New Music Friday: 13 new albums from Ghostface Killah, Stacy Epps, Earl Sweatshirt & more

New Music Friday delivers 13 essential releases this week, headlined by Ghostface Killah’s long-awaited “Supreme Clientele 2,” Kid Cudi’s pop-leaning “Free,” and Earl Sweatshirt’s “Live Laugh Love,” with notable projects from Khamari, Mariah the Scientist, Jon Batiste, and a hometown EP from Milwaukee’s J.P. This week’s new music releases span hip-hop, R&B/soul, jazz, and experimental lanes, tracing everything from classic craftsmanship to boundary-testing production. From boom-bap lineage to post-R&B invention, these are the albums (and one EP) to stream now. This recap is curated by HYFIN, your trusted source for Black music and culture—stream and save your favorites today.

Best New Hip-Hop Albums This Week

Ghostface Killah — “Supreme Clientele 2” (Mass Appeal)

Ghostface returns to one of rap’s most storied franchises with a sequel that frames his unmistakable cadence within a curated trove of vault cuts and new links, reconnecting the Wu-Tang architect to the rugged soul collage of the 2000 original. Sly boasts and ironclad imagery remain intact, while the feature list reads like a cipher roll call—Wu brethren and revered lyricists in tow. 

“Rap Kingpin,” produced by Scram Jones, sets the tone by flipping Eric B. & Rakim’s “My Melody” alongside a nod to “Mighty Healthy,” proof that Ghost can still dice vintage DNA into present-tense heat. Across 22 tracks, he toggles between slangy parables and punchline snapshots; fans of the first “Supreme Clientele” will clock the connective tissue even as the sequencing embraces the project’s archival sprawl.

Kid Cudi — “Free” (Wicked Awesome/Republic)

On “Free,” Cudi leans into pop and alt-rock textures without abandoning his ear for hooky melancholy. The rollout blurred the line between film and single: “Neverland” arrived with an 11-minute Ti West–directed short produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw, while “Grave” landed with a Samuel Bayer video—two visual statements that frame the album’s big-tent mood. 

Musically, “Neverland” rides bright guitars and a cinematic lift, while “Grave” pushes into anthemic territory that suits Cudi’s chant-ready writing. It’s a glossy, festival-scale iteration of his introspection, now released via Wicked Awesome/Republic. 

Earl Sweatshirt — “Live Laugh Love” (Tan Cressida/Warner)

Earl’s sixth solo LP folds deadpan clarity into woozy, sample-sliced beats, channeling the off-grid charm of “Some Rap Songs” with a slightly brighter register. The album’s cryptic tease gave way to a true release—no prank—delivering a brisk, head-spinning listen that still rewards close study. 

Theravada, Navy Blue, Black Noi$e, and Child Actor provide a dust-textured canvas; Earl threads flashes of warmth through “Gamma” and “Tourmaline,” then closes with Erykah Badu’s spectral presence on “Exhaust,” the kind of left-field cameo that heightens the record’s dream logic. 

Lupe Fiasco — “Samurai DX (Deluxe Edition)” (1st & 15th / Thirty Tigers)

Marking one year of “Samurai,” Lupe expands the concept with two unearthed session pieces—“High Note” (Soundtrakk) and “S.O.S.” (self-produced)—and fresh remixes of “Samurai,” “Palaces,” and “Bigfoot” (now with a Troy Tyler hook). The deluxe frames his discipline-first ethos with new verses and subtly reframed productions.

Digital editions add the new tracks up top; collectors will appreciate that the vinyl includes instrumentals for all five newly recorded pieces—an archival flourish consistent with Lupe’s craftsman mindset. 

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Essential R&B and Soul Releases

Khamari — “To Dry a Tear” (Encore Recordings)

Boston-born, Los Angeles–based Khamari pivots from his RCA debut into a more narrative-driven second album, released via Encore. The project distills two years of writing into 11 songs about presence, distance, and choosing vulnerability, with Khamari handling keys, guitar, and arrangements alongside his tight-knit team. The lineage he invokes—D’Angelo’s grit, Jeff Buckley’s drama—guides the set’s raw edges without sanding them down. 

Singles “Head in a Jar,” “Sycamore Tree,” and “Lonely in the Jungle” map the album’s emotional arc, while deeper cuts like “Lord, Forgive Me” and “Acres” widen the palette. Apple’s listing confirms the 11-track run and Encore’s role in the release. 

Mariah the Scientist — “Hearts Sold Separately” (Buckles Laboratories/Epic)

Mariah narrows her focus to stately slow-burners that nod to late-’80s/early-’90s radio sheen. The concept—romance as campaign and combat—threads through the rollout and informs the writing’s mix of resolve and ache. 

Lead single “Burning Blue” showcases her cool upper register, while the Kali Uchis duet “Is It a Crime” plays with drama and mirage. The album arrives via Buckles Laboratories under exclusive license to Epic, a tidy snapshot of Mariah’s current independence-within-the-system model. 

