Weekly Fix #26

Welcome to the Weekly Fix, where I go over everything that I’ve listened to that has come out within the past week or so. I’ll give a little blurb about the project/single with my feelings on it thrown in there, throw some descriptors and other artists names to give you an idea what the project/single is like, and link to all applicable streaming services/online stores where you can find the music.

Hip-Hop in the spotlight has always been a young man’s game. 18/19/20 year old kids trying to make a name for themselves, getting them and their families out of the situations they were raised in. Many are barely out of high-school making decisions and signing contracts that will affect them for the rest of their lives. I know I couldn’t understand the implication of something like that at 21… the point is that at 21 I had a lot more growing up to do. I was still a kid. Dying at 21 years old is dying before your life has a chance to really start. Juice WRLD made millions of dollars for his family and his girlfriend, who is currently pregnant, but at 21 his career was just getting started. Rest in Peace to Juice, and to all these other young men who deserved to live much longer than 21…

Here’s a link to the Week #26 Playlist for y’all

-----PROJECTS-----

Roc Marciano – Marcielago
My man Roc Marciano has had a relatively quiet 2019; a handful of quality features, but not anything like his 3-album run in 2018. Well, he decides to end out the year with honestly one of his best albums yet, releasing a project that has super soulful and passionate beats that are incredible from front to back. Roc Marciano as a rapper only gets better as he gets older, with his super dense rhyme schemes and hilarious punchlines demonstrating how instrumental he was to a lot of these dudes blowing up today (the Westside Gunns and CRIMEAPPLEs out there).
Recommended if you like: soul music, Westside Gunn, drumless beats, religious influence, blaxploitation films, soundtracks, choral vocals, Madlib, sample-heavy hip-hop, intricate and wordy flows, dense rhyme schemes, pimpin music,

YouTube/Roc Marciano’s Online Shop

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Roddy Ricch – Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial
With a fantastic string of singles leading up to this debut album, I was excited to hear where Roddy would go on a full project. The results aren’t mind-blowing, but there are some quality melodic-trap cuts on here. Any collaboration on here is fire, and it’s clear that’s where the most attention was focused. There a clear underdog feel on here, of a scrape to the top of the pile, and the emotion behind some of his vocals can be felt. The writing can be the undoing of some of these tracks, where he’s clearly trying to go for the weirdness of a Young Thug but it isn’t written as… cleverly as Thugger would have it.
Recommended if you like: melodic trap, Meek Mill, banging trap beats, Lil Durk, interesting and engaging instrumental melodies, YoungBoy NBA, strong and catchy hooks, Young Thug, doing shit/going outside

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Czarface – The Odd Czar Against Us
While I do love me some Esoteric and Inspectah Deck, I feel like this project is just going through the motions of a Czarface project. The past two or three projects 7L has gone down this really weird rabbit hole with his production of these off-kilter and strange (and not really in a good way) instrumentals, which I’m not sure if it’s artistic direction or it’s a conscious decision not to use too many samples. The beats are also so much slower and grindier, which makes Deck look a little better, but Esoteric just seems corny trying to still rap quickly over the lower tempo beats. I wish they would go back to the sunnier, more nostalgic cuts from Every Hero Needs a Villain (and also bring in features; these past few albums have been feature deserts).
Recommended if you like: MF DOOM, odd and clunky boom-bap beats, comic books, wordy and simile/metaphor laced raps, Logic, colorful wordplay, old legends, Wu-Tang Clan, comedic bars

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Max B – House Money
With his sentence getting smaller and smaller, Max B is looking to get out of prison sometime on 2021. To build some buzz before that happens we get this little EP, which is made from some older verses from Biggaveli and plenty of features. Honestly, it’s pretty fucking good. It’s a solid mixture of sounds, with some earl 2000’s gangsta shit, Lex Luger-like early 2010’s bangers, and even some older sounds with samples and whatnot. Also, Max is a much better rapper than I remember, but very similar to a lot of other Harlem rappers. Worth a listen 100%, and I’ll be looking out for his project when he gets out. FREE MAX B.
Recommended if you like: DipSet, Harlem rappers, old-school trap beats, early 2000’s New York rap, Dave East, dramatic beats, lots of features, Styles P, being wavy

