Tank and the Bangas (Photo credit: Jeremy Tauriac)
Fresh Friday is fully loaded this week with a complete slate of albums and singles spanning R&B, hip-hop, soul, gospel, dancehall, and genre-bending sounds. From superstar returns to rising names making statement releases, this week’s drop list proves there’s no shortage of fresh music to soundtrack the weekend. Whether you want reflective slow jams, motivational street records, dance-ready heat, or polished album experiences, the lineup covers every lane.
Albums
Kehlani – Kehlani
Kehlani’s fifth album centers joy, growth, and elite collaboration. With legends like Brandy, USHER, Missy Elliott, and Lil Wayne involved, the project bridges generations beautifully. It feels personal, polished, and celebratory throughout. One of the week’s essential listens.
Akon returns with uplifting energy and feel-good melodies. The release leans into optimism with a warm, accessible sound. It’s bright, easygoing, and full of veteran charm. A smooth comeback vibe.
Jai’Len Josey blends R&B, pop, soul, and experimental flashes into a confident statement. Her vocals and songwriting shine across every track. Executive production adds major polish without losing personality. A true arrival moment.
HDBeenDope – It Only Gets Better and Even Better
HDBeenDope balances intensity and reflection with precision here. The project showcases growth, sharp writing, and grounded perspective. “IN CLOSING” stands tall as a centerpiece moment. Brooklyn continues producing stars.
YUNA delivers grace, bravery, and deep introspection on this release. Her signature voice glides across thoughtful production. Every song feels intentional and emotionally rich. Elegant music with staying power.
Sir Michael Rocks – Rocks, Paper, Scissors: Choices
Sir Michael Rocks brings effortless cool and veteran swagger. The project sounds stylish, witty, and self-assured. He proves originality never expires. Smooth replay value throughout.
Singles
Tank And The Bangas – “No Invite”
Playful, powerful, and empowering from start to finish. The group’s personality jumps through every second. It’s bold energy with a message. Instantly memorable.
Distorted guitars and booming drums create a cinematic anthem. The duo blends rock edge with hip-hop resilience. It feels ambitious and emotional at once. Big statement record.
Tyla – “SHE DID IT AGAIN”
Tyla keeps proving why she’s one of the hottest artists moving. The record is sleek, stylish, and full of confidence. She makes hits look effortless. Another strong addition to her run.
CeCe Winans delivers a moving and uplifting worship record. Her voice carries grace, power, and timeless emotion. The song feels heartfelt and restorative. Inspirational music done right.
Olumide – “Element”
“Element” feels motivational, elegant, and built for boss-mode confidence. Dizzee Beats provides production that hits with purpose. It’s a chant for leveling up. Strong energy throughout.
G Herbo – “Win Again”
Herbo turns pressure into fuel with this focused release. Themes of loyalty, loss, and ambition drive the record. It sounds hungry and honest. Motivation with scars attached.
Flau’jae – “WOAH”
Flau’jae keeps momentum rolling with confidence and sharp delivery. She attacks the beat with star energy and presence. The record feels triumphant and fearless. Big statement energy.
Boom-bap grit meets sharp lyricism over production from Da Beatminerz. The record captures golden era energy with modern hunger. It sounds authentic and commanding. Underground heads will love this one.
Sleepy Hallow – “Young Dumb”
Sleepy Hallow leans into a smoother, melodic lane here. Rhodes textures and relaxed confidence give the track strong replay value. It’s cool, polished, and catchy. Another smart evolution in sound.
Isaiah Falls – “BACK IN MY ARMS”
Warm 90s slow-jam influence meets emotional honesty. Isaiah turns longing into a fully immersive listen. His harmonies and delivery land perfectly. Vulnerable late-night R&B.
Vybz Kartel, Bobby Konders, Massive B – “Good Good”
“Good Good” delivers bounce, charisma, and undeniable dancehall motion. The record is catchy and built for movement. Veteran presence meets party-ready production. Dancehall energy remains unmatched.
