Weekly Fix #15

Trap and bangers came with the thunder this week, but Pete Rock wasn’t about to let that stop him from dropping some hot 90’s beats. Next week is the week of truth though folks; we’ll see if Kanye actually drops his album or if, yet again, he is crazy/fucking with us. Other than that, it looks like a slow week next week.

I would like to, again, thank everyone who reads the posts here on TSDK, listens to the podcast (Episode 5 on the way), gives the playlists a spin, and all of you who have found some new music. I cannot stress enough how much it is appreciated. I would recommend you either follow me on Twitter or join/follow the Facebook Group to stay up to date on posts and podcast episodes. I’m currently reevaluating my release schedule to give you all a good stream of content to chow down on, so stay frosty.

Here’s a link to the Week #15 Playlist for y’all

-----PROJECTS-----

Ameer Van – EMMANUEL
BROCKHAMPTON’s former street-rap heavyweight returns, for his first legit project since the group dismissed him. I had always thought that Ameer’s shine only extended as far as the group’s did; that is to say I didn’t expect this project to be as engaging and well-rapped as it ended up being. Ameer is rapping over different instrumentals, switches up his normal flow to accommodate those different instrumentals, and overall makes an effective statement on his individual artistry separate from the boy band. I would have liked to have seen a little more lyrical diversity, and I hope that, since he’s still signed to RCA, he’ll be able to pull in more features on his future works.

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Charlie Heat – FIREWORKS
Very inconsistent record, that plays the pop angle on too many occasions for my taste. It seems like every other track is some weak attempt at a radio-pop hit. Any time an R&B artist or something singer comes in it feels so vanilla. However, the bangers on the album do their jobs well. The beats in particular (which obviously should be at least good given it’s a producer project) are filled with life in the form of horns and other instruments.

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Pete Rock & Skyzoo – Retropolitan
Are the beats dusty as hell? Of course. Does Skyzoo impress me as an emcee? Ehhhh? Don’t get me wrong, Skyzoo can hold his own in a feature, and the album is better than Pete and DZA’s album from a few years ago, but I just feel like Skyzoo doesn’t have a very impactful presence on his own tracks. His voice is so soft and delicate. Pete Rock is why I’m here, and for that alone it’s worth a listen.

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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GNAR – Fire Hazard
Somehow this man has pulled an entire Soundcloud rap album out of his ass that’s pretty good quality. The features do a lot of the heavy lifting here, with a who’s who of Soundcloud rappers from it’s heyday. The beats are varied and hard as nails, and GNAR himself (formerly Lil Gnar I assume?) can switch it up too, however there’s not an idea on here that Playboi Carti hasn’t done better. It’s not reinventing Soundcloud rap or anything; if you had told me this came out 3 years ago I would 100% believe you.

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Lil Gotit – The Real Goat
The project is a bit overlong, but I think it does a lot more for me than Lil Keed’s release did earlier this year in terms of deciding who the promising talent coming out of YSL is. Gotit and Keed reflect two sides of Young Thug’s style, with Gotit being the older version and Keed being the weirder version; I can get behind both, but Gotit has so much more staying power to me. This album has slower, bass-heavy bangers, over which Gotit raps slow and almost indecipherable (much like the Young Thug from 5 years ago lol) with a tinge of autotune. I like where he’s going, and I hope he can get more features and album placements.

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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-------SINGLES-------

LNDN DRGS (Feat. Conway the Machine) – Sideshow
The California duo is setting themselves up to release a stacked album up soon, with this new single featuring none other than Griselda’s Conway the Machine. The beat has a hell of a spirit, with the hook being an untampered soul sample that plays out so beautifully. I don’t know how I feel about Jay’s rapping, it feels a little sterile in delivery (that may just be his voice), but Conway glides spectacularly over this instrumental.

