Nas and Hit-Boy, GloRilla, Bleu and More – New Hip-Hop Projects

Hip-hop fans have an insatiable appetite for new music releases. Thankfully, the rap game never fails to feed the need. This week, a New York icon and a wildly talented producer repping California solidify their position as a duo that doesn't miss, a fast-rising spitter fresh out of Memphis drops her debut EP, an Alabama-born rap-crooner puts out a star-studded album and more.

Linking up for their fourth full-length release in two years, the undeniable one-two punch of Nas and Hit-Boy returns with their highly anticipated album, King's Disease III. While details about the third installment of the revered King's Disease series were sparse leading up to its release, the hype around KD3 has increasingly ramped up in recent weeks given the success of the duo's last three projects.

Ever since they put out the first King's Disease back in 2020, Nas and Hit-Boy have become viewed by many as the premier rapper-producer combination in the entire rap game, giving off heavy Gang Starr vibes in the process. In fact, one of the songs on the 17-track LP, "Michael & Quincy," makes direct reference to one of the greatest artist-producer combinations of all time, Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones.

In announcing the official release date of the album back on Oct. 18, Nas unveiled KD3's cover art, which simply features three gold bars, seemingly serving as a symbol for what the elite lyricist brings to the table on the latest offering.

Prior to the release of their fourth joint album, KD1 earned Nasty Nas his first-ever Grammy Award, taking home Best Rap Album in 2021 and laying the groundwork for the success of its sequel, King's Disease II, which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart that same year. Also in 2021, Nas and Hit-Boy dropped the surprise album, Magic, the project on which Nas first announced that King's Disease III was in the works.

After taking hip-hop by storm in 2022, becoming one of the fastest-rising rappers in recent memory, GloRilla unleashes her debut EP, Anyways, Life's Great… Gloria Hallelujah's first official project comes on the heels of two massively successful singles, both of which are included on the 9-track EP.

"F.N.F. (Let's Go)," the Memphis rapper's HitKidd-produced breakthrough smash, has raked in over 48 million views on YouTube since its release back in April and peaked at No. 42 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Meanwhile, "Tomorrow 2," which features a widely acclaimed verse from Cardi B, reached a peak position of No. 9 on Billboard Hot 100 and has already been certified gold by the RIAA since its release in September.

GloRilla accompanied the unveiling of the official cover art for Anyways, Life's Great… this past Tuesday (Nov. 8) by dropping the project's third single, "Nut Quick," which was produced by Araonthetrack. Aside from Cardi B, the only other guest appearance on Anyways, Life's Great… is from Niki Pooh, an up-and-coming spitter who GloRilla was sure to name-drop in a recent interview with Apple Music 1's Zane Lowe ahead of the EP's release.

"They going to get that raw, you know what I'm saying, that raw shit," said GloRilla when asked what fans can expect from her debut project. "I got my girl. They ain't tuned in yet, Niki Pooh. She on there. It's just a whole lot of raw shit. They going to feel it."

Bleu comes through this week with Tantra, the Mobile, Ala. rap-crooner's sophomore studio LP following his critically and commercially acclaimed 2021 debut album, Moon Boy. Boasting his new album as a versatile full-length album that takes listeners on a journey through his evolution as an artist, producer and songwriter, Tantra also sees Bleu laying down collabs with some of the rap game's biggest and brightest.

Yung Bleu's robust 17-song track listing includes three previously released singles, "Love In The Way" featuring Nicki Minaj, "Life Worth Living," which features French Montana and production from Bleu himself, and "Soul Child" featuring Lil Wayne, which just dropped earlier this week. Other guest appearances on Tantra include the likes of Fivio Foreign, Ty Dolla $ign and Ne-Yo, among others.

Check out new projects from Busta Rhymes, Run The Jewels, Dram, SleazyWorld Go and more below.