Hit-Boy is officially ready to take center stage. Over the weekend, the acclaimed producer announced his forthcoming album is titled Surf or Drown and will be making landfall on March 24. He also revealed the official tracklist, confirming guest appearances from Nas, Curren$y, Spank Nitti James, Devin Morrison, James Fauntleroy, and more. Fans already got a preview of what’s to come with “Slipping Into Darkness,” a well-executed single that sees Hit-Boy rapping over a beat by The Alchemist:
“I don’t really know dude, he seem like a cool cat, but I never once heard Metro Boomin do boom-bap/ I never heard a Southside beat without a 808 in it, HB in drunk driver mode/ I swerve in every lane wit’ it, I f**k wit’ Mustard, he could make that ratchet s**t wit’ his eyes closed/ But now I’m startin’ to wonder, can that n**ga chop soul/ I just seen Yung Berg spoke on the wave, I should do him like Trick Trick and snatch ‘Hit’ out his name”
Most recently, the “Racks In The Middle” producer joined forces with R&B veteran Musiq Soulchild for their joint Victims and Villains album earlier this month. He has also stayed busy behind the boards for multiple collaborative projects throughout 2022, including HITGIRL with Dreezy and Bulletproof Soul with Pacman Da Gunman. Since then, he has dropped off well-received tracks like “2 LIVE” with Offset, “Amen” with EarthGang, and plenty more.
In a previous interview, Hit-Boy delved into how he keeps his work ethic on point. “Honestly, keeping my head down and just going. As simple as that sounds. Focusing on the music and letting the music tell me what it really is versus trying to rely off my name or the fact that I’m Hit-Boy or the fact that I’ve worked with JAY-Z, Kanye, whatever. I treat it like I never even did none of that. I just lock in every day and try to push myself to make better music,” he said.
Check out the official Surf or Drown album announcement below.