Along with the albums that undoubtedly left their respective imprints on 2025’s sonic persona, a surplus of shorter-form EPs complemented the influx of influential LPs, cementing just as much of an impression.
From groundbreaking R&B releases that propelled the genre to its fully modernized potential and a stacked slate of indie and hip hop-infused releases.
Read the full list of EPs that defined our 2025 below.
Odeal – The Summer That Saved Me
The soundtrack to many of our summers, and a live-from-Lustropolis-penned love letter to the late nights, sun-bleached days, and interludes in between, Odeal’s silky smooth The Summer That Saved Me cemented the British-Nigerian musician as a credible newcomer in the evolving R&B ether. Leon Thomas’ feature on the lead track “Miami” makes for an ethereal entry point into the EP’s grandeur.
Dean Blunt and Elias Rønnenfelt – lucre
Dean Blunt and Elias Rønnenfelt’s lucre – which also comes with additional production from Vegyn – was initially released on YouTube on January 1, before it landed on streaming services in February. The project clocks in at seven numbered tracks and leans into a new pocket of Blunt’s mood music, taking to a more indie, alt-rock-leaning sound. With a runtime of just 16 minutes long, lucre is an easy listen that invites a quarter-hour of uninterrupted yearning.
Jane Remover – ♡
After staking their claim as a force to be reckoned with with Revengeseekerz earlier in the year, Jane Remover returned with ♡ with just a few seconds left on the clock. Departing from their digicore default, ♡ points to a more pop-heavy temperament, rounded out with just enough synth glitchiness and even some alt-R&B influence; “Magic I Want U” samples the same track as Dijon’s “Talk Down,” Lyn Collins’ “Think (About It).”
Leon Thomas – PHOLKS
On PHOLKS, Leon Thomas can’t be pinned down. Released at the biggest point of his career thus far – just ahead of his Grammys 2026 nomination sweep – the shimmering seven-song project ushered in the musician’s grooviest era yet. The first longform release we’ve been privy to post-MUTT, PHOLKS continued to elevate Thomas’ star as he establishes himself as an adaptable artist who can not just bend and break creatively, but do so without sacrificing an ounce of his soulful swagger.
Samara Cyn – backroads
Waxing poetic on her unconventional upbringing and career come-up, Samara Cyn’s backroads is a bold sonic statement, built atop her silky-smooth way of spitting game. Spanning five songs, backroads’ tracklist sees Cyn stretch her elastic artistry to its ends, her versatility and veracity both on full display throughout. The opening offering “summer’s turning” epitomizes this in its roughly four-and-a-half-minute runtime, comprised of two distinct, tonally diverse halves. The only other feature comes from Sherwyn on “pop n olive.”
Gabriel Jacoby – gutta child
Fused with funk and Floridian flair, Gabriel Jacoby’s debut EP gutta child, gives us a fresh and feverish introduction to the rising R&B talent. The swanky and sleek selection of eight cuts captivatingly reinterprets Tampa’s sonic tropes, making for an unapologetic true-to-self entrance for Jacoby. Molded around the ethos of the musician’s Southern roots, gutta child gives way to a masterful comingling of contagiously viscous melodies and smart lyricism. Veteran Tampa rapper Tom G takes the mic for a bit on “Bootleg,” as the only assist on the entire EP.
MAVI – The Pilot
Serving as an introduction to his imminent First in Flight album set to drop some time in 2026, MAVI’s The Pilot mixtape stands as a poignant prelude to the anticipated album. While the rapper’s wordplay whirls across the project’s 10 tracks, MAVI isn’t concerned with asserting his most complex, careful penmanship on this EP; it’s more diaristic and stream-of-conscious – almost lower stakes. Features level up The Pilot even higher, coming from the perfect four underground rappers who can similarly relate to making it out of the mud: Earl Sweatshirt, MIKE, Smino, and Kenny Mason.
Yeat – DANGEROUS SUMMER
Yeat stuck to the core of his craft for his latest longform release, which landed about 81 hours after its initial announcement. With no rollout and no deluxe to come afterwards, DANGEROUS SUMMER is the rapper’s reckoning of his reign in the modern-day rap scene, equipped with a sonic lane of his own, loyal fanbase, and what seems to be his most honed-in creative vision of his career. While LYFESTYLE is polished, DANGEROUS SUMMER is raw, no-frills, and straight-to-the-point. Don Toliver contributes to “2TONE,” with SahBabii ON “M.F.U.,” FKA twigs on “FLY NITË,” and rising South Carolina rapper on “OH I DID.”
xaviersobased – once more
The succinct curation that is once more comes riddled with synths and shoegaze influence. Plugged into a myriad of hip hop subcultures for years now, xaviersobased has become one of the key faces behind powering the current underground scene. At just 21 years old, the New York City-born and bred rapper/producer now has a double-digit number of mixtapes, EPs, and albums under his belt, each one – especially once more across its just six tracks – further fleshing out his distinct sound: a raw, pieced-together patchwork of different music subgenres ranging from jerk and cloud rap to pluggnb and even hyperpop, all the while still dripping in his Day 1, internet-era influence. Despite once more being a spur-of-the-moment drop, the project sounds more polished than Xavier’s past endeavors.
Paris Texas – They Left Me With The Sword
Back in February, Paris Texas dropped off a duo of EPs that flew far too under the radar for my liking. First came, for me, the more memorable one, They Left Me With The Sword, which compiled a total of seven tracks and takes on a bit of a lighter energy in comparison to its successor, They Left Me With A Gun. A rap-rock record that by no means breaks the mold on the established Paris Texas sound profile, poignant percussion pairs perfectly with the rappers’ signature witty wordplay as per usual, with an unbreakable banter that threads through each verse.
