Weekly Fix #23

A fairly solid week, with great projects coming from all around the hip-hop spectrum. The volume of projects was significant, and it was good to see that the quality seemed to match for the most part.

Some of you will notice that I’ve now added little descriptors to each project and single, to make it easier to decide if you want to check something out. Hopefully it helps you wade through everything coming out and finding what you want to listen to (I’ll still listen to everything for you).

There have been a bunch of projects announced for the end of November, a few of which might give my year end lists a run for my money. Keep your ear out, and keep checking in here on Tha Soup Dude’s Kitchen, to see how this year is going to end; I know I’m excited as hell!

Here’s a link to the Week #23 Playlist for y’all

-----PROJECTS-----

DJ Shadow – Our Pathetic Age
This is my first Shadow project I’ve listened to (I know.), and all of the negative reception to this album is understandable, but completely lost upon me. It’s a double disc, usually a no-no for me, but they are actually two completely different albums, with the first disc being entirely instrumental and the second a gauntlet of legendary hip-hop acts over some electric boom-bap. There are some cool ideas on the first disc, but the second disc is what I’m truly recommending.

Recommended if you like: spacey, atmospheric, minimal-sample instrumentals; golden age rappers over futuristic boom-bap

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Fred the Godson – God Level
Fred has some alright bars on here, and his delivery is as cold-blooded as ever, but the instrumentals really let him down here. I was hoping since 38 Spesh had his hand in this that it would follow more of his style of production, but it plays more like his collab with Joel Ortiz this year: overproduced. A couple of the features on here are singers that do awful hooks, which, paired with some of the sweet, mid-2000’s triumphant shit that appears on God Level, makes some tracks unbearable.

Recommended if you like: a capable and cinematic emcee, unique vocal quality and delivery, slightly mainstream but with that old-school soul

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Tory Lanez – Chixtape 5
It’s long, and the skits can get a bit grating (flashbacks to his debut album from a few years ago), but the nostalgia that Tory plays on with this tape is fantastic. Some of the biggest names in 2000’s R&B are on here to give Lanez hella credibility, and the beats are a nice mix of a mainstream of today and the mainstream of 15 years ago. If he had cut a few of the duds, and shortened a broken up some tracks from the skits, it would be up there with Love Me Now.

Recommended if you like: R&B throwback mixed with mainstream singer/rappers of today, variety of melodic flows and moods, lots of big-name features

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Daniel Son & Futurewave – Moonshine Mix 2
I’ve heard Daniel Son on features, but this is my first full project from the man. I’m impressed with the unorthodox ways he goes at a beat sometimes; it can genuinely surprising to see him switch up cadence and flow. His subject matters are really nothing to write home about, but his hungriness on the mic shouldn’t be ignored. But I think Futurewave is the star of this show, with a great spread of low-key psychedelic boom-bap. Great features on this thing too.

Recommended if you like: CRIMEAPPLE, otherworldly and spooky boom-bap, Westside Gunn, raw energy on the mic

YouTube/WavGodMusic.com

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Jay NiCE & Farma Beats – POMPEii!
I am loving this project, which has a loose motif drawing from the destruction of Pompeii. The instrumentals from Farma Beats run the gamut from gutter as fuck to meditative, with the samples underlying all being A-fucking-1. The *bars* on here are phenomenal; the guests he brings on are some of the best Delaware has to offer (along with some underground mainstays), and Jay NiCE himself is an incredibly intelligent emcee with smart turns of phrase and sharp topical lyrics. I need more of this dude in my life and will look further unto him.

Recommended if you like: the harder side of Wu-Tang (think Method Man’s Tical), Griselda, Sean Price, dark and murky samples, strong sense of motif and atmosphere, Your Old Droog, strong features

YouTube/Bandcamp

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Berner – La Plaza
I was expecting to hate this because Berner is not good at all, but I ended up respecting that he puts on so many artists, especially Spanish rappers. Berner himself is the averagest of average, literally almost nothing about him standing out, but the people he brings on really bring the album to life. Also, these beats are way too fucking good to give to this guy, he obviously paid good money to get them shits (RZA? Really?). The length at well over an hour is another huge issue, but there are enough quality tracks to warrant a listen.

