Curly Castro drops fifth solo album Yaphet

Curly Castro released Yaphet, his fifth solo album, on September 18, 2026. The Philadelphia rapper is best known as one-half of ShrapKnel. Here he works entirely with Milwaukee producer Locust across a record named after actor Yaphet Kotto and built out of Blaxploitation cinema.

The opening track does the heavy lifting. 'Black Don't Crack' is a six-minute posse cut with seven rappers, including billy woods, Fatboi Sharif, Brian Ennals and AJ Suede. Elsewhere the record keeps moving: 'SuperDOPE' draws MF DOOM comparisons, 'Cheese N Bread Riddum' sets its bars over a dancehall backdrop, and 'The Delectable Negro' tracks cannibalism in the era of colonial slavery over house music. The closer, 'Last Good Will', carries references to the deaths of Castro's father and his infant daughter.

Physical copies ship on vinyl LP, CD and cassette. Nothing else, including tour dates, is announced.