Week #8 ('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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Nef (Feat. Rome Streetz & Tek) – Glory, Pt. 2

I was 100% expecting a remix of that Glory track that Tek literally just put out with the same bars laid over a new beat, but no this is a completely different helping of solid back-and-forth rhyming from Rome and Tek. I was hella impressed to hear it on the first part, but to see that they have *another* track of pretty much the same thing is just incredible. Obviously, the biggest difference between the two parts is in the producers; Wavy Da Ghawd’s beat for Part 1 was dramatic and soaring, while Nef’s Part 2 is much more subdued, relying on smooth basslines, some wind instruments, and a steadier rolling drumline. Regardless of the change in scenery, the lyrical onslaught from Rome and Tek on the mic is enough to make this a must-listen if you fuck with bars at all.

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Chris Brown & Young Thug (Feat. Future, Mulatto, & Lil Durk) – Go Crazy [Remix]

I think that Breezy/Thugger tape that came out last year is underrated as fuck. The chemistry between the two can be a bit wonky, but goddamn if the hits aren’t HITS. Go Crazy was already a great song from a great project, but I think this remix could possibly make the song better. The guests are all in top form on this one, with long, impactful verses from all three of these capable singers/emcees. Lil Durk has the melody and the quick flow DOWN, Mulatto has the seduction on LOCK, and Hendrix ties up the song beautifully with the mix of the two. My only complaint? Tha the original track wasn’t rolled into this one so that I can hear the original verses too (which I promptly fixed by combining the two myself). If y’all want a catchy song to bump this week, this is pretty much perfect.

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Tek (Feat. Sean Price, Buckshot, & General Steele) – Boot Camp 4 Life

At this point Tek is gonna drop the whole album before it comes out here in a few weeks; I’m all here for it, but damn leave something to imagination Tek. This single was the one that, looking at the tracklist, I was the most excited for. Boot Camp Clik is one of those underground gems in hip-hop that more people need to school themselves on, and to see a large number of members on the same track again like this one is simply delightful. Not only do you get Steele and Tek together (Smif-N-Wesson 4 lyfe), not only do we get to hear from Buckshot again (where has this dude been??), but we get to hear Sean Price again with a solid posthumous performance. I’ll be honest, I was a bit thrown off a bit at the beginning of the track: those pianos had me thinking is this was gonna be some sort of inspirational track, but I promise it shakes out to be a knockin boom-bap cut before too long. Everyone kills it, and I’m even more excited for Priceless than I was before.

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Denzel Curry & Kenny Beats (Feat. Robert Glasper & Smino) – So.Incredible.pkg [Robert Glasper Version]

In a totally unexpected move, Denzel Curry’s next project isn’t a project of new material, but rather a series of remixes of tracks off of his UNLOCKED EP he released with Kenny Beats last year, each one redone with a different producer, and complemented by a guest star to shake things up. This time around we’re treated a remix of So.Incredible.pkg, which was already a little jazzy to begin with but Glasper take it up a notch with the background vocalist, a smoother bassline, and more organic drums. With Denzel still spitting his fire over the beat, it’s a weird difference in tone that pans out in a really cool way. Smino is the featured artist on this cut, and his feature is multidimensional, charismatic, and full of hilarious bars with that slathered southern charm. I’m excited for anything Kenny or Denzel has cooking, and this project has my interested *piqued* I tell you.

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Lil Yachty (Feat. Kodak Black) – Hit Bout It

And just like that we’re hit with another banger from Lil Yachty. He’s really leaning into that Detroit wave that complements him so well, and it’s a formula that he’s using again to great effect. His flow on this one is surprisingly on point (and by that I mean so, so sloppy), and some of the shit he says is fucking hilarious. But the biggest thing about this track in my opinion, is Kodak Black on the backend of the track…….. the dude is actually spitting lava on this track, no joke no bullshit. I mean that’s pretty much it: great performances, banger beat, slick flows. I can’t wait for what Yachty has for us on his next project, and if Michigan Boy Boat is actually a thing.

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Streetlife & Method Man – Story Of My life

Way back in 2019 Meth and Street dropped a track with Havoc called Squad Up, which at first I thought was an Ad for some game, after which I thought it was a single for an upcoming joint project between the two, but that I now understand to be a single leading to a solo Streetlife album. Streetlife has one project across twenty five years of rapping, but tons of verses lent to his Wu-Tang affiliates that has led to this sort of legend of the “unofficial member”. It’s about time for an album that really speaks to who Street is as an artist and a person, and Story Of My Life is the perfect autobiographical single leading up to a more personal album. Bringing on his closest collaborator, the one and only Method Man, to share in on the fun is a great choice, as he infuses the track with unmatched wordplay. We’re looking at a long-overdue album from Streetlife, and I am 100% excited to finally hear something new from the emcee.

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MadeinTYO – HUNNIDDOLLA

The entire vibe of this track is simply incredible, like a level of Wario-Land on a corrupted GBA cartridge come to life; the woozy slushiness of the beat, which buries TYO’s vocals deep in a fog of buzzes and synths, is dangerously intoxicating, a perfect loop of an instrumental that is among the best cloud-rap beats I’ve ever heard. It can overshadow TYO’s performance at times, but that’s not to say that he’s phoning it in at all; he has a good flow, and the repetitive nature of his lyrics are almost like a time capsule back to the earliest days of this sound. This is a track that you throw on and vibe the fuck out to, but I don’t think it’s in anticipation of a project; I guess this track has been around unofficially for a long time, this is just for those fans who have wanted it on streaming. Still good shit though.

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Icerocks (Feat. Benny the Butcher & Meyhem Lauren) – Red Presidents

The New York producer Icerocks is looking to drop another project of his here on the 3rd of March called Crossing The Rubicon, and to get us pumped for it he’s got this killer single to get us hooked. The man has been in and around the game for a solid decade now, and in that time he’s managed to grow relationships with guys like Meyhem Lauren in the early part of the 2010’s, and continued his influence into the works of Benny the Butcher, Elcamino, Flee Lord, Madhattan, and so many other modern grimy cats. He seems to be bringing all of that influence to bare on this new project, and this lead single is another solid entry to his 90’s inspired catalog. Benny has a great verse and lays down a solid hook for Ice, and Meyhem mops up the back end of the track with a killer verse, with all of this taking place over a bumping boom-bap cut with excellent sample-work. If Griselda is your thing, this will now be your thing too.

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Young Dolph & Key Glock – Case Closed

I remember listening to Glock and Dolph’s Dum and Dummer tape (I can’t believe that shit it coming up on two years ago goddamn) and thinking that these two have some crazy chemistry together, but I just needed *more* from the two of them. I think this single is a great answer to my concerns, upping the energy with a bonkers trap beat and showcasing everything that makes these two Memphis mainstays worth mentioning: the humor (yet ruggedness) of their bars, the *heavy* accent, the great ear for hooks, and a way of rapping sort of “around” the beat that gives them this “I don’t give a fuck” attitude. There isn’t much more than that: if you want a slapper to ride around blasting on your stereo, this is where you’re going this week.

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