Kid Cudi, Westside Gunn, SSGKobe and More – New Hip-Hop Projects This Week

As summer cruises on, hip-hop delivers some more new vibes. This time, a moon man delivers a collection of his greatest hits, a respected spitter who helped put Buffalo, N.Y. on the map drops his first mixtape of the year and one of the rap game's most popular teen rappers releases a new EP, among others.

Before Kid Cudi embarks on his To The Moon World Tour next month—tickets can be bought here—he’s taking fans on a trip down memory lane with his greatest-hits collection, The Boy Who Flew to the Moon, Vol. 1. The compilation includes eight tracks from his prior albums, beginning with his 2009 debut LP, Man on the Moon: The End of Day, and concluding with three songs from 2020’s Man on the Moon III: The Chosen. The lone loose song on the LP is a bonus track called "Love."

Leading up to the release, Cudder made a surprise announcement on Monday (July 5) via Twitter that he would be dropping a greatest-hits LP. The Cleveland rapper posted the black-and-white cover art featuring himself rocking The North Face x Gucci overalls, a flannel shirt, sneakers and sunglasses. In the caption, Cudi simply wrote, "7/8." The next day he followed with a tweet of the LP’s tracklist along with a peace sign, heart and rocket ship emojis.

In another tweet, Kid Cudi added that Vol. 2 will drop before year's end with more bonus tracks. "Vol 2 Best of comin end of the year. Ima try and add some more Bonus Sauce for u," he wrote.

Although Westside Gunn is gearing up for his upcoming Michelle Records project, the Griselda cofounder still found the time to hit fans with his new mixtape, Peace Fly God. Boasting that the tape was cooked up within 48 hours, Peace Fly God features guest appearances from Stove God Cooks and Estee Nack. Beats on the 10-track project are produced by Madlib, Daringer, Conductor Williams and Don Carrera. That combination of rhymers and beatmakers sees Peace Fly God offering up the same gritty street music the entire Griselda crew is often revered for.

After teasing the mixtape in June, Gunn announced the project's official release date on social media less than a week ago. On Sunday (July 3), the Buffalo, N.Y. native hit up Instagram to let his 584,000 followers know that Peace Fly God wasn't fully mixed or mastered before it dropped and he likes it that way. Rocking both Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga in the photo, Flygod used the flick's caption to make the announcement.

"I'm back in the state and the homies pulled right up on me, now the tape is complete," wrote Westside Gunn. "IDGAF about the mix or the master. I wanna keep that shit grimey AF, so I'm dropping this on Friday. Fuck it. This not the album, this a art piece before Michelle Records, and ain't shit fuckin' wit it. Made in 48 hours."

While fans of SSGKobe eagerly await his debut album, U4EYA, the 18-year-old Louisiana rhymer releases his new EP, Relapsed. His loyal following can expect the melody-driven, Auto-Tune-accented vocals that he's become synonymous with. He showcases a harder delivery on "(N) INE" while "Hershey" finds Kobe looking for his purpose in a lighter air. The six-song offering features the previously released lead single, "Getcha," produced by the trio of Zetra, Nami and Wasa.

Last month, SSGKobe began promoting the EP through cryptic yet visually striking social media posts with no official date. Then, on June 28, Kobe unveiled the project's official cover art, tracklist and release date in a tweet that has since racked up over 1,200 likes.

Check out more projects from Ken Car$on, KOTA The Friend, Ransom and more below.