Hugo Kant - The Seven Seas

Hugo Kant is a producer from Marseilles, France who has been releasing music since 2011. His most recent album came three years ago, when he released the excellent Out of Time. Now he returns with one of the most interesting projects of his career in The Seven Seas. The Seven Seas is an EP that is being released as part of a series called The Outlaw Ocean, in which hundreds of musicians were invited to create music inspired by Ian Urbina’s book of the same name.

NNAMDÏ - BRAT

Nnamdi Ogbonnaya has been a staple in the Chicago music scene for years as a part of different punk and post-rock groups like Nervous Passengers and Monobody, playing different instruments in each group. People really started to learn his name back in 2017, though, when he dropped a completely unique and entertaining solo album in DROOL. After touring exhaustively in support of the album, he’s dropped his last name and is just performing as NNAMDÏ as he ups the stakes for his next solo album, BRAT.

Uncommon Nasa - Ornate

New York artist Uncommon Nasa had a great run in the 2010s, ending the decade by producing Chekov’s Gun by Last Sons, which came out just over a year ago. Now, as the new decade beings with everyone stuck inside, he gives us a short collection of songs he made with Lyle Horowitz, Ornate. Horowitz has produced for Uncommon Nasa before, with appearances on albums such as New York Telephone and Land of the Way It Is.

Sankofa - Glyde Drexler

Fort Wayne emcee Sankofa has been one of the most consistent artists over the past decade-plus. 2019 was one of his most fruitful years to date, dropping not one, not two, but three excellent releases. Not one to rest on his laurels, he’s already coming back with another full-length album, Glyde Drexler. This particular album was born when Keter, the producer behind one of Sankofa’s earliest albums, The Tortoise Hustle, announced that he was making beats again.

Lex Leosis - Mythologies

Lex Leosis is an emcee from Toronto who has been working as a solo artist and as part of the supergroup The Sorority. While her work with The Sorority took up much of her time the past couple years, she’s now back with her first solo album in three years, Mythologies. For Mythologies, Leosis gets production assists from Andre Paxton, Rainer + Grimm, Kato on the Track, Yondo, Taabu, and Clyde Strokes.

Dragon Fli Empire - Banff Avenue

Dragon Fli Empire is the Calgary duo consisting of DJ Cosm and Teekay. They started all the way back in 2002, and went strong until 2013, when they released their last album, Mission Statement. Since that time, both members have been relatively quiet. That is, until now, when they make their comeback with the EP Banff Avenue. Banff Avenue isn’t a statement record of any kind, unless you consider that statement to be something along the lines of, “Hey!

Lex the Lexicon Artist - Alter Ego

It feels like Lex the Lexicon Artist hit the ground running in 2018, when she dropped her debut album, Raging Ego. Since that time, she’s been touring constantly, guested on other artists’ projects, and released some shorter themed projects such as Special: A Mob Psycho 100 EP. With no signs of slowing down, she now comes back with her sophomore album, Alter Ego. When Lex dropped Raging Ego, there were some small typical problems of a debut album, especially when your style doesn’t fit neatly in a box.

Yazmin Lacey - Morning Matters

Yazmin Lacey is a vocalist originally from London but now based in Nottingham. She made a bit of a splash in 2017 and 2018 with a pair of EPs, Black Moon and When The Sun Dips 90 Degrees, which established her literally as a strong voice in the jazz/R&B/hip hop in the UK. Now she comes back with a third EP, Morning Matters. Morning Matters is Lacey’s most fully realized vision to date, creating a short collection of songs all written with the idea of making music to start your day to.

Somni - Home

Somni is a producer originally from the UK, but now based in Los Angeles. He dropped his debut album, Bloom, in 2018, which helped to distinguish himself in an already crowded beat scene out there. Now he’s coming back with his sophomore album, Home, which continues to build on that foundation. Somni cites influences such as Flying Lotus and Portishead, and while I can hear that coming through at time, it’s not what I thought of the first time I listened to Home.

Kadesh Flow - Bone Bars & Pixel Flips

Kansas City artist Kadesh Flow has had a nice run of EPs since early 2018, starting with Room Service and running up to this January’s Motivated. Now he’s coming back with a slightly different type of project with his latest EP, Bone Bars & Pixel Flips. If Motivated was Kadesh at his most current and straight up hip hop, BBPF is something of a journey back to his roots, coming up as a nerdcore artist rapping about video games and anime and playing his trombone.