Week #50 ('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.
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Earl Sweatshirt (Feat. Armand Hammer) – Tabula Rasa
We’ve gotten the confirmation: a new Earl Sweatshirt album is on the way in January. 2010 from a few weeks ago already got me hyped enough, but I think this new track right here is really something special. It’s not *happy*, but it has a much more relaxing tone than anything you would have found on Some Rap Songs or Feet of Clay, an aesthetic that I’m glad Earl is leaning more into as he gets older. The crispy and sharp vocal loop is baring its soul for all to see, with almost no accompanying or structuring force, a river of sounds that only Earl, ELU, and billy could so easily cross. To say these three spit poetry is an understatement, and I highly encourage everyone to listen to the immense detail in their words here.
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RZA & Flatbush ZOMBiES – Plug Addicts
A match made in heaven as far as I’m concerned, Wu-Tang and the ZOMBiES together is something I have wanted for a long, long time. It’s only the RZA instead of the whole Clan, but since he’s both on the beat and on a verse it feels more like him bringing the ZOMBiES into his cinematic world; it’s a simple enough beat when you break it down into pieces, but the RZA is able to have the incredibly dramatic strings work overtime on this one to fill out the track. At just over three minutes, the four verses have to be a bit compacted, but taking out any sort of hook was a great move. All three ZOMBiES kill it, with Meech and Juice in particular hitting hard with their very disjointed rhyme schemes. I need an entire ZOMBiES album like this like ASAP, because this is exactly what I’ve wanted to hear from them since their first album.
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EARTHGANG – American Horror Story
This track really takes it’s time setting up all of its different parts, letting parts of the tracks breathe to both relish in the vibe as well as let these messages sink in. There are some really thoughtful observations on society here in America laced all throughout the song, both verses and the hook, ideas that are a lot easier to digest and think about when coming from two dudes who are so outwardly positive. The flows are incredibly passionate, a passion extends to the melodies, especially Dot’s verse on the back end of the track. I know these guys have got to be prepping us for an album in the near future, and I can’t think of a better way to start things off with this very versatile, creative, and poignant song right here.
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Jim Jones & Migos – We Set The Trends
Over a beat that sounds exactly like Young Thug’s Hot, Jim Jones brings the Migos along for a collaboration that is a certified banger. Really this one comes down to the performances here, with all four dudes bringing the best verses in their arsenals complete with quick flows and killer wordplay. This beat sounds tailor-made for the flows that the Migos have made so undeniably popular, so those dudes shine the hardest on this track: Takeoff starts this one off like a beast, Offset completely renegades the end of this track, and Quavo is coming with some energy that is rare from him nowadays. Jim Jones, although sounding a bit tired, keeps up with the younger dudes here well enough, and with a flow that seems totally foreign yet admirably attempted. I think this is a part of a new Jim Jones project, and I hope we see more reaching to the younger generations like this in the coming months.
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Lil Keke (Feat. Slim Thug, Sauce Walka, & Z-Ro) – WE From Texas
Whenever Texas gets on the track, you don’t just get one dude, the whole squad shows up. There is no town, no city, no scene out there that is as banded-together as Houston is, a real sense of brotherhood that can be felt on tracks like these. The respect for the OGs is still alive and well, a respect that is mutual given the three legends here invite young Sauce Walka to kill a guest spot. The swagger is here, the bumping beat is here, and the ridin’ lyrics are here; if you fuck with Houston at all, this is required reading. I’m hoping this means we’re gonna get a Keke project, because Houston has had a great track record recently of doing justice to the old guard.
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DJ Premier & 2 Chainz – Mortgage Free
Something that has been beautiful to see over the past few years is 2 Chainz embracing the sounds of the East Coast in ways that many dudes from Atlanta will never do. Most of this work has been done through guys like Statik Selektah, but you can clearly tell that Chainz’ love for the medium extends deeper than that, because a track with DJ Premier is a track with the foundation. Chainz sounds completely at home on this beat, carefree but with that twang that makes the song entirely it’s own. This is looking like it’s coming from DJ Premier directly, so whether or not this is from an album remains to be seen, but I’m liking the prospect of a new Preemo project on the horizon. Stay tuned.
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Doe Boy & Rowdy Rebel (Feat. 42 Dugg) – Ain’t My Fault
Doe Boy’s greatest strength as a newcomer in the trap game is his willingness to lean into the weird, flavorful, and ultimately fun side of modern hip-hop, where being taken seriously isn’t as important as being entertained. Doe is animated and lively, with some funny lines thrown in there for good measure, but Rowdy Rebel (who I’m glad to see is making a worthwhile comeback after getting out of prison) and 42 Dugg understood the assignment as well, bringing some solid variety to the track. But the star of this show is the beat for sure, a plucky and left-field banger that’s on some Alice in Wonderland shit with those little key notes and synths. I’m definitely interested to see where Doe Boy is going with his newest project (as I think that’s where this single will end up placing), because he really has that X-factor when it comes to memorable trappers.
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Lil Gotit (Feat. CEO Trayle, Lil Double O, & Biggz) – Walk Down
Coming off of Doe Boy from above, you can see the difference loud and clear between forward-thinking trap and more 2010’s-centric trap music that we’re getting from Lil Gotit here. That’s not to say that this track is bad by any means: the hard pianos, higher bpm, and detailed percussion is pretty much the lane that Atlanta trap has become known for, especially at the street level. While I’ve know Gotit more for his experimental approaches to trap in the vein of Young Thug (like what his brother, Lil Keed, has gotten into), this more straightforward approach to murder music is appreciated for sure. I haven’t kept up with Gotit much since Keed took of on YSL, but I’m looking forward to getting into some more of Lil Gotit’s upcoming projects.
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J.I. the Prince of N.Y – Murda
J.I. has found a comfortable lane to operate in and doesn’t seem to be keen on changing any time soon, but I’m glad that it’s an enjoyable, reliable stream of melodic and melodramatic hip-hop at the very least. Very minimal and spacy beat, digitized and cold like a lot of these New York pop-rappers are doing these days, but with a solid wispy hook that’ll stick in your mind well enough. Any fan of guys like A Boogie wit da Hoodie or Lil Tjay will find themselves right at home here. J.I. has dropped a couple singles in the past few weeks, so I think we’re finally looking at a new project; I’m hoping for a solid album, longer and more meaty than the EPs the dude has been releasing.
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ALLBLACK – Thanos
When it comes to the Bay, Oakland rappers specifically, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone as unique as ALLBLACK. At first glance you might think the dude is rapping without a beat at all with the instrumental being laid over later, but really ALLBLACK is just a master at controlling his flow, holding back syllables then releasing them in huge bunches of words. Thanos is both funny and hard, reckless and bold, and a great introduction to the one-of-a-kind styles found out in Northern California. ALLBLACK had a huge album come out over the summer, one that I haven’t gotten around to yet, but hopefully we get a newer album sooner rather than later.
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