We wrap musical genres around us as personal identifiers, like the plastic bracelets folded around newborns’ wrists. Their grooves become as familiar to us as our own heartbeat. So, to some steeped in the revolutionary associations of Jamaican music, hearing the one drop riddim blast out of regular old pop radio on a song like Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” meant betrayal; dancehall had been hijacked and given a bizarre transplant in order to sound like some new entity called “tropical house.”

On the heels of the success of the blockbuster reggae album, Tropical House Cruises to Jamaica, The Contractor Music Group and Amada Records has released the follow up album Hip Hop Cruises to Jamaica. The maiden project Tropical House Cruises to Jamaica did 19 weeks this year on the Billboard reggae album charts and spent 4 weeks at number 1. The album featured Ed Sheeran, Wyclef Jean, Damian and Stephen Marley, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Chronixx, Sean Kingston, Safaree and several other reggae stalwarts.

The new hip hop project was released on November 17th and boasts another stellar lineup which include Jadakiss, Keith Murray, Royce Da 5’9, Shaggy, Bounty Killer, Master P’s brother C-Murder, Lil Nate Dogg, Inno Combs, Capleton and others.  

International label exec DJ Choice of Amada Recordings in Atlanta, Georgia continues to make waves on the international scene. After recently revealing that he was the executive producer of a track for the late Tupac Shakur, the music expert has landed yet another huge project with Grammy Award-winning pop star Chris Brown.

Speaking with HUSH! WEEKLY about the track, DJ Choice revealed that the collaboration came through a connection he made with multi-platinum Def Jam reggae/hip-hop artist Kali Ranks. DJ Choice explained that Kali Ranks, a Jamaican by birth, already had the song and just needed someone to push it. The track, titled Monsta, will include Chris Brown, up-and-coming female artist Stephanie Adler. 

Editor’s Notes: Gucci welcomes Chinese New Year with a collection championing 2019’s zodiac animal: the pig. The accessories and ready-to-wear garms in the capsule take inspiration from Disney‘s Three Little Pigs, with illustrations appearing on sneakers, polo shirts, sweaters, backpacks, and wallets.

Elsewhere, non-Disney pigs arrive in the shape of a flying pig brooch, oversized cotton tee, beanies, cardigans, and socks. Prices range from $250 to $1,980.

It seems difficult to recall the last time there was a ‘bad year for music’ what with so many artists continuing to deliver runs of exceptional work, and we have no reason to think 2019 will be anything less than stellar. Case in point? The ten albums we’ve selected that we know (or at least, feel very confident) will be headed our way this year.

From the long-teased Yandhi from Kanye West to Lana Del Rey’s upcoming avant-garde Americana epic Norman Fucking Rockwell, these are the 2019 albums we need the most: