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When Armani White first blasted onto the scene three years ago with “Billie Eilish,” the song became a viral hit in large part because of its repurposed Neptunes-inspired production. Well, you know how they say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?” The Philadelphia rapper definitely subscribes to that philosophy, because on his latest song, “Ghost” featuring Tennessee rapper Samara Cyn, he goes back to the same creative well, borrowing another Neptunes production to rap over.

In this case, it’s New York mixtape rap mainstay Fabolous’ 2001 106 & Park standard “Young’n.” “Flipping a Pharrell song and putting drums on it has definitely become a trademark of mine,” Armani explains in the press release. “It’s another ghost that’s been haunting me, so why not hit them over the head one more time?”

For any of those who don’t remember how that goes, here it is:

While the original was a free association brag fest, Armani and Cyn settle into a relatively tighter pocket, boasting about their conquests with the opposite sex. “And when I leave, she feelin’ my ghost,” Armani chuckles on the hook, “And shorty blocked, but she still in my post.” Meanwhile, Samara leaves her own lasting impression: “Think you got a church n**** ’til he see Cyn / Gave that boy the spirit, good God, that’s a smooth b*tch.”

So, while dating either of the two rappers seems like it might be a nightmare, their pairing on the track sounds like a dream.

You can watch the lyrics video for “Ghost” above.

Kaytranada has been on a run lately. In 2023, he linked with Aminé for the album Kaytraminé, which he followed in 2024 with a solo project, Timeless. Now, he’s already back with another new album, as he released Ain’t No Damn Way! today (August 15).

A highlight is the album-closing “Do It! (Again!),” which samples TLC’s CrazySexyCool song “Let’s Do It Again” prominently enough that the group was given a feature credit on the track.

In a recent Hypebeast interview, Kaytranada spoke about his craft, saying, “I’m still learning. I also feel not everyone hears what I’m doing — listeners can be lazy, skimming tracks too fast, creating quick judgments. So a part of me feels I have something to prove, but at the same time, I don’t. Music is self-expression. I do it for myself and the people who are waiting for more — not for those who don’t like it.”

Listen to “Do It! (Again!)” above and find the Ain’t No Damn Way! cover art and tracklist below, along with Kaytranada’s upcoming tour dates alongside Justice.

Kaytranada’s Ain’t No Damn Way! Album Cover Artwork

Kaytranada’s Ain’t No Damn Way! Tracklist

1. “Space Invader”
2. “Championship”
3. “Home”
4. “Target Joint”
5. “Things”
6. “Backstabs”
7. “Good Luck”
8. “Shine Your Light For We”
9. “Goodbye Bitch!”
10. “Don’t Worry Babe / I Got U Babe”
11. “Blax”
12. “Do It! (Again!)” Feat. TLC

Kaytranada And Justice’s 2025 Tour Dates

10/16 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
10/17 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
10/19 — Portland, OR @ Moda Center
10/22 — Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
10/28 — San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
10/30 — Phoenix, AZ @ PHX Arena
11/01 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
11/05 — Chicago, IL @ United Center
11/08 — Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
11/12 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
11/15 — Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena
11/16 — Miami, FL @ Kaseya Center

Ain’t No Damn Way! is out now via RCA Records. Find more information here.

Khalid’s back with a new music video, which previews a new sound for his next album. In the ecstatic “In Plain Sight” video, the Texas native jumps on the throwback dance music trend, throwing a little New Jack Swing at old-school house vibes as he debuts a new look and dances in a glass closet. Yes, he went there. Strobe lights, gyrating bodies, and intense sensual energy abound in the video, which seems to be as much about the singer embracing his identity as it is anything else.

“In Plain Sight” is the first single from Khalid’s newly announced album, After The Sun Goes Down, which is due October 10th via Right Hand Music Group/RCA Records. In the press release, Khalid says, “This chapter is about taking my power back, living in my truth, and being able to express myself freely. I’m excited for my fans to experience this new era with me, not just musically, but personally.”

That certainly appears to mean reclaiming the narrative surrounding his sexuality after he was outed by another singer. At the time, he wrote on Twitter (never calling it “X”), “I wasn’t hiding anything! It’s just not any of your business.” After sharing the video for “In Plain Sight” on his socials, he winked toward that moment when a fan asked, “Was that a Glass Closet????” “Bingo,” he replied. Good for him, man.

You can watch the “In Plain Sight” video above.

After The Sun Goes Down is out 10/10 via Right Hand Music Group/RCA Records. You can find more info here.

For as long as she’s been around, Cardi B has had to battle the perception that while she is a certified hit maker, she hasn’t always been the best straight-up rapper. While that narrative is usually pushed by out-of-touch old dudes who mostly seem to resent that a woman could be so successful in what’s seen as a male-dominated genre, it has unfortunately been something of a smudge on an otherwise pristine career.

