Musiq Soulchild and producer Hit-Boy have announced Victims & Villains 2, the sequel to their 2023 joint project.
Victims & Villains 2 is set to release on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 2025. The first single, “October 31st,” featuring rapper Dave East, drops on Halloween this Thursday, Oct. 31.
“Get ready to dive into this chilling vibe! Because Relationships Can Be Scary!” Musiq Soulchild posted to his 648,000 Instagram followers.
“October 31st” is available for pre-save/pre-add on major streaming services such as Amazon Music, Apple Music, and Spotify.
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Soulchild and Hit-Boy released the first installment of Victims & Villains on March 10, 2023. The 10-song offering, ranked No. 7 on Rated R&B’s 25 Best R&B Albums of 2023 list, included the popular tracks “white rice déjà vu” and “beat of a slow dance.”
In a 2023 interview with Rated R&B, Soulchild explained how Victims & Villains came about. “It was an opportunity that presented itself, and I just leaned into it. I got in contact with Hit-Boy, picked some beats [and] came up with some cool concepts with my writing partner,” he shared.
“I didn’t originally set out to write an album. I was just recording songs to kind of keep myself busy long enough to — you kind of lose it a little bit… lose the passion, lose the fire. But I was like, ‘Why not? It’s been a minute. It’ll be cool to put something fresh out in the streets.'”
When asked what he hoped listeners would take away from the genre-pushing project, Soulchild said, “I want them to have an open mind. I don’t want them to feel like it’s supposed to be this or that. You rob yourself of the experience when you do that. There’s enough on this project for a multitude of demographics to appreciate. I’m just trying to introduce the concept that some artists want to do more than what you know them for.”
He continued, “I don’t mean that to say I’m doing a bunch of crazy sh*t on this project. I’m speaking from an aesthetic standpoint. This may not fit your concept of what traditional R&B may be. I don’t consider it R&B. I accept it if that’s what you want to call it, but I think it’s hip-hop soul. If you frame it in your mind as hip-hop soul while you’re listening, you will enjoy it more.”
Circling back to Victims & Villains 2, the album will arrive the same day as the launch of Soulchild’s co-headlining R&B Invitation Tour with Joe and Eric Benét.
The R&B gents will serenade fans at Altria Theater in Richmond, Virginia. From there, they will visit other North American cities, including Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Baltimore, Los Angeles, St. Louis, and Atlanta.
At the time of writing, the tour will conclude May 10, although they have confirmed additional dates will be announced soon.
Since Victims & Villains, Soulchild has collaborated with a couple of rising R&B acts, including Destin Conrad (“To This Day“) and Kenya Vaun (“Summer“).
As for Hit-Boy, the Grammy-winning producer has dropped a few collaborative projects this year, including Rent Due with rapper LaRussell, Biggest Out The West with hip-hop duo BlueBucksClan, and Black & Whites with his father Big Hit and The Alchemist.
Pre-save Musiq Soulchild and Hit-Boy’s new single “October 31st” featuring Dave East.
