June will be a big month for Hip-Hop & RnB. Here are 5 album releases we’ll be keeping our eyes and ears on.

By Haikal Abu Bakar

Kanye West: Yeezus
Scheduled Release: 18 June

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Not one to shy away from controversy, Kanye West‘s 6th studio album is titled Yeezus. The tracklist which was leaked on iTunes, only to be taken down soon enough, revealed the album to have 13 tracks and a release date set for June 18th. We don’t know what to make up of the leaked info as it seems to contradict a few things we knew (or were made to believe) about Yeezus:

1. No mention of appearances from 2 Chainz, Azealia Banks, Skrillex or Daft Punk despite heavy rumours of their collaboration
2. No “I Am A God” track – did he decide to shorten it to just “God”?

Can Yeezus live up to the “most anticipated album of 2013” hype? Oh well. The truth is: for each person that wonders what happened to Kanye’s music since the days of his debut album The College Dropout, there will be someone more concerned about those all-red Air Yeezy 2s he debuted on SNL (see video below).

Rumoured Tracklist:
1. Awake With The Dark
2. New Slaves (Feat. Frank Ocean)
3. Lightning
4. Onsite (Feat. Travi$ Scott)
5. God (Interlude)
6. Chained (Feat. Jay Electronica, James Blake & Lonne Chia)
7. Perfect
8. Boxed Out (Feat. Chief Keef, RZA & Ma$e)
9. Black Skinhead
10. The Follower
11. Hyper Critical (Feat. Tyler, The Creator)
12. In The Heavens (Feat. John Legend)
13. Demon

Mac Miller: Watching Movies With The Sound Off
Scheduled Release: 18 June

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The tracklist for Mac Miller’s upcoming sophomore album, Watching Movies With The Sound Off, looks set to feature some of Hip-Hop’s most charismatic emcees including Action Bronson, Odd Future’s Tyler, The Creator and Earl Sweatshirt. In a recent interview with DJ Skee, the 21-year old rapper revealed he was a little nervous about releasing his album on the same day Kanye’s Yeezus drops. Going by track record, the young West Coast emcee doesn’t have much to worry about – his debut album, Blue Slide Park, came out tops on the Billboard 200 with 145,000 copies sold in its first week.

1. The Star Room
2. Avian
3. I’m Not Real (Feat. Vinny Radio & Earl Sweatshirt)
4. S.D.S.
5. Bird Call
6. Matches (Feat. Ab-Soul)
7. I Am Who Am (Killin’ Time) (Feat. Randa)
8. Objects In the Mirror
9. Red Dot Music (Feat. Action Bronson)
10. Gees (Feat. ScHoolboy Q)
11. Watching Movies
12. Suplexes Inside of Complexes and Duplexes (Feat. Jay Electronica)
13. Remember
14. Someone Like You
15. Aquarium
16. Youforia
17. Goosebumpz
18. O.K. (Feat. Tyler, The Creator)
19. Claymation

J Cole: Born Sinner
Scheduled Release: 18 June

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Although the full tracklist has yet to be revealed, J.Cole has confirmed that his sophomore album, Born Sinner will feature veteran RnB group, TLC, which has laid low since Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes’ death in 2002. Earlier this week, the rapper announced that he would be moving the release date of Born Sinner to June 18th to compete with Kanye’s Yeezus, which drops on the same day. Leading up to the release, Cole will be dropping weekly stories on bornsinner.com, giving his fans a glimpse at the people who have influenced him.

Wale: The Gifted
Scheduled Release: 25 June

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Wale’s full tracklist from his 3rd LP, The Gifted, was released a couple of days ago and looks set to feature Hip-Hop & RnB stars like Wiz Khalifa, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and 2 Chainz. Surprisingly though, the album will not be featuring heavyweights from the Maybach Music Group (MMG) – not even the MMG honcho, Rick Ross. It’ll be interesting to see how Wale holds it up on his own.

1. The Curse of the Gifted
2. LoveHate Thing (feat. Sam Dew)
3. Sunshine
4. Heavin In the Afternoon (feat. Meek Mill)
5. Golden Salvation (Jesus Piece)
6. Vanity
7. Gullible
8. Bricks
9. Clappers (feat. Nicki Minaj & Juicy J)
10. Bad (Remix feat. Rihanna)
11. Tired of Dreaming
12. Rotation (feat. Wiz Khalifa & 2 Chainz)
13. Simple Man
14. 88
15. Black Heroes
16. Bad (feat. Tiara Thomas)

John Legend: Love In The Future
Scheduled Release: 25 June

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Scanty details on the album cover and tracklist have been revealed but the RnB singer has confirmed that the producers of his fourth solo album will include long-time collaborators Kanye West and Dave Tozer – both worked on Legend’s first two albums. Legend also revealed that the title of the album, Love In The Future, is dedicated to his soon-to-be wife and Sports Illustrated model, Chrissy Teigen. And that is how you win a girl’s heart.