Kelly Moonstone — “New Moon” (Kelly Moonstone LLC)

The Queens artist levels up her indie momentum with a full-length that extends her melodic, late-night R&B into sharper relief. Pre-release singles “Nanabooboo” and “IKEA” (featuring Saba) sketch the album’s mood: airy hooks, sly writing, and a production bed that leaves space for her phrasing. 

As an independent drop on her own LLC, “New Moon” underscores Moonstone’s DIY control; Apple Music listings tag both singles and point to the album’s arrival, while her presave announcement teased the cover and date. Spin “IKEA” for the understated duet chemistry, then “Nanabooboo” for a winked-through flex. 

Stacy Epps — “FLOWHEART” (LOVELIKEWATER)

A pillar of the L.A. underground with ties to Madlib and MF DOOM, Stacy Epps returns with an 11-song album issued through her nonprofit LOVELIKEWATER—a mission-driven release that intentionally routes revenue into community-minded work. Her blend of soul, hip-hop poetics, and spiritual jazz undercurrents is intact, but the writing here sits even closer to the chest. 

Recent singles “letthe…” and “FEELS LIKE,” plus the “AWAY” visual, preview the album’s breath-and-pulse feel. Apple Music lists “FLOWHEART” as her latest full-length, and Epps’ site and interviews confirm the nonprofit framework and Atlanta listening events leading into release day. 

J.P. — “Took A Turn” (EP)

Milwaukee’s J.P.—the voice behind last year’s viral lowend slapper “Bad Bitty”—channels his church-fed falsetto and a newfound R&B lens on a concise, reflective EP tied to a same-day video for the title track. It’s less a pivot than a reveal, foregrounding the soulful textures fans heard peeking through his dance-rap rise. 

Lead cuts “My Peace” and “Serenity” (the latter staged on Genius Open Mic) telegraph the project’s themes of change and self-possession; his late-night “School Dance” performance on The Late Show last year hinted at this broader range. Apple’s artist page now stacks those singles alongside the lowend era, signaling a new chapter without erasing the spark. 

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Experimental & Genre-Bending

Nourished By Time — “The Passionate Ones” (XL Recordings)

Marcus Elliot Brown, aka Nourished By Time, threads lo-fi synth-pop, post-punk, and early-’90s R&B into a cohesive post-R&B language shaped by Baltimore roots, band-room training (trumpet/percussion), and time at Berklee. After the breakout of “Erotic Probiotic 2” and the “Catching Chickens” EP, his first full-length with XL sharpens the satire and the feeling. 

“Max Potential” swings with office-speak subversion, and “9 2 5” lifts Baltimore club pulse into a worker’s-anthem refrain; both preview a set critics are already reading as full-hearted and dystopia-aware. XL/Bandcamp listings confirm the release; early reviews trace its blend of ache, synth flicker, and sly protest. 

Ami Taf Ra — “The Prophet and The Madman” (Brainfeeder)

Born in Morocco and raised in Amsterdam, Ami Taf Ra bridges gnawa tradition with spiritual jazz, gospel, and Arabic modalities, singing in Arabic, French, and English. Her debut album draws on Khalil Gibran’s “The Prophet” and “The Madman,” treating duality and healing as lived practice rather than abstraction. 

Crafted with a Brainfeeder cohort—Kamasi Washington among the contributors—the record moves from the sweeping “How I Became a Madman” (feat. Washington) to the devotional “Love” (feat. Ryan Porter) and the benedictory “Speak to Us (Outro).” The official site and Brainfeeder channels confirm the signing and the singles, situating this as a diasporic jazz statement with deep ancestral resonance. 

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Archival Discoveries & Reissues

Miles Davis — “Miles ’55: The Prestige Recordings” (Craft Recordings)

This focused snapshot of a pivotal year collects 16 remastered tracks from Davis’ 1955 Prestige sessions—when the first great quintet with John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones cohered and his sound crystallized. The set arrives across 3-LP/2-CD/digital, with new notes by Ashley Kahn and session context from Dan Morgenstern. 

Remastering by Paul Blakemore and lacquers by Kevin Gray keep the Hackensack air in the room; “Will You Still Be Mine?” leads the previews and locates that lyrical, early-quintet glide. Craft’s listings confirm specs, formats, and ship dates across the board. 

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Must-Hear Jazz Releases This Week

Jon Batiste — “Big Money” (Verve/Interscope)

Batiste pares back to a 9-song, 32-minute set that toggles between porch-light folk, gospel lift, and piano-bench reveries. The duet with Randy Newman on Doc Pomus’ “Lonely Avenue” is wry and tender; “Lean on My Love” with Andra Day is a pocket-driven highlight, and “Maybe” and “Angels” center his pianism and devotional streak. 

The album arrives via Verve/Interscope, with his official store and Apple Music confirming the label pairing and format run—an intimate counterweight to Batiste’s stadium-scale profile.