Weekly Fix #25

A slow week, but honestly I’m glad for it. It’s been a wild ride this year with all of these amazing releases, and this week just so happened to give one of the best albums so far *and* it gave me time to really listen to it. Big ups and big shout out to Griselda, not only for this fantastic album, but a long year of quality hip-hop: 2019 will be looked back on as *your* year. Congratulations to Westside, the Butcher, and the Machine.

Well, here we are: my 2019 is over. I need to see where Wwcd will place in my list and see if I need to restructure a bit, but it’s all pretty much set in stone by now. Starting on December 16, I’m going one album a day every work day for two weeks, listing out my top ten of 2019. Every album I’m recommending is the best that Hip-Hop has offered this year, and even if it’s not #1, it’s 100% worth a listen by everyone. Hell, I’d say my top 25 is a must listen; it was a good fuckin year.

A very very very special shoutout to Jay NiCE, Chris Skillz, Left Lane Didon, and everyone else who checked in from Deleware and around the world for showing love to my write-up of POMPEii! this week; being recognized like that inspires the hell out of me and I appreciate it. Keep that Delaware shit going boys.

Here’s a link to the Week #25 Playlists for y’all

-----PROJECTS-----

Griselda (Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine, & Benny the Butcher) – Wwcd
The Buffalo boys probably feel like they’re on top of the world right now, because this shit right here? This major label debut on Shady Records right here? This is the grimiest album you’ll hear this year. No fuck shit, no corny hooks, no trendy catchy beats; this is filth in album form. Front to fucking back. Gunn/Benny/Conway take it back to the early days of Griselda with the spacey, gritty beats produced entirely by Daringer. For day one fans and new blood alike, this is what the future of underground hip-hop sounds like.

Recommended if you like: G-Unit, dusty-ass drums, sick-ass grimy beat loops, QUALITY murder bars, mafiso rap, Raekwon, The LOX, sonically consistent projects, NO BULLSHIT, groups where everyone is talented

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Statik Selektah & Paul Wall – Give Thanks
Acceptably smooth and high-brow for someone like Statik Selektah. Bun B’s album from earlier this year was better, but this short project with Paul is good for being a gift to people on Thanksgiving. Paul is just doing his thing across the project, nothing stands out too much but it’s all ok. The features are a bright spot however, with Nems, CJ Fly, & B-Real sending over some great performances.

Recommended if you like: Houston legends, Chamillionaire, A Tribe Called Quest, jazzy hip-hop, crisp drums, Bun B, top tier sampling, Texas accents, grillz

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Curren$y – Hot August Nights Forever
The trap production on this thing is vanilla as hell, but I would be lying if I said it didn’t slap. This feels like some being stuck in traffic on the I-10 waiting for these damn people to move so you can get to your fuckin exit but you chilling with Curren$y so it’s all cool type music. I like how damn near every track has a guest. Really if you like Curren$y, you’ll like this.

Recommended if you like: Curren$y, spacey trap vibes, smoking weed, Smoke DZA, weed rap, good vibes, Wiz Khalifa

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Smoke DZA & Curren$y – Prestige Worldwide
This is the best thing Smoke DZA has released this year hands down. He flows like he’s actually trying on this one, and his bars and rhyme schemes are markedly better. The production across the EP are slowed down, trap for the most part, with some good basslines; a great combination for this brand of weed rap. I’m not like a die-hard fan of Curren$y but he’s listenable here, although he feels like he takes the backseat for a lot of this project.

Recommended if you like: Lil Wayne, crunk, New Orleans, weed rap, Wiz Khalifa, basslines, trap music, short and sweet projects, entertainment, management, financial portfolios, insurance, computers, black leather gloves, research & development, security, investors?: possibly you

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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The Game – Born 2 Rap
As his supposed last album, this project was very disappointing. HOWEVER, I respect the shit out of Born 2 Rap for being an incredibly personal experience, with tracks about his dead homies, his father, family, career, etc. My problems with the album come from it’s lackluster features, weak beats, and it’s entirely too fucking long runtime. I would have cut a good 15 tracks off of this thing. For an album that’s his final project, he pulls way too much from the mainstream playbook; the tracks that are more west-coast in the bones are the better ones here.

