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As the week in music comes to a close, Hypebeast has rounded up the best projects for the latest installment of Best New Tracks.This week’s lineup is led by Bas, Beyoncé and Bob Marley, who dropped the album We Only Talk About Real Shit When We’re F*cked Up, and the singles "Grown Woman" and "Selassie is the Chapel," respectively. Also joining this selection are offerings from Q Da Fool, Karriem Riggins and Madlib's Jahari Massamba Unit, BADBADNOTGOOD with Conway the Machine and Westside Gunn, and Burna Boy with Seyi Vibes .Bas - We Only Talk About Real Shit When We're F*cked Up*Bas delivers his fourth studio album We Only Talk About Real Shit When We’re F*cked Up. The Dreamville artist enlists J. Cole, Amaarae, AJ Tracey, FKJ, A$AP Ferg, Adekule Gold, Blxckie and Sha Sha for guest feature...

Carlos Niño has worked on upwards of 150 albums throughout his career and yet, seemingly none have been put under such a microscopic lens as his latest collaboration: André 3000’s New Blue Sun. Released last month, the LP was André’s debut solo album and his first album in 17 years – naturally, critics were eager to wax poetic about the instrumental, “no bars” flute record. Most reviews referred to the project as “new age,” “abstract jazz” or “ambient” music. But Niño, the executive producer of New Blue Sun alongside André himself, says that the rush to define the album has “almost entirely missed the point.”In other words, just because a piece of music is experimental or contains the gong or chrimes means it’s New Age, Niño observes. In the same tune, just because you could meditate to Ni...

Despite working with nearly every major artist in the industry – writing and producing songs for Justin Timberlake, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Nas, Travis Scott, SZA, Snoop Dogg, Rihanna and Beyonce, to name just a few, and nabbing four Grammys along the way – R&B polymath James Fauntleroy has never considered himself an "artist." A revered and respected industry vet, Fauntleroy finally made the leap into artistry this holiday season with his debut solo album – a Christmas album dubbed The Warmest Winter Ever."I was pretty staunchly resigned to not being an artist for so many different reasons," he explains to Hypebeast – but after being in the industry for almost 20 years now, he bit the bullet over the summer. For his first foray into artistry, Fauntleroy teamed up with longtime...

2023 was a surprising year in music, to say the least. It played out with long-awaited releases and even the appearances of artists who many thought would never drop.At the time of writing, many of us are still reeling from André 3000's surprise debut album New Blue Sun — which, of course, shocked listeners, not only because of the fact that 3 Stacks had actually released a full-length effort, but also because of the record's contents. If anything though, this is a teachable moment for music fans everywhere that growth can be present in different ways. Travis Scott's UTOPIA, Teezo Touchdown's How Do You Sleep At Night? and Doja Cat's Scarlet are all testaments to the respective artists' growth, and find them in powerful positions that will only push them deeper into their artistry.As the H...