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Tobe Nwigwe (Feat. Paul Wall) – Juice
Paul Wall basically spits a dictionary at you, and I’m totally ok with this. The beat is a banger, but I’m not sure if I’d classify it as a Houston banger which is odd given the context. I love how Paul and Tobe have a back and forth verse (and call out Chamillionaire for a remix), but I don’t know how I feel about Tobe as a rapper. His delivery is fine, but something about his lyrics and the way he says things is just… goofy? I just can’t get behind him quite yet, but if this is attached to an album we’ll see soon enough.

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Jacquees (Feat. Young Thug & Gunna) – Verify
Not as catchy as his last single, and I think there are some mixing issues with the beat being really loud and tears at points, but I still like the track. It’s short, but all three do well enough. I wish it were more like the last track where all three got a full verse, because it feels lazy to have Gunna and Thug share a verse. Jacquees does well; his voice has really grown on me as of late.

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Gang Starr (Feat. J. Cole) – Family and Loyalty
Wow, what a comeback! It’s been damn near twenty years since the last Gang Starr album, and with Guru’s death (not to mention the supposed fallout between the rapper and Preemo) it was the last thing on my mind to expect a new album from the duo. I was hesitant going into this; posthumous releases almost never work in a satisfying way (especially with material that is so old). But if this single is any indication, I think DJ Premier is the best hands possible to facilitate a release like this. Baldhead Slick feels as fresh as ever, and J. Cole obviously understands the importance of his placement and knocks his verse out of the park.

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Riggz (Feat. Big K.R.I.T.) – Chill
Smooth, bass-heavy track that I wouldn’t be surprised if K.R.I.T. produced himself. I have never heard of Riggz before; he does alright on the track but it really feels like he’s the feature on his own track with him only laying one verse while K.R.I.T. does both a verse and a hook. The song is a little basic, but it gets the job done.

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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DaBaby – Intro
The flow may be the same, but DaBaby is talking about some real shit here. Lots of bars about his father who has recently passed, his daughter, and his mother; overall a large step up from his recent subject matter. If this is any indication of the album to come, I think we’re in for a little growth from hip-hop’s feature golden child.

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Free Nationals (Feat. J.I.D, Kadhja Bonet, & MIKNNA) – On Sight
Is it just me, or does this song sound like a chipper, washed-out version of Redbone? MIKNNA is seemingly comatose here, but Bonet is mixed into the track fantastically, and we finally get a J.I.D feature that’s more than 8 bars for once. The instrumental sounds good, and I love the wonky basswork, but I can’t help feel like it’s a little simple and repetitive, especially during the hook (which goes on for way too long)

Here’s the Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music link to listen to On Sight:

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Princess Nokia – Sugar Honey Iced Tea (S.H.I.T.)
This song is a fucking banger, with crazy sub-bass and a provocative hook. The horns, choral vocals, and Nokia’s fiery delivery and lyrics imbue the track with hella swagger and confidence. Where the hell was this on her last album? The lyrics are fairly topical and present some cool points on various issues, which with someone of her forwardness I would expect nothing less.

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Lil Mosey (Feat. Gunna) – Stuck in a Dream
Quite the entrancing track, with some fast flows from Mosey and Gunna backed by a nice guitar-laced trap beat. Lil Mosey took a massive L this year with his XXL cypher performance, but I think tracks like these can help take the focus off of that and onto his quality melodies with excellent production.

Here’s the Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music link to listen to Stuck in a Dream:

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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K Michelle (Feat. Kash Doll & City Girls) – Supa Hood
I’m not at all interested in whatever K Michelle is bringing; she doesn’t seem to bring anything new that would interest me. The hook is awful in the first half but turns really catchy with the “Supa Hood” refrain. Yung Miami is doing what she always does with the explicit lyrics. But Kash Doll is the star of this show, with a cold presence on the mic, and some great flows and rhyme schemes.

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Eric Bellinger (Feat. Wale & Guapdad 4000) – Champagne
I like this Chris Brown-lite track, although it has issues. First off, where was Guapdad? I felt like I heard some of his adlibs but was that him on the hook? Also, Wale’s verse was so short he may as well have not even been on the track. The hook is also way too long and annoying with just the incessant “champagne”. Other than that, it’s a trap/R&B banger.

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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