John Brown The Rapper stakes his claim alongside the architects of the dark Brooklyn sound, Da Beatminerz, for their lead single “Extraordinary”. Sharpened by the rigorous lyricism training at Pendulum Ink, Brown delivers a masterclass in cadence and layered wordplay over a menacing, gutter-level soundscape. The collaboration feels like a bridge between the golden era’s rugged soul and 2026’s technical evolution. With a cinematic video directed by Victorious De Costa that celebrates 90s culture, the trio sets a high bar for their forthcoming full-length project, Waxing In Mecca, featuring heavyweights like Your Old Droog and Smif-N-Wessun
Everybody’s getting out and enjoying the spring–and after what felt like an endless winter, you can’t fault anybody for wanting to stretch out a bit. As per usual, we’ve got you covered when it comes to the soundtrack. We’re closing out April with some absolute heat.
Latto and GloRilla join forces for a fun, new single, and Kehlani delivers her new album with a who’s-who of superstar guests. Meanwhile, we get new heat from Reason, as Fredo Bang and BigXThaPlug breathe new life into one of Bang’s most popular singles. And be aware: Denzel Curry has a new Red Bull freestyle with Tiacorine and Key Nyata.
Please believe, the veterans are really doing it big this week, as well. West Coast mainstays Cypress Hill reunite with an old friend for their new single, as Action Bronson gets some bars in with a pair of Southern rap superstars for an unlikely collab. We get the fifth album from the inimitable BLU & Exile, as Akon drops his first full-length project in a decade – and he sounds like he’s in a spirit of gratefulness.
Each week, Okayplayer will deliver a roundup of all the latest new heat from some of our favorite artists. Check out the latest offerings in our playlist below:
The two Dirty South rap femme fatales team up on this Soulja Boy-referencing single. The pair sounds like they’re having a lot of fun on this one, a track that embraces silly energy and gets stuck in your ears.
The R&B standout returns with his newest single, the follow-up to his sultry track “TABOO,” He continues to lean into the emotional depth and sensual storytelling that have become hallmarks of his sound.
The British and Guinean singer-songwriter returns with her first new music since 2024. Produced by Rømme and MIDNIGHT PHUNK, it’s a track that showcases her soulful vulnerability–and the star power that puts her near the forefront of R&B in the U.K.
TERMANOLOGY & ROYAL FLUSH FEAT. DRU HOFFA – “ANGEL WHISPERS”
These two MCs have long established themselves as purveyors of that classic boom bap and they’ve done it better than most of their peers. And they’re backed by a producer steeped in that rich tradition of Pete Rock.
The rapper out of Philly (by way of Brooklyn) has enjoyed a second act since his days primarily as a battle rapper. His latest single proves that his lyricism is as sharp as ever.
FREDO BANG & BIGXTHAPLUG – “SAY PLEASE (DON’T LEAVE ME LONELY)”
Originally released in 2022, “Say Please” has seen a major resurgence and this new collaboration brings together two of the South’s most distinctive voices for a moment. Melodic deliveries sit naturally over the song’s soulful reimagining of The Platters.
One-third of the legendary group 3rd Bass, makes his highly anticipated return. A sharp, introspective, and retrospective reintroduction — reflective, incisive, and unflinchingly honest. The new track serves as the lead single from Serch’s forthcoming EP, Millions Of Zeroes.
It’s a thrilling new chapter in a celebrated legacy that has spanned across cultures, languages and territories. The Cali rap icons release their searing new single featuring the original member, Mellow Man Ace. Produced by the multi-platinum, GRAMMY-nominated DJ Flict.
The pair link up once again for this new track, which will appear on an upcoming solo project from Vado. And there’s definitely a Vado and Dave East collab project in the works, as well.
ACTION BRONSON, PAUL WALL AND LIL YACHTY – “TRICERATOPS”
Yeah, it’s an interesting mash-up of styles with these three, but it makes more sense than you might expect on paper. And Bronson is having a ball–delivering the kind of lines that can only come from him.
The duo calls this track “a journal entry for us” and it shows how much the whirlwind of their journey has inspired their art. Their latest single drops with the announcement of a new deluxe project that’s coming on May 15.
A groove-heavy masterclass in cool, intentionally unhurried as the TX vet rides a soulful, laid-back beat. Delivering every bar with the signature precision earned from over two decades in the industry, Wall proves why his iconic delivery remains a staple in the game.