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Camila Cabello – Romance
Whenever she sticks to her Latin-Pop guns, the album has some solid bangers and hooks. But too often Camila dwells into the vanilla pop traps that someone like Taylor Swift would run into head-first. I’ll be honest and say the only reason why I listened to this project was for the DaBaby feature (which does not disappoint at all), and stays for a couple of catchy beats and hooks. Camila’s voice is super smooth, but it doesn’t have the range of someone like Ariana Grande.
Recommended if you like: Lana Del Rey, latin-pop, acoustic guitars, some Spanish, lovey-dovey lyrics, simplistic song structures, catchy hooks

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Eto – The Circle
A short but deeply collaborative effort between Eto and Wally Clark. As opposed to sending over beats for Eto to use, it’s clear that these instrumentals are tailored and edited with Eto in mind, and Eto seizes the opportunity to use the beats to his advantage. There are solid track concepts and great lyrics across this thing, but the deeply soulful and cinematic beats are really what sells this album. I only wish it could have been longer (and maybe threw in a few features too)
Recommended if you like: sampling, cinematic lyrics and instrumentals, Flee Lord, short projects, Roc Marciano, Statik Selektah, soul music, jazz, poetic lyrics, Westside Gunn

YouTube/Bandcamp

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Sauce Walka – Sauce Ghetto Gospel 2
Sauce goes back to his Houston roots on this one, and while it’s way too long I feel like the mix of it’s genuine feel and it’s strange proclivities make it something unique. He goes for the smooth riding shit that’s par for the course for H-Town rappers, but he can also introduce unusual vocals or samples. There are some beat on here that utilize the off-kilter and oddly chopped samples from some big names like Queen’s Freddie Mercury. Sauce himself is still boisterous and pimpish while yelling at you, but he is a little more low-key and shouldering on this mixtape
Recommended if you like: shouty and breathy deliveries, DMX, swagger, inappropriate music, Chief Keef, trap drums,  Houston music, Maxo Kream,

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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French Montana – MONTANA
Ok so this album is getting a lot of hate, but it’s honestly French Montana’s best album. Should it have been a double disc? Fuck no. Should almost the entire second disc be discarded? Yes. But the first half of this thing has some quality Coke Boys cuts, and even though the features carry this thing, Montana doesn’t ruin the entire thing like he normally does. The beats in particular, especially the ones provided from Harry Fraud, are a delight to listen to.
Recommended if you like: pop-rap, feature heavy albums, Jim Jones, admittedly bad rapping, weird throwbacks to early-mid 2000’s, mainstream trap, being wavy, dancehall, g-funk, basically every style from the past 20 years, the US state of Montana,

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Fat Joe & Dre – Family Ties
While being way too overproduced for it’s own good, I think Fat Joe and Dre do a pretty good job on the mic. They aren’t as sharp as they once were, but I think their conviction on the mic, especially Fat Joe, lends a sense of… well actually trying. Instead of going through the motions they seem like they want to make a good records, and a few cuts off of here show it. The beats are the things holding the album back though, with these grand middle-career-Eminem-esque feel to them in their corniness.
Recommended if you like: middle career Eminem, inspirational beats, nostalgic lyrics and samples, DipSet, mafioso lyrics, trap drums, old legends over modern beats, Papoose,

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Danny Towers – Tarantula
A disappointing debut for several different reasons: Towers isn’t as animated as he could have been, the build-up to it just didn’t pay off, and there are several tracks that would have had good features… but Danny isn’t on them for some reason? The beats are consistently ok, but I don’t feel like Danny capitalized on it well enough, and for a debut project it falls short. But this guy is worth a listen to hear the *potential* in his delivery and vocal quality; I know he can do better than this, and I’ll still check for him in the future.
Recommended if you like: gravelly and guttural voices, metal music, new Lil Yachty, horrorcore, South Florida trap, Ronny J, Ski Mask the Slump God

