The Most Anticipated Rap and Hip-Hop Albums for 2025

Don’t miss the next great rap and hip-hop album when it drops. You don’t to be the last one to know the hottest tracks coming out of this genre and this class of rap artists. Here, we divulge on what we know about the best, the most anticipated, rap and hip-hop albums coming out this year. Trust us, fans have a lot to look forward to this year.

From artists who’ve been toying with us for some time, to new unexpected albums we didn’t even know were in the works, this year has promised us some incredible releases. Here are The Most Anticipated Rap and Hip-Hop Albums for 2025, the records we can’t wait to get a hold of.

Wiz Khalifa: Kush and Orange Juice 2

Sixteen years after the arrival of Kush and Orange Juice, Wiz Khalifa is getting ready to drop the highly anticipated sequel. Kush and Orange Juice 2 arrives on April 18 and has been led by the singles “Hit It Once,” “Bring Your Lungs” featuring Smoke DZA, “Hide It” featuring Don Toliver, “Khalifa’s Home,” and the latest, “5 Star.”

Kush and Orange Juice 2 will be supported by the “Taylor Gang the World” Tour, set to kick off May 20 in Nashville, TN. This go round, Wiz Khalifa will be hitting more intimate venues for a one of a kind concert experience. Learn more about the “Taylor Gang the World” Tour here.

Lil Wayne: Tha Carter VI

Some say Weezy is back, but we say he never left. Lil Wayne is getting ready to drop his hotly awaited Tha Carter VI, which was confirmed for an official June 6 release earlier this month (April 1). The date was announced with a clip featuring some footage from back in the day, over the course of the New Orleans rapper’s fame.

The previous installment of Lil Wayne’s long-running series, C5, arrived back in 2018. We can’t wait to hear what Lil Wayne has been cooking up for Tha Carter VI. We’ve loved all of Weezy’s recent features, like on Tyler, the Creator’s “Sticky.” Who do you think will be featured on Lil Wayne’s new album?

Roddy Ricch: The Navy Album

Though it’s been oft-delayed, we are just going to hope this latest album release date for Roddy Ricch’s The Navy Album holds true. Around a year ago, Ricch promised The Navy Album and even conducted a few interviews about the new project.

“I mean, I feel like I’m just getting back to my roots of taking my time, being real lethal with my injection, if I will,” Ricch told Apple Music in June 2024. “Just trying to really just give it everything I got and being vulnerable as I can to my fans, allowing them into my life. They going to get a real experience, almost like a soundtrack, a movie experience of what my life is like. I’m really excited, bro.”

The new album release date on Apple Music shows a July 18 drop for The Navy Album. Fingers crossed Ricch comes through with The Navy Album this summer.

Yung Lean: Jonatan

Swedish rapper Jonatan Leandoer Håstad, otherwise known as Yung Lean, has confirmed a new album will arrive this spring. The self-titled Jonatan follows Psykos, a collaborative album with Bladee which debuted March 2024.

The last solo LP from Yung Lean was 2023’s Stardust. That same year, Håstad released Sugar World under his lo-fi alias jonatan leandoer96. Sugar World made it to several end of year lists, showing critics and contemporaries the breadth of his talent. We can’t wait to hear the rest of Jonatan, due out May 2.

Little Simz: Lotus

British rapper Little Simz is getting ready to drop her highly anticipated follow-up to 2022’s No Thank You. Her sixth LP, Lotus, arrives June 6 via AWAL. The lead single, “Flood,” features vocals from special guests Obongjayar and Moonchild Sanelly and arrived with some stunning black and white visuals.

If you’ve never listened to Little Simz, now is the time. After winning the prestigious Mercury Prize for her 2021 studio album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, Little Simz has crossed into some rarified air. We can’t wait to hear the rest of Lotus.

Chance the Rapper: Star Line

September of last year, Chicago-based Chance the Rapper went on the TODAY show to talk about his forthcoming mixtape, Star Line. He even gave fans a taste of the new material, with performances of “Stars Out” and “Together.” When asked about releasing the rest of the project, Chance said “fans can experience Star Line as it rolls out.”

Fast-forward seven months later, and fans still haven’t received the entirety of Star Line. We haven’t even heard Chance’s supposed favorite new song from the mixtape, “Space and Time.” Though it appears nine tracks from Star Line are available for streaming, we are still holding out for a full-length mixtape to arrive sometime this year.

Frank Ocean

As music festival goers heading to Coachella weekend one were driving to the grounds, on the road leading to the event was a billboard that says: KIKI BOY 2025. Pair this with the discovery of Frank Ocean’s new finsta account (@kikiboyyyyyyy) and we’ve officially got ourselves an unfolding mystery. A mystery we hope is leading us to the follow-up of Frank Ocean’s Blonde.

It’s been nearly nine years since the release of Frank Ocean’s Blonde, now regarded as one of the best rap albums of the century. We never thought he was done, but we had begun to lose hope of a traditional album release coming our way. Maybe this will be the year Frank Ocean shows us what he’s been up to since 2016.

A$AP Rocky: Don’t Be Dumb

Over the last few years, we’ve only seen A$AP Rocky in the news headlines and through various loose singles. It’s uncommon for young rappers to take so much time between albums, but we think A$AP Rocky’s latest will benefit from the time and rumination spent getting it down. From babies with Rihanna, to serving a stint in Sweden, we know the rapper has a lot to cover.

A$AP Rocky confirmed the existence of a new album during a performance for Amazon Music last December. He also revealed the title of the album, Don’t Be Dumb, and an upcoming single title “Same Problems.”

In a GQ article, Rocky stated there are several Metro Boomin beats to look forward to in his next project. Considering how delectable Metro Boomin’s latest Heroes and Villains record was, we are stoked to hear more of his work on Flacko’s Don’t Be Dumb.

J. Cole: The Fall Off

Fans have been waiting for The Fall Off for quite some time now, but luckily a few other J. Cole projects have come to fruition since he first announced this new LP. Finally, while on tour, J. Cole confirmed that fans will in fact be hearing The Fall Off soon.

Back in May 2024, J. Cole went so far as to confirm The Fall Off in some lines he contributed to Summer Walker’s EP: Clear 2, Soft Life. “I find it amazing, the way that you juggle your kids, the biz, the fame, the b—hes that’s hatin’,” he raps on “To Summer, From Cole.” He adds: “They sit around waiting for you to fall off like the album I’m making.”

Though we don’t have an official release date for The Fall Off, we are hoping J. Cole comes through before the end of the summer.

Cardi B

We’re coming up on four years since Cardi B dropped her dazzling, powerful, commanding debut Invasion of Privacy. From a small acting role in Hustlers, to building an empire for the Bardi Gang to worship, to dropping the scandalous, star-studded “WAP,” Cardi’s queendom can’t be denied. But where is Cardi B’s sophomore album?

Most recently, the arrival of the new Cardi single “Bongos” gave the Bronx rapper another opportunity to assure her fans that she is working on the new album, but the songs simply aren’t all there yet. But with the continued success and platinum-level listening of her singles, we think Cardi has all the steam she needs to make the album of her—and her fans—dreams.

Baby Keem

It’s been nearly three years since pgLang rapper Baby Keem dropped his full-length debut, The Melodic Blue. Now, it seems like he’s finally gearing up to drop the album he’s been promising for some time now: Child with Wolves. In February, he reiterated the announcement on Instagram with the promise: “back to you all soon.”

We think Baby Keem is definitely going to drop Child with Wolves sometime this year. Since The Melodic Blue, Baby Keem has been on Ye’s Donda 2 and Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. He also dropped the stand-alone single, “The Hillbillies,” with K-Dot.