Week #35 ('20) Singles
Welcome to my Singles post, where I go over all of the loose songs released over the past week so. These are songs that are not currently attached to projects, and may either be promotional singles for an upcoming project or songs dropped at the random whim of the artist. I’ll show you the single, where to find it out in the wild, and a little blurb about it for my thoughts/further context. Click here to see previous Singles posts.
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Black Thought (Feat. Pusha T, Swizz Beatz, & Killer Mike) – Good Morning
A throwback beat and vibe from Swizz Beatz (who is all over the track on various refrains and adlibs, but strangely does not have a production credit on the song), refreshing to hear murdered so effectively and precisely from three ungodly skilled emcees. You’d have a tough time finding an emcee that is on Black Thought’s level, but somehow we’ve gotten not one but TWO emcees that could potentially go bar-for-bar with the legend. Killer Mike might be coming in third in this race, but the wokeness in his verse of both societal issues and the importance of the track he’s on is incredible. Thought does was he always does: kill it, I hardly need to tell you that. But Pusha T… god damn… he really ran away with this shit bro. “Ulterior motives with the modus / bulletproof package like I’m POTUS”??? Bro WHAT? The man is a fucking genius. Listen to this is you value your ability to hear music.
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Conway the Machine (Feat. DeJ Loaf) – Fear of God
Hit-Boy has been everywhere these past few months, killing this beat he gave to the Machine with a more accessible mainstream aesthetic while still keeping it dirty. Conway has personal bars, crazy stories, dark wordplay, and a rugged determination that is present in only the best of Conway tracks. I don’t even mind that the feature on here is entirely melodic in nature, with DeJ Loaf KILLING it on the back end of the track with passionate vocals. It’s a fantastic single leading up into his next project, releasing in just a few weeks (unless the recent Griselda delays will spread to this album as well).
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Joyner Lucas – What’s Poppin Remix (What’s Gucci)
Joyner Lucas is best whenever he’s doing one of two things: spitting hard as hell or remixing another person’s song. He normally does both, which is the case over here on this remix of Jack Harlow’s killer single What’s Poppin’. Joyner has some great verbal acrobatics to show off on this track, nimbly weaving between the beats with precision that is reserved for only the best of technical rappers. Lucas also has a penchant for corny bars, but those also seem to take a backseat to bars that are mostly hard as a motherfucker. Obviously, the beat is a banger, and Joyner rises to the occasion to kill it entirely. Fast rap lovers will definitely like this track.
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Calvin Harris & The Weeknd – Over Now
It’s quite impressive that I can see this track as both being deeply Calvin Harris *and* deeply The Weeknd, without either of them overpowering each other; it really is the perfect mixture of aesthetics. The Weeknd explored a lot of these sounds while going through his Starboy phase (and even a tiny bit on his most recent album), but never got as close to the source of the Dance/Disco sound as he does on this track. His vocal performance is fantastic, maintaining his higher singing for entire verses to great effect. Calvin Harris, who I think hit a little bit of a lull after he dropped his unexpectedly fire album Funk Wav Bounces Vol 1. (never got a Vol. 2 to that tape…. still a little upset about that all these years later), snaps back into form with a seductive and faithful instrumental, with really the only difference between this song and similar songs from the 80’s is the fidelity of the instruments. A perfect jam to lead us into the fall season.
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Big Sean (Feat. Nipsey Hussle) – Deep Reverence
Big Sean gets so much hate and, honestly, it upsets me. He may not have all of the skills of his contemporaries (which includes the likes of Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole, mind you), but Sean has more heart and tries harder than many rappers you know of. Singles like this one show Sean as a person, rather than some pop-star chasing clout and fame; he genuinely expresses his emotions through his rhymes, and even if you don’t appreciate his occasional “corniness” you need to give this man credit for baring it all for his fans. On this song he gets deep into his mental health issues he’s been going through recently, and not in a way that seems cheap. The depression and loneliness he feels is compounded by the loss of Nipsey Hussle (who has a fantastic verse on the front end of the track) feeling like he can’t even reach out to someone like Kendrick to grieve because of the public perception of their relationship. I’m excited for this upcoming Big Sean album, and I challenge all of you Big Sean haters to give the man a chance, a fresh chance.
