new hip hop releases to look forward to

new blackalicious album is imminent if im not mistaken

Eminem, which is supposedly going to be unprecedented and amazing and whatnot. El-P will try to continue the CanOx burn. The Roots (and Black Thought's "Masterpiece Theater"), Common, Rakim (on Aftermath?..... also Cex's next album is going to be decidedly hip hop with him rapping all over it. Oh yeah, and Mystik Journeymen put something new out if you're into that sort of thing.

Cex's next, Tall Dark & Handcuffed, is going to murrrdurrr. seriously.

DJ Shadow. Not counting UNKLE, the Brainfreeze releases and a production job here and there his upcoming album is going to be the first DJ Shadow release in SIX YEARS.

The Private Press is great...waiting for roots - black thought - dead prez

EL-P - "fantastic damage." already floating around as mp3s, it's fucking great.

Talib Kweli's new one 'Quality' in a few months, which I am extremely excited about. Maybe Mos Def will finally come out with his Black Jack Johnson album sometime.

What, no Ma$e sightings yet??

Listen out for BoomBip's latest album on Lex, I haven't stopped playing it for days (all the way through! as well) The whole album works off the relationship between electronic and acoustic, but managing to carry 'all too rare' emotional content, somewhat like Herbert.
The forthcoming EP, with DOSE-ONE, 'Mannequin Hand Trapdoor Reminder' sounds somewhere between Sun-Ra, Supertramp and Radiohead. This is not something I'd expect to have enjoyed. And the flip-side is staggering orchestral hip hop seeing an exceptional combination of cross-fader and digital sequencing, that like Prefuse73 is finding a new course for turntable skills. This'll be out soon, and the album's out in the summer.