Summer ’17 Jams

Summer+%E2%80%9917+Jams

Carl Germann, Author

Artists are always looking at who’s going to be the king of summer, the song that every car and pool party is rocking. Normally it’s hip-hop or pop, but it’s always something that everyone can sing along to, no matter what genre or artist. Although it’s impossible to predict which songs will boom or which artists will flourish, here’s what I think we should look out for in summer ‘17.

With popular hip-hop and pop artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Ed Sheeran, Drake, J. Cole, Future, Chance the Rapper, Wale, Big Sean, Childish Gambino, Logic, Kodak Black, Migos and Rick Ross all releasing projects in the past six months, the number of artists likely to produce a new album in the coming months is limited. But there are still some classic hit-producing artists overdue for an album.

The obvious one to watch for is DJ Khaled, a longtime hit producer that brings together all the biggest names of music into one album. His new album, “Grateful,” should be released in the coming weeks since the singles already released from the album — “I’m the One” and “Shinning” — have broken records and provide that catchy hook everyone will be humming this summer.

An artist in heavy rotation in previous summers is Katy Perry. She’s been teasing at an album named “Witness,” expected to drop on June 9.

Another artist guaranteeing a release this summer is Snoop Dogg, a popular but outdated rapper trying to get a head start on the summer radio scene by dropping the album “Neva Left” on May 19.

Kanye West has planned to release the album “Turbo Grafx 16” since February 2016, per his tweet stating, “New album coming this summer.” So, as it’s been over a year since the tweet, it seems like expecting an album from Kanye anytime soon is dangerous.

With few artists officially announcing dates for new projects, it leaves music geeks to speculate on those long overdue for a new project. Chris Brown is overdue, as his last album, “Royalty,” was released in late 2015. He is slightly teasing with the club song “Party” and also “Privacy,” which has an R&B flavor.

Since Justin Bieber hasn’t released an album since late 2015 (“Purpose”), and with Instagram images of his working on music, I wouldn’t count out a summer surprise album, or at the very least a single.

Unless there is a surprise album from artists like Bieber or Brown, I’d put my money on DJ Khaled producing another catchy hip-hop album to rule the earbuds and speakers of summer ’17. But if this year follows the trend every other summer, one of the biggest hits will come from a name nobody expects or has even heard of.