Recommended if you like: weed rap (Wiz Khalifa, Curren$y, Smoke DZA), a mix of Spanish and English emcees, quality beats that revolve around West-Coast motifs, smoking weed, stories about weed, marijuana

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Styles P – PRESENCE
It has some duds on here that reach too far into mainstream sensibilities, but there are a couple of great tracks that show off P’s cold-bloodedness. The instrumentals are a little of a letdown (but Styles has never been very good at beat selection), but Styles can still hold a track down on his own. The features (besides the Griselda boys) are disappointing; I would have like to have seen the LOX on here.

Recommended if you like: smoky, atmospheric boom-bap, great and unique vocal deliveries, sinister instrumentals, old legends trying to remain relevant

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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PlayThatBoiZay – Nocturnal
There are some alright ideas here, but nothing except the track with Denzel is fleshed out in any way. It’s ultraviolent and aggressive, but others in the industry can do this sound while also keeping to quality song-making. And the last track being an “infected version” (AKA literally just a slowed down version) padding out this EP another 4 minutes really grinds my gears.

Recommended if you like: metal/punk music, heavy bass, aggressive and shouty deliveries, short but chaotic tracks, artists like XXXTENTACION, Denzel Curry, and City Morgue

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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

2nd Generation Wu – 7.O.D
This new group (which has a terrible name for what it’s worth) is made up of the sons of Wu-Tang members, namely Method Man, U-God, Ghostface Killah, & the late ODB. They play heavily on Wu nostalgia for this first single, but I see potential for a great group record from the four, who are all pretty good rappers in their own rights. But, if they aren’t as good (Young Dirty Bastard), they can still contribute to the groups image and style in a good way. Very hype for this.

Recommended if you like: Wu-Tang Clan, nostalgic call backs to old Wu-Tang, youthful energy, boom-bap, well-rounded groups of emcees

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Reason (Feat. Ab-Soul) – Flick It Up
Alright, maybe this Reason dude can stand to be an enduring face of TDE, because this song bangs and is lyrical as fuck. Ab-Soul blesses us with a quality verse with substantial wordplay, sorely missed from now years out of the spotlight. The beat is hectic and perfect for fast bars. So far, Reason is impressing me heavily, and I’m anticipating this new album with bated breath.

Recommended if you like: fast and articulate flows, mind-bending wordplay, rappers like Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole, catchy hooks

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Trouble (Feat. Boosie Badazz) – Ain’t My Fault
This shit slaps. It has this cocky edge to it with the prominent synth-bass notes and what almost sound like an 808 kick, and Trouble is able to run with it. Boosie even comes through with an aggressive, arrogant verse. All that being said, the song is a little gimmicky, and is not anything like the more serious material the two have put out recently.

Recommended if you like: playful, bass-heavy southern music, DaBaby, Atlanta accents, Gucci Mane, pimpin

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Lucky Seven (Feat. Conway the Machine & Elcamino) – Life Eye Chose
Never heard of Lucky Seven (shoutout SUN TZU on YouTube for introducing me to hella music), but he’s alright. Has kind if a Guilty Simpson feel, but more positive and wordy in his flow. The instrumental is cute and nostalgic, but the loop is a bit to vanilla for me. The Griselda boys on here are fantastic, with Elcamino killing the hook and Conway ripping this beat a new one.

Recommended if you like: sweet and soulful instrumentals, drug-related and old-school gangster lyrics, Snoop Dogg, old R&B and dance (like 70’s music), great flows, catchy silky hook

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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B.o.B – Pennywise
I like the idea of the track, and the beat is in the style of this kooky short vocal snippet production that B.o.B. has been cooking up recently, but the lyrics are a problem. The song basically repeats itself for some reason? It was funny listening to the verse the first time but then he just…. Spits the same verse again. Very confusing track, but it’s worth a listen.

