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National

New Music Friday: Our Top 7 Albums For June 21

By Robin Hilton,  Sidney Madden,  Stephen Thompson
Published June 21, 2019 at 2:00 AM PDT
Lil Nas X. His debut EP <em>7 </em>is on our shortlist for the best releases out on June 21.
Tanima Mehrotra
/
Courtesy of the artist
Lil Nas X. His debut EP 7 is on our shortlist for the best releases out on June 21.

The 20-year old Atlanta rapper Lil Nas X has been riding a major hype wave since his self-released single "Old Town Road" blew up the Internet and multiple music charts. (It's in its eleventh week on top of Billboard's Hot 100). Now he's on Columbia Records and his debut EP has finally dropped. Is he a one-hit wonder or does he have more surprises for his fans? On this week's New Music Friday, we dig into Lil Nas X's 7, as well as a posthumous collection of previously unreleased Prince tracks, a features-heavy solo album from producer, DJ and hit-maker Mark Ronson, the first new album in more than a decade from The Raconteurs and more. Host Robin Hilton is joined by NPR Music's Sidney Madden and Stephen Thompson as they share their picks for the week's best new releases.

Featured Albums:

  • Black Pumas: Black Pumas
    Featured Song: "Black Moon Rising"

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  • Bedouine: Bird Songs of a Killjoy
    Featured Song: "Sunshine Sometimes"

  • The Raconteurs: Help Us Stranger
    Featured Song: "Don't Bother Me"

  • Prince: Originals
    Featured Song: "The Glamorous Life"

  • Hatchie: Keepsake
    Featured Song: "Unwanted Guest"

  • Mark Ronson: Late Night Feelings
    Featured Song: "Truth"

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  • Lil Nas X: 7
    Featured Songs: "Rodeo," "F9mily (You & Me)" and "Bring U Down"

    • Other notable releases for June 21: Blick Bassy: 1958; Black Midi: Schlagenheim; Cassius: Dreems; Black Midi: Schlagenheim; Buddy and Judy Miller: Breakdown on 20th Avenue South; Fruit Bats: Gold Past Life; Gucci Mane: Delusions of Grandeur; Hot Chip: A Bath Full of Ecstasy; Mannequin Pussy: Patience; Pell: Gravity; Titus Andronicus: An Obelisk; Willie Nelson: Ride Me Back Home.

    Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    National
    Robin Hilton
    Robin Hilton is a producer and co-host of the popular NPR Music show All Songs Considered.
    Sidney Madden
    Sidney Madden is a reporter and editor for NPR Music. As someone who always gravitated towards the artforms of music, prose and dance to communicate, Madden entered the world of music journalism as a means to authentically marry her passions and platform marginalized voices who do the same.
    Stephen Thompson
    Stephen Thompson is a writer, editor and reviewer for NPR Music, where he speaks into any microphone that will have him and appears as a frequent panelist on All Songs Considered. Since 2010, Thompson has been a fixture on the NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created and developed with NPR correspondent Linda Holmes. In 2008, he and Bob Boilen created the NPR Music video series Tiny Desk Concerts, in which musicians perform at Boilen's desk. (To be more specific, Thompson had the idea, which took seconds, while Boilen created the series, which took years. Thompson will insist upon equal billing until the day he dies.)
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