New Music Friday delivers 12 essential albums this week, featuring standout releases from Joy Crookes and Cécile McLorin Salvant alongside notable projects from Toro y Moi, Atmosphere, and Kojey Radical. This week’s new music releases span hip-hop, R&B/soul, jazz, and experimental electronics, reflecting a mix of big-tent statements and intimate studio craft. From jazz virtuosity to alt-R&B shapeshifting and indie rap longevity, these are the albums to stream now. This recap is curated by HYFIN—your trusted source for Black music and culture—stream and save your favorites today.
Various Artists — “HIM (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)” (Loma Vista/Concord)
Jordan Peele’s horror feature arrives with a wide-angle soundtrack that stitches Bobby Krlic’s score to new songs and rap standouts, sequenced as a 28-track set. The official listing confirms marquee appearances by Gucci Mane (“Lemonade”), Tierra Whack (“Tip Toe”), Jean Dawson (“Blitz”), Guapdad 4000 with MAVI (“Swim”), and a closing cut from Denzel Curry, alongside Krlic’s cues. It’s a rare OST that balances ominous texture with marquee artists and is distributed under license from Universal to Loma Vista/Concord.
Kadhja Bonet — “Battlewear (Demo EP)” (self-released)
Bonet returns with a diaristic Bandcamp-first EP that foregrounds her weightless melodies and multitracked harmonies. The credits note she wrote, performed, and produced the material herself, with mixing by Dave Worthen and mastering by Noah Mintz—small details that underscore the EP’s handcrafted intimacy. The four-song set (“Battlewear,” “Slipping,” “Don’t Count On Us,” “Transistor”) reads like a process document that rewards close listening.
Joy Crookes — “Juniper” (Insanity/Sony)
Crookes’ second LP sharpens her soul-pop palette while lingering on personal fallout and recovery, a pivot reviewers have already clocked. Collaborations with Vince Staples, Kano, and Sam Fender add color to songs that balance rue with wit, and retail listings confirm the staged rollout across formats. The effect is a leaner, emotionally direct follow-up to “Skin” that still leaves room for Crookes’ streetwise humor.
Atmosphere (Slug & Ant) — “Jestures” (Rhymesayers)
Two and a half decades in, Slug and Ant deliver a sprawling album that plays like a career victory lap: sturdy boom-bap, reflective verses, and a few friends in the mix. Apple Music confirms a 26-track sequence, and early singles “Velour” and “Really” set the tone—backed by a stunt-filled video that arrived with the album announcement. The duo has even framed the project as an A-to-Z concept, a structure that suits their veteran ease.
KennyHoopla — “conditions of an orphan//” (The Orchard/Garbagehill)
The Cleveland-born, Wisconsin-raised artist folds pop-punk urgency into left-field alt textures on a cathartic five-track EP. Coverage and listings point to production from Paramore’s Zac Farro with contributions alongside Mike Elizondo, and singles like “orphan//” teed up the release. The closer “monalisa, we miss you//” underlines the EP’s diaristic streak.
Ebi Soda — “frank dean and andrew” (Tru Thoughts)
Brighton’s jazz disrupters push their rave-ready, off-kilter sensibility further on album three for Tru Thoughts. The label’s notes sketch an emo-tinged undercurrent and bittersweet mood, while retailers confirm the street date. Early reviews highlight the playful track titles and synth-smeared, low-end-heavy production that has become the band’s calling card.
Kojey Radical — “Don’t Look Down” (East West/Asylum/Warner UK)
The London multi-hyphenate’s follow-up leans into incisive observation over plush, bass-forward production. Apple Music’s album page spotlights features from MNEK (“Drinking My Water”), Dende, and James Vickery, with preview notes framing the record as a reconciliation of success and home. Pre-order listings and campaign singles suggest a tightly curated, 16-track statement.
Toro y Moi — “Unerthed: Hole Erth Unplugged” (Dead Oceans)
Chaz Bear reimagines “Hole Erth” in an all-acoustic context, stripping back synth haze for wood and wire. Bandcamp and the label reveal rearrangements for guitar, piano, drums, and strings, with an aim to surface the songcraft behind 2024’s rap-rock/hyperpop pivot; the track list retraces “Walking in the Rain,” “HOV,” “Hollywood,” and more in unplugged form. It’s a deft reset that doubles as a companion piece to last year’s experiment.
Cécile McLorin Salvant — “Oh Snap” (Nonesuch)
The MacArthur-winning vocalist pivots to compact, home-crafted songs that pull from ’90s Miami memories—boy-band sugar, grunge grit, folk intimacy—plus a sly nod to “Brick House.” Nonesuch confirms 12 originals and one cover with Sullivan Fortner, Yasushi Nakamura, and Kyle Poole returning, and cameos from June McDoom and Kate Davis; early reviews emphasize the fearless variety and electronic textures. It’s playful, personal, and rigorously sung.
Halima — “Sweet Tooth” (DRINK SUM WTR)
A glossy debut that moves between club kinetics and hushed confession, “Sweet Tooth” threads Afro-pop shimmer through late-night R&B. The album arrives with a full 11-track listing—including “eau de vie,” “cocoa body,” and “november like u”—and a quick runtime that rewards repeat plays. Bandcamp and retail pages confirm DRINK SUM WTR handling the rollout.
Brent Faiyaz — “ICON” (ISO Supremacy/UnitedMasters) — scheduled for 2025-09-19
“ICON” is the highly anticipated third studio album from Brent Faiyaz, slated for Sept. 19 via his ISO Supremacy imprint in partnership with UnitedMasters; however, by midday on release day, social posts and reporting suggested the album hadn’t arrived on streaming yet. The project follows his 2023 mixtape “Larger Than Life” and 2022’s “Wasteland,” with production contributions reported from AR, Chidozie Michael Arah, Elliot Davy, Emmanuel Arah, Hardheaded, Jordan Ware, L3gion, and Nascent, among others. Early promotion included Faiyaz wiping his Instagram and teasing “ICON” with two lead singles—“tony soprano.” and “peter pan.”—released July 4, 2025, a pairing he framed as an embrace of dual themes (leadership vs. freedom); additional teased titles such as “if. (spring in new york),” “full moon. (fall in tokyo),” and a rumored Doechii collaboration (“movie star.”) have fueled anticipation.
clipping. — “Dead Channel Sky Plus” (Sub Pop)
The LA trio’s digital-deluxe expansion adds four new songs and a resequenced 24-track run to March’s cyberpunk-leaning “Dead Channel Sky,” per the label and Bandcamp. New additions include “Night of Heaven” (with Counterfeit Madison & Kid Koala), “Forever War,” “Hard-Eyes,” and live favorite “Mirrorshades, Pt. 1,” with mastering credited to Levi Seitz at Black Belt Mastering. It’s a denser, darker world-build that still prizes clarity in the mix.
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