do all the time is to be so completely myself,” Simone’s voice declares, an ethos that Backxwash embodies throughout the record. Only Dust Remains doesn’t just process pain—it reshapes it into something powerful, something impossible to ignore.

Release date: March 28, 2025.

9. Recognize Ali & Stu Bangas - Guerilla Dynasty 3

Recognize Ali, the tireless underground MC, links up again with producer Stu Bangas for Guerilla Dynasty 3, the latest chapter in their rugged series. If you know these two, you can already hear it: beats that hit like a fistful of gravel—boom-bap laced with grime—and bars that snarl with the same dirty edge. This album doesn’t chase new territory or linger long in your head after the last track fades. It doesn’t need to. There’s a crowd that craves this strain of Hip Hop—hard, unpolished, straight from the gutter—and we’re right there with them, nodding along to the familiar grit.

Release date: March 14, 2025.

Honorable Mentions

• Dangerous Creatures – Dead Earth 1.0
• Kool Keith & Dane Uno – The Yoohoo bros.
• ILL Tone Beats – The Outcome
• LEX Nyre – The Best Language
• Bigg Sluggathor – The Wizard Behind The Curtain
• Henny L.O. & Ewonee – The Coldest Season Ever
• J Scienide – Fire At The Philharmonic
• Ayoo Bigz – Unholy Scriptures
• WateRR & Machacha – Almighty II
• Curci & Mike Summers – Bento Box
• iNTeLL – Chemical X
• Young H3roes – H3roes Die Young
• Otis Mensah & the intern – before the noise my cousin
• Velly Marsh & LethalNeedle – Thread the Needle
• Smoke DZA – The Barcelona Tape
• Sirrealist – Lotus
• Bishop Nehru – Now Or Never
• Ea$y Money & Phinelia – Drug Money
• Slim Thug & Propain – Double Cup
• Lil Keke – Legend Hotel