The original song has been doing well online, and with Bada$$ dropping it, it gets a second life. It definitely makes you wonder how these guys would fit on a full-length project.
The U.K.-based production team drops a double A side single. Their new album is coming, and this smooth, horn-driven track features Chicago product Woods in a guest vocal appearance that is absolute perfection.
BLUE LAB BEATS FEAT. BLACKOUT AND SANITY – “FIRE UP”
The “Boom-Bap Ambassadors” have teamed up with underground newcomer John Brown The Rapper for this new single, an appetizer for a new full-length collaborative LP due out June 5, that features Your Old Droog, Smif-N-Wessun, and others.
It’s a song that’s been bubbling through the underground and online leaks for a few months now, and MGK shared a snippet back in March. But it’s exactly what you’d hope it would be. So get ready to trash nu-metal style like it’s 1999.
The Grammy winner is in his outlaw country bag. On his new track, he melds Americana, hip-hop and pop for a potent mix–and sets the stage for his upcoming album dropping this summer.
The U.K. grime icon is drifting into different lanes–most notably house on this wordless new single. If it’s polarizing or not, it sounds like a raver from a long night in London.
An ode to loss, longing and the pain of memories. It’s a sultry, lilting, guitar-driven track that features Los acknowledging that he’s always waiting on someone who “never comes thru.”
The latest from the Oakland-born singer-songwriter features a bevy of iconic guest stars – from Lil Wayne to Brandy to Usher and more – and it features some of her most stirring songwriting to date. It all makes for a gripping listen.
One of the industry’s most compelling young voices, the former TDE signee releases the second installment of his four-part color series. The project largely details the relationship process from the beginning (honeymoon phase) to the end (scorned).
A true collab project. entirely produced by Ron Browz and held down entirely by Nems, who says “the project is all about bringing that boom back to hip hop. In this new era, samples with no drums have become the go-to for the lyrical crowd.”
It’s the chart-topper’s first full-length album in almost a decade. It’s an ambitious project that melds genres, eras and cultures into a stew that only the Konvict Music boss can deliver. As the artwork suggests, he’s embracing life with a spirit of gratitude.
The duo drops their fifth album, showcasing that remarkable chemistry that’s made them indie darlings for the better part of twenty-plus years. Still inspired, still connected, and still capable of delivering the kind of richly soulful hip-hop haters say doesn’t exist anymore.
He’s always gonna deliver something sticky and green-themed around 4/20 and the West Coast icon did not disappoint. After 35 years in the game, the Dogg Pound rapper/producer knows who he is, musically, and we should all be grateful.
ROSCO P. COLDCHAIN & NICHOLAS CRAVEN – ‘PLAY WITH SOMETHING SAFE’
After spending so much time incarcerated, the rapper from North Philly has stories to tell. He taps in with Craven and details his life, scars and all, sharing war stories that are both vivid and dramatic. Gritty storytelling at its best.
One half of Brownsville’s own M.O.P., the boisterous rap legend doesn’t hide the fact that he’s mad at lots of wackness in the world, but still knows how to get your blood up with street anthems.
SIR MICHAEL ROCKS – ‘ROCKS, PAPER, SCISSORS: CHOICES’
He’s lowkey influenced a generation. With features from Bruiser Wolf, Valee, Tha Musalini, DJ Fresh and Skooda Chose, the new album from the Cool Kid showcases how well he’s mastered his craft.
Bass-driven soul beamed down from an Afrofuturistic commune. The artist blends soul, hip-hop, electro, dance and so much else into a hodgepodge that burns itself into your brain and makes you move.
Executive produced by five-time Grammy Award-winner Tricky Stewart, the album is an intimate yet expansive debut that underscores her arrival as one of the most compelling new voices in modern R&B.
A strong extended player. The singer-songwriter is from Massachusetts, but now based in Los Angeles, she blends R&B, pop, soul and folk into an eclectic and groovy mix that’s all her own.
After acknowledging that 80s synth pop inspired his last project, Rollercoaster, Weapon delved into his contemporary hip-hop bag for his new release. Inspired by his love of clothes and digging in the crates.
