Wednesday, January 27 turned out to be one of the greatest days in hip-hop in like, a really, really long time. Not only did we get the most hilarious, meme-worthy beef between Kanye West and Wiz Khalifa, but we got new albums from both Rihanna and J. Cole! Man, if only Drake had added Views From The 6 to the mix…the lit levels would have been unprecedented!
First up was Rih with ANTI, confirming Billboard’s reports that the album would drop as a surprise this week, following the release of her Drake-assisted single “Work.” This is Rih‘s first album in over three years, following 2012’s Unapologetic.
The project is available via TIDAL only right now, but according to a press release, the deluxe version will drop on Friday, featuring three bonus songs. I’m not sure if this too will be TIDAL-only, or will also be on iTunes. For now, it’s free to download within the app with a Samsung code. You can stream it now here, though.
Features are only Drake and SZA, but production includes the likes of DJ Mustard, Travi$ Scott and more.
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Meanwhile, today is J. Cole’s 31st birthday, and as a gift to himself and the fans, he released a live version of his 2014 album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive. All the live performances were recorded during Cole’s homecoming concert in Fayetteville, NC last year. (This is the one from his HBO documentary.)
Forest Hills Drive Live includes all songs from its namesake album, as well as “Lights Please,” “In The Morning” and “Nobody’s Perfect.” Cop it on iTunes here.