Stream The Weeknd’s Hurry Up Tomorrow and more albums for New Music Friday

The final album of The Weeknd’s After Hours trilogy has landed with a seductive, pop-trap-filled boom. Because the most immediately noticeable quality of Hurry Up Tomorrow is that it’s long — nearly the length of a feature film. But considering it just might be the last time we hear from The Weeknd (not Abel) before retirement, the lengthiness feels warranted. Zoomed out, its 22 songs feel like a supercut of his best eras: the breathy R&B of House of Balloons, sleek pop of Starboy, and dark euphoria of After Hours. Guests from throughout his career also appear to send The Weeknd off from Travis Scott and Future to a warbling Lana Del Rey on “The Abyss.” Lyrically, The Weeknd is on his farewell tour, tying up his loose ends and singing about getting ready for “the forever night.” Thankfully, The Weeknd has made it a smooth and seamless one. —Steffanee Wang

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The first time I listen to any new MIKE album, there’s always a moment when I think, “Huh, this sounds a lot like the last MIKE album.” Showbiz! — the New York-based rapper-producer’s newest loose, dreamy, 24-track opus — follows Burning Desire, the loose, dreamy, 24-track opus he released in late 2023. On first rotation, the new album feels like an extension of Burning Desire, with the freewheeling spring 2024 Tony Seltzer collab Pinball serving as a breezy 20-minute interlude between the two projects. But repeat spins uncover many subtle shifts: in sample selection, chopping style, and lyrical themes, focusing on an area he’s never lingered on till now: the day-to-day life of a working artist. — Raphael Helfand. Read the full review here.

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Ten years ago it would have seemed far-fetched that an artist like Burna Boy would sell out Madison Square Garden, or that a musician like Tems would have a diamond record. These accomplishments are testaments to how Lagos has changed the face of global pop music, reshaping the charts with its sounds. I am the Blueprint, the debut album from the 19-year-old Qing Magi, is a strong project with its foundation in Lagos's alté scene — fans on Tems' Born In The Wild will find a lot to love in Madi's commanding vocal presence, which curls its way around the production, steered by Afrobeats, R&B, and hip-hop. But Madi is more concerned with making straight bangers with specific vibes: swooning without reservations ("Akanchawa," "Goosebumps," "Ali Bomaye") and cursing love's powers ("It's A Game," "Damn It All") being the dominant themes. While it may not exactly live up to its lofty title, I am the Blueprint is a sumptuous example of alté's power, more than enough to stand out in today's pop climate. — Jordan Darville

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Eddie Chacon has spent the 2020s crafting sophisticated and introspective music with a quasi-spiritual bent, a world away from the carefree radio station favorites as part of Charles & Eddie in the early ’90s. His latest album, Lay Low, is another excellent addition to an ever-growing catalog. Produced by Nick Hakim (who also appears on the stunning "Birds"), Lay Low finds Chacon lacing his bittersweet soul with recollections of the grief he went through following the passing of his mother. "Good Sun", a minimal and pained howl, addresses that seismic event most explicitly, with Chacon repeating the refrain "I just miss you home." Loss and missed opportunity crops up again on "Empire," which features an appearance from Chacon's regular collaborator, John Carroll Kirby. "Let The Devil In," meanwhile, zooms out of the personal and gives Chacon space to share his fears about a global shortage of empathy over a grinding synth loop. Stitched together, these songs offer a portrait of a changing world and the battle to stay hopeful. — David Renshaw

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The title of Leaving Home, FearDorian’s second solo full-length, is literal. In the seven months since they turned 18 and graduated high school last June, the Atlanta rapper-producer has embarked on their first international tour and moved out of their mom’s house for the first time. The feeling of independence is a constant presence on the album. Mostly, it comes through as excitement: On “Aspen,” they manifest a trip to the lavish resort town; On “Las Vegas,” trading verses with their best friend quinn over a Cocteau Twins flip that shouldn’t work but absolutely does, they imagine themselves in another flashy location they haven’t visited yet but surely will. Dorian is turning more and more underground hip-hop heads — and, increasingly, for more than just their production skills — and Leaving Home’s featured guests are not just frequent collaborators like quinn and POLO PERKS <3 <3 <3, but exciting artists from outside their orbit too. Being on one’s own without a safety net isn’t all fun, though, and Dorian is very aware of how tenuous success is. “It’s real life, it’s not the comments,” they rap in the first verse of the record’s opening track, “In Turn,” acknowledging the seriousness of their new situation and that nothing can be taken for granted. — Raphael Helfand

Hear it: Spotify | Apple Music