Cardi B’s new single, “Imaginary Playerz,” should finally put that narrative to bed — with a horse head on the pillow.

It’s got a bunch of the aesthetic things that old heads listen for subconsciously before giving new artists a chance. It draws on hip-hop history, borrowing a beat, flows, and conceptual vibes from a 1997 Jay-Z deep cut (“Imaginary Player” from In My Lifetime, Vol. 1), while updating them with new slang, terminology, and trends. It’s got an opulent video in which Cardi jumps on private planes and massive yachts rocking couture. And, most importantly, it’s got Cardi rapping her recently rejuvenated ass off.

Cardi’s signature raunchy humor shines through, but her wordplay has elevated. “My flop and your flop is not the same / If you did my numbers, y’all would pop champagne / If I did your numbers, I would hop out a plane.” Yeesh.

“Imaginary Playerz” is the fourth single from Cardi’s upcoming sophomore album, Am I The Drama?, following “Outside,” and retroactively, “WAP” and “Up.”

It’s been about three years since Steve Lacy went No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with his breakout single “Bad Habit,” and finally, Lacy is back with new music, sharing “New Shoes” today (August 15).

The song has some standout lyrics, including, “If I had a dollar for the friends I would f*ck / I could buy a pair of really nice shoes / Life is but a stain, it’s not a tattoo / Temporary pain, it’s lame to chase youth,” and, “My dick is getting hard again / At the thought of you and me holding hands.”

The song comes from Oh Yeah?, Lacy’s upcoming album that is currently in progress and doesn’t yet have a release date.

In a new Rolling Stone feature, he discussed his new approach for this album, saying:

“When I first started making sh*t or producing stuff with the Internet, I would always make the beat, make a hook, and just give it away. That was my process for a while, so words were always just kind of secondary. I’m like, ‘If my beat hard, this bass line hard, the chords hard, what else do we need?’ But now I’m like, ‘OK, I want to say sh*t how I would say sh*t.’ […] This one has taken a lot of time and thought. I keep using the word ‘design.’ It feels like fully designing a new language for myself.”

He also spoke about the project’s cover art, which is inspired by the Kool-Aid mascot, saying, “I took his face out the glass. Hopefully I don’t get sued.”

Listen to “Nice Shoes” above.

Last week, Dijon announced that he would be releasing Baby, a new album, “unless samples don’t get cleared.” Well, it appears the samples did get cleared, as Baby arrived today (August 15).

In a post on Instagram, Dijon writes of the project:

“Baby is album 2. for [Skinny Bones Joans] and our son Baby. Made in a fever storm and I couldn’t have rocked it without deep co pilot [Andrew Sarlo] I am forever indebte. Graffiti boys, truly. The powers of) [Mk.gee, BJ Burton, Henry Kwapis, Tommy King,] tobias Jesso jr Are potent and heavy and vital. […] Thanks everyone who has been spreading gospel n love over the years :).”

The post also thanks Bon Iver, Pino Palladino, Flock Of Dimes, Jim E Stack, and other collaborators.

This comes after Dijon contributed to Bon Iver’s new album SABLE, fABLE and Justin Bieber’s Swag earlier this year.

A press release notes of the album, “Examining new fatherhood and how rapidly his life has changed since Absolutely, the album is a collection of songs that represent the mania of domesticity.”

Earlier this year, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon spoke about touring with Dijon and Mk.gee, saying, “That was the first time where I was actually, like, really, really, really humbled. Like, I always enjoyed the people we went on tour with, but I was like, ‘Oh, this is fresh.’ What they were doing, it reignited something. It really had me second-guessing — not second-guessing. I love what we did. But it was like, ‘Oh. We’re just about dinosaur. We’re just about over our own hill.’”

Listen to “Baby!” above and find the album’s cover art and tracklist below.

Dijon’s Baby Album Cover Artwork

Dijon’s Baby Tracklist

1. “Baby!”
2. “Another Baby!”
3. “Higher!”
4. “(Freak It)”
5. “Yamaha”
6. “Fire!”
7. “(Referee)”
8. “Rewind”
9. “My Man”
10. “Loyal & Marie”
11. “Automatic”
12. “Kindalove”

Baby is out now via R&R/Warner Records. Find more information here.

Steven and Ian open with an acknowledgement of the show’s fifth anniversary, which actually occurred a few weeks ago. From there, they note the announcement of yet another new Taylor Swift album and liken her to the MCU. They also talk about Steven’s son recently getting into Eminem, and the scarcity of “danger-coded” music now. After that, they talk about the new Ethel Cain album and disagree slightly on its strengths and weaknesses. They also note the arrival of a new Chance The Rapper album, and how such news would have been a much bigger deal 10 years ago. Then they do a “yay or nay” on My Chemical Romance.

