Lupe Fiasco released a surprise mixtape called Pharaoh Height. The Chicago emcee announced the news via Twitter on Friday night with a link:
— Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco) August 29, 2015
Baroness will release their new album, Purple, in December. It will be the metal band's first album in three years and first since they were sidelined by a bus accident a few years ago. In a press release, singer John Bailzy said: "After releasing a lengthy and investigative record like Yellow & Green we all felt that we needed to make something much more direct and immediate. We wanted to write with our normal focus on artistry, balanced against an increased level of energy and focus. It was important for us to write our new songs with the type of enthusiasm and expressiveness that could act as a counterpoint to the album’s dark themes. As a result, the music came out in an intense, heavy and sonically captivating in a new way, which was important, loathe, as we are to fall into any kind of complacency pitfall or formulaic songwriting routine. Purple is the most fully realized representation of our intention as a band; considering the amount of physical and mental energy spent writing it, we have accomplished something which would have seemed impossible to us a couple of years ago."
The band also released the tracklisting for the album as well:
01 Morningstar
02 Shock Me
03 Try to Disappear
04 Kerosene
05 Fugue
06 Chlorine & Wine
07 The Iron Bell
08 Desperation Burns
09 If I Have to Wake Up (Would You Stop the Rain)
10 Crossroads of Infinity