Week #51 ('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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D Power Diesle, Deadly, & President T – Goodies

Grime is a relatively simple genre to create with all due respect; it stems from the old Garage scenes from back in the day, which was literally dudes playing around with the bare minimum of set-ups. So that some of these cats have strayed so far away from the sound, seemingly out of touch, is a shame… but that means that other players like D Power Diesle can come in and easily steal the show for themselves. All you need is a looped chorus, slap some crispy digital drums over that bitch, and invite some legends on there to show how sharp they still are (because the genre is also about reverence). D Power has got the umph factor that is needed right now, the energy and voice needed to get this genre back into “full speed ahead” mode, but he needs cosigns from the old-guard, and he’s been getting those in spades. He got one from Skepta (on one of my favorite songs this year), and now he’s digging up the illustrious President T, not only one of the most unique grime-men out there, but just flat out one of the most unique rappers period. I had never heard of Deadly before, but I love the dude’s different accent in comparison to the other guys. I am praying that D Power Diesle has a tape coming out soon, because I NEED some truly fresh Grime material.

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Vic Mensa – HIT BOY FREESTYLE

Taking the 4 Thangs instrumental (originally slayed by Freddie Gibbs and Big Sean) for his own, Vic Mensa comes with more crazy bars, more insane wordplay, and more unbelievable punchlines; I know I just basically said the same thing three times, but that’s how good this man’s pen is. He’s got that Wayne bug in him right now, operating at a level that most rappers who want their bars to be golden wish they could. The beat is already tried and true, so there is no complaining here, but I’m damn close to saying that this is Vic’s track now based on his performance here, no disrespect to Gibbs and Sean. This shit is only on YouTube right now for obvious reasons, so tap in to that link to give it a shot; if you fuck with bars, you will not be disappointed.

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Sada Baby – Black Harlow

I first heard Sada on that Big Sean album (both Sada and Sean hail from Detroit), and from the jump I was on board with the guys energy. The dude has big berserker vibes in this hip-hop shit, a reckless and truly depraved individual who will crudely rap about everything under sun, coming across both gross and immensely hilarious. His delivery is a frantic mania, genuinely unstable and violent, but it gives the music this raw and unfiltered quality that is rare nowadays between all of these fake dudes out in the game. If you fuck with guys like Tay-K, Zillakami, hell even if you fuck with Old Dirty Bastard, you’ll probably like this dude. Again, we’re looking at a track that’s only on YouTube, so act accordingly.

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Your Old Droog – Please Listen To My Jew Tape

Droog’s storytelling is just top notch man. It’s not a talent he’s always had, but since he’s teamed up with Mach-Hommy his drive to tell his story, from his unique upbringing to, now on this track, his winding path through the industry, taking it year by year, has been a powerful force in moving his career forward. He just released the week before last what I think is his best album yet, embracing his true cultural heritage in ways that very few artists have; but this single is him telling of his journey to where he is now professionally, detailing his interactions with labels and how he came to find Mach and Fahim as his two closest compatriots. I will say that this is only on YouTube (like several other songs on the list this week…), and it mentioned that this song is not mastered by any means, sounding like some of his older material from last year. You know the drill: if you fuck with bars, there are very few places you can go outside of Droog to get better.

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EARTHGANG & Wale – Options

There are a couple of tracks this week that come from artists that I historically haven’t been die-hard followers of that have dropped some serious fire, the first instance being this new single from the EARTHGANG boys. I LOVE the hook on this one, sticking in my mind for hours after I heard it, with the melodies in particular being expertly executed on behalf of the duo. Even Wale is able to tap into the framework effectively, coming through with one of his best features in a long time. There is some serious pop-rap chemistry going on between the guys on this track here, some of the best I’ve heard from the group, so if you like energetic and slightly weird rap like Chance the Rapper or J.I.D., you won’t go wrong with this track.

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Boosie Badazz – Stick In Da Car

I’ve never thought of myself as a massive Boosie fan before, but I might have to rethink that after this single here, which is a super catchy and bumping southern banger. The beat and performance here feels old, maybe because it actually is or maybe because Boosie is really channeling that throwback energy on here. I love how quick the instrumental is, with the hard-played piano keys being a perfect accent for the thumping drums. The hook is really the crown jewel on this one, being super infectious and fun to listen to. I might not cover the album this is attached to, but I’m pleasantly surprised by this single, and I think anyone who fucks with that deep-south hip-hop will love it too.

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Revenge Of The Truence – On Repeat

R.O.T. is a group that I’ve recently gotten hip to, a duo of emcees that bring two different approaches to hip-hop through equal amounts of energy. They have these accessible and open rhyme schemes, but their lyrics include a nice balance of above-standard wordplay and cryptic wisdoms. Listening to this track you feel like you’re getting some real knowledge from two dudes who have seen some shit, but also suave lyrical flourishes that stick in your mind (like a Third Rock from the Sun reference? Never thought I’d hear that show brought up again). The instrumental on here is also something to speak on, being this super chill boom-bap cut, laced with blissful synths and real crisp snare hits, lowkey reminding me of being underwater or some shit (shoutout That Blessed Girl on the beat). These dudes drop quite a bit, so I’ll try and keep y’all updated on their escapades.

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Lil Skies – Ok

Alright so the lyrics on here are pretty funny, but they’re spit quickly and aggressively enough that I can get into a hype mood quickly; there’s some shit about riding on his johnny (something Skies has strangely enough rapped about before), but if you can look over, and possibly learn to enjoy, the humorous bars, you’ll love the content of the song. More than the lyrics, I think anyone can get down with this trap beat, a cavernous and booming slapper that is close to distorting on those kicks, feeling like a beat that’s about to rattle itself apart at any moment. This is prime music to turn the bass up to in the car, so go take a drive and throw this on, laugh at the lyrics a little, and nod your head to some knockin’ drums.

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G Herbo – Statement

Very short track from Herb, one that sees him get introspective over a beat that is a cool change of pace for the Drill rapper (at least from what I’ve heard from him). Recently, I’ve liked what G Herbo has been able to bring on the microphone, but the beats have been a little lacking; this track is a great example of a beat gone right, utilizing a looped vocal sample that builds up organically into it’s different parts, including drums which are missing for half of the track. Herbo isn’t yelling at you as much as forcefully telling you his story. I swore this guy has dropped a ton of material this year, so maybe this track is just a one-off loosie, but we’ll see if an album comes around.

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slowthai – Thoughts

I never thought of slowthai as really a “rapper” if I’m being honest. He had moments where he shows more of a flow and rhyme scheme, but most of his earlier appeal I think was in his punkish and rebellious nature over his technical abilities. However recently, on some features and singles of his own, I’ve seen a focus shift on tightening up the screws in his delivery and cadence, giving me more to attach to whenever I listen to him. All of that growth is on display on this single, made even more potent by a beat that is a gross and scuzzy hardcore hip-hop cut. slowthai has an album coming out in February, and I’ll be sure to give it a listen for y’all just to be sure.