French Montana has come a long way. A young boy, depicting the Moroccan-born, New York-bred rapper, treks across the desert on the cover of his Bad Boy debut Excuse My French, due April 16.

“It is about the journey of an artist that has come from Morocco to New York and worked his way to becoming one of hip hop’s hottest movements,” Bad Boy President Harve Pierre tells Rolling Stone.

The album, executive produced by Diddy and Rick Ross, features the strip club anthem “Pop That,” with appearances from Drake, Lil Wayne, M.I.A., and Nicki Minaj, who appears on the next single “Freaks.”

Bow Wow takes it back to his “Lil” days on the cover of his upcoming mixtape Greenlight 5, hosted by DJ Jus, DJ Ill Will, and DJ Rockstar. The “106 & Park” host digs into the archives and selects a throwback photo from his childhood.

The 25-year-old rapper recently revealed that the project will feature appearances from Chris Brown, Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, Kendrick Lamar, Jadakiss, Gucci Mane, Busta Rhymes, Omarion, and Lil Wayne, who appears on the single “We Bout That (Eat the Cake).”

What do you think of Bow Wow’s cover art? Weigh in below.

Pusha T pays homage to his drug-dealing past on the all-white cover of his mixtape Wrath of Caine. The G.O.O.D. Music lyricist warms up the streets with the prequel to his upcoming Def Jam album My Name Is My Name, which features the street anthems “Millions” with Rick Ross and the Young Chop-produced “Blocka” featuring Popcaan and Travis Scott. No release date has been announced yet, but you can check out the trailer below.

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Meek Mill had 2012 on lock, and he’s not slowing down anytime soon. Only days into the new year, the Maybach Music rapper is already hard at work on his next project.

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Chrisette Michele evokes old Hollywood glamour on the black-and-white cover of her mixtape Audrey Hepburn: An Audiovisual Presentation. The project, which was inspired by the late actress, has spawned the rock-tinged “Your Fair Lady,” “Rich Hipster” featuring Wale, and “Charades” with 2 Chainz. It will be available for download on Friday at midnight on Coast2Coast Mixtapes.

What do you think of the cover art? Share your thoughts below.

A$AP Rocky appeared on “106 & Park” today to premiere the video for “Fuckin’ Problems” and announce a release date for his long-awaited debut Long.Live.A$AP.

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Young Jeezy has been dropping hints about his mixtape, but he’s finally making it official. The Atlanta rapper has announced the title and release date for the project.

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Dawn Richard gets cheeky on the black-and-white cover for her Christmas EP Whiteout. The “’86″ singer poses in a chainmail helmet and leotard with her back to the camera in an outttake from her Armor On cover shoot. Due December 1, the project includes her 2011 single “December Sky” and four new tracks.

“This is strictly for the Die Hearts out there,” said Dawn, referring to her loyal fan base. “The focus is on the album, but we wanted to do something special for the movement that has been following us for a while.”

See the tracklisting and look for Dawn’s full-length debut GoldenHeart at the top of next year.