Billboard: R&B/Hip-Hop Fresh Picks of the Week (6/30/2025)

All eyes have been on the West Coast since last year’s Kendrick-Drake knockout, but that side of the country has talented artists who weren’t involved in that beef — or Joey Bada$$’s crusade against the West. JWalt, an Oakland-bred MC who recently graduated from New York University, dropped his sophomore album last week, and its aptly titled closer (“Graduation”) is an instant standout. “I’m at the label, they like, ‘Tell me how it feel?’/ I said, ‘Amazing, but I got a paper still’/ And I can’t be late for real,” he spits over classic boom-bap production, dipping into his storytelling bag as he recounts signing his first deal during his second year of undergrad. A winning finale to the 13-track, Sway Calloway-produced set, “Graduation” is a worthy conclusion to Every Version of Me that doubles as an interesting preview of JWalt’s next moves. — K.D.