RUFFSTARR.COM » The Source Presents: Week In Review

Chris Kelly’s death cast a somber shadow over the events of this past week, as one of the two men responsible for the platinum single “Jump” left us for new beginnings. While hip-hop mourns the loss of one of its pioneers and margin-pushers, ironically we’re treated to a very rare guest appearance from Erykah Badu and new music from Lauryn Hill, as forced as it may be. In 2013? No way. As Kanye continues to troll us with the possibility of new music being released as soon as June 18th, he slightly overshadows a slew of sure-to-be-great albums coming out between the last month of May and the second week of July. 8 to be exact, including new LPs from Wale, J. Cole, Pusha T, Chris Brown, and then some. Somewhere, Drake is sitting back figuring out when exactly he’s going to go damn near platinum first week, and Jay-Z is prepping what some are calling one of his best albums. With just under 7 months left in the year, it seems almost impossible for all this to happen before 2014, but we’re going with the flow, as hip-hop as a genre usually leaves us no choice. Ray J would like you to know he hit it first, again. Can’t forget that tidbit.

-Khari Nixon (@KingVanGogh)