Weekly Fix #37 ('20)

Welcome to the Weekly Fix, where I go over everything that I’ve listened to that has come out within the past week. I’ll give a little blurb about the project/single with my feelings on it thrown in there, throw some descriptors and other artists names to give you an idea what the project/single is like, and link to all applicable streaming services where you can find the music. The bottom section will be devoted to projects that have Bandcamp or online webstore links, to give a greater highlight to those artists who you can support directly. Click here to see a list of previous Fixes.

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I’ve got to apologize for this week for real. I had zero time this entire week to work on anything TSDK related since Monday; usually I get some time in the evenings, and spend my lunches at work getting some shit done for the site, as well as actually listening to the music at work throughout the day to familiarize myself with it. None of that was able to happen this week, a trainwreck of a week that leaves me exhausted and behind. So yeah, I lucked out that there were only a handful of releases to cover, but I’m sorry if anything I put out this week wasn’t quite up to par…

This week was a lot like some of the past few weeks for me over here: few albums, but great quality behind them, even giving us a solid Album of the Year contender in Conway the Machine’s From a King to a God. CRIMEAPPLE, Monday Night, and G4 JAG (with Mephux on the assist) also made their impressions felt, giving the underground another week to show its beautiful colors for everyone. The Singles were fire as hell too, a lot more over there to look at from Tha God Fahim & Your Old Droog, as well as killer tracks from Fredo Bang and Elzhi. Go check out what we had this week over on the Singles post.

I actually haven’t had a chance at all to look at next week (today…), and I haven’t begun listening to anything. I see Armani Caesar finally got The LIZ out the door, Shy Glizzy dropped again, and a collab tape with Moneybagg Yo & Blac Youngsta. We’ll see what sticks. HOWEVER, looking forward, there have been an enormous number of announcements of albums coming soon. It’s all literally too much to explain, so go and check out my Upcoming Heat page to get a better idea of the huge projects releasing in the near future.

Thank you to all of my readers out there, I appreciate y’all more than ever, especially on the shitty weeks like this one. I’ll try and be back to my normal self next week; I’m just tired as a motherfucker y’all.

Here’s a link to the Week #37 (’20) Playlists

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Here’s a link to the Week #37 (‘20) Singles

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Here’s a link to the Week #37 (’20) Art Appreciation post

-----STREAMING PROJECTS-----

Conway the Machine – From a King to a God

Cover Artist: Hazem Talaat

Griselda has been cruising on a wave of new fans over the past year, breaking out in a way that most underground artists can only dream of. Their rise, which was once gradual, has now exponentially exploded into Eminem deals, Drake and Jay-Z cosigns, and industry-wide respect for a breed of rappers that many out there in the mainstream thought were long gone. However, many people were wondering, a warranted wonder at that, when the “switch-up” was coming. There has been a long history of artists getting the big label shine, only for their trademark sound to be undercut cut by the demands of those who may not understand the artist but still want to cash in on their success. From a King to a God is proof that, while Conway has made some concessions to a different sound, he will only do so whenever it is the highest of quality, and in all other cases he has only sharpened his sound into something truly deadly. In this sense, not only is this album the Machine’s most versatile and diverse project sonically, but I think (standing right behind Reject 2) this project is the most true embodiment of Conway as an artist in 2020. It reflects all of the change he has gone through, both in music taste and personally, and gives us a look into the future of his career as someone who will not sell what got him here in the interest of gaining more. Lyrically, there isn’t a dull moment on here, giving time to his drug-dealing and murder bars, dedicating time to his fallen friends and family like Machinegun Black and DJ Shay (the track Forever Droppin Tears is a tough one… RIP to the great DJ Shay, I’m sure you made him proud as a motherfucker with this one Con), and even speaking on some HEAVY socio-political commentary on the track Front Lines. His wordplay is on par with the greats, his flow is impactful and grimy, and his voice is truly one of a kind in this genre. The features continue to build up that Griselda mythos with more killer collaborations, both strengthening the bonds between himself, Benny and Westside Gunn, and bagging more legendary artists such as Method Man, Havoc, and Lloyd Banks (again; we can’t forget that Bullet Klub shit). But it’s the beats that really have me impressed with where Conway is going, having a few tracks that represent the best of Daringer, The Alchemist and Beat Butcha’s abilities, the tracks Dough and Damani and Spurs 3 (GODDAMN this instrumental is hard) being standout cuts. But it’s the tracks that are reaching for entirely different sounds that are the most surprising: Murda Beatz gives us a banger on Anza, Fear of God is a trap banger brought by Hit-Boy, and Forever Dropping Tears is one of the shiniest and glossiest instrumentals he’s ever been on. I could go on for a while with this one… this is another essential album guys. Listen to this music if you’ve ever thought hip-hop is dead, if you’ve ever thought “I hate this new shit”, and give a guy who has been through every struggle possible a listen.

