Kaytranada and Aminé have released their KAYTRAMINÉ project and it’s a bonafide summer vibe. The duo combines mostly hip-hop with house music and some island rhythms.  The producer and rapper have a chemistry that makes music ideal for any kind of sun-blessed activity; beach parties, cruising and lounging on the back porch. “K&A” is the one tune that sounds like a piece of the night’s soundtrack. Freddie Gibbs, Big Sean, Snoop Dogg, Amaarae and Pharrell Williams join them for their guest spots. The anticipation for their album was met and they were able to create one of the best albums of 2023. 

Sa-Roc and Rah Digga are going on tour together as co-headliners. The tour takes place later in the summer and tickets will go on sale this Friday. Sa-Roc released the deluxe version of her critically acclaimed Sharecropper’s Daughter album in 2021. The album was recognized for her lyricism and she also had a duet with late hip-hop enigma MF Doom. Her presence continues to grow and she did a Tiny Desk concert not long after the release of the album. Digga’s been busy these days as one of the hosts of rapper Lord Jamar’s Yanadameen Godcast. 

Red Hot has put together its first tribute to Sun Ra which is coming out Friday, May 26th. Red Hot + Ra: Nuclear War celebrates the work of the late jazz innovator with music from Georgia Anne Muldrow, Irreversible Entanglements, Angel Bat Dawid and Malcolm Jiayne Tree-o. They cover and reinterpret Sun Ra’s 1981 “Nuclear War” single which was about his protest of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant meltdown where he and his Arkestra lived. The album is the first of more to come over the next two years focused on Sun Ra’s vision. Red Hot + Ra can be pre-ordered and Georgia Anne Muldrow’s “Juke Blues” featuring Joseph Leimburg is streaming now. Red Hot has been bringing awareness to A.I.D.S and LGBTQ issues with musical compilations since 1990. Last year they released Red Hot & Riot: A Tribute To Fela Kuti with music from D’Angelo, Niles Rodgers and more. 

Summer Walker and Dos Dias dropped the Clear 2: Soft Life EP four years after Clear. Since then Walker became a mother of three kids, had several public relationships, released two albums and dealt with her mental health. Those life changes are evident in Clear 2 by way of her honest reflections that can be crass and elevated at the same time. Walker fearlessly confronts the topics of relationships and self-wellness with Dias’ emotive guitars, squiggly synthesizers and jazzy drums. Childish Gambino and J. Cole have features offering up humor, praise and a different perspective from Walker’s. Clear 2 means the ultimate clarity and Walker shares the process to that state of mind with vulnerability and staunch conviction. The RnB queen closes the EP with spoken word, spiritual insight and laughter.