Our Most Anticipated Albums of 2026 | OneFootball

From long-awaited projects to new music from rising stars, we count down our most anticipated album drops for 2026. 

2026 has long been circled by soccer fans as a landmark year. Of course, the summer will see the biggest World Cup of all time, with an expanded field and matches spread across three host nations.

It will likely be the swan song of the Messi-Ronaldo era (something we’ve been saying for years), while other top talents will look to take their chance at glory. But the World Cup isn’t all 2026 has to offer, even in the United States, where it will certainly have the biggest impact.

In the women’s game, the NWSL will welcome two new teams, Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC as the league continues to grow not only in numbers, but in impact. The new High Impact Player rule could attract new talent to the league, which is coming off a solid 2025 season that saw a record 1.18 million fans tune into the championship game between Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit, where Gotham won its second title in three years.

Then there’s music. Whether it be footballers getting shoutouts in verses, featuring in music videos, or even creating songs of their own, music and soccer are inseparably intertwined. Just as there is plenty of soccer to look forward to this year, we are hyped for tons of new music in 2026.

Looking back at 2025, we finally got a new album from British sensation Dave, but we are still waiting for a handful of projects that we were hoping for. A$AP Rocky and Skepta, who are frequent collaborators and have become equally known for their fashion endeavors as their musical prowess, are both expected to drop their albums this year. Jill Scott thrilled music enthusiasts with the announcement that she is dropping a new album. And we have some hidden gems to look forward to as well. We know you trust our expertise in all things around the culture of the beautiful game, including music. So let’s get to it.

A$AP Rocky — Don’t Be Dumb

Anticipation has been high for A$AP Rocky’s fifth full-length project, Don’t Be Dumb and its seemingly never-ending rollout. It’s been eight years since Testing, but perhaps what makes the excitement extra high is that Tim Burton collaborated with the Harlem artist on the visuals for his latest project, which is dripping with whimsical darkness.

Testing was received with mixed reviews because of its experimentalism and it seems like Don’t Be Dumb, previously titled All Smiles, will follow a similar pattern of defying genre. In 2021, Rocky told GQ that he was working with Morrissey, and while “Hood Happy” wasn’t part of the official tracklist Pretty Flacko revealed earlier this week, we’re yet to see the full list of features on the project.

The recently released lead single “Punk Rocky” lives up to its name with snappy snares and smooth lyrical delivery about falling in love. The video is wonderfully weird and features the different characters from the album artwork at a garage concert and stars Winona Ryder.

Other singles he’s dropped in the past few years, including the layered “HIGHJACK” and the witty “Tailor Swif,” were braggadocious and hypnotizing. They aren’t included on the Don’t Be Dumb tracklist, but they give us a glimpse of where Rocky’s mind has been creatively.

A lot of life has happened for Flakco since Testing, including a stint in Swedish prison, being found not guilty of gun assault charges brought by A$AP Relli, an AWGE show at Paris Fashion Week, and becoming a father to three children. Release dates for this new album have come and gone, but it seems like we will finally get Don’t Be Dumb on January 16. We can’t wait to hear what he has to say.

Skepta — Fork & Knife

One of our favorite A$AP Rocky collaborators, Skepta, is also expected to release a new album in 2026, which marks the 10-year anniversary of his groundbreaking debut LP, Konnichiwa. Skepta first announced Fork & Knife in January of 2024 as Knife & Fork, and we can expect it to drop this year according to his recent cover story with British GQ. 

The Tottenham icon released his last album, Ignorance is Bliss, in 2019, and in the seven years since, he’s established himself in the fashion world with his MAINS brand. But he’s stayed in the mix with music and has been flexing his prowess as an expert collaborator. He released the group album Insomnia with Chip and Young Adz in 2020 and then a joint EP with Fred Again.. last year, not to mention one of our favorite tracks of 2025, “Cops & Robbers” with Sammy Virji. He’s also been performing house sets across the world under the name Más Tiempo and hosts his Big Smoke Festival in London with some of the biggest names in British music. Oh yeah, he also had a brief lyrical beef with Joyner Lucas. Random, right?

