NEW MUSIC MONDAYS: Stellar new releases from Ari Lennox, Roc Marciano, IDK, Boldy James & Real Bad Man, DJ HARRISON and Dames Brown

Here is a small sampling and debrief of some of the many stellar standout releases from the January 23, 2026, The weekly Friday drop. With so much extravagant music coming from all corners of the globe, your friends and family here at HYFIN have your back from track-to-track. These projects definitely exemplify the current Urban Alternative aesthetic and landscape, moving from high-fashion luxury rap to spicy grown up convos, spirited collabs and buttery-smooth modern day Funk and Soul.

Ari Lennox – Vacancy

Ari Lennox – Vacancy

Ari Lennox finally stopped teasing us and dropped Vacancy, a 15-track masterclass in “unbothered” energy that proves she’s the undisputed queen of the Shea butter multiverse. After parting ways with Dreamville, she joined forces with executive producer Elite and heavyweights like Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox to craft a sound that’s equal parts smoky jazz lounge and 2000s R&B cookout. The album is nearly a solo flight, save for a ruggedly smooth guest appearance by Buju Banton on “Company,” where dancehall meets DC soul in a way we didn’t know we needed. Between the howling vocal heights of “Under The Moon” and the viral-ready, gum-snapping defiance of “Soft Girl Era,” Ari isn’t just filling space; she’s owning the whole building.

Roc Marciano – 656

The “neighbor of the beast” has arrived, and he brought a pristine pair of Gators and some of the coldest, drumless loops ever pressed to digital wax. Roc Marciano handles 100% of the production on 656, reminding everyone that while the industry was busy chasing trends, he was busy perfecting the art of the luxury-noir soundscape. The only person allowed in the booth was Harlem’s own Errol Holden, who shows up on “Rain Dance” to provide a gritty counterpoint to Marci’s detached, high-fashion whispering. It’s a short, sharp 32-minute flex where tracks like “Yves St. Moron” and the syllable-stacking finale “Melo” prove that nobody talks “fly sh*t” with more poetic precision than the Pimpire king himself.

IDK – e.t.d.s. (Even The Devil Smiles)

IDK returns with a mixtape that feels like a chaotic, high-budget fever dream through his own psyche and the U.S. penal system. e.t.d.s. is a sonic collage produced by a “Who’s Who” of avant-garde talent, including Madlib, Kaytranada, and Conductor Williams, resulting in a project that pivots from 90s mixtape grit to futuristic Black expressionism without breaking a sweat. The features are equally heavy-hitting, boasting a posthumous DMX appearance on the explosive “S.T.F” and a sharp-tongued verse from Pusha T on “LiFE 4 A LiFE.” Whether he’s getting spooky on “SCARY MERRi” or tapping into nostalgic boom-bap on “CLOVER” with Joey Valence & Brae, IDK proves that even in the darkness, the vision is crystal clear.

Boldy James & Real Bad Man – Conversational Pieces

Detroit’s most monotonous (in the best way) storyteller and LA’s most experimental producer have completed their trilogy with Conversational Pieces, an album that feels like a Rorschach test for the streets. Real Bad Man pushes Boldy James out of his comfort zone with an expanded production palette that swaps simple loops for psych-rock textures and jazzy detours. The guest list is curated for the “heads,” featuring a rare, jagged verse from El-P on “It Factor” and the usual Griselda excellence from Conway The Machine on “Fear of God.” Tracks like “Come Back Around” featuring dreamcastmoe offer a rare melodic breather in an otherwise dense, cinematic project that documents Boldy’s evolution from hustler to high-art survivor.

DJ Harrison – ElectroSoul

After a health scare in 2024, Butcher Brown’s multi-instrumentalist mastermind DJ Harrison decided to call in every favor in his Rolodex to create ElectroSoul, his most collaborative and healing record to date. Released via Stones Throw, the album is a sun-drenched journey through lo-fi hip-hop, funk, and jazz-fusion, feeling like a backyard barbecue on a distant, much cooler planet. The guest list is a “who’s who” of the soul underground, featuring buttery vocals from Yazmin Lacey, Yaya Bey, and Nigel Hall, alongside instrumental wizardry from Kiefer and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. Standout tracks like “Stay Ready” and the Pink Siifu-assisted “Y’all Good?” anchor a project that is less about “bangers” and more about the communal vibrations of a tight-knit musical family.

Dames Brown – Take Me As I Am

Detroit’s vocal powerhouses Dames Brown have finally delivered their definitive statement with Take Me As I Am, a high-octane celebration of Motor City funk and dancefloor soul. Closely mentored by the late, great Amp Fiddler, the trio brings a church-trained ferocity to tracks produced by Detroit legends like Waajeed, Andrés, and Eddie Fowlkes. It’s an album that refuses to sit still, blending gospel-inflected harmonies with heavy house grooves and classic P-Funk swagger. From the anthemic title track “Take Me As I Am” to the sweaty, club-ready energy of “What Would You Do?”, this project is a vibrant reminder that soul music isn’t just a genre—it’s a way of life and love.