Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
This week, 21 Savage crashes the year-end party, Fred Again.. continues evolving, and OneRepublic soundtracks one of next year’s big gaming releases. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
21 Savage, What Happened to the Streets?
In the final days of December 2018, 21 Savage dropped his towering album i am > i was, causing hip-hop fans to quickly reorder their year-end lists; What Happened to the Streets?, the rap star’s fourth solo studio album, has a similar effect, as a project full of blockbuster braggadocio (Latto and Drake are present for back-to-back haymakers in the middle of the track list) as well as powerful reflections (“I Wish,” a flip of the R. Kelly hit of the same name, ends the album with a tribute to a generation of gone-too-soon rappers).
Fred Again.., USB
While USB is not to be taken as a traditional album from megawatt producer Fred Again.. — a press release describes the project as “infinite” and “ever-evolving” — this current collection of singles, remixes and sonic explorations stumbles into a sense of cohesion, demonstrating the breadth of his dance curiosities as he ropes voices ranging from Future to Floating Points to Amyl and the Sniffers into his world.
OneRepublic, “Give Me Something”
The highly anticipated video game Arknights: Endfield finally arrives next month, and while OneRepublic’s new single “Give Me Something” is positioned as its exclusive theme, the slick, slightly funky track also works as a sturdy new entry into Ryan Tedder’s current winning streak — after assisting on tracks by Tate McRae, LISA and Renee Rapp over the past year, the multi-hyphenate is still scoring with his own band.
Becky G, “Hablamos Mañana”
“Hablamos Mañana” is the stuff of legend for Becky G diehards, a live favorite that was passed around in teaser form for years without receiving a proper studio release. Now, “Hablamos Mañana” has arrived in full, its beguiling melodies and steady thump justifying the long-burning passion from supporters — and Becky, who’s been on a nice run recently, approaches the track with boundless confidence.
Pooh Shiesty, “FDO”
After “Back in Blood” established Pooh Shiesty as a bright new star in hip-hop, the Memphis rapper’s legal issues halted his momentum, and led to a three-year federal prison stint. “FDO” (“First Day Out”) is a bruising attempt at reclaiming an upward trajectory, built around a haunting piano line and a stream-of-consciousness flow; at over five minutes, “FDO” suggests that Shiesty has a lot more to say now that he’s home.
Editor’s Pick: Whitney Whitney, “Isabelle”
Even if you’re in the throes of holiday music right now and reliving your Spotify Wrapped, Whitney Whitney’s new single “Isabelle” demands to be heard before the end of the year: an ode to hating your friend’s girlfriend, the track contains a storytelling panache and vocal yearning that will delight fans of Lana Del Rey and Chappell Roan, and immediately pegs Whitney Whitney as one to watch for 2026.
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