Week #37 ('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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Here’s a link to the Week #37 (’20) Playlists
Tha God Fahim & Your Old Droog (Feat. Left Lane Didon) – Brrt Simpson
The first two singles I have for y’all are both off of Fahim and Droog’s upcoming project together (which seems poised to drop any day now…), but this first one is a special one to me because of the featured guest: Left Lane Didon. I swear this dude is an robot or some shit man, because the rhyme schemes and wordplay he engages in is genius: it’s not overly complicated, it’s not corny, but every line has you smiling and saying “damn now *that* is a bar. Droog and Fahim still do well on the track too, but you guys have got to give this one special attention, both for the feature and the totally bonkers beat from Theravada, which sound like a broken record player in all the right ways.
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Tha God Fahim & Your Old Droog (Feat. Mach-Hommy) – Tha Poverty Bothers Me
The beat on this one is much more nostalgic, and washes over you with the cool vocal loop and rolling drums; a clear Fahim-produced track if I’ve heard one. Warm and inviting, the instrumental is like a man telling you to pull up a chair to listen to how things were back in his day, but instead we’re treated to musings on the hardships of the poor and hungry. Fahim is more focused than he usually presents himself, Droog comes through with some hood poetry, and Mach-Hommy has some really profound words to say about the nature of the struggle if you take the time to decipher what he actually saying. I can’t wait for this new album with Tha God Fahim and YOD, every single has been immensely satisfying
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$tupid Young (Feat. Tee Grizzley) – Wit A Sticc
All the way down at the south end of L.A. you’ll find a place called Long Beach, which hasn’t just been a haven for new West Coast hip-hop, but it has also prided itself on being much different than “mainland” L.A. The scene has taken many notes from San Francisco and the Bay area, emulating at lot of the production and rapping techniques found there. $tupid Young holds a distinction of not only being one of the most visible members in the community, but also being one of the few Asian emcees in the game making waves across the industry. This single right here sees him linking up with another artist that have taken the Bay area to heart without having lived there, and together the two of them make some authentically gritty and bouncy murder music. I haven’t had the chance to go back through some of $tupid’s catalog, but I’ll for sure check out whatever project is coming out of this. Give this a shot if you like dudes like ALLBLACK and SOBxRBE.
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Fredo Bang (Feat. Kevin Gates) – No Security
Fredo is bubbling right now, and I think singles like this are going to help him reach a whole new level of recognition. Well written, catchy melodies, beautiful keyboard-backed ATL trap beat, and a feature that was totally worth the pricetag. Both Fredo and Kevin kill it, both with the rap flows and the melodic notes, sounding like a YoungBoy NBA with the quality turned up to 11. Nothing more to say other than this is a quality banger, firing on all cylinders.
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Aesop Rock – The Gates
It’s been a minute since we’re gotten a full solo album from Aesop, and while his album from last year with TOBACCO was great in holding us over, I’m glad he’s breaking the silence with a great lead single from his new album, which is due in November. I don’t this single is as deep as some of his other material, but I appreciate the fun-natured 8-bit instrumental and the fantastic half-rapped half-sampled hook. Being that this is one of the best underground rappers in terms of word choice, anyone who appreciates intelligent wordplay and rhymes will be right at home here.
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Elzhi – Light One Write One
The last single didn’t quite hit me right, but I feel like it would hit better in the context of the album. Light One Write One on the other hand is exactly what I was looking for in a new Elzhi track: nostalgic lyrics written with an impeccable pen, a solid hook, and a beat that is both solid boom-bap and has a great instrumental backing. Elzhi is a man who’s writing game is second to none, and he’s teaming up with the crazy talented JR Swiftz to produce the entirety of his next album, Seven Times Down Eight Times Up, who I have full confidence will deliver beats worthy of the god. This is that hip-hop shit: bars and beats.
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Luh Kel & Queen Naija – Want You
I wished the verses had a little more meat on them, especially Kel’s, but I can’t deny that this hook is sticky as a motherfucker. Great melody, with this warm and feelgood passion behind his voice and really sells the youthful love angle he’s going for. Naija fits in great with the track’s vibe (I wish she had a little more time to shine on here tho), adding a cool back and forth element to the track. Keep this track in mind when you want some modern R&B to sing along with.