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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XXXTENTACION – Bad Vibes Forever
For his “final” posthumous album (we’ll see about that), it’s not that bad. Don’t get me wrong, I cut over 15 tracks after the first listen; but cut through the fat, more fat, and even more fat, and you’ll get a handful of good songs, some of which are even sweet in their own ways. X always had an ok voice, and the acoustic guitar cuts on here, while being a little corny, are endearing in their own ways. Most of the features here are total cash grabs and those people should be ashamed of themselves, but some, like Joey Bada$$ and PnB Rock, show at least some attention paid to artistic chemistry.
Recommended if you like: acoustic guitar cuts, emo trap, Lil Peep, screamo, blink-182, alt rock, punk, South Florida trap, $uicideboy$, tons of features, tortured artists

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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

Flatbush ZOMBiES (Feat. Tech N9ne) – Monica
I think the beat is a banger, and I love the repetitive nature of the lyrics that link all the verses together. All three of the ZOMBiES do fantastic over the beat, especially Meech who leans heavily into this gravelly voice and delivery. Honestly, I can’t say I love the track simply because of Tech N9ne, who just doesn’t seem to fit into the ZOMBiES’ chemistry. His weird staccato pseudo-hook just feel awkward, and the “verse” he lays at the end leaves a lot to be desired; expected more speed and ferocity from someone of his caliber.
Recommended if you like: irreverent and bold lyrics, Ski Mask the Slump God, charismatic characters, strong theme, funny lyrics, horrorcore, unique and varied emcees, trap beats,

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Dave East, Jay Electronica, & 070 Phi – No Hoodie (Nothin’ To Loose)
It’s a track made in collaboration with some sort of non-profit that give out clothes to the homeless; an noble cause for sure. Dave and Jay tailor their verses as stories of people (maybe themselves at one point who knows) who are street-dwellers, cold and hungry, and some of the imagery used is pretty compelling. Jay in particular is poetic as shit when describing the lonely lifestyle. The beat is a non-descript but punchy trap beat with these chill little guitar licks in there; built as a canvas for the bars. 070 on the hook is just kind of ok; I’ve never really liked any of the 070 affiliates tho.
Recommended if you like: conscious hip-hop, , Lupe Fiasco, poetic lyrics, real stories about real people, Kendrick Lamar, uexpected collaborations, nocturnal trap beats, Meek Mill

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Navy Blue – Higher Self
The beat on this guy is a pitched-up piano loop, reflective in the way that it sounds like it should be something happy but instead is tinged with this hint of sadness that you can’t shake. The lyrics, like a lot of other rappers in this lane, are chocked full of metaphors and poetic turns of phrase; Navy Blue will never tell you how he’s feeling directly, but instead through his stories and images he conjures you can figure it out. It’s also very stream of conscious in delivery, flowing with little attention paid to rhyme-scheme as much as specific phases landing with weight. It’s an interesting listen for sure, but it’s pretty left-field.
Recommended if you like: newer Earl Sweatshirt, low-fi hip-hop, tight beat loops, Quelle Chris, cryptic and poetic lyrics, lots of wordplay to decipher, MIKE, sadness, Mach-Hommy,

YouTube/Apple Music

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NLE Choppa (Feat. BlocBoy JB, Yo Gotti, & Moneybagg Yo) – Camelot (Remix)
I didn’t really take this playful but hard-nosed piano-backed trap beat as a good canvas for a posse cut, but NLE decided to get a gaggle of some of his closest contemporaries. NLE and BlocBoy stick really close to that bloodthirsty Memphis sound that both of them seem to be bringing back to light, but Yo Gotti and Moneybagg adapt a little to fit their accents and flows to this style. I wish the guests on here had more time to shine, but every verse is memorable and funny enough to give this remix credibility.
Recommended if you like: Memphis murder music, DJ Paul, playful trap beats, slaps, Gucci Mane, pianos, ignorant lyrics, posse cuts,