Recommended if you like: repetitious vocal samples, sparse beats, punchline-rap, movie references, comedic elements

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Glass Animals & Denzel Curry – Tokyo Drifting
So the beats on here are bangers, both the first and second half, with distorted bassline and sub-bass. Denzel Curry also rips his feature apart with some fiery flows (although it is on the shorter side despite the track being billed as a Glass Animal and Denzel Curry Track). But, I think the other dudes voice, who I assume to be the lead singer of the band, is terribly annoying. I would almost prefer this to just be an instrumental.

Recommended if you like: beat switches, left-field trap bangers, Travis Scott, art-pop/hip-hop crossovers, beat drops

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Royce da 5’9” (Feat. Syd Ari Da Kid, White Gold, CyHi the Prynce, & T.I.) – Black Savage
I have mixed feeling about this track. On one hand, I love Royce’s verse, and T.I. closes out the song with some true savagery on the mic. But I think the beat is overproduced, White Gold’s verse is just so out of place and terrible with it’s non-flow and repetitive lyrics, and CyHi the Prynce could have gone soooooooo much harder with his verse. CyHi was good, but the wordplay and delivery wasn’t nearly fiery and “oh shit!”-inducing as it should have been.

Recommended if you like: poignant and sharp lyrics with technical flows, chorus-heavy songs, positive and uplifting hip-hop, choral vocals

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Flipp Dinero (Feat. Lil Baby) – How I Move
Yo this is a fucking banger, with an amazing flute sample riding the beat till the end. Flipp is a bit non-descript as an emcee, but he works well enough with the beat. Lil Baby kills his verse in his trademark way. It’s a slower track, so there’s more room for them to show off their flows. Dinero kind of sounds like Smokepurpp and YK Osiris mixed together, but not as cutthroat as the former and not as sing-song as the latter. Definitely good.

Recommended if you like: super prominent flutes, guitars, YK Osiris, solid flows, mainstream trap instrumentals, Future, catchy hooks, Gunna

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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A Boogie wit da Hoodie (Feat. Lil Uzi Vert) – Reply
I like the back and forth that the two have across the track; one of Uzi’s best features this year. I also love how the two stick to the subject matter of the track of how fame impacts their love lives. It’s sad, sometimes bitter-sweet, but it’s always sung well. If you’re fiending for new Lil Uzi (I’m not, but I know a lot of y’all are), this is what you should check out.

Recommended if you like: actually hearing Lil Uzi Vert (duh), super melodic trap, autotune, sad vibes ☹, strong topic

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Future (Feat. Lil Durk) – Last Name
I’m actually very impressed with not only Super on this cut, but also Lil Durk, who’s lyrics are impressively personal and passionate: they are obviously born of a place of personal experience. The beat is reflective and ripe for storytelling, like a lot of Chicago trappers nowadays, but Future fits right at home on the track. He can low-key hit you right in the feels…

Recommended if you like: melodic Chicago trap, Polo G, Youngboy NBA, Future’s HNDRXX album, personal lyrics

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Big K.R.I.T. – Ballad of the Bass (My Sub V)
I like how this song is a two-parter, but I think the back-half is leagues better than the first. The first has a Three 6 feel to it with the knocker of a beat and the layered gang-vocals for the hook. It’s slightly one-note, and goes on for too long before the second half kicks in. The second half is slicker, groovier, and has a solid organic bassline. K.R.I.T raps in his normal voice with a fantastic verse on that second half as well.

Recommended if you like: beat switches, southern tinged trap, gang-vocals, Three 6 Mafia, heavy Mississippi accents, UGK, basslines, subwoofers

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Kap G – The Bomb
A catchy piece of latin trap-pop that plays heavily on Ritchie Valens’ classic track “La Bamba”. Kap G spins the melody into his own version, showing he has a decent voice and a penchant for crafting earworms (thought the original song is probably the thing that will grab you). This dude is actually a really good artist all around, and to me he’s criminally underrated.

