On Wednesday, Smino announced his debut album, blkswn, which will be released next Tuesday, March 14. The date is significant to the St. Louis rapper as it mirrors his hometown's area code, 314. The 18-track album is the followup to his blkjuptr EP which The FADER premiered in 2015. The project was mostly produced by Monte Booker and includes the stellar love song "Anita."



In an email to The FADER, Smino explained that he hopes the album will bring some much-deserved attention to his home city. "I hate the fact that when artists tour they don't have a date in St. Louis," he said. "I think people don't think it's an organized city. There's hella creative people coming from here, so I'm trying to open up the flood gate for them. I remember after Mike Brown got killed, people just wanted to be heard but the media cut them off. So we started the "hands up, don't shoot" movement, and it was all these voices of young people wanting to be heard. We can make that same thing happen on a positive note."

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Check out the album's cover art above and see the tracklist below.

