As we officially say “au revoir” to the mess of a year 2020 was, we can now hopefully look towards a brighter and more optimistic 2021 (although we already tread that line lightly). Music is one of the most convenient ways to encapsulate and summarize the year when other means may be difficult to do so. With music artists bounded in quarantine and no other choice but to make music, the year 2020 was definitely 12 months full of surprise releases and unplanned projects.
Just to give a brief synopsis, there was the massive hit “WAP” from Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, Mac Miller’s posthumous record Circles, Taylor Swift’s surprise albums folklore and evermore, Chloe x Halle’s perfect Ungodly Hour, just to name a few.
But now that 2021 is finally upon us, music fans may be wondering what kind of new music this year entails. Will we be getting the residual art that was meant to be released last year or will be hearing entirely new music to celebrate the turning of a new leaf? Here is a list of some of the albums to hopefully expect in 2021.
SZA
It is unfathomable to think that SZA’s album Ctrl came out in 2017 and still holds up to be a perfect project. Despite the lack of releases, SZA continues to be an artist fans salivate over and wait in anticipation for her new music.
The idea of a new SZA album seems to be more realistic than ever before with her latest singles “Hit Different” with Ty Dolla $ign and “Good Days.” Both songs follow the smooth, contemporary R&B production that hooks any listener to a SZA song, and has heartbreaking lyrics attached. It is only a matter of time until the entire album drops, and most of her fans are hoping it is sooner rather than later.
Frank Ocean
Frank Ocean is an enigma in the world of music. Similar to the strategies of entertainers such as Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, and even Beyonce, there’s an added mystique to Frank’s appeal as he is an artist that tends to hide from the world while working on his next culturally impactful music — taking as long as he needs to perfect his project before leaving the scene again once the music is finally out.
Some speculated that 2020 was shaping up to be a year where Frank might actually drop an album following his beloved Blonde. Of course, the anticipation of another album was incited by the momentum of all the press and adulation he received surrounding the announcement that he was slated to headline at the Coachella Music Festival and the onslaught of releases that included “Cayendo” and “Dear April.” But, then the pandemic hit. Now, it is uncertain whether or not Frank will actually release a project in 2021, but it is guaranteed that he is sitting on a goldmine of tracks that we are desperately waiting to hear.
Rihanna
Just in case you forgot, Rihanna used to make music before she began focusing solely on building her Fenty empire via lifestyle brands in the makeup and lingerie sectors. Rihanna, herself, has teased countless times that she has been working on a new album, but similar to her counterparts Frank and SZA, she is taking her sweet time. Her last full-length project, Anti, was released back in 2016, so Rihanna is definitely due for some new tunes soon.
Childish Gambino
Apparently, Childish Gambino’s 2020 release, 3.15.20, was not his final album as many fans believed it to be. On his “This Is America” tour, Gambino stated that this would be his last tour and the next album would be his final one. However, in a tweet back in November, Donald Glover raised eyebrows when he said, “Last project was probably my best. But, the one coming will be my biggest so far.”
Whether or not this means another release is happening soon, who’s to say? But with new music, the highly-anticipated new seasons of Atlanta, and hopefully the revival of his role as Lando in a new Disney+ series, fans will be eating good.
Tierra Whack
Tierra Whack is hands down one of the most eclectic and unique rappers in the game right now. If you pin her toe-to-toe with any of your current favorite rappers, it’s almost guaranteed that she could rap circles around any of them with absolute ease. With that being said, if there isn’t one on the way, a new full-length project from Whack is desperately needed.
Her first project, Whack World was a fun and colorful project that played with the concept of one-minute length songs to form a collection of vignettes — a concept that is now becoming part of an industry standard as a way to keep up short attention spans. As of late, Whack has been releasing plenty of singles such as “feel good” and “Peppers and Onions,” but nothing has been concretely said to be connected to any larger body of work quite yet. Regardless, anything that Whack puts out will be turning heads and blowing minds.
What did you think about this list? Who are some artists you need a new album from in 2021? Let us know @themouthsoap!
