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New Music Friday: Our Top 8 Albums For July 12

Mississippi rapper Big K.R.I.T. His latest project <em>K.R.I.T. IZ HERE </em>is on our shortlist of the best albums out on July 12.
Courtesy of the artist
Mississippi rapper Big K.R.I.T. His latest project K.R.I.T. IZ HERE is on our shortlist of the best albums out on July 12.

It's been eight years since Ed Sheeran released his 2011, career-launching EP, No. 5 Collaborations Project. Now his No. 6 Collaborations Project has arrived and it's a features-heavy flex that shows the singer can pretty much work with anyone, from the country rock of Chris Stapleton to Eminem, 50 Cent and Skrillex. We give a listen on this week's New Music Friday along with K.R.I.T. IZ HERE, Mississippi rapper Big K.R.I.T.'s followup to his 2010 mixtape K.R.I.T. WUZ HERE, Blood Orange's heavenly Angel's Pulse the return of Imperial Teen, K.Flay's middle finger to sadness and more. NPR Music's Sidney Madden, Ann Powers, and Stephen Thompson join host Robin Hilton to share their picks for the best albums out on July 12.

Featured Albums:

  • Imperial Teen: Now We Are Timeless
    Featured Song: "Ha"
  • Mal Blum: Pity Boy
    Featured Song: "Not My Job"
  • Africa Express: EGOLI
    Featured Song: "Taranau"
  • Big K.R.I.T.: K.R.I.T. IZ HERE
    Featured Song: "Prove It" (feat. J. Cole)
  • Ed Sheeran: No. 6 Collaborations Project
    Featured Songs: "Blow" and "Beautiful People"
  • Blood Orange: Angel's Pulse
    Featured Song: "Happiness"
  • Various: Tiny Changes: A Celebration of the Midnight Organ Fight
    Featured Song: "Who'd You Kill Now?"
  • K.Flay: Solutions
    Featured Song: "This Baby Don't Cry"
  • Other notable releases for July 12: Bleached - Don't You Think You've Had Enough?; The Dolly Rots - Daydream Explosion; Félicia Atkinson - The Flower and the Vessel (released 7/5); Jesca Hoop - Stone Child (released 7/5); Kyle Craft - Showboat Honey; METZ - Automat; Sigur Rós - Ágætis byrjun: A Good Beginning; Tycho - Weather.

    Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    Stephen Thompson is a host, writer and reviewer for NPR Music and Pop Culture Happy Hour. He appears frequently on All Songs Considered and NPR newsmagazines.
    Robin Hilton is a host and senior producer for the All Songs Considered podcast and Tiny Desk, a series he helped create -- and named -- in 2008.
    Ann Powers is NPR Music's critic and correspondent.
    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.
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