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Gorillaz (Feat. Robert Smith) – Strange Timez
I don’t think the Gorillaz have come out with a track this weird in a long time. Their last few projects have been distilled versions of their former selves (good in some cases, disappointing in others, never bad however), but I think this track here really gets at the heart of what makes the group so unique. Their willingness to embrace nonsensical song structures, getting people on their songs that no one would have ever dreamed was possible (getting The Cure’s Robert Smith on here is one of those “they got WHO?” moments that made their earlier work so cool), and sticking to their guns with their choices of voice manipulation have always been selling points to me, and I think this single (and a couple of the other in this Song Machine series) is pointing towards a more standout album on the way. Expect the first “season” of Song Machine late next month.
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Action Bronson – Golden Eye
Something cool about Action Bronson when it comes to beat selection is that he’s a lot more open to reggae and other Caribbean music for whatever reason. Maybe it’s the chef side of him coming out in his music, but I’ve always found it funny that this guy rides so hard for these sounds, but with how laidback and smooth he can be I think the pairing couldn’t be more perfect. On tracks like Golden Eye he hardly even seems like a rapper, more like some cool guy you’d see on the streets, giving you game and funny stories that just so happen to rhyme. The rhymes are about what you would expect, funny and irreverent. Looking forward to his album next week, Only For Dolphins.
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Spillage Village – Baptize
The massive collective Spillage Village is gearing up to drop another album full of bangers next week, and they are continuing the hype of End of Daze with another quality single. All three of the emcees on this track (JID and the two EARTHGANG boys, Dot and Venus) kill their appearances, with special kudos to JID for a hilariously hard verse full of quotables, and an attitude that only his voice and accent could pull off. I especially love the leadout of the track, with this minute-long breakdown in the beat with all these cool sound and reverb effects, emphasized by these layered autotuned vocals that sound beautiful and digitally mysterious. A track that really feels like a complete album track, and one that had me excited to see how the project is going to shake out.
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Berner (Feat. Tee Grizzley) – R.I.P
I don’t think Berner is a bad artist, but his appeal to me is in the great lengths the man goes through to put together projects that are lavishly produced and full of guests that flesh out a full length project enough to make things much more entertaining than you might think. You aren’t here to hear Berner’s raps, you are here to witness the influence the man has in the hip-hop industry and how he can pull those strings to make great music. All of these things are not negatives, and the result here is a great single leading up to his album releasing tomorrow. Killer beat on this thing, loving the samples vocals and the punchy bass notes, and Tee Grizzley (on his second single appearance this week) delivers a great verse that spices the track up with his particular brand of violence.
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YBN Nahmir (Feat. Yo Gotti) – Pop Like This
A lot of people are probably going to find the beat on hook on this one to be a little much (the synths in the beat are very loud and prominent, and the hook has a loooot of “pussy” talk), but I think this is one of my favorite Nahmir songs in a hot minute. It has a lot of uniqueness and character to it, and despite the juvenile nature of the hook (which, I’m not gonna lie, I enjoy the raunchiness) I can fuck with the slightly tongue-in-cheek and gangsta rapper thing he’s got going here. I only wish that the verses on this thing were longer: I feel like Gotti and Nahmir were just starting to hit a great flow and then it cuts to the hook again, and if they did 16s instead I think this single would have been a homerun. This guy NEEDS TO DROP ALBUM, I swear the label must be fucking him so hard, because he’s dropped many singles since his breakout Rubbin’ Off the Paint, and there still is no solo album for this kid to hang his hat on.
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Ludacris & Chance the Rapper – Found You
This shit is definitely corny. There is a lot of love and care in the song however, and I feel like Luda and Chance are collaborating here based on the mutual respect of their crafts rather than label or chart-seeking obligation. I like how understated Ludacris comes across on this track; he’s not being silly or yelling some crazy shit at you, he’s actually trying to write a song about some sweet shit about the person he loves. Corny, yes; bad, no. I appreciate it, and I think if anyone was going to feature on a track like this it would be Chance the Rapper, who only comes through with he hook on this one but I think he does a great job in the melodic department. We should be seeing a Luda album here before too, long, if this track and the one with Lil Wayne are any indication.
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