It's wild that we're already a quarter of the way through 2025, and our latest Fire Emoji playlist update proves the hip-hop world is not slowing down when it comes to new releases. The big event to talk about this week is the long-awaited release of the new Lil Durk album, the appropriately titled Deep Thoughts. He's facing a lot of hardship in prison right now awaiting his alleged murder-for-hire trial, and even if it doesn't directly address this situation, the Chicago rapper's bars carry a lot of weight. Still, classic Smurk-style bangers like "Vanish Mode" show up on the tracklist as well.
Speaking of new albums, Fire Emoji also boasts the full-length return of NAV, who just dropped his new project OMW2 REXDALE. While this contains a lot of what you might love from the Toronto artist, the easy standout at first glance is "UNLIMITED" with none other than Playboi Carti. They share a lot of chemistry on this peppy and playful beat, with King Vamp's lackadaisical growls and croons acting as an aggressive counter to Navraj's lighter tone and delivery. Also, we can't forget The Weeknd and how his background vocals close the cut out.
HNHH Fire Emoji Playlist
Moving onto new singles on Fire Emoji, we have a tough trifecta to play with on "Never Need," the new single from Anycia, KARRAHBOOO, and GloRilla hosted by the one and only DJ Drama. It has some offbeat moments, fiery performances, well-matched charisma, and a lot of personality as each femcee embodies a different vocal style. The instrumental also melds regional styles quite well, and doesn't need to do much for the lyricists to catch your attention.
Rounding things out, we have another collab to talk about in Wiz Khalifa's second official link-up with Gunna. While you might not put these artists together on paper, "5 Star" chills out enough for both performers to employ their trademark styles to appropriate effect thanks to slinky guitar and bass licks. Finally on Fire Emoji, we'd be remiss not to mention a true Detroit all-star offering. On "WORTH SOMETHING," three Michigan spitters show off their skills: Icewear Vezzo comes through with confident bravado, Big Sean gets acrobatic with the pen, and Peezy caps things off with more aggression.
