New Music Friday: Alex Isley, Mike WiLL Made-It, Coco Jones, 6LACK, Tank & The Bangas Bring the Heat for The First Day of Spring | News

Spring has officially arrived, and so has one of the most stacked New Music Fridays of the year. From a long-awaited major-label debut rooted in L.A. soul to a producer album that reads like an Atlanta hip-hop family reunion, this week’s releases are serving range, depth, and plenty of replay value. Here’s everything worth adding to your rotation.

This is the one. Alex Isley‘s major-label debut on Free Lunch/Warner Records has been building momentum since her WHEN EP last year, and the full 15-track album is a lush, unhurried love letter to Los Angeles. Isley has described it as her most personal work yet, blending R&B and jazz into something that feels like a late-night drive down Crenshaw with the windows cracked. The tracklist features collaborations with James Fauntleroy on the title track and Syd on “PCH,” plus D’Mile-produced standout “Sweetest Lullabye,” a gorgeous farewell ballad that showcases the kind of vocal restraint most singers can only dream of.

The Grammy-nominated singer, who carries the Isley Brothers legacy in her DNA while carving out a sound entirely her own, also announced a North American tour kicking off May 26 in Atlanta and hitting 14 cities through late June. She was nominated for Outstanding Female Artist at this year’s NAACP Image Awards alongside Teyana Taylor and SZA, and if you’ve been sleeping, consider this album your alarm clock.

NPR named When The City Sleeps one of the week’s best albums in their New Music Friday roundup. It deserves every bit of that shine.

Mike WiLL Made-It is back with his first solo album in nearly a decade, and R3SET is a full-scale Atlanta homecoming. The 15-track project reads like a cross-generational summit: 21 Savage opens things up on “ATL (APPR3CIAT3 TH3 LOV3),” Young Thug sounds noticeably reinvigorated on “RUSSIAN ROULETT3,” and the trio of Killer Mike, T.I., and Young Dro link up on “MON3Y TALK$.” CeeLo Green brings soulful depth on “ALL I KNOW,” and J. Cole shows up on “OFG!” with the kind of sharp, stripped-back delivery that suits the skeletal production perfectly.

But what makes R3SET live up to its name is how Mike WiLL weaves newer voices into the mix. Monaleo connects with Travis Porter on “STANDING O,” KARRAHBOOO and Anycia join Mississippi vet J Money on “MY WAY,” and Chief Keef and YoungBoy Never Broke Again collide on “ROOMS.” In an AP interview, Mike WiLL spoke about losing everything on stolen hard drives and spending the years since rebuilding, both his vault and his creative identity. This album sounds like a man who used the setback as a setup.

6LACK is in his feelings, and we’re here for it. “Bird Flu” is the lead single from his upcoming album Love Is The New Gangsta, due May 22 via LVRN/Interscope. The track finds the five-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter reflecting on relationship struggles with the kind of quiet vulnerability he’s made his signature. The accompanying music video sets a cinematic tone for what he’s describing as a project about growth, fatherhood, healing, and the idea that compassion is the real power move. After years of reflection and transformation, this feels like 6LACK at his most emotionally transparent.

Fresh off performing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” at the 2026 Super Bowl and riding the momentum of her sophomore album Why Not More?, the Grammy winner is stepping into a brand-new era with “LUVAGIRL.” The single blends theatrical soul with a warm, bold love story, and it highlights the vocal range that’s made Coco one of the most undeniable voices in R&B right now. She’s been teasing the track for weeks, and the full release delivers on every bit of the hype.

Lizzo is confronting her past self, literally. Her new single “Don’t Make Me Love U,” produced by longtime collaborator Ricky Reed and Cheche Alara, is a synth-driven power ballad that draws from ’80s rock energy and channels it into a raw meditation on public perception and loyalty. The music video, directed by Tanner K. Williams, puts Lizzo face-to-face with her Cuz I Love You-era self in a surreal, emotionally charged visual. She told Billboard the song is about the toxicity of being built up and discarded by the same people. Her fifth studio album, Love in Real Life, has been announced but doesn’t have a release date yet. Outside of music, she’s set to portray gospel pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe in an upcoming biopic alongside Forest Whitaker.

If you haven’t been paying attention to Samara Cyn, now is the time. The Tennessee-born, L.A.-based rapper and singer dropped her seven-track EP Detour today via Vanta/Disney, and it’s a project that blends dark, introspective hip-hop with boom bap rhythms and neo-soul textures. A 2025 XXL Freshman and Daily Show alum who’s earned co-signs from Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill, Samara is pushing into increasingly experimental territory while staying rooted in something deeply personal. The lead single “oooshxt!” set the tone with distorted production and an unfiltered energy, and the full EP expands on that vision with a focus on freedom, disconnection from digital noise, and vulnerability.

The British-Nigerian singer-songwriter is continuing the rollout for her sophomore album THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE. (due March 27) with her most ambitious single yet. “Click Clack Symphony” is a collaboration with legendary composer Hans Zimmer, and it’s every bit as dramatic as that billing suggests. The track builds from a fast-paced spoken intro into a cathartic, orchestral chorus, tackling themes of survival, friendship, and the struggle to just get out of the house when the world feels heavy. Coming off the massive success of “Where Is My Husband!” and a BRIT Award-winning 2025, RAYE is making a strong case for most ambitious pop-soul artist of the moment.

New Orleans’ most genre-defiant band is gearing up for the final chapter of their balloon trilogy, and “Move” is the first taste of what’s coming. The single, featuring Lucky Daye, is a groove-heavy, rhythm-first track that does exactly what the title promises. It arrives ahead of The Last Balloon, due May 15, which completes the arc that started with Red Balloon and Green Balloon. The album is executive-produced by Austin Brown and features a lineup that includes Dawn Richard, Ledisi, and Jelly Joseph. Coming off their first Grammy win for Best Spoken Word Album at the 2025 ceremony, frontwoman Tarriona “Tank” Ball and the band sound like they’re leaning all the way into joyful, danceable, communal energy. Tank has described the album as intentionally built for the live experience, full of gang vocals, handclaps, and call-and-response moments designed to pull a crowd in. If “Move” is any indication, The Last Balloon is going to be a celebration.

The rest of this week’s singles slate is deep. Here are the highlights worth your time:

Durand Bernarr & James Fauntleroy, “Wild Ride” brings together two of R&B’s most gifted vocalists for a collaboration that’s been a long time coming.

Yaya Bey, “Egyptian Musk” (feat. NESTA) continues the Queens-born artist’s run of genre-blurring R&B that pulls from hip-hop, jazz, soul, and soca in equal measure.

Jorja Smith, “Price of It All” is the latest from the British soul singer, whose knack for understated emotional depth keeps her among the most consistent voices in the game.