As Skepta’s gotten older, he’s expanded from being a godfather of grime to an electronic connoisseur and so much more. But at his core, he’s still “a rapper,” as he said in the GQ story.  “Gas Me Up (Diligent)” dropped in 2024 supposedly as the single for Fork & Knife. It is an uptempo bop full of flexes that starts “We don’t get angry, we don’t get even” and has a hook where Skepta tries his hand at some melodies. It’s clear that he doesn’t have anything to prove anymore, but now is just living out his purpose doing what he loves.

Airplane James — Something

Los Angeles rapper Airplane James is preparing to release an album in 2026, though a title hasn’t made its way across the airwaves yet. He’s made his name as a storyteller and vibe curator. He came up under JasonMartin (formerly Problem)’s Diamond Lane Music Group and made a splash when he appeared on the 9th Wonder-produced “Top Off” in 2017 on Selfish.

Plane’s been on the grind and released the third installment of his Eastside Special series last year. The project is a blend of thumping West Coast production and woozy declarations of love. Lyrics like “You put the Rose in Rosecrans” show his lyrical capability and his firm identity in the Los Angeles music scene. “Walked” was a standout track because of its hard-hitting beat and Plane’s smooth delivery of a declaration of love for his city. The blue-tinged video, directed by looschnge, features dance legend Storm DeBarge, and is pure art.

Plane got a major co-sign from Ty Dolla $ign last fall and we are sure he is as motivated as ever to keep putting on for his city in his own fresh way.

Stormzy — Something

Another British rap titan that we love is Stormzy. And we were hyped to read in his Instagram letter to fans on New Year’s Eve that he is, in fact, in the studio working on a new album.

The wait for an album hasn’t been as long as some others on the list, but it has been four years now since 2022’s This is What I Mean. It was a deeply personal album that still exhibited the duality of bravado and spirituality we know and love from Stormzy with even more vulnerability. It served as a love letter and an apology to Maya Jama. And it worked (kind of) because the couple did get back together after the album, but then broke up again a year later.

Since then, the Manchester United fan and Romelu Lukaku doppelganger has been floating around the music scene with a few singles and features and a performance at the 2024 F1 British Grand Prix. He ventured into reggaeton with an appearance on J Balvin’s “Uuu” and dipped even more into the international space with an appearance on Odumodublvck’s “Pay Me” with Zlatan (that’s another rapper, not THAT Zlatan). Although it’s perfectly reasonable for Stormzy to work with a soccer icon at this point. He did have José Mourinho in the video for “Mel Made Me Do It.”

In his note, Stormzy described some of the personal battles he’s been facing since the end of 2024. He said he went into a personal wilderness where he was “tested physically, spiritually, professionally and creatively” and said that there were events that happened that are better suited for music than an Instagram post. It seems like Big Mike has a renewed sense of purpose and confidence in himself as a man of God and an artist for the people. “2026, we go again.” Yes.

CRYS — Nueva Era

Latin music has a chokehold on the music industry right now. Bad Bunny is even going to be the Super Bowl halftime show performer in February.

A fresh voice in the Latin music space is singer-songwriter CRYS. She is releasing her album, Nueva Era, this year and it’s promising to be a special one. When sharing her story with Kick The Concrete, CRYS said that this album is an amalgamation of her life experiences up to this point. She went back through old journals and even went to Joshua Tree to have a moment of personal reflection and write for the album.

One of the singles is the Afrobeats-tinged “RAPHA” with Ryan Ofei. The song is about her miraculous healing journey after being diagnosed with a vocal chord injury. Besides showcasing her faith and ability to inspire others, the track also exhibits CRYS’ love for collaboration and experimenting in different genres. There’s sure to be something for everyone on her album.

J. Cole — The Fall-Off

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So I did have J. Cole’s The Fall-Off on my first draft of this article. And then I took it off because I could only fit so many albums and I genuinely didn’t know if J. Cole’s grand finale was still a thing or not. Plus, I do have complicated feelings toward Fayettenam’s Finest.

But literally the day before this piece was going to be published, Cole had everyone hyped by releasing a trailer, the cover art, and the release date for his long-awaited capstone project. So we had to toss it back in.

Cole has been teasing this project since “1985 (Intro to ”The Fall Off”),” the closing track to his 2018 album, KOD. The new trailer shows the rap star scrubbing his Lamborghini Urus in a neighborhood car wash and then eating in a diner while a voiceover reflects on someone being washed up. Cole then revealed via a topsy-turvy music video recounting his career that it’s a double disc album he’s been working on for 10 years. He assured fans he took the idea of crossing the finish line seriously and it was “a personal challenge to myself to create my best work.” We will all find out on February 6.

