If you’re wondering which rapper will deliver your 2023 soundtrack, we’ve got a few ideas.
While 2022 brought us eagerly awaited albums from stars including Kendrick Lamar and Pusha T, who both made Billboard‘s year-end hip-hop albums list, MCs like Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, Drake, J. Cole, A$AP Rocky and Playboi Carti have all alluded to new projects arriving in 2023. Some have confirmed it outright in open forums like Reddit, while others have taken a more subtle approach — like completely wiping their Instagram feeds, or casually name-dropping an album title.
No matter the approach, we’ve rounded up five highly anticipated rap projects that we know (or think) will drop this year.
Travis Scott, Utopia
Following his massively successful 2018 project ASTROWORLD, Travis Scott took a four-year hiatus before first alluding to his fourth studio album — rumored to be titled Utopia — in 2020. The Houston-born rapper even liked an Instagram post referencing a 2023 album drop, seemingly confirming a release for this year. Scott’s long delay between albums is presumably due at least in part to the horrific events that ensued during his 2021 Astroworld music festival, which to the death of 10 fans, some of whom where as young as 14 years old. Whether Scott’s album will be categorized as rap is up in the air, considering he revealed to WWD in 2021 that he is in a “psychedelic rock” phase.
J. Cole, It’s a Boy
One tried-and-true way artists quietly tease a release is by completely wiping their Instagram feed. This is a tactic well known to J. Cole fans — as the rapper followed a similar strategy for 2018 album KOD and 2019 single “Middle Child” — and it’s what they quickly noticed the Fayetteville rapper do on Jan. 3. A number of fans are now rushing to make claims that Cole’s eagerly-awaited project It’s a Boy is almost due. The 37-year-old revealed a Sharpie-on-paper display of his upcoming project titles in December 2020, with It’s a Boy arriving right after The Off Season and before The Fall Off. Some fans speculate that the project may arrive on Cole’s birthday, January 28 — as it was the day he was born and he is a boy, after all.
Playboi Carti, Music
Playboi Carti revealed to XXL in April 2022 that his next album would tentatively be titled Music, because “that’s all it is at this point.” The rapper, who also mentioned speaking with Kanye West on a daily basis, went on to tell XXL that the album is meant to make people feel free. “I’ve been rapping about going to rehab. I want to go to rehab because I think I’m bipolar,” he said. “I hope this album brings peace to the world, honestly. I’m in love with what I’m doing.”
A$AP Rocky, Don’t Be Dumb
Praise the lord! New A$AP Rocky is on the way. During 2 Chainz’s Amazon Music Live concert series in early December, the New York City rapper was all smiles as he revealed Don’t Be Dumb as the title of his next project (which he says is finished) and even went on to perform three songs from the upcoming set. Rocky’s better half Rihanna was close by during the performance, hanging out backstage while her man rocked the crowd. While there’s no official release date yet for the set, fans are speculating about a 2023 drop, and Rocky confirms the album will have a huge Metro Boomin presence. “I’m gonna put it to you like this: This next album needs to be just called Flacko Boomin,” he told GQ in December.
Lil Uzi Vert, Pink Tape
After the release of his viral Jersey Club-inspired hit “Just Wanna Rock” in October, fans have been hounding Lil Uzi Vert about his next offering, The Pink Tape. The Philadelphia rapper finally responded to questioning by way of a chat with some disgruntled listeners on Reddit, who called the “XO Tour Lif3” artist’s music “mid.” “That’s why I’m dropping in February,” he said along with a pink heart emoji and wink face. “New s–t new sound no mid.”
