Pretty awesome rap album over the US-Japanese Wu-axis.
Awich – Okinawan Wuman
DJ Eprom – We Are The Biobots
Massive old school break music. I can’t not see serious break dancing happening to these beats and sound.
Wu-Tang Clan & Mathematics – Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman
This is such a gem of a rap record, it sounds like a real classic. It took me by surprise and I can see this running for my year-end toplists just because of how much I played this within a single week already. Who would have thought Wu-Tang would dominate my scrobbles in 2026.
TOKiMONSTA – Eternal Reverie
Soulful hiphop, lounging r&b, quality chill-out electronics. It’s such an understated and elegant album, so good to listen to. Perfect soundtrack to a day when I’m just going about my things and want something to keep me smoothly sailing along.
This has quickly become one of the soundtracks of this year, and by yet another fantastic female artist; this is a women’s year, no question about that.
Deki Alem – Fluent Stutter
Alt-pop hiphop with occasional drum and bass for beats. Sounds fresh and different.
Joey Valence & Brae – Punk Tactics
It’s so fun. However, I cannot see the sentiment that it’s just too close to those that inspired it. I can’t really tell whether it’s an homage, a parody, or something of its own. Second album doesn’t help there still. Perhaps we’ll see on the third one.
Big Special – Post Industrial Hometown Blues
Spoken word British punk.
DJ Krush – Saisei
Triphop but with a surprising amount of glitch and IDM compared to a regular DJ Krush record. I recently saw him play live, which was a huge demo of his technical skills, and that shows on this album, too. It’s a diverse ride from smooth hiphop flows to strong industrial bangers.
Nightmares On Wax – Shout Out! To Freedom…
Nu jazz sound, chilled, relaxing, smooth. Shape The Future was a huge Nightmares on Wax come-back in my life. This one is not as strong but a fair follow-up.
Machinedrum – Psyconia
Broken beat, drum and bass, hiphop, IDM, the common denominator is smoothness and a light heart. Like if it’s drum and bass then it’s liquid, if it’s hiphop then it’s soulful. These 26 minutes contain a whole summer’s many flavors in six tracks. It’s not a consistent record at all, more like a promo sampler for a festival, but there’s fun in all those tracks.