July: The 20 best rap tracks this month

Words: Dylan Murphy
Design: Jan Walsh

With the fresh avalanche of new music landing every month and new artists popping up, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to cut through the noise. That’s why we curate the best new rap tracks to keep you abreast with the most exciting new artists and biggest anthems from acts pushing the needle.

July has flew in. In between the heat waves and festivals there’s been a boat load of new music all vying for those precious summer playlist spots. This month, ayrtn put a London spin on G-Funk, Meechy Darko entered solo album season and FLOHIO shared a nostalgic introduction to her debut album.

ayrtn – THE GLO

ayrtn isn’t the first act to indulge in chill UK rap, but his ability to incubate a vibe with a sound that stretches around your orbit like a protective force field is absolutely singular. On ‘THE GLO’ he’s enlisted a distinctly funkier touch for a timeless feel.

Lady Ice – Cold Up North

Reppin’ 0161, Lady Ice’s manc accent has her standing out from the crowd on ‘Up North’.

Danger Mouse & Black Thought – Aquamarine Feat. Michael Kiwanuka

Danger Mouse hasn’t released a hip hop full length since 2005’s DANGERDOOM with the late MF DOOM, but so far, it’s looking like it’ll be worth the wait. On August 12, he’s sharing Cheat Codes, a collaborative album with Black Thought and this month, he shared the palette-cleansing ‘Aquamarine’ featuring Mercury Prize winner Michael Kiwanuka.

Flo Milli – No Face

Flo Milli announced her debut album earlier this month with a hypnotic reminder that’s she’s next up.

Maxo Kream – FOOTBALL HEADS Feat. Benny The Butcher

When Maxo Kream gets on a track the world moves at his will. ‘FOOTBALL HEADS’ is the Houston rapper rapping at the pace of a drunk getting in last orders.

DJ Premier – Remy Rap Feat. Remy Ma & Rapsody

In the first of a series of 10 EPs from Mass Appeal To celebrate Hip Hop’s 50th anniversary, they have gathered some of the biggest producers in the game to wholly produce an EP each over a year. First up, DJ Premier took the reins, with the stand out track featuring Remy Ma.

Omerettà The Great – BABA

Rapping over a beat that sounds like a magic 8 ball meets a top 100 producer, Omeretta the Great is conjuring up a spell in ‘BABA’.

Westside Gunn – Derrick Boleman

Westside Gunn has a field day coasting through Madlib’s minimal production in the first of a three track run produced by the legendary beat maker on his new album Peace “Fly” God.

Meechy Darko – Get Lit Or Die Tryin’

It’s solo album season for Flatbush Zombies’ Meechy Darko, who shared the second single from the forthcoming Gothic Luxury this week. ‘Get Lit Or Die Tryin’ marries his signature growl with a dark funk courtesy of Dot Da Genius.

Terry Presume – Loner (See You Next Year)

Terry Presume’s What Box? EP was a taster of one of rap and RnB’s most exciting new shapeshifters. His sweet marriage of singing and rapping on ‘Loner’ is a a sugary reminder of the Nashville-via-Florida artist’s fluidity.

Your Old Droog – The Return of Sasquatch

Your Old Droog has been busy in 2022. Three projects deep already, he’s linked up with Madlib on ‘The Return of Sasquatch’ with hints of more to come from the pair.

Loyle Carner – Hate

It’s been a minute since Loyle Carner has been in a regular release cycle, but he’s returned with a new video and single titled ‘Hate‘ to satisfy listeners who have been waiting since 2020 for new solo material.

Flume – Palaces Feat. Damon Albarn & Zelooperz (Mount Kimbie Die Cuts Remix)

Flume opened his new remix EP with an absolutely mouth-watering lineup. It lives up to the hype too.

Jack Bashful – Joust

Lurgan rapper Jack Bashful takes a leaf from the book of Billy Woods in the dark and twisted ‘Joust’.

YUNGMORPHEUS & THERAVADA – Beneath The Visage

August 12 sees YUNGMORPHEUS & producer THERAVADA team up on Up Against The Wall; A Degree Of Lunacy. Ahead of the album’s release, the pair shared ‘Beneath The Visage’, a smokey rap cut that examines life’s tough lessons.

Joey Bada$$ – Survivor’s Guilt

Described as “the most heartfelt song” he’s ever written, Joey Bada$$ pays homage to his late friend and rapper Capital Steez and his cousin Junior B.

Crowd Control Collective – Verses From The Purses

A crew cut in the truest sense of the word, 8 person alt-rap outfit Crowd Control Collective take an intergalactic journey soundtracked by breaks, soulful switch ups and cut throat lyrics. 

Lil Silva – What If? Feat. Skiifall

Cultural disruptor Skiifall’s speculative patois flow on Lil Silva’s ‘What If?’ arrived ahead of the producer’s forthcoming debut album.

Elzzz & TraviS – Talktye

Gliders duo Elzzz and TraviS have been busy in 2022. This month they shared their first collaborative EP Independent after dropping joint singles like ‘PRICEY’ and solo cuts like ‘NONSTOP’ and ‘Aii’. The three track offering comes in under 10 minutes and ‘Talktye’ showcases a more emotive twist that has previously been masked in previous singles.

FLOHIO – SPF

FLOHIO’s debut album has been a long time coming. She announced Out Of Heart with the release of ‘SPF’ which squeezes every ounce of nostalgia out of Nintendo-adjacent synths and is fresh change of pace to her routinely excellent and more aggressive work.

Catch all the inclusions in our ‘Best New Rap Music’ playlist on Spotify: