This week's biggest music news was broken elsewhere on NPR Music — that'd be the release of André 3000's first album in 17 years, New Blue Sun — so be sure to head there for André's long and illuminative interview with our own Rodney Carmichael. But there are other new records worth highlighting this week.
Superstar rappers 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne have worked together on and off since 2007, when Wayne did a feature on Playaz Circle's song "Duffle Bag Boy." They released an album-length collaboration in 2016 called ColleGrove, and now that record has a proper sequel, titled Welcome 2 Collegrove. It finds both stars sounding fully reinvigorated as they play off each other and work with guests such as 21 Savage, Benny the Butcher and Usher.
We've also got the new, special, 10th anniversary "drumless edition" of Daft Punk's 2013 swan song Random Access Memories — complete with a debate about the album's legacy and the drumlessness of it all — as well as a new album-length collaboration between South African experimental jazz musician Thandi Ntuli and L.A. percussionist Carlos Niño. (Niño is all over the André 3000 record, too, so he's having a big week.)
On this week's New Music Friday, WXPN's John Morrison and writer LaTesha Harris join guest host Stephen Thompson.
Featured albums
- 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne, Welcome 2 Collegrove
- Daft Punk, Random Access Memories (Drumless Edition)
- Thandi Ntuli & Carlos Niño, Rainbow Revisited
Lightning round
- Danny Brown, Quaranta
- Dolly Parton, Rockstar
- Blockhead, The Aux
- André 3000, New Blue Sun
Other notable releases
- Ali Sethi & Nicolas Jaar, Intiha
- Ashley Ray, Animal
- Billy Porter, Black Mona Lisa
- Bob Dylan, The Complete Budokan 1978
- Daniel Bachman, When the Roses Come Again
- Emeli Sandé, How Were We to Know
- Juan Wauters, Limbo
- Juliana Hatfield, Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO
- Madness, Theatre of the Absurd Presents C'est La Vie
- Plain White T's, Plain White T's
- The Polyphonic Spree, Salvage Enterprise
- Saunder Jurriaans, Phantom Limb
- Vince Clarke, Songs of Silence