Recommended if you like: mid-career The Game albums, constant name-dropping, Kendrick Lamar, tons of singing guests, nostalgia for 2000’s west coast music, Just Blaze, mid-career Nas, personal albums

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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clipping. – The Deep
I dare say I almost like this project (EP really; it’s only 15 or so minutes) more than their album that came out this year. Sure, There Existed an Addiction to Blood was more ambitious, but it had so many detours it was hard to maintain my attention. The Deep is to the point, cinematic, tells a compelling story, and has engaging Daveed Diggs performances across the length (rapping). It’s also a little more straightforward production-wise too; there’s still industrial and electronic elements, but the weirdness comes more from the subject matter and song structures than weird sounds.

Recommended if you like: abstract but compelling storytelling, JPEGMAFIA, futuristic electronic production, fast and wordy rapping, SOPHIE, Vince Staples, water

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Blac Youngsta – Church on Sunday
This is a surprisingly bouncy from the Memphis emcee. There’s a lot of older New Orleans influence, with the Bounce scene and even some crunk in there. But amongst it is some mainstream trap (a lot like DaBaby’s style right now), older school trap, and some of the melodic rapping ala Youngboy NBA. It’s a varied album for sure, and while Blac Youngsta might not be the best rapper ever, he has charisma and some funny lines/deliveries across the project.

Recommended if you like: YoungBoy NBA, rubbery basslines, Yo Gotti, melodic trap, mainstream hip-hop, eccentric rap characters, Atlanta accents, DaBaby

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Fabolous – Summertime Shootout 3: Coldest Summer Ever
There are a surprising number of hits on here, but there are also a surprising number of duds on here as well. They all trend towards the sensual “for the ladies” cuts, but Fabolous does what he always does: rapping…. Ok? Like he can come up with some really cool punchlines, but half of the time it’s super corny and cringy. Just known you’re gonna get a mixed bag with this mixtape, but it’s still worth a listen.

Recommended if you like: Drake, sensual R&B, mainstream trap mixed with R&B, Chris Brown, Trey Songz, singers from like 2009, slow dancing music, mid 2000’s mixtape vibes, crying in the club

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Rittz – Put a Crown on It
When he gets personal, the track is almost unbearable to me; it’s reminiscent of like Revival/Relapse Eminem that I just can’t stand with the positive beats and… singing? Like Rittz you are a speed rapper just do that it’s hard as hell. When he gets going, it’s hard to slow the guy down, but as opposed to someone like Twista (who is also on this album), he can still get technical with a choppy flow. The production across this thing is also forgettable, but you aren’t really here to listen to the beats to be honest.

Recommended if you like: speedrapping, Logic, white people, Eminem, personal lyrics, Twista, good punchlines, corny lyrics

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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 -------SINGLES-------

The Weeknd – Blinding Lights
Abel released two singles this week, and the second one sounds like it took the 80’s as a huuuuuge influence. I love the vintage drum pattern here, the fantastic synth work, and The Weeknd’s great performance that felt like the dude is really a Rockstar now. This feels like Danger Zone 2019, and I’m all here for it.

Recommended if you like: Kenny Loggins, the 80’s, synths,  throwbacks, amazing vocal performances, the Top Gun soundtrack, rock-solid hooks, the Tron soundtrack, things that will make the radio it’s bitch, trips to the Danger Zone

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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The Professionals (Madlib & Oh No) (Feat. Elzhi & Chino XL) – Superhumans
I like the beat here, with it being a straightforward boom-bap cut with a scratched hook, but I can’t help but feel like Madlib punched under his weight with this one. He tailored it for these emcees tho, because Oh No, Elzhi, and Chino all do well over the beat, particularly Elzhi. His wordplay has always been one of the best in the game, and it’s a treat every time you hear him. Chino’s flow will put some people off, but man if it’s not creative and engaging.