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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24hrs – Big Dogs

Cover Artist: Unknown

On the surface, this looks like modern trap/R&B that provides a vibe that anyone out there with access to autotune can provide, but I think if you dig into 24hrs’ persona and attention to detail when it comes to his production and melodic choices, I think you’ll see his style is much more unique than many people out there give him credit for. All of his tracks sound like a new party, a new way to get you moving and smiling, and, while he operates in a very specific bandwidth of over-processed trap, I never feel like I get tired of his skills and his aesthetic. A large part of that, especially with this new EP he has right here, is that his tracks are never very long; while Big Dogs definitely takes this to the extreme, with only two out of five songs even going over two minutes in length, it’s a satisfying spread of ideas that are good enough on their own, and at worst seeds to better songs. Fans of Roy Woods, Playboi Carti, and Lil Skies will find a lot to love with this one.

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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-------SOUP’S HOT DEALS-------

Monday Night – S.Block Carter

Investment: $10.00

Cover Artist: Roy Handy

Richmond is known for a production style that is smooth and vintage, but emcees that are some of the grimiest cats in the game right now. While Fly Anakin and Big Kahuna OG are on the cutting edge of the wave come out of VA (and throw ANKHLEJOHN in there for good measure despite his D.C. roots), it’s Monday Night that diversifies their sound with his distinct baritone. Monday has already dropped several projects this year, namely his collaborative album with Big Kahuna called Thug Tear, and his own solo project (produced by Foisey) Holly Favored, both coming in high in my recommended releases this year. The former was more in-line with the RVA sound, the latter had a colorful spread of beats a performances, but S.Block Carter is a kind of middle ground between breaking out of the city and sticking to it’s core sounds: these is a seamlessness to the music, but I also feel like, by getting a host of producers on here, you get a lot of different idea coming through from other areas of underground hip-hop, whether that be the more vocal-chopped Griselda sound or the wheezy and antique sounds of the Mach-Hommy/Fahim circles. Monday Night as a emcee is really a character, never being the most technical rapper but till being able to maintain your attention by playing the role of the “big homie”. To me, its kind of like listening to an older peer spit, with the respect just embedded in the voice off the jump. Very solid addition to the ever-growing Richmond library of great releases; anyone who like’s their hip-hop with a sample-base of R&B and other obscure sounds, give this a shot.

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G4 JAG & Mephux – Progression

Investment: $10.00

Cover Artist: Huey. P

Mephux is fresh off his second collaboration with Flee Lord, and after impressing me greatly on that record he’s back to bless us with a collaboration with close affiliate of Flee’s: G4 JAG. I loved the completeness and variety on Pray for the Evil 2, but we’re given a very different experience on Progression, both to create cohesive listening experience and cater to JAG’s much more understated tone. The production on this shit is beautiful, with each track coming with this bliss that is totally different from the funkiness and antagonism that Mephux came with on that Flee Lord project, usually keeping things tight with a instrumental loop backed by a warm drum-loop. All of the pianos, strings, and acoustic guitars come together very intelligently, and show a completely different side to Mephux’s skills as a sequencer (at least to me, having just recently gotten onto his wave). These differences are undoubtedly with the purpose to mesh more with the emcee, G4 JAG, who continues to impress me with his growth and… progression… in the game today. His flows become more entertaining, his wordplay becomes sharper, and his persona defines itself more with each release. Very happy with what we got here; it’s a bit brief, but it has a lot of heart and soul behind it, more than a lot of people that and in his lane at the moment.

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CRIMEAPPLE – If I Don’t See You In Paradise

Investment: $30.00

Cover Artist: Bernard Rollins

I really love the beat selection on this thing; oddball production with unexpected vocal samples, seemingly random drum patterns at times, and a mix between sunny and depressingly dark instrumentals. Each track really feels like it’s own mini-movie, both in the beat and the way that CRIMEAPPLE attacks them. The man is a real monster on the microphone, always has been, having some of the most unique flows in the game today. I’m hesitant to even call it a flow… it’s almost like talking in cadence, with subject matters ranging from the most regal of drug-kingpin bars to the dirtiest of street gangster tales. Sex, drugs, and murder make up a lot of his bars, but he never feels like he’s repeating himself, his wordplay and vocabulary being well above the average in underground hip-hop. Listen to this shit if you like wordy, grandiose bars, one-of-a-kind flows, and production that keeps you guessing throughout.

CRIMEAPPLE’s Website

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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