The summer is right around the corner, so don't forget our new Fire Emoji playlist update to catch you up with the best hip-hop releases of the week before June rolls around. One album we'll surely be playing all season is the new Vince Staples album Dark Times, on which "Étouffée" is an easy and bouncy highlight amid a lot of lyrical depth and blunt storytelling. Speaking of projects, Sexyy Red also came through with a collection of tracks, In Sexyy We Trust, and you've probably already heard of the "BBL Drizzy"-assisted cut "U My Everything" with Drake. Lastly on the LP side of things, "Ice Storm" featuring Smino is definitely a highlight on the new Sango album, North Vol. 2.
Elsewhere on Fire Emoji, we have some killer singles to go over, whether it's from rising stars or established commercial titans. For a mix of the two, we'd look no further this week than "Grippy," the new Cash Cobain cut with a solid albeit divisive J. Cole feature. On the other hand, Quavo came through with another 2024 cut with "Clear The Smoke," which is as confident and boisterous as the title suggests. Along a similar vein, YG's newest single "Weird" sees him rapping with a lot of assurance and charisma about the weirdness of the rap game.
HNHH Fire Emoji Playlist: Stream
Rolling further along, we have yet another Cash Cobain appearance on Fire Emoji this week thanks to his feature alongside Charlie Wilson on Don Toliver's "Attitude." It follows a similar drill and Jersey-influenced woozy sonic pallet that Cobain's been so consistent and prolific with over the past couple of years. But this new playlist update also leaves room for family matters (no, not that one... that was a few weeks ago), such as Big Hit, Hit-Boy, The Alchemist and Hitgirl LENA's "Gank Move." It's a nice contrast between gritty drum timbres and watery backing chords, and is likely one of the week's best lyrical offerings.
Meanwhile, we're rounding this update out with Central Cee's "BAND4BAND" featuring Lil Baby, yet another U.K./U.S. crossover from Cench this year. Finally, Key Glock sounds as tough and unwaveringly cool as ever on his new track, "Q-Dogz." Let us know what your favorite Fire Emoji pick was this week, as well as what else we missed, down in the comments below. Check out the playlist above and, as always, come back to HNHH for more great music drops around the clock.