Dope Aural: Recent Reverb

Once upon a time, when physical CD’s were actually bought and sold, this would generally be the time of year when record companies began releasing new music leading into the holiday season. Like all other sectors of retail, the music industry understood that consumers would buy CD’s, vinyl and cassette tapes as holiday gifts or impulse items for themselves.

Times have changed; in 2018, we are almost fully immersed in the digital realm of downloading or streaming music. For record companies, overall album sales have been on the decline for years, and with retail giants like Best Buy opting out of carrying CD’s, record companies are taking even more of a hit.

In spite of the decline in music sales, record companies are continuing the tradition of dumping tons of new music prior to the holiday season. I invite you to indulge in these 17 albums and EP’s that have dropped in the run up to Black Friday.

There’s the long-awaited release of Ella Mai’s self-titled album led by the summer single “Trippin” as well as two surprise EP’s from Amerie: 4AM Mulholland and After 4AM. Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen more R&B entries from Mario, H.E.R., Summer Walker and Usher. If you’re into the Atlanta hip-hop sound, then you will want to sit with releases from T.I., Future & Juice WRLD, and two-thirds of the Migos (Quavo and Takeoff). Don’t forget to check out solid releases from Swizz Beatz and The Black Eyes Peas, with a return to their pre-Fergie, hip-hop roots. Just click the album art below to have a listen and possibly find your new fave.