Week #43 ('21) 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.
Being my first Singles post in a while, I gotta talk about a couple things before we get into the meaty stuff.
First off, and most importantly I might add, THANK YOU to all of you motherfuckers who came back to read my shit here on Tha Soup Dude’s Kitchen. I’m glad to be back, and I hope you all find some cool shit to listen to.
Secondly, I’m gonna need you guys to give me a little bit of leeway when it comes to some of my commentary for a few weeks. A large part of what I talk about is the context of a project/single: where it fits in an artists discography, what kind of evolution we’re seeing, and, especially when talking about the singles below, what kind of shit the artists have coming down the pipe. I’ve been Off The Grid (Feat. Playboi Carti & Fivio Foreign) for many months. For someone like Kendrick Lamar, this is no problem; the dude will never drop anything, so I’m pretty much caught up. But I know guys like Ransom and Vic Mensa have probably done things in the past 6 months, so I don’t quite have that context yet. I’m doing all the research I can to refamiliarize myself, but I’m gonna miss shit. Letting y’all know in advance. Peace.
Also, join my Discord: no reason for this random plug, I just really like talking to you guys and keeping you updated on what I’m listening to. Come and tell me what kind of shit you’re listening to, and lets have a discussion.
Onto the music.
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Ransom & Rome Streetz (Feat. The Game) – Pray For The Weak
A hell of a single to start my return with. In case you don’t know, not only is Ransom one of the best rappers out right now, point blank period… but so is Rome Streetz. Combining these two men together is some serious overkill, but you won’t see me complaining, and I don’t think you’ll be complaining at all after listening to this new single. The beat is sunny, nostalgic, and smooth rolling, a bit different than what you’d expect from Ran and Rome (maybe some of Ransom’s work with Nicholas Craven can compare), but they’re still sending missiles in their bars. The rhyme schemes are fucking bonkers, and the punchlines are pure savagery. And you know what? The Game holds his own against these two. October 29th, we’re gonna get a collaborative album from the two, so get ready for that fuckin bomb to hit.
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Conway the Machine – Piano Love
Second song in, I’m cheating, because this single came out last week. In fact, from what I understand, we were supposed to get an album from the Machine this week, but the stars didn’t align. If this single is any indication, we’re looking at another solid album from Conway, who simply hasn’t missed in over five years, easily. The keys are icy, the bars are cold, and his hook game is so incredibly on point. Anything I have to say about this man I have said so many other times, so I’ll just say this: God Don’t Make Mistakes, his next album that is hopefully releasing any day now, is going to be another classic. I’m a fanboy. Fucking sue me.
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Vic Mensa – Donuts Freestyle
I’ve got an odd one for you, but I’ve got a disclaimer: I have absolutely no opinion on this whole NFT thing going on right now. I don’t understand it, I don’t want to understand it, and in regard to this single right here I’m upset at the concept for arbitrarily keeping the track out of the hands of everybody. All of that being said, this is a fantastic piece of work from Vic Mensa, who has slowly come up in my mind as someone who could be one of the best rappers of our time if he would just stop dabbling in the cross-genre stuff. His bars are phenomenal, and he’s even showing off some crazy skills finding a pocket with this beat. The beat is this tight soul loop (beautiful use of the sample here) that transitions into this completely different time signature, a beast of a beat that takes Vic a few bars to start hitting correctly, but that struggle is what makes it so real for me. I’m sorry this isn’t on streaming or anything, but this absolutely deserves a listen regardless.
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MOUNT WESTMORE (Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, E-40, & Too $hort) – Big Subwoofer
You put Snoop, Cube, Earl, and $hort in a group together and you’ve created something that’s too big to fail. Every charismatic voice on the West Coast (maybe Cube is a bit more doggish than charismatic) is brought together here, given equal time and a solidly banging beat that gets the people moving. Memorable lines are abundant here, and each of the four bring their own little lyrical niches to the track that sort of make a Rushmore of West Coast topics: pimp shit, smoking weed, violence, and being a weird motherfucker. I think these dudes are actually looking to put out a project this year, so that has me excited. If you like ridin’ music, this is my recommendation for this week.
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Big Sean & Hit-Boy – What A Life
Hit-Boy has been having a hell of a time of it recently, and Big Sean was a huge part of that back in 2020, with numerous placements on his Detroit 2 album. There might be a few lines on here that could show it’s a bit more recent, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this was leftover from those sessions last year. It’s still a good track, don’t get me wrong; Sean is funny in his own way, his flows and wordplay are still as on point as ever, but you’ve heard this track before if you’ve listened to Big Sean. Still, that’s not a bad thing in my book, so, if you appreciate the bars and energy as much as I do, give this a shot.
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Lil Tjay (Feat. Fivio Foreign & Kay Flock) – Not in the Mood
When it comes to the drill hits, Tjay is really underrated in my mind. He can approach it in a similar way that he would his normal trap shit, but his nasally tone is perfect for the low undertones of traditional BK Drill beats. Speedy flows, great hook, and solid appearances from both Fivio and this dude Kay Flock, who is deadly with the vocals on this one. Maybe we’re looking at another Tjay project, but I’m just glad my first week back hit me with a great single from one of my favorite subgenres.
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Pa Salieu (Feat. Aitch) – Bad
Alright, so maybe the whole “bad” sample thing this track has going on can get a bit grating, especially when the track goes on a bit too long at the end. But I think this is still a great dance song, a groovy British slapper that gives a great run down of some exotic (to our ears anyway) accents and hilarious bars. Pa isn’t as much of a “rapper” in my eyes as he is an entertaining character, with his flows and wordplay being pretty basic, but the delivery and brash nature of his voice is really something to behold. Aitch is a comfortable fit on the track; the swagger factor is something the kid has really homed in on recently and it pays off well on this more in-your-face song. I’ve been looking for a project from Salieu since he got a bit bigger recently, and I think this single is a great indication of good things to come.
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Rich Gang (Feat. Young Thug) – Blue Emerald
So whenever I think of Rich Gang, my mind goes back to Rich Homie Quan and Thug making music together, some of their best in my opinion (especially for Quan, who, while not being nearly as popular as Thugger in 2021, is still someone I look forward to hearing). The grouping grew apart over time, but I never realized how many more people are affiliated with Rich Gang, and how what is basically a Young Thug solo track can be released under the name after all this time. Despite the confusing nature of the background of this track, I’m liking the vibes. Thug is his normal self, with a performance that would have been one of the better ones if it was included on his recent album. I like how, even though Thug sounds like he would in 2021, the beat is reaching a bit further back into an older trap sound. We’ll see if this pans out to an LP, but I’m glad to get new Thug nonetheless.
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