Dillon is an artist originally from Jacksonville, but now based in Atlanta. While he’s dynamic on the mic, he’s also a dope producer as well. Back in July of 2020, back when the pandemic was fresh, he gave us a beat tape to garden to, simply titled Gardenstrumentals. Now he’s back with another volume, Gardenstrumentals 2. One of the nice things about hip hop as an art form getting older is that it’s been around long enough that there is now room for artists to take hip hop into their 30s and 40s, and there’s enough space for different types of projects for different scenarios.

Handbook is a producer from York, UK who has been releasing music for over a decade now. He made a breakthrough in 2012 when he made his debut on Cascade with the album Handprints. Most recently, we heard from him in 2020 when he teamed up with Ian Urbina’s Synthesia Media to release the EP Blurred Horizons. Now he’s back with Cascade Records to release his new full-length album, Neighbourhood.

Chairman Maf is a producer from Sheffield who has been releasing music for about twenty years now. He had an excellent run of releases across the mid-2010s, but it has now been four years since his last album, Ginger, came out in 2018. Not to worry, because Chairman Maf is now back with a brand new album, KING COOK. KING COOK is Chairman Maf’s tenth album, and if you’ve spent time with the rest of his catalogue, you’ve got a good idea of what to expect with this one.

FloFilz is a producer original from Belgium, but now based in Germany. He’s been releasing music for nearly a decade, working with labels like Radio Juicy, Jakarta, and Melting Pot. His last full-length album came in 2019, when he released Transit. Now he’s back with a new album, Close Distance. The phrase “Close Distance” might not mean much to those in the states, but the phrase, which literally means “near in space or time,” translates in German to the easier to say, “nah dran.

John Carroll Kirby is a keyboardist, producer, and composer from Los Angeles. He has been working in the background for a very long time, and he’s contributed to projects from pop stars such as Solange, Harry Styles, and Blood Orange. His first solo album, Travel, came in 2017, but since signing with Stones Throw in 2020, he’s really been on a tear as a solo artist, with four full-length albums already under his belt.

Curbside Jones is an artist from Austin who has been coming into their own in the last year or so. Last April, he teamed up with Maryland artist Dexter Fizz to release Last Train, an album based on their experiences touring in Japan. In just the last month, Curbside Jones came back with a solo project, Jigga With the Grill. Now he’s right back with an instrumental project, 6 Piece.

Small Professor is a producer from Philly who has been releasing music for about fifteen years, working with everyone from Guilty Simpson to Curly Castro along the way. He’s also made a lane for himself with his instrumental projects, most notably with his different “Jawn” releases. Just this past February, he gave us the wildly ambitious the next (temporal pincer) movement. Now he’s already back with another instrumental project, 36 Jawns.

Shrimpnose is a producer originally from Minneapolis but now based in Los Angeles. He’s been releasing music since the mid-2010s, with his projects coming at a pretty steady pace. His last release, a collaborative EP with Joe Nora called Between Dunes, came out just about a year ago. He now returns with a new solo album, Under Fire!. While Shrimpnose has been versatile his whole career, Under Fire! sees him moving further in this IDM/Indie rock space than he’s ever gone before.

Few artists can even come close to touching the long, varied, and prolific career that Chicago emcee Serengeti has put together after more than two decades in the game. One of the fun things about following his career is that you never know when what you’re listening to might turn into bigger project. Just ask anyone when they first heard the character Kenny Dennis make an appearance if they knew then that Serengeti would periodically go back and mine multiple album-length stories that gave you one of the most well-rounded characters in all of hip hop.

Negro Justice is an emcee from Nashville who has been putting out music since 2018. He’s been working at a steady pace since then, always expanding and growing. His most recent release came just about a year ago when he dropped the EP Resplendent. Now he’s back with an ambitious new full-length album, Chosen Family. Opening an album is always important, and few nail it the way that Negro Justice does on Chosen Family.