The Baltimore rapper remains consistent and the third entry in his MTM series proves that consistency doesn’t mean stagnation. His growth is evident over the course of his latest project, and proof positive that conceptually, he knows how to push himself further.
He just keeps on going. The New Jersey rapper teams with Child Actor and still embraces his wildly unique and irreverent style–delivering idiosyncratic music that won’t let up even for a second.
Banks is back — in a completely different way. The controversial spitfire drops an hour-long suite for meditation. That’s right. It’s a project that she crafted alongside Swedish DJ Kornél Kovács.
ElevenLabs has launched ElevenMusic, a standalone iOS app for AI music generation and discovery, bringing its Eleven Music platform — which debuted on the web last August — to mobile for the first time.
The app went live on the App Store on Wednesday (April 1), following several weeks during which it had been listed ahead of its formal release. Its arrival places ElevenLabs in more direct competition with Suno and Udio on mobile, both of which have established consumer app presences in the AI music generation market.
On the free tier, users can generate up to seven songs per day using natural language prompts, with options to control song length, whether the track includes lyrics, and the writing style. Songs created by other users can be discovered within the app and remixed via text prompts, with remixes counting toward a user’s daily generation limit.
The app includes a discovery layer built around curated stations and moods — among them Focus, Energy, Relax, Late Night, Cosmic, and Chill — alongside sections for top charts, trending content, and new releases, mirroring the layout of conventional streaming apps.
A Pro subscription tier is available at $9.99 per month, or $95.90 per year. Subscribers gain access to up to 500 tracks per month, more than 500 GB of storage, and expanded access to styles and moods.
The iOS app follows a series of moves by ElevenLabs to build out its music offering over the past eight months. MBW covered the launch of Eleven Music last August, when ElevenLabs unveiled the web-based platform alongside licensing agreements with Merlin — the independent labels’ digital licensing organization — and publisher Kobalt.
Unlike its two key competitors, ElevenLabs entered AI music generation with licensing deals in place from the outset; both Suno and Udio launched without them, drawing copyright litigation from the major record companies before subsequently reaching a series of label settlements.
Speaking at the time of the Eleven Music platform launch last August, Mati Staniszewski, CEO and co-founder of ElevenLabs, said: “As an AI audio company, expanding into music was a natural progression, and we are thrilled to introduce Eleven Music today. We’ve heard massive demand from our enterprise partners and users for a music model like this and we took our time to ship one that we’re certain they’ll love. We’re proud to do so in collaboration with music industry partners who recognize the vast benefits and possibilities of AI innovation in music.”
In January this year, the company released The Eleven Album — a collection of tracks spanning rap, pop, R&B, EDM, and cinematic scoring, produced with participating artists using the Eleven Music model. And last month, MBW reported that ElevenLabs had launched a Music Marketplace — a platform allowing creators to publish, license, and monetize songs generated on Eleven Music — at which point the company reported that nearly 14 million tracks had been created since its August debut.
“Our community has already created 14 million songs with Eleven Music,” Staniszewski said at the Music Marketplace launch. “The Music Marketplace gives every one of those artists and creators a way to publish and earn from their work. We’re expanding the model that’s paid out over $11 million to voice creators, and we think the earning potential for musicians is just as significant.”
In February 2026, ElevenLabs raised $500 million in a Series D funding round led by Sequoia Capital, valuing the London and New York-headquartered company at $11 billion — more than triple its valuation from a year prior — as previously covered by MBW.
“When we started ElevenLabs, we couldn’t have imagined the scale and impact we’ve reached today… yet we stay hungry, knowing how early this space still is, as we build toward IPO and beyond,” Staniszewski said at the time of that raise.
Udio has signed a licensing agreement with Kobalt, adding the independent music publisher to a growing roster of industry partners – as the AI platform continues its transformation from copyright defendant to licensed service provider.
The deal, announced on Thursday (April 9), will see Udio‘s forthcoming subscription platform trained on authorized and licensed music from Kobalt‘s catalog, establishing what the companies describe as “an important pathway for new revenue streams for Kobalt artists and songwriters.”
Udio‘s reimagined service — expected to launch later this year — will offer users the ability to make remixes, covers, and new songs using the voices of artists and compositions of songwriters who ‘opt in’, with participating creators credited and paid.