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MC Eiht (Feat. Conway the Machine & DJ Premier) – Honcho
This beat is dirty. It’s a very slow and plodding beat, grinding with its industrial percussion notes and raw electric guitars notes. Add into the mix some prominent DJ Premier scratches and samples (there’s this one in there that is one vocal line chopped up into like six pieces that’s ill as fuck), and you get some junkyard-level boom-bap. Conway fits over the instrumental like a glove, in fact it sound more like a beat that Preemo would have given the Machine for one of his own projects over a West-Coast legend like Eiht. A cool thing about Eiht is how well his rough and rugged voice fits over happier and sunnier instrumentals, but when you strip away the glamour you get a cutthroat and merciless emcee that sounds ready to rob you at their very moment. Solid track or people who like their hip-hop dirty and violent.
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Problem (Feat. Jack Harlow & Jay Rock) – Nothin
Jack Harlow is so prominent on this hook that it almost feels like his song; he glides over this instrumental like butter, with the melody being solid as fuck and that little hint of autotune on his voice being hella catchy. Problem does his thing on the track with some autotune of his own, but I wished he came a little harder and more unique to stand out a bit more in the track. I may be being a bit hard on the guy, cause it’s hard to have a good verse whenever Jay Rock comes after you in any context, which is a bigger problem whenever he comes as hard as he does on this track. He doesn’t do the singing thing like the other two, hitting that pocket like a fucking champion, full of crazy wordplay to boot. Good performances from everyone involved and a killer instrumental that’s a spacy take on a West-Coast slapper make this a single to watch, and another W in what is hopefully a leadup to another Problem album.
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A$AP Ferg (Feat. Lil Wayne & Jay Gwuapo) – No Ceilings
For his first full-on Drill track, Ferg is surprisingly capable of both staying faithful to the sub-genre and making it his own. He’s wild over this beat, yelping and screaming in ways that I haven’t heard from him in a long time; people throw it around a lot, but I think there’s truly a hint of Trap Lord in his delivery here. But damn Lil Wayne REALLY does well over this beat holy shit. I love how he rides the beat and reins in or accelerates it as the beat ebbs and flows, especially at the big drop near the end of the verse. I like Jay Gwuapo well enough as a rapper, but it’s distracting that he sounds exactly like Lil Tjay, from the voice to his flow. A banger of a track, another killer single leading us into what is hopefully another classic tape from A$AP Ferg.
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Saweetie (Feat. DaBaby, Post Malone, & Jack Harlow) – Tap In
So some label executive out there (with a shitton of clout it seems) said “let’s get the hottest rappers out right now, I don’t care how it sounds”. Well, he got the hottest rappers out right now for sure: Post, DaBaby and Harlow are three in-demand characters. But do these three really compliment each other… like at all? No. HOWEVER, does the track still bump in the whip? Definitely. It’s entertaining how Post and Jack don’t really seem to fit in the song, with both of them, while still doing great and I enjoy their parts, feel like they recorded their verses for a completely different artist. DaBaby does his thing, nothing to really report other than that. Saweetie might not have a hit on her hands in the same way this track looks on paper, but I do give points for the attempt.
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Grafh (Feat. Jim Jones) – Customer
Grafh is an emcee that has one of the most active pen-games in hip-hop right now. Hailing from Queens, he has this undying underdog energy that is present every time he raps, like he’s really putting his brain behind each bar he’s spitting, and any who appreciates a New York cat with the soul of a Detroit rapper needs to give this a shot. Jim Jones fits well into the song; I love how his voice has this low-fi feel to it, almost like he’s rapping through a phone or something. Oracle 3 is a mixtape that really went below peoples radars, and I highly suggest going back to give that mixtape a listen before this newest Grafh album, Good Energy, comes out here soon.
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AG Club (Feat. NLE Choppa & A$AP Ferg) – Memphis Part 2
The influences are worn right on the face with this one: Three 6 Mafia. The repetitive and mantric hook, the beat that, while it’s a banger, is a simple and effective set of drums and sub, and the ultraviolent and outrageous lyrics from all three guys involved. I’ve never heard of AG Club before, but I think the lyricists’ verse (cause there are like 5 dudes in this group, I don’t know who this actually is) here does a great job of channeling that old Memphis energy. Someone who was BORN to wreck this sound was NLE Choppa, an actual son of Memphis, and he doesn’t hold anything back when ripping this beat to pieces. You also got A$AP Ferg on here, continuing the winning streak this week after his killer singing with a kill feature on this track: it’s not as wild as it could have been, but I appreciate it nonetheless. If you want to start a riot at your next house party, throw this one when you get the aux cord.
