Peace to the entire Hip-Hop Wired nation, massive and crew! We’re back with another update to our CRT FRSH (Certified Fresh) playlist, so let’s get into it.
I want to explain how I approach curating the CRT FRSH playlist. Most importantly, I don’t segregate my Hip-Hop. Every form of music from the main cultural tree deserves a listen and a look. When I construct the playlist, I want to include all regions across the States and, when applicable, across the globe. I also want to entertain every fan of Hip-Hop, not just those who enjoy one segment of it. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get to it. — D.L. Chandler, lead curator for CRT FRSH
We’re at the midway point of May, and right now, the only thing anyone is discussing is Drake disrupting the algorithm by dropping ICEMAN and two surprise albums at once.
So naturally, we began with the ICEMAN opener, “Make Them Cry, a return to rapping Drake for sure. Many folks we’ve spoken to say this is the project’s apex. We follow that with Drizzy’s fellow Canadian, Mike Shabb, and his bouncy “DILLA” track from his Hood Olympics 2 project. Don’t sleep on Mike Shabb.
People seem to have moved on from J. Cole’s The Fall-Off, but the double drop has plenty of bangers, and we included the “Two Six” joint. We reached back to a joint we didn’t get to in 2025 from BIA, “We On Go II” featuring The Scythe members, A$AP Ferg, and Denzel Curry.
Isaiah Rashad’s IT’S BEEN AWFUL has been one of 2026’s top full-length projects, and “SCARED 2 LOOK DOWN” is more of the Tennessee rapper’s straightforward honesty. JPEGMAFIA, the self-proclaimed king of experimental rap, shows up with “War Over Land.”
T.I. might be on his way to retirement, but he’s not going out on his shield as a wounded warrior, and “Mr. Him” is more of the Atlanta spitter’s confident talk. Knowitall, one of our favorite rappers on CRT FRSH, linked up with producer Skip The Kid for their Music Saved Me 3 project, and features another of our favorite lyricists in the great Patty Honcho.
Salute to Vince Staples, Kenny Mason, JID, Thundercat, A$AP Rocky, Don Cannon, The Cool Kids (Sir Michael Rocks, Chuck Inglish), Ludacris, Bun B, Action Bronson, Paul Wall, Lil Yachty, Recoechi, Mike DFG, Saba, Ovkast. (also produced Drake’s “Make Them Pay”), sam e hues, Freddie Gibbs, AZ, Nas, Mike & Keys, Black Milk, See You Next Year, Samara Cyn, Hit-Boy, Blu & Exile, and Black Thought.
Hit us up in two weeks for the update to CRT FRSH! For now, enjoy!
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Photo: Getty
