Week #38 ('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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Action Bronson (Feat. Hologram & Meyhem Lauren) – Mongolia
Bronson’s album drops next week, and he’s saved the best for last in terms of singles. I liked Latin Grammys and Golden Eye, but those two tracks were vibes more than anything. Bringing in the brothers Holo and Meyhem in here to spice things up pushes this track to the next level, and Bronson responds with more hunger to keep pace. The beat is also phenomenal, much sharper and hardcore hip-hop than his previous singles have been with this cool Mediterranean flair. Only For Dolphins drops next week, and all of y’all should be marking your calendars for this one.
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Papoose (Feat. French Montana & Conway the Machine) – Kickback
Two amazing things have happened here: first is the long overdue collaboration between Papoose and the Machine (at least to my knowledge), and I couldn’t be happier to hear two legends duke it out on the same track. The second is that French Montana does not ruin this track. IN FACT, it sounds like Pap has been sitting on this French hook for a good decade, back whenever Montana made some trill music to vibe out to, and the quality reflects that of his younger years. It’s half nostalgia for an early 2010’s mixtape era and half future-of-New-York type thing going on here, and I’m all here for it. Bars for days from the spitters here, so tap in accordingly.
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Smoke DZA, Wiz Khalifa, & Curren$y (Feat. Big K.R.I.T.) – Santos Party House
The Kushed God has a project dropping at the top of October, this being the second track he’s dropped from that album, titled Homegrown. Hibachi with Jadakiss and Flipp Dinero was a banger, but with more of a trap spin to it, meant to played in a club or party setting for sure. But this newest single brings that funk and groove, with a bassline that is absolutely to die for. I legit want to dance to this shit, and the emcees had similar ideas because they dance over this beat in supreme fashion. Khalifa is fire, Curren$y fits right into the vibe, and K.R.I.T. demolishes the beat with a flow that is A1 perfect. Hibachi was more of a “party” track, but Santos Party House actually sounds like a party in itself. Very excited to see the different sounds DZA can come with on this new LP.
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Rapsody – 12 Problems
The beat is this harrowing choir sample, looped in uber-dramatic fashion, backed by crisp and punchy snares and bass notes; coming from Cubeatz and Don Cannon, I expected nothing less than fire from the instrumental. But man does Rapsody come in and delivery a quality performance, speaking on issues of police brutality and crime in her neighborhood. Lot’s of clever wordplay and outstanding points she makes on social issues, showing Rapsody as forward-thinking emcee that every lover of hip-hop should get behind. Listen if you like that socially conscious music.
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Saba (Feat. Denzel Curry) – Mrs. Whoever / Something in the Water
This is two different tracks bundled as, hopefully, a teaser for Saba’s upcoming album. I still have never gotten around to listening to his last album Care For Me, which is a sin that I hope to correct soon, but I did listen to his group Pivot Gang’s last LP You Can’t Sit With Us, and I was impressed. These two singles are bit more lowkey and moody than I was expecting, but the rapping is here, and the melodies, while being slightly amateurish, are endearing enough. I prefer Mrs. Whoever for the depressing moods and rainy-day feel to it, but I like the banger nature of Something in the Water a ton as well (Denzel really picks up the hype factor on the track). Looking forward to what Saba has coming down the pipe.
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Willie the Kid (Feat. Curren$y) – Brewster’s Millions
Alchemist killed this motherfucking beat yo… loving the eclectic mix of electric guitars, vocal samples, strong individual bass notes, strings, and some sort of sirens down in there somewhere? Willie and Curren$y operate in similar lanes, shuffling between different rhyme schemes and word associations in this super cool and collected way, and combining the two together on here just feels natural (especially in front of Al’s production). WTK’s got an album coming out at the top of next month called Captial Gains, and this track has me super ready for that shit.
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Busta Rhymes & Anderson .Paak – YUUUU
Very modern sounding track, with a minimal and blingy sounding beat that gives .Paak ample room to bust out his notes and Busta space to hip some crazy stunted flows. It’s nothing ground-breaking for The Dragon at this point, but the quick brutality of his words is always enjoyable to listen to. Busta even comes with some melodies of his own, which are definitely a little goofy, but the track isn’t exactly going for a super serious tone as it is. His last single wasn’t my cup of tea, but this one is a lot more in line with what I expect from Busta in 2020, and if he’s got an album coming out I’m on the lookout for it.