In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks about the slow-core band Teethe and Steven goes for veteran indie rocker Cass McCombs.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 252 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

SZA is expanding her creative portfolio with an unexpected new role. After conquering music with her record-shattering albums CTRL and SOS and breaking into film with One Of Them Days, the multihyphenate adds another hyphen, announcing her appointment as the first-ever Artistic Director for skate shoe brand Vans.

According to Women’s Wear Daily, the brand will be putting SZA “in charge of reimagining and overseeing the brand’s upcoming campaigns and co-creating and designing exclusive production collections.” The brand’s first campaign stars SZA herself, wearing her usual uniform of baggy clothes paired with a signature set of Knu Skools, which she told Vogue she actually hikes in between stops on her and Kendrick Lamar’s ongoing Grand National Tour.

“I had these Knu Skools made into cowboy boots,” she said. “It sounds bizarre, but they’re so ugly that they’re great.”

In her official statement about the appointment, she said, “I’ve been wearing Knu Skools and other styles for years, they’ve always had an ethos I connect with. As Artistic Director, my mission is to show that joy, community, creativity, and fashion are all still intersectional. That humanity, culture, and connection are still the access points… I’ve learned that bravery and curiosity are the cures for uncertainty; it’s a lifestyle, and Vans champions that spirit. They stand where I stand, and I’m honored to invite a whole bunch of people to stand Off the Wall with us.”

You can check out the campaign photos, shot by Sophie Jones, here.

Los Angeles Metro is honoring one of the city’s most accomplished and beloved residents with a renamed rail station and transit cards. From Friday, August 15th through August 31st to commemorate his 40th birthday, Hyde Park station will temporarily be renamed the Nipsey Hussle Station after the rapper whose efforts revitalized the neighborhood surrounding it. Those familiar with Hussle’s music can probably figure out where it’s located, even without being from LA: right there on the corner of Crenshaw and Slauson.

In addition, the city is issuing two limited-edition TAP cards (the NFC-enabled cards used by Angelenos to get around), which feature the rapper’s likeness. The first, “Crenshaw & Slauson,” bears the iconic image of Nipsey at that intersection taken by Jonathan Mannion, while the other, “Watts,” was taken of Nipsey sprawled in the backseat of a Metro bus. The cards will be available at select stations and at Metro Customer Centers on Friday, August 15.

The cards and station renaming are part of the agency’s Metro x Culture initiative, which “aims to connect the agency with the heart of Los Angeles’ vibrant cultural landscape by collaborating with prolific local artists, musicians, community heroes and influential brands,” according to the press release. Only 12,000 of the cards will be released. See below for photos and a list of stations where they can be obtained.

The Hyde Park, Crenshaw, Slauson, Compton, Hollywood/Vine and Expo/Crenshaw Stations will carry the cards at their dispensers. New participants signing up for Metro’s LIFE Program in South Los Angeles will receive one of the commemorative cards, as well. For more info, you can visit metro.net/nipsey.

Kenny Beats is as busy as they come, but he has a career first coming up: his first film score. The Lurker soundtrack is set to drop on August 22, and ahead of that, Beats has shared “Love And Obsession,” which he co-wrote with Rex Orange County and which is sung by one of the film’s stars, Archie Madekwe. (Beats has recently started going by his legal name, Kenneth Blume, but this project is credited to Kenny Beats.)

Director Alex Russell previously said of working with Kenny, “We always wanted to work together on something like this, and it was so perfectly timed. He was so ready to score a movie. […] Kenny can just create any song in any genre at any time, so it was laughably shorthand when I was like, ‘Can you make a few songs for Archie?’ And two days later, the songs that were in the movie were done and I didn’t really have to explain anything. I was like, you know what kind of music he makes.”

As for the film, the synopsis reads, “A retail employee infiltrates the inner circle of an artist on the verge of stardom. As he gets closer to the budding music star, access and proximity become a matter of life and death.” The movie stars Théodore Pellerin and Archie Madekwe and also features Havana Rose Liu, Sunny Suljic, Zack Fox, Daniel Zolghadri, and Olawale Onayemi.

Listen to “Love And Obsession” above. Below, find the Lurker (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) cover art and tracklist.

Kenny Beats’ Lurker (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Album Cover Artwork

Kenny Beats’ Lurker (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Tracklist

1. “Matthew’s Ride Home”
2. “Friends At Last”
3. “VHS”
4. “Domicile”
5. “Oliver’s House”
6. “Snakes In The Garden”
7. “Meds Wear Off”
8. “Sweet Talk”
9. “Omni”
10. “Love And Obsession”
11. “Omni Reprise”
12. “What It Takes”

Lurker (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is out 8/22 via Milan Records. Find more information here.