Rap Release Dates: Raekwon, Tyga, DJ Kay Slay, Ja Rule

by Kathy Iandoli

Raekwon is dropping a new EP (in a roundabout way), while The Roots come "UNDUN" next week and 2012 looks like it'll be starting off right.

If it weren't for a handful of great albums coming in December, skipping to 2012 would be the move. However, that's not the case. December opens with Amy Winehouse's final masterpiecing Lioness: Hidden Treasures. Salaam Remi took a bunch of old Amy tracks, reworked some (adding Nas to "Like Smoke" ) and put together a tight work. Even ?uestlove pops up on the album, so definitely check it out when it drops the first week of December. Speaking of ?uestlove, The Roots come through with their concept album UNDUN. The album is intense, and will surely show a different side of The Legendary.
Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa provide their soundtrack to their film Mac + Devin Go To High School on December 13th, while a week later Jeezy gets it in with TM103 on December 20th along with Common's The Dreamer, The Believer. Jeezy's cut with Jay-Z and Andre3000 titled "I Do" got some heavy spins on DX last week, understandably so. That same day, Tyga drops Careless World: Rise of the Last King, which was supposed to have dropped in November.
Jumping ahead into 2012, Strong Arm Steady, Statik Selektah, and Sha Stimuli are the first January announcements with Statik and SAS collaborating on StereoType January 2nd, and Sha's The Calling on January 12th. Then a week later we finally get that Ja Rule album Pain Is Love 2. Rule's camp let go of the final version of "Real Life Fantasy" this week along with some diary entries. Kid Cudi and Dot Da Genius close out January 2k12 with their W Z R D project. Check out the first leak "Brake."
While there are no set dates in March, that's looking like the month for T.I.'s Trouble Man and Chris Brown's Fortune. Tip dropped "Pyro" recently, around the same time he announced the album title. Last (but most certainly not least), we may see a new Raekwon project very soon. Technically it's not his, however, when the song "Ill Figures Remix" with Kool G Rap and M.O.P. dropped last week Wu fans' ears perked up. Andrew Kelley had a collaborative mixtape with the Chef titled "Dope On the Table" and it never saw the light of day (the aforementioned was a song off it). We learn now that Kelley plans to release it as an EP. A date for that should be coming very soon.
Check HipHopDX's Release Dates page for all your Hip Hop album needs.
November 29Curren$y – Jet Life: Jet World Order
Kid Sister – Kiss & Tell EP
Rashad & Confidence – The Element of Surprise
Trey Songz – Inevitable EP

December 5Amy Winehouse – Lioness: Hidden Treasures

December 6The Roots – UNDUN
Mistah F.A.B. – I Found My Backpack 2: The Lost Notebook
Bow Wow – Underrated
Naughty by Nature – Anthem, Inc.
Kooley High – David Thompson
DJ Envy – Audio Uprising Vol. 1
T-Pain – rEVOLVEr
Robin Thicke – Love After War
Rap-A-Lot Records – 25th Anniversary Collection

December 10Masspike Miles – Say Hello To Forever

December 13Juvenile – Rejuvenation
Snoop Dogg x Wiz Khalifa – Mac + Devin Go To High School
Roc ‘C’ – Stoned Genius
Tonedeff x Kno (Cunninlynguists) – Chico and the Man
yU – The Earn

December 20Common – The Dreamer, The Believer
The Internet (Syd the Kyd of OFWGKTA) – Purple Naked Ladies
Tha Joker – The Phenom
Young Jeezy – Thug Motivation 103
Tyga – Careless World: Rise of the Last King

December 31
Waka Flocka Flame – Triple F: Friends, Fans, & Family
January 2, 2012Strong Arm Steady x Statik Selektah – StereoType
January 12, 2012Sha Stimuli – The Calling

January 17, 2012Ja Rule – Pain Is Love 2
Necro – The Murder Murder Kill Kill EP

January 30, 2012Kid Cudi x Dot Da Genius – W Z R D

February 21, 2012Monica – New Life

March 2012T.I. – Trouble Man
Chris Brown – Fortune