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Justin Bieber (Feat. Chance the Rapper) – Holy
Sometimes you gotta break down and just be real with yourself: you like Justin Bieber, c’mon now. This song is solid, has catchy hook with an emotional melody (maybe when it starts into the layered vocals it gets a bit corny, but still enjoyable), and has one of the better Chance the Rapper performances post-The-Big-Day. There’s big positive energy with this track, and while I’m not religious in any capacity I think the lyrics can make anyone smile if you just let the vibe wash over you. I actually liked Justin’s last album quite a bit, and I think whatever he has coming next has potential if this single is any indication.
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Young Nudy – All White
3 minutes of straight trap banger. The beat is unrelenting hi-hats and bass notes, and Nudy goes in with the flow for what seems like forever, a great look for someone who isn’t traditionally seen as a “spitter”. I’m not gonna say he’s coming through with the most through provoking material, but his voice and calm killer persona doesn’t get old during the song in the slightest. This is a great mix of old and new Atlanta, the Gucci’s and Uzi’s of the world melded together, and people need to get on this wave quicker because this is fire.
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BlocBoy JB (Feat. NLE Choppa) – ChopBloc, Pt. 3
Every time these two gentlemen get together, they are incapable of creating anything other than fire. The beat is always a banger, that much is to always be expected, but the murder lyrics from both BlocBoy and NLE (who I thought was on some sort of anti-violence/spiritual journey shit but whatever) are absolutely top-notch, to be expected from two of Memphis’ most visible faces in hip-hop today. The flows are energetic and wild, the lyrics are hilariously violent, and the chemistry between these two has me wanting a collab album immediately. There have been quite a few BlocBoy singles dropping in the past few months; I hope he’s gearing up for an album, because I think this guy was never given a fair shake out in the mainstream.
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Trapboy Freddy (Feat. 42 Dugg) – Sum Mo
Dallas isn’t traditionally a center of the hip-hop world, but this guy here is repping for the city hard. Freddy takes a lot from the Atlanta scene admittedly (much like his featured artist, 42 Dugg, who is a Detroit native himself), but the music is quality enough to distinguish himself in the scene. While Freddy has decent flows, a recognizable voice, and a capacity to make hooks, I think 42 Dugg kills his appearance here more than he had any right to. I don’t know what it is about him recently, but hearing that little whistle sound he does is just so fucking cool… the raps are great too but the whistle is just such a definitive thing about him that I’m hung up on it. Anyway, yeah this song is fire, love everything about it from the raps on down to the piano-backed ATL banger beat.
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Yung Gravy – Gas Money
The fiddle and horn sections go crazy on this beat; somehow this dude is getting beats that major-placed artists should be getting (not that Gravy isn’t a top-tier artist himself), and he’s finessing them like your grandparents at a timeshare presentation in Colorado Springs. The man makes complete songs, hooks and verses, and every track is a memorable, funny (without being cringy; fuck you Lil Dicky), and entertaining experience from a hip-hop perspective. I think this guy should be getting way more attention for the balancing act he’s doing between a comedian and a legitimate musician, and singles like this show that his talents are here to stay.
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Tyga (Feat. Saweetie & YG) – Money Mouf
Whenever this track is getting started, you might be like “this is a Tyga track, what is so special here”, hell you might even think the beat is a little whack. Give it time, and whenever Saweetie gets on the microphone you’ll see why this shit is so fire. YG does a great job closing out the track in his own way, but Saweetie’s verse is actually fire as fuck, with the lyrics containing some really clever wordplay that I was not expecting from her. Tyga on the hook with Saweetie and YG on the verses was good enough for me, and for those things alone I recommend the track to y’all. Solid banger.
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Lil Pump – Life Like Me
Pump has been out of it for a minute, and while this track is by no means a return to form, it’s a fun enough listen. There is little energy behind his delivery, but he’s more fluid with his flow and cadence on this one, a different side of Pump that I’ve always appreciated in the past. I do like the track, but it’s not even two minutes so there’s little else to say: if you like Lil Pump, you’ll get a kick out of this song, but I don’t see it getting him any more attention.
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A$AP Twelvyy – S.N.L.
Twelvyy going west-coast was not something that I was expecting, but his voice and flow fit surprisingly into the mold of a L.A. spitter. The beat is a synthy riders anthem, meant to be played with the windows down for sure, and Twelvyy attacks it with this Meek-Mill-like aggression (with a little bit of carelessness and playfulness thrown in there) that keeps me coming back. However, there really isn’t a second verse to the song, replaced instead by this strange low-pitched vocal sample; it kind of feels like it was padding out the song a bit, but the good ideas on the track deserve a listen. I haven’t checked for A$AP Twelvyy in a minute, so I’m hoping that, if this is attached to a project, his next body of work can get me back on the Twelvyy train.
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