Recommended if you like: Gang Starr, dusty ass drums, DJ scratching, top-tier lyricism and wordplay, creative flows, Freddie Gibbs, The Alchemist, the 90’s

YouTube

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Nef The Pharoah (Feat. Takeoff) – Cloth Talk
I’m loving the funky chord progression on this beat; it’s bay area to the core with its trumpet-y synths, but it also has these trap drums that root in in today. Nef isn’t doing anything he hasn’t done before; it’s a among his more subdued material but he still has swag. Takeoff is an unexpected face to see here, but he fits the aesthetic a lot better than I thought. The Mustard album with all three Migos on it probably should have taught me otherwise but whatever.

Recommended if you like: Vallejo California, E-40, hyphy synths, claps and snaps, cruising down the coast, Cadillacs, Migos, triplet flows, Eazy-E

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Roddy Ricch (Feat. A Boogie wit da Hoodie) – Tip Toe
The instrumental is quaint and straightforward with it’s guitars and dainty flute notes. I don’t know how well it will work as a single; it has a pretty good hook, but the verses are just ok and A Boogie’s verse isn’t too strong on lyrical quality. But I like all of the melodies presented here.

Recommended if you like: guitar or flute backed trap instrumentals, Lil Uzi Vert, melodic rapping, ridiculous lyrics, overexaggerated singing, Young Thug,

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Guapdad 4000 & The Cool Kids – Pop Quiz
A bouncy club bangers with this risqué edge to it. The drums pack a wallop in the ride, and the other dings and whistles are a lot like a Neptunes beat. It’s definitely more of a Cool Kids track than a Guapdad track, but everyone is able to lay down some memorable lines. It’s comedic in the normal way the Cool Kids rap, but still has this adultness to it.

Recommended if you like: slightly comedic rap, bops, Domo Genesis, shit that bumps in the whip, Ludacris, Pharrell,

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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The Weeknd – Heartless
If you’ve been missing rapping Weeknd, then this track is here for you. Out of the two singles, this is the more modern one, with a nice mainstream trap beat providing a good canvas for Abel to seriously rap like he’s so good at doing. I do think the clap in the beat is a little unnecessary, but the beat bangs enough to satisfy me. I love how these two singles are like completely different from each other, but somehow still pleasing the fans of Starboy.

Recommended if you like: The Weeknd whenever he actually raps, mainstream trap sensibilities, solid hooks, late-night radio bangers, Starboy, the old Abel

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Mach-Hommy (Feat. Navy Blue, YoungQueens, & Tvoy) – Clout Dracula
I…. I really don’t know what to make of this track. The beat is about the only somewhat normal thing about the track, being an eerie boom-bap beat. Even Navy Blue with his lowfi self comes through with a pretty traditional verse. Everything else? Song structure, guests, and Mach himself? It’s some strange shit. Mach rapping in French, this YoungQueens character sounding like a Swedish dude rapping in English, and Tvoy (WHO I SWEAR IS DROOG??) rapping in Russian. Just a very odd track.

Recommended if you like: multi-lingual rapping, MIKE, spooky scary beats, boom-bap, amateur singing, billy woods, abstract lyrics, low-fi rapping, Earl Sweatshirt

YouTube

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Yung Gravy & bbno$ – Iunno
A mindless and formless banger from these two meme-men right here. The beat is a simple trap loop with a couple horn notes, but it slaps so I’m not complaining. The bass notes on this guy are awesome. It’s supposed to be funny (to some people it definitely won’t be), but I feel like the guys try a little too hard here. I like the track, but while I love Gravy for just be a dumbass meme at this point, I’m still not sold on bbno$.

Recommended if you like: comedy rap that maybe tries a little to hard, slappers, The Lonely Island, minimal but bass maximal beats, being an alpha male, chads, lying to yourself about being an alpha male, actually being a beta male, NWA

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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