It’s been five years since The Off-Season, where Jermaine furthered the basketball analogy that he’s been using his entire career with a burning hoop as his cover art. Cole’s album covers always hold deep meaning, so some people were assuming he was announcing his retirement with that project. But he still rapped here and there and dropped Might Delete Later in 2024, a project that semi-lived up to its name, as Cole removed his Kendrick Lamar diss track from streaming services shortly after its release. He didn’t want that smoke…

The cover art for The Fall-Off is simply a wooden desk and chair with a drum machine and some CDs and papers strewn about. Die-hard Cole fans are swarming around the idea of how he is showing his authenticity, which is guaranteed to shine in this project just like his others. Get you popcorn ready!

Kendrick Lamar — Something

One of the biggest surprises of 2024 was Kendrick Lamar’s GNX album. The Compton superstar dominated the year via his beef with Drake. After seemingly scoring the game-winning goal in the feud with “Not Like Us,” he dropped GNX out of nowhere and then capped it all off with a Super Bowl performance. Who gets to diss their opponent on the biggest stage in television? K.Dot that’s who.

In true Kendrick Lamar fashion, there were plenty of easter eggs throughout GNX and the commentary around it that seemingly hinted at a follow-up album. Vibe did a great job breaking those down, including that the song featured in the GNX trailer wasn’t even on the album. There were also a few social media comments from DJ Hed, a friend of Kendrick Lamar’s who performed at The Pop Out and is known as The Coast Guard because of his authority on all things Los Angeles music.

There really hasn’t been additional news on a Kendrick Lamar album recently. And songs from GNX like “squabble up,” “luther,” “tv off” and “peekaboo” are still everywhere from Gatorade commercials to the local R&B function. But we definitely wouldn’t mind something new from the good kid.

Chy Cartier — Something

Chy Cartier is definitely a rapper who should be on your radar if she isn’t already. The British MC made a splash last year with her debut mixtape, No Bring Ins. The project is infused with drill, luxury raps, and smart cultural references to Rick Owens and “Straight Outta Compton.”

The North London rapper has a fierce delivery and a sharp confidence that she combines with a fresh sense of style. But she also showed a gentler side on “Good Approach” and “Crazy,” which features a smooth, reflective melody. She got a major co-sign from Skepta when she performed at his Big Smoke Festival in the summer. She is a star in the true sense of the word.

Central Cee, the UK’s biggest sensation right now, took four years between his first project, Wild West, and his official debut album, Can’t Rush Greatness, last year. But that space of time is the exception in today’s rap game.

It wouldn’t be a complete shock if Chy took her time with her debut album, too. But she has the momentum to capture the world’s attention this year and she did promise “albums” coming soon in her Instagram ad for JD Sports at the end of last year. We’ll be ready.

Thinkwatts Global — Nothing To See Here: Watts

This is one you are going to be thankful you knew about early. You can tell your friends and they’ll think you’re cool. You’re welcome.

Stix, friend of Urban Pitch and frequent collaborator with LAFC, is preparing to release an incredibly artful project in the form of Nothing To See Here: Watts. The album, which will drop through his new venture, Thinkwatts Global, is the soundtrack to a documentary of the same name. The film was screened in Los Angeles in October at the Peacock Theater with Stevie Wonder in attendance and the event was followed with a listening party for the soundtrack at the historic El Rey.

The documentary brought together members from all aspects of Watts, including rival gang members, students, and police officers. The soundtrack, produced entirely by Stix, has that same message of unity. It celebrates the musical history of Watts by using samples from greats like The Sylvers and Charles Mingus and bridges the sound to the modern era with songs from today’s top artists like Jhené Aiko, ScHoolboy Q, Kehlani, Rapsody, SiR, and Jay Rock. Stay tuned…

RAYE — Something

If 2025 was the year of Olivia Dean, 2026 will be the year of RAYE. Dean captured our hearts with her gently intimate album, but her counterpart is ready to make us swoon over her penchant for making statements.

