XXL’s Songs of the Week (March 14

It feels like only one thing happened this week, right? The impending physical release of Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly feels like a formality; check Twitter, check Metacritic, check the stereo systems of passing cars. But there were returns from Future, who announced the sequel to one of his most beloved mixtapes, Dirty Sprite, and Earl Sweatshirt, who revealed that he'll be dropping a surprise album, I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside on Monday (March 23). The XXL staff rounded up those songs and more in our weekly best-of feature.

Joey Bada$$, "Perception vs. Reality"

Though Joey Bada$$ was the breakout star of the New York rap collective Pro Era, vaulting himself into the national eye with his revivalist mixtape 1999. Since then, he's become a bankable national star, but he's also pulled his friends along for the ride. Kirk Knight recently embarked on a national tour with Mick Jenkins and Saba, two fellow up-and-comers who put on gripping live shows. On "Perception vs. Reality," Joey and Kirk team up to pretend Baduizm came out this year.

Father, "Back in the A / On Me"

"And I might just do it, 'cause a nigga so petty." Father is one of the most colorful writers in rap today, and his new album, Who's Gonna Get Fucked First? showcases him operating at full throttle. "On Me," the trunk-rattling piece of flex born from a single finger fucking around on the keyboard, is enough to make you send the snarkiest possible text messages to your exes; "Dad in this bitch, so you niggas can't son us" is the best play on one's own name in recent memory. The track is preceded by the foreboding "Back in the A" freestyle.

Fabolous, "Told Y'all (Freestyle)"

Fabulous cut his teeth in the early-2000s New York mixtape scene, when the only way to make it through the long, bitter winters was to give Clue enough heat. On "Told Y'all," his freestyle over Bink's "You, Me, Him and Her" beat from The Dynasty, Fab remembers this fondly: "Back then, my block did numbers like Taylor Swift." "Blank Space" publishing splits or not, his turns of phrase are tight as the Mitchell & Ness he was hawking when he was still running with Joe Budden and the late Stack Bundles. "Brooklyn forever."

Earl Sweatshirt, "Grief"

With both Kendrick Lamar and Action Bronson looming large next week, the filed will be crowded for little old Earl Sweatshirt. But the acid-tongued rapper is trying to shoehorn his way in, announcing his surprise album, the fantastically titled I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside for a March 23 release. Or, rather, his label did: Earl vented on Twitter that Sony had botched the release process. Yet if you listen closely to "Grief," it doesn't sound like he's particularly happy about anything--which is the Earl we all know and love.

Future, "March Madness"

Future's quality control should be nowhere near this high. In the last year, he's released his sophomore major label LP, the dynamic, misunderstood Honest; he's also put out a down-the-codeine-rabbit-hole opus helmed by Metro Boomin (Monster) and a Technicolor dart with Zaytoven (Beast Mode). And life imitates art, presumably, as Future continues to scatter loosies everywhere. "March Madness" is raucous in the way that your last day at the Styrofoam factory before you quit is probably raucous.

Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly

Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly is a sprawling album, already being hailed by critics and fans as a masterpiece not dissimilar to the most inventive neo-soul, half-jazz rap albums of your college radio days. But Kendrick was able to deliver the deliberately inaccessible record in a package that was unavoidable, from a platform so lofty that no one in hip-hop could escape it. As such, the album logged two consecutive days with just under 10 million streams on Spotify, setting a record in the process. If you've yet to hear To Pimp a Butterfly, give it a spin above.

Filed Under: XXL's Songs Of The Week