Week #44 ('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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Chip (Feat. JME & Dizzee Rascal) – Ignite
Grime has been having a KILLER 4th quarter man; crazy albums, crazy singles, crazy collaborations, with this song here from Chip being one of my favorites so far. It is a combination of the unique and glitchy beat and the stellar wordplay and cohesiveness from the emcees involved that make this standout from the pack. All three dudes kill it, hands down, but it’s even more impressive that each of them stick to the blueprint of the track with such style: the beat has this incessant “fire” vocal sample looped into almost every bar, and Chip/JME/Dizzee utilize it to come through with witty and clever results. A banger for sure, this track should be essential Grime listening this year.
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E-40 (Feat. Joyner Lucas & T.I.) – I Stand On That
Like Ignite, this is another track that was designed for three emcees to come in and absolutely murder a solid beat. This one is more focused on fast flows and technical deliveries, which the Joyner Lucas feature obviously telegraphed, but count me surprised at how hungry and ravenous 40 and TIP approached this beat; there was absolutely no bullshit with any of these three rappers, quickly and adeptly taking these beats apart with verses that were huge helpings of fire, each verse lasting well above a minute long and rarely letting up the steam. Maybe E-40 has another album coming up soon, but this single stands alone as a solid piece of hip-hop regardless; listen to this is you like that flashy tongue-twister shit.
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Freddie Gibbs (Feat. Big Sean & Hit-Boy) – 4 Thangs
Why is this song so short? Hit-Boy? Please give me more. He’s coming off of a back-half of 2020 dominated by his production, both in guest production on various albums and two fully-produced projects with both Benny the Butcher and Nas, but the prospect of a project with Freddie Gibbs has me STOKED. Gibbs can flow over any beat out there, and these fast and technical beats provide absolutely no challenge for his destructive delivery. But he shares the mic time here, cut right down the middle, with Big Sean, who keeps up in style and comes with his own brand of hype and dexterity. He can go toe-to-toe with Freddie when he wants to, and his wordplay (while occasionally reaching into some corn) can match Gibbs’ unrelating one-liners, but it still feels like Kane’s show here. Like I said, the length is the only issue, but I think we can make up for this by coming with an entire project: universe, make it happen.
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SadBoy Loko – 664 / 187 Attempted Murder
It seemed like SadBoy was gonna be gone for a minute whenever he was sentenced to three years in the penitentiary on assault charges earlier this year, but people were pleasantly surprised when it was announced over the summer that he had been released, seemingly beating his attempted murder charge after having been locked-up for well over a year. Instead of coming out hot with a “First Day Out” type song, he’s taken his time, coming with a story of his time incarcerated, and making a track that details all of the aspects of his legal troubles, form the atmosphere in jail to the damage it’s done to his family. That’s not to say he’s not angry: there is a seething “fuck you” energy that he directs towards the judge and prosecutors in his case, and anyone who talked shit on him is on the receiving end of his low-key menace. If you want some spacy, story-ish, synthy West-Coast hip-hop, this is your stop.
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Zach Fox (Feat. Fabo) – Stick!
Fox is a comedian, through and through, but I’ll be goddamned if this isn’t a solid piece of brainless trap music; I would challenge anyone to come up with a difference between this and someone like Lil Pump or Father’s music. The beat is a cute banger, simple yet punchy, and the low energy is matched with a comatose delivery from Zach. There is really no flow to his delivery, just sort of blurting out dumb quips and trap-isms, but occasionally a line will come out of the blue and smack you in the face with it’s hilarity: the “no pants on; Donald Duck” line seriously had me crying. The hook is the most surprising here, being very… good… stuck in my mind more than any other hook this week. This barely crosses over the legitimate trap line, but it has all of the necessary elements to make me happy: enjoy at your own risk.
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ANKHLEJOHN – Hi-Point Jammed
Lordy is really coming with some poetic shit on this track, spitting wisdom for minutes and minutes. ANKH is no stranger to solid lyricism, but it seems so concentrated and distilled here that I’ve got to give it props for being something special. It’s just bar after bar of quality words, and it deserves some recognition. Half of this battle is the amazing beat from Navy Blue (Sage Elsesser for those older cats out there) which is this warm and crinkly sample loop that sounds intelligent and purposeful. This gem can only be found on YouTube, so check this out over on that platform.
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Jay Gwuapo (Feat. Pop Smoke) – Black Mask
We were blessed two two Pop Smoke features this week, with the one here with Jay sounds a lot more organic and purposeful than the one you’ll find below. Gwuapo is becoming one of the foremost faces in the Drill movement, but he’s playing a lot more with established American sounds than people like Pop Smoke and Fivio did and do; you can hear people like A Boogie with da Hoodie and Lil Tjay as clear influences, but, when put in front of these killer Drill beats you will get a banger that benefits the genre. Jay does well, but Pop Smoke will be the one keeping me coming back to this track in the future. I can’t get enough of his voice, tragic given the circumstances…. Listen to this is you want to hear the cutting edge of popular hip-hop.
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Your Old Droog – Ukraine
The man has been teasing this DumpYOD album for a hot minute now, and at this point I’m not sure if we’re still looking at a Fahim/Droog album or a solo Droog album, but I would be more than welcome to either of them. This track is Droog leaning even more into his heritage, and how it affected his growth in New York City as a person and as an artist; it’s details like these that flesh him out as a truly unique voice in hip-hop today, and I for one can’t wait to hear how he can dive further. Oh and yeah this beat is grimy as fuck, better throw that out there. I’m expected magnificent things on his newest album.