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Smokepurpp – Audi II
I don’t think the beat is dark or grimy enough to justify being the sequel to Audi, but the beat at least slaps. I love the distorted bass and the crisp hi-hats on here, all showing how great the South Florida scene can be when the priority is creating great shit to bump while driving. I do think that the hook is overused, and Purpp isn’t going out of his way to pen amazing bars, but I guess the original Audi had the same problems too; it’s just fun to listen to at the end of the day.
Recommended if you like: distorted and chaotic trap music, South Florida, Denzel Curry, crisp hi-hats, irreverent and punk lyrics, guitar in your trap beats, Lil Pump,

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Statik Selektah & CJ Fly (Feat. Conway the Machine) – City We From
I just need to accept that I don’t think I’ll ever truly like CJ Fly. The man just sounds so goofy with his voice and his simple rhyme schemes, like a leftover from some late-80’s supergroup. This track with Conway however is actually really good, but not for anything CJ brings to the table. Statik slows the tempo down, utilizing sparse pianos and horn phrases; it sounds a lot like something Daringer would come up with, which allows Conway the really shine on the cut.
Recommended if you like: Griselda, dark and nostalgic instrumentals, expect sampling, DJ Premier, Caribbean accents, gritty lyrics, golden age hip-hop, Joey Bada$$,

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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MELODOWNZ (Feat. Denzel Curry) – No Mercy
I’ve never heard of this dude, but he has a lot of talent that I look forward to getting into. His voice is a mixture of like a South Florida trapper and some Three 6 Memphis shit; it’s smooth and enunciated, not rough at all. His flow is pretty intricate, but I feel like he’s straining himself for it, maybe to compete with Denzel. Curry’s feature is fire, with crazy flow and ferocity. The beat is also a banger, lowkey and murky with it’s deep sub-bass.
Recommended if you like: Three 6 Mafia, block-rattling bass, Pouya, trap music, fast and aggressive flows, Xavier Wulf, ultraviolent lyrics, Meek Mill

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Zaytoven (Feat. Lil Yachty & Lil Keed) – Accomplishments
Zay isn’t at the top of his game anymore on the production front; the beat here is pretty by the numbers with it’s drum and instrumental patterns. If you had told me this beat was made five years ago I’d believe you. But bringing Yachty and Keed together is nice, even if the former is a bit a snoozefest. Lil Yachty does what he always does nowadays: trying to convince people he’s a “real” one with his monotone threats. But Lil Keed out all all of the Young Thug clones occupies a much weirder space, and his vocal inflections and flow are a lot like the strangest of Thugger’s discography.
Recommended if you like: Gucci Mane, early 2000’s trap beats, dark and murky instrumentation, Waka Flocka Flame, Young Thug’s weirder side, quiet and subdued deliveries, wild and manic deliveries,

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Rich The Kid (Feat. Quavo) – That’s Tuff
Quite the likable track from Rich, and one of the more memorable Quavo features in recent memory. There’s a swagger that the two channel that really sells the party vibe of the track. The beat steals the show, however, with this prominent wind sample that seems all the rage for trap bangers these days. Lyrical substance is nowhere to be found however…
Recommended if you like: flutes, Ron Burgundy playing the flute, Mask Off, Migos, Lil Baby, cute trap beats, upbeat and fun instrumentals, triplet flows

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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Sean Price & Lil Fame – Center Stage
For a lead single from a collaborative project, I expected more… collaboration? I mean I get it, Sean Price has since left us, but Lil Fame ends up being the one strangely left off of his own track. He throws in a few word every now and then, but Price handles the verses. It gives me a bad feeling that this collab is happening simply because the name “The Price of Fame” works so well. It’s also mixed very low for some reason; I have to turn it up 50% higher than usual to hear anything.
Recommended if you like: hard-nosed hip-hop, old school boom-bap, Guilty Simpson, posthumous material, violent and irreverent lyrics, unique deliveries, Cappadonna, shouty deliveries

Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music

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