With heavy beats and a smooth flow, KR tha Specialist out of New Haven, CT doesn’t mince word or waste time. His latest EP Last Shall Be First (LSBF) is a tour deforce and gives fans some classic boom bap.

The latest release off slowthai’s upcoming Sophomore album TYRON, “Mazza” is exactly that, madness. Produced in part by himself and frequent collaborator SAMO, “Mazza” combines a woozy, buzzy synth with a deep driving bass, mashing the two juxtaposing sounds together, which somehow find a way to fit in this sonic universe.

With industrial hip-hop sounds that begs for comparison to Run The Jewels, New Haven’s SotoLish serves up the production and bars to carry those expectations appropriately. Their latest release 404 is a gorgeous 11 song release that’s over too soon. Connecticut music fans have themselves a real winner.

New London’s AnUrbanNerd released “Dent,” which sounds like everything Lil Wayne’s Rebirth should have been.

New Haven’s Ceschi has teamed up with Bridgeport’s Siul Hughes to deliver an impressive 3 track EP titled Drkwlkr. Each bringing a wealth of experience with them, they prove to be a formidable duo rhyming over three well produced records.

To know AnUrbanNerd is to understand he is an artist of his community. He helps run a performing arts venue for local artists and wears the “nerd” moniker proudly. In July, he dropped his latest EP.

With fewer than 25k followers between Twitter and Instagram, odds are that Ivy Sole is one of the best rappers you’ve never heard of. The jazzy, soulful Philadelphia product put out her latest work SOUTHPAW last month.

There’s nothing less useful than writing about a widely acclaimed album that came out about a year ago or comparing a rap duo from Atlanta to OutKast, but I’m about to do both. Groundbreaking.

With corona virus gripping the world, it feels like everybody has one eye fixed on health care and another on the economy. A lot of people are trying to make the most of a difficult situation, making a hustle to get some extra cash during uncertain times. It’s with this backdrop that Sam Lachow released “Fifteen Pennies,” which has him laying out the hustler’s mentality.

It’s been over a decade since Jay Electronica burst onto the scene. Promising tracks like “Eternal Sunshine,” and “Exhibit C,” gave fans a lot to be excited about. Signing with Roc Nation in 2010, his debut album was highly anticipated. It took almost 10 full years, but it finally arrived last month. Not only that, but we’re blessed with a heavy dose of JAY-Z on what’s essentially a collaboration album.

Lil Wayne’s newest album, Funeral dropped on Friday. For the Wayne faithful, you’ll see some familiar iterations of Mr. Carter. At times you’ll get Tha Carter 2 Wayne; sometimes Tha Carter 3 Wayne; other times, COLLEGROVE Wayne. Like any good funeral, these Waynes we all love are well represented. Of course, you also get blessed (ha) with Rebirth Wayne. Let’s take a look at the Good, the Meh, and the Ugly.