A Rundown on the Missing Albums of 2015

3.NewMusic Many artists have been promising new music in 2015, but few have actually delivered. We are still patiently waiting for albums from Frank Ocean, Rihanna, Adele and Ed Sheeran among others. Why are these albums still M.I.A. and when can get them?

Adele has been pretty silent since her blockbuster album 21 dropped in 2011. 21 had everyone singing along to her massive hits, “Rolling in the Deep” and “Someone Like You.” The album catapulted her to superstardom, winning the then up-and-coming artist over five Grammy’s. In 2014, she tweeted that her new album would be released later in the year, but obviously that didn’t happen.

https://twitter.com/officialadele/status/463067207384461312

Hopefully something will materialize this fall, as her label promised a November release. All I know about the coming album is that she's working with Danger Mouse, Ryan Tedder and Max Martin.

Ed Sheeran’s new album is entitled 5 and was slated for a May 5th release this past spring, but instead of dropping some new tunes, Ed went back to the drawing board. He vowed to make sure his third album will be filled with great songs, not just good ones. He also admitted he could probably release an album tomorrow and people would still like it, but that’s not his style. There is no word on when the album will drop, but I personally cannot wait.

One of my most highly anticipated albums of this fall is, SWISH by Kanye West. Throughout 2015 Kanye has been dropping singles, including “Only One,” “FourFiveSeconds” and “All Day.” The first two songs feature Sir Paul McCartney and Kanye even obtained Executive Producer credit on the albums. Kanye is a trendsetter and always finds ways to innovate the sound of hip-hop. He's worked with French artist Theophilus London a lot and I expect him to make a big splash on the scene once the album drops. The album will also feature guest appearances by Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift.

Despite delivering several singles, Rihanna’s eagerly awaited eighth album has yet to release. Her singles "FourFiveSeconds" with Kanye and "Bitch Better Have My Money" were commercial successes and only make the wait for her new album more excruciating. As of late, Rihanna revealed the name of her new album—ANTI. The album is slated for a November 6 release, so keep an eye out.

How much longer is Frank Ocean going to keep us waiting? The R&B star blessed us with two magical EP’s in Nostalgia and Ultra in 2010. In 2012 Ocean gave us Channel Orange, but we have not heard much from him since. He promised a July release date—even had his younger brother teasing fans on Instagram with the release. Alas, we’re still waiting for some new Frank Ocean tunes. Besides a few guest appearances on some Jay-Z and Beyonce tracks, Ocean has been MIA.

Island Records plans to release Ocean’s upcoming album titled Boys Don’t Cry. There is no real release date set, but Frank has worked with French producer Sebastian Rumors have it that the album will have a mellow, mesmerizing sound that will surely shake up the R&B genre. Frank, please put us out of our misery and drop the album already.

I heard through the grapevine that D12, Eminem and G-Unit are putting together a mixtape. Now, I know it is not 2003 anymore and the two super groups have lost some sheen, but I don’t think these rap giants are capable of making music we don’t like. The only confirmation I could find other than rumors was this Instagram posted by Bizarre, a member of D12.

https://instagram.com/p/8Mm-hDB4LX/

Lastly, artwork was released for a Kendrick Lamar-J. Cole collaboration album. The two were great friends before they were rap giants. Now that they are at the top of their game, they want to deliver some fire tracks to the world. The only problem is that they both have said that if there is indeed an album, it will drop out of nowhere. The anticipation is killing me. If this album gets released I may have to lock myself in my room and isolate myself from the world as I do nothing but listen for a couple days.

Which mystery album are you most pumped for?

MusicJamie ZaslavComment