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Lil Durk (Feat. 6LACK & Young Thug) – Stay Down
Metro is BACK. After such a long absence, I’m so glad that Savage Mode II opened up the floodgates for more Metro Boomin beats, with this week having two different hot singles produced by him, the first one being this new Durkio cut. It’s definitely not the “No Auto” persona Durk’s been teasing all year, but it’s one of his better songs in recent memory, dazzling with slick melodies and some worthwhile writing. He works well with the faster and more intricate beat, keeping up with the drums with his fluid flows. I love 6LACK on this track, he comes through with a killer hook and great vocals, but Young Thug left a something to be desired on this track, a good performance but it was rather short. This track is a vibe, give it a shot if you like modern sad trap, and look forward to a new Durk project hopefully.
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Cassowary (Feat. Roc Marciano & Stove God Cook$) – Starlife
Not sure who this Cassowary fella is, but they can come together with a great beat and some killer mixing on their tracks. I don’t think they are anywhere in the track vocally (maybe one some sung parts?), but I can still give them props for some killer instrumentation and layering, which complement the guests emcees on here to a large degree. And oh boy what a killer combo of guests: you get Roc Marciano, a man who needs no introduction on this website, who does his damn thing on this track for certain, but it is buried deep down in this haze of vinyl warmth and compression, like he’s rapping out of them vacuum tubes in RZA’s basement that I’ve always heard were so expensive. What I was not expecting is Cook$ to approach the beat in the way he did, coming with a slightly more melodic flavor than he usually does, and not in that Ol’ Dirty type way either, dude seemed like he was actually trying to hit those notes. The whole track exists on this weird plane that hardly seems real, so check this out if you want to hear some quality rappers over some lethargic production.
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Guapdad 4000 – Alpha
I feel like and idiot because I know exactly what this piano is but I don’t know the name of the piece so I can’t tell y’all about it. Just know that when you hear this instrumental, you’ll be like “oh it’s… that thing that I’ve heard everywhere”. It’s like some Mozart or Beethoven or some shit looped in front of some crisp trap drums, nothing more, nothing less, but it still hits. Guap is more in his sadboy fame-reflective bag here, which are some of my favorites because he can still come with some hilarious lines that hit you upside the face. Still waiting for this guy to get the respect he deserves, and I hope he blesses us with a full-length before the end of 2020.
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Young Nudy – Vice City
The second Metro Boomin beat this week is even better than the first, reveling in some of those older southern sounds that were found on occasion with Savage Mode II; the synths are sharp and fun, lowering the stakes of a usual Nudy track while still maintaining the playfulness of the emcee. It also seems like Nudy himself as a rapper is just getting better and better with each year: I can tell that he’s working on his flows, making word choices that benefit a smoother and more cohesive delivery, but it’s still rickety and off-beat enough to give him that carelessness and edge that a rapper like himself thrives in. A great example of a trap rapper and a trap producer meshing fantastically, give this a shot if you like your trap a bit loose and whimsical.
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French Montana (Feat. Pop Smoke) – Double G
In everything but name, this is a Pop Smoke song. The beat, Pop Smoke’s presence, the vibe, it’s all trademark Brooklyn Drill. So why is French Montana here? Good question. I don’t know. His part isn’t ass, but it pales in comparison to what the track could have been if it was a solo Pop Smoke track; he didn’t detract, but he didn’t add to it either. Still if you’re like me, fiending for some more Pop Smoke to get you by, this will do it.
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SAINt JHN – Sucks To Be You
This is a good song, with a solid hook and vocal performance from JHN, but I still don’t see it getting big in the mainstream circles. While it doesn’t have that “it” factor that some of his other singles like Roses have, it’s still good for the fans, and I’m always ready for some more melodramatic melodies. The beat is spacious and sticky, and SAINt JHN plays with it like he does in all of his performances (I do wish there was a little more rapping, but that’s just a personal opinion). Listen to this if you like dudes like A Boogie and Kid Cudi.
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DJ Envy (Feat. Fabolous & A Boogie wit da Hoodie) – Sittin in My Car
So I had no idea that Envy has made projects before; just a bit of information that never came across my desk. He’s been on some curator/executive producer shit on a few mixtapes throughout the years, and this new track shows him bringing together old New York Rap/R&B and new New York Rap/R&B in a way that feels fun and organic. The beat is very low stakes, meant to be fun and quirky, and the two singers here do their best to keep the performances cute and understated. I think Fabolous sounds better than he has in a long time on this track, with that little tinge of autotune doing wonders, while A Boogie has some weird lines but it all fits into his reckless lover persona. Listen to this if you want to simple melodic pop-rap.
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Blac Youngsta (Feat. Lil Baby & Moneybagg Yo) – I Met Tay Keith First
Flexing about knowing a producer like Tay Keith is a big deal, but making a whole track out of it might be a little too much. Still, I can’t be complaining when all three trappers on here come through with solid verses and aggression on this track; I wasn’t expecting for this track to be as good as it is, but the three together really seemed to bring the best out of each other. I mean there’s really not much more to say than that: this is good trap music, banging beat with triplet flows. Get on it.
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Rylo Rodriguez (Feat. Yo Gotti) – For Me
Whenever rappers dedicate a track towards any sort of social media trend, it’s bound to at least be a little corny. Rylo is tapping into the “it’s the [INSERT ASPECT OF PICTURE/VIDEO] for me” scheme that people use to indicate what about a certain post is the thing that gets them going. Rodriguez uses it to speak on many different cultural things in hip-hop, from drug dealing and bitches and whatnot, and it goes across about as well as it could honestly. I think Yo Gotti flips the idea better in my opinion, being a bit more focused, but he’s also been rapping for like 10 times longer so who knows. This track works, throw it in your rotation and see how it goes.
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