The single “Where Is My Husband!” was all over TikTok for months before it was even officially released. That’s the power of RAYE. The song has an infectious big band sound and layered vocals that are simply angelic. The question I’m asking is if an amazingly beautiful and talented woman like RAYE can’t find her husband, where is the hope for the rest of us?

She also is a notable artist because she has totally bucked the music industry. She spent time as a writer and producer for other stars, including Beyoncé and Rihanna, and was locked into a restrictive record deal. She broke free and independently released her 2023 debut album My 21st Century Blues, which led to her winning six BRIT Awards. Fans flocked to “Oscar Winning Tears” and “Escapism,” but she also has hits like “Born Again” with Doja Cat, “Suzanne” with Mark Ronson and “MOI” with Central Cee.

We are excited for whatever RAYE has for her next album because she is a technician who makes sure every detail is perfected, but is also an amazing, authentic storyteller. Is a sophomore slump in the forecast? Don’t bet on it.

Gorillaz — The Mountain

The Gorillaz are still going strong and we love it. The digital group, powered by Damon Albarn, is set to release their ninth album, The Mountain, on February 27. There are four singles already out: “The Happy Dictator” is infectious and showcases Gorillaz’ penchant for layering feel-good music with a deeper message. “The God of Lying” is a little darker with some spacey production and muffled vocals and “The Manifesto” is a layered masterpiece itself with Spanish vocals from Trueno and fierce bars from the late Proof with multiple beat switches.

As with any Gorillaz album, the features are exciting on The Mountain. Johnny Marr, former guitarist of the Smiths, is listed on several of the tracks, which is intriguing. Another interesting guest is EDM DJ and producer Bizarrap. The rap presence sounds appetizing, including features from Black Thought and Yasiin Bey. There is even a posthumous verse from David Jolicoeur aka Trugoy the Dove, from De La Soul.

The Mountain will be Gorillaz’ first album since 2023’s Cracker Island. The group’s last big splash was probably 2017’s Humanz, which featured Vince Staples, Popcaan, Danny Brown, Dram, Pusha T, and Kali Uchis. And it’s highly unlikely anything will ever top the landmark 2005 project, Demon Days. But in a world full of uncertainty, we can always count on a Gorillaz album to deliver us goodness.

Jill Scott — To Whom This May Concern

Jill Scott is back! The illustrious singer is releasing her new album, To Whom This May Concern, on February 13 just in time for the lovers. It’s her first album in more than a decade, since 2015’s Woman, and 26 years after her remarkable debut, Who is Jill Scott?. Since then, she’s been nominated for 14 Grammys and been all over the Billboard charts throughout her career.

The singles for To Whom This May Concern show that she has not lost an ounce of soul. “Beautiful” has a cozy bass line and her incredible runs, and “Pressha” slows things down with an honest reflection of battling comparison against gentle horns. And that’s not all. The project is set to feature J.I.D, Ab-Soul, Tierra Whack, and Too $hort.

EVERYONE is looking forward to this album. Queen Latifah, D Smoke, Rapsody, Royce da 5’9,” and even Paul Wall commented on her Instagram post announcing the project. We appreciated Doechii’s note the most.

“I will be streaming this (on) a boat with family and friends somewhere in the ocean unbothered with uninterrupted peace !”

Please send us an invite.

KwolleM — Something

OK, you can thank us later for this one, too.

KwolleM is a British rapper who we first came across because AJ Tracey was featured on “Grandma’s Kitchen” off KwolleM’s 2023 album, Melo. The song was a smooth feel-good track full of nostalgia. The entire album was really good, balancing rap prowess with gentle reflections on life and love. He had Slawn on a skit for the opener “Girldad” way before the rest of the world embraced the artist’s genius.

KwolleM (“Mellow K” backwards) released his debut album, c2c, in 2020 and had several soccer references, including the song titles “West Ham” and “Woolwich Arsenal.” He established himself as a smooth spitter and a founding father of a movement called Mellow Grime, which blends the fierceness of the rap genre with soulful production and vulnerable storytelling.

KwolleM has been fairly quiet since Melo, which was named after his daughter. But in September, he posted an Instagram gallery recapping the summer with the caption promising “Mellow Grime season is around the corner!” and the hashtag “#NextPostWillBeMyAlbumCover.” So turn your notifications on!