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Thundercat (Feat. Guapdad 4000 & Smino) – Dragonball Durag REMIX
Thundercat’s last album is one that came out while I was on my little hiatus from earlier this year, and I still have yet to actually sit down with it and see what’s up. Tracks like this accelerate this process, because this shit is some hot fire. I’ve always loved the quality of Thundercat’s voice, somehow being both soulful and goofy at the same time; no matter if you think it’s hilarious or musically appealing, you can listen to this dude without smiling. As a bassist, I don’t think he has a match in hip-hop, coming with the craziest grooves I’ve heard in the genre, and the one we’re getting on here is just as fantastically rubbery as his other performances. The actual Remix part of the track, verses from Guapdad and Smino, go over very well. They get a solid amount of time each to make their cases, both coming with very playful and melodic verses; I have to say, Guapdad gets the edge in the matchup on the strength of his ridiculous bars, but I don’t want to downplay Smino’s great melodies. Listen to this if you like neo-soul and love hearing quality instrumentalists.
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Cordae (Feat. Roddy Ricch) – Gifted
I like the prospect of these two artists collaborating, and while it’s a bit messy and disjointed I like the positive vibes that are coming from this track. Cordae (who just recently dropped the YBN from his name)is much more suited for melody than I would have initially taken him for, having this voice that, while a little child-like, can actually hold a tune and convey emotion much better than a lot of rappers in his lane. Roddy Ricch has been all over the place this last year or so, giving people fantastic verse that are criminally short, and he continues the streak here with Cordae. The chemistry between the two is admirable, I just wish that Roddy got more screen time is all.
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Octavian, Gunna, & SAINt JHN – Famous
If you’ve ever wanted to hear how Gunna and SAINt JHN would do on a Dancehall beat, then open your ears up to this one. Octavian, repping his current digs back in London, enlists two of pop-raps most visible stars at the moment to REALLY broaden his appeal over here in the states. The beat and vocal performances across the track are a bit tame, but playing it safe doesn’t necessarily mean mediocre, and with the weight behind these characters I think the song plays off well. JHN is a clear highlight for me, never losing any of the passion in his voice on his features. There must be a lot of label push behind this guy to set his career on fire over here, and I hope tracks like this allow him to catch on.
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Ty Dolla $ign (Feat. Nicki Minaj) – Expensive
This track is vapid, least-common-denominator pop-trap, that lyrically is some dumpster juice… but I can’t get enough of it. I’ve always loved $ign’s voice; I think I could actually listen to this motherfucker sing the phonebook to me and I would be ok with it. This is why I’m willing to overlook some of the awful lines he comes with on here or the greater good of enjoyment, definitely on some “so bad it’s good”-type shit. Nicki Minaj does well on here comparatively, not complaints from me. Listen to this track, focus on the melody tho.
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FUTURISTIC (Feat. 24hrs & YBN Almighty Jay) – Come Home
I have no problem with this track; the melodies are fire, flows are solid and the beat is a banger. Anyone who loves pop-trap will be able to vibe with this track. HOWEVER, and if you all will excuse the negativity here, it rubs me the wrong way how someone who’s entire aesthetic is shitting upon the modern state of hip-hop (which, I hope it doesn’t need to be said, is an utterly ridiculous position) can just casually drop a track like this at will. Again, I have no problem with this track, in fact I think it’s the best FUTURISTTIC track that I’ve heard yet, but if you are catering to people who shits on this music as “cancer” and “mumble-rap”, why are you doing this? People out there just need to accept that they like the music that they like: I don’t give a shit if it’s “mumble-rap”, ABBA, Taylor Swift, or Nickelback. If you like pop-rap, just enjoy pop-rap, and don’t be like FUTURISTIC and posture yourself as a “savior of lyrical rap” then come out with a song like this, AS IF he didn’t like this kind of music to begin with. The hypocrisy is grating, unlike the song, which is a banger and everyone should listen to it. Please Excuse Me For Ranting About Nothing
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