That settlement signaled a dramatic pivot for a platform that had, just months earlier, been defending its training practices under a ‘fair use’ argument in federal court.
Sony Music Group remains the only major music company yet to reach a licensing agreement with Udio. Its portion of the RIAA-led litigation against the platform, filed in mid-2024 for alleged mass copyright infringement, remains ongoing.
“Our clients and songwriters rely on us to both protect them and to create new opportunities for their works in an ever-changing technology landscape,” said Laurent Hubert, CEO of Kobalt, today.
“We look forward to working closely with Udio to develop these new possibilities and are excited for what this deal could mean for the thousands of songwriters, artists, producers and publishers we work with everyday.”
Andrew Sanchez, Co-Founder and CEO of Udio, said: “We’re excited to partner with Kobalt and welcome its exceptional community of songwriters, artists, and creatives to Udio.
“Our focus is on expanding creative possibilities through AI, while ensuring artists’ rights are respected and fairly compensated every step of the way. Together with Kobalt, we’re unlocking new potential for both artists and Udio users.”
Ahead of its launch, Udio says it will roll out “expanded protections and other measures designed to safeguard the rights of artists and songwriters.”
While Udio has embraced the ‘walled garden’ model championed by Universal Music Group — in which AI-generated music cannot be downloaded or distributed beyond the platform — Suno has resisted that framework.
A public dispute erupted in February between Suno and UMG over the issue, with UMG‘s EVP and Chief Digital Officer Michael Nash indicating that the ‘walled garden’ principle was a key factor in why Universal had not reached a settlement with Suno.
Warner Music Groupstruck a deal with Suno in November 2025, but on notably different terms: Suno retained the ability for users to download songs, and pledged to launch “new, more advanced and licensed models” based on WMG‘s content in 2026.
As MBW founder Tim Ingham noted in a recent column, 114 days after that WMG announcement, such a licensed model is yet to materialize.
Days after that column was published, Sunolaunched V5.5 on Friday (March 27) — an update introducing voice capture and personalization features, but one presumably still built on the same unlicensed foundation, WMG-licensed content aside.
Kobalt’s AI licensing footprint
The Udio partnership marks Kobalt‘s second significant licensing agreement with an AI music platform.
In August 2025, the publisher struck a deal with ElevenLabs for its Eleven Music platform. Eleven Music also struck a deal with indie recorded music org Merlin.
Kobalt says it serves over 1 million songs across 10 offices and represents, on average, over 35% of the top 100 songs and albums in the US and the UK. Its songwriter and publisher clients include Max Martin, Karol G, Stevie Nicks, Phoebe Bridgers, The Foo Fighters, and Paul McCartney, among others.
Udio was co-founded by former researchers at Google DeepMind and launched publicly in April 2024 with backing from investors including a16z, Redpoint, will.i.am, and Steve Stoute.
Negotiations between the music industry and AI music startup Suno have stalled, with no deal in sight.
That’s according to the Financial Times on Tuesday (April 7), which cited people familiar with the matter as saying that Universal Music Groupand Suno have only seen little substantive progress in their talks in recent months.
Sources also told the FT that Suno hasn’t been able to reach a deal with Sony Music Entertainmentas the music giants reject its model for distributing AI-generated music.
“We have ongoing engagement, but there is no path forward with the current proposal,” a person involved in the negotiations told the newspaper.
Warner Music Group, one of the three major labels, struck its own deal with Suno in November, but according to the FT’s sources, the partnership has seen minimal progress.
“We have ongoing engagement, but there is no path forward with the current proposal.”
A Person involved with the negotiations (via Ft)
In November, Warner Music and Suno said they have struck what they call a “first-of-its-kind partnership, which “open[s] new frontiers in music creation, interaction, and discovery, while both compensating and protecting artists, songwriters, and the wider creative community”.
The deal settled previous litigation between the companies.
The Warner Music deal arrived as Suno, along with its peer Udio, faced litigations from the music giants over their AI training models. Following a period of legal battles, Universal Music Group settled with Udio in October 2025, followed by Warner Music in November 2025.
Udio’s agreements with the two majors included licensing deals for a new AI music platform expected to launch this year.
