J. Cole, 21 Savage, Kodak Black and More – New Projects This Week

The temperature is rising as spring kicks into high gear and this week offers some new, highly anticipated albums.

After months of hints, teasing and speculation, it's a Cole world once again. J. Cole drops his sixth studio album, The Off-Season. Following the arrival of the song "Interlude" on May 7, the Fayetteville, N.C. rhymer delivers the long-awaited album, which many fans thought would end up being The Fall Off LP instead. Prior to releasing The Off-Season, the Dreamville Records founder was spotted recording in the studio and even suggested that the album was complete because he had been riding around listening to it. Cole also confirmed on Monday (May 10) that he'd "see" his fans on Friday (May 14), implying the effort's release date. In conjunction with The Off-Season, J. Cole also delivered a 12-minute documentary titled Applying Pressure: The Off-Season Documentary via YouTube.

Kodak Black has been embattled with legal issues over the last few years and as recently as April, he pleaded guilty to the assault of a teenage girl stemming from a 2016 incident in South Carolina. Despite his troubling matters, the Florida rhymer has managed to hit the studio to deliver his latest offering, Haitian Boy Kodak. Project Baby first hinted at the project on Monday (May 10) when he shared a snippet of his new track "Thermillia." The following day, Kodak revealed the album artwork, which features himself wearing all red, holding what appears to be a machete. Also on the cover, a series of lit candles are beside him. Haitian Boy Kodak is the follow-up to his 2020 album, Bill Israel. This latest release also comes about five months after Kodak Black's federal firearms charge was commuted by former President Donald Trump.

21 Savage is back with his first official project of 2021, and it coincides with another famed actor. First, his and Metro Boomin's 2020 joint album, Savage Mode 2, features narration from actor Morgan Freeman. And now, the Atlanta-based rapper releases an EP for the Chris Rock-produced reboot film, Spiral: From the Book of Saw. Last month, 21 debuted the new song "Spiral," the first single from the project. He also shared a visual teaser for the project on Instagram earlier this week, including a caption that reads, "#Spiral Ep Drop Friday I Don’t Think Y’all Ready I Ain’t None To Play Wit 🗡😂 @saw @lionsgate." Reports surfaced online back in March that the rapper was spearheading the frightful film's soundtrack, which features appearances from Gunna, Young Thug, Young Nudy, 21 Harold, Real Recognize Rio, SG Tip and Millie Go Lightly.

See more music below from Marlon Craft, Kipp Stone, Babyface Ray and more.