Recommended if you like: reinterpretations of classic songs, Latin flavored music, slightly gimmicky trap, some Spanish lyrics, autotune

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Trippie Redd (Feat. DaBaby) – Death
Samples one of my favorite Three 6 Mafia songs, Hit a Muthafuka,, and thus channels that Memphis murder shit in a classy way. Trippie, however, does not tap into this at all, instead just doing what he normally does, which I suppose isn’t *horrible*, but I feel like he should have rapped more to theme. The hook is also… slovenly. DaBaby kills his verse but I probably don’t need to tell anyone that anymore; it’s pretty much a given,

Recommended if you like: Memphis music, Three 6 Mafia, classic samples, banging trap beats, loose and lazy singing/rapping, Project Pat, Young Thug

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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NGHTMRE & Gunna – Cash Cow
There’s a sort of grand darkness to this instrumental, and a lot of hallmarks of an electronic crossover (no great beat drops tho). Nocturnal synths, lots of prolonged sub-bass notes, and a generally clean mix. It’s good, and I think it’s a great landscape for Gunna to rap over with his auto-crooning. It can feel overdramatic at times, but I think Gunna is the best man for the job.

Recommended if you like: electronic music, the Tron soundtrack, heavy and digital trap music, auto-tune, catchy hooks, lots of synths and sub-bass, darkness

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Billie Eilish – everything i wanted
Super commercial sound; hella watered down in comparison to her debut album. It has the typical pop lead-up, melodramatic chorus, and distant and spectral vocal delivery. I still like it (I mean, Lorde did pretty much the same thing going into Melodrama), but I think this is a little more drastic of a change. It feels almost like House music, with not too much actual instrumentation.

Recommended if you like: chill house-inspired beats, low-key singing and soft delivery, pop, Lorde, Lana Del Rey,

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Hitmaka (Feat. Young M.A., Dreezy, Mulatto, Dream Doll, & Chinese Kitty)  – Thot Box (Remix)
This is 1000x better than the original version of the track that came out a few months ago. I felt like despite the star power, no one brought their A-game on the previous version; but these ladies come in here and destroy this motherfucker. I thought the beat was skeletal at first, but hearing this group go at it gives it a much colder quality. The wordplay and raunchiness here is off the charts; it’s not for the faint of heart!

Recommended if you like: provocative and in-your-face lyrics (definitely R-rated), female emcees, lots of swagger and stunting, minimal west-coast instrumentals, artists like Cardi B & Nicki Minaj

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Princess Nokia – Balenciaga
I like the vibe and the swagger coming from Nokia, and the beat is an understated trap banger, but there is a distinct lack of energy that he last single had. It sounds, in a way, like a modern Lil Yachty track in delivery, but obviously works much better than anything he could come up with. Still, I think the night and day difference between this and S.H.I.T. has me confused on where Princess Nokia is going with this.

Recommended if you like: strong female emcees, nocturnal and minimal trap bangers, modern Lil Yachty, Amine

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Elcamino (Feat. Benny the Butcher) – Shrimp at Phillipes
It’s more upbeat than the previous single, with this airy, flowing vocal sample bringing up the back of the mix. I also love the different parts of the beat like the occasional breakdown. It’s a very classy and regal instrumental. Elcamino does his thing on here, not much else to say, but Benny comes super correct with the wordplay on this track, which he always seems to do for Elcamino. It’s a little on the short side however, and I would have liked to have seen a solid chorus.

Recommended if you like: The LOX, prominent vocal samples, funk/jazz samples, mafiaso rap, melodic rapping without autotune, great wordplay

Spotify/YouTube

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CashMoneyAP (Feat. Rich The Kid & Stunna 4 Vegas) – All I Know
Spacey vibe of a trap track, with subdued synths and little bells and whistles mixed in. It’s a simple but effective instrumental, but I would have expected more from a track that’s billed as a producer track. Rich The Kid is great on the hook, but I could have done without his verse, and Stunna 4 Vegas doesn’t make nearly as strong of an impression on me as his compadre DaBaby does.

Recommended if you like: soundcloud rap, minimal trap production, faint autotune, measured flows, solid hook, short and sweet

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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