I know what y’all are thinking, this guy has barely posted in like a month and comes back posting a J. Cole song instead of Rich the Factor or CML, did someone kidnap the real Pink C and assume his identity? Rest assured it’s me, because I don’t have that lucrative of an identity to steal.
I’ve never gotten into Cole but I’ll be damned if this ‘Under the Sun’ off of Revenge of the Dreamers 3 isn’t a verifiable banger. Maybe I’m just getting older and softer or maybe this summer weather just has me in a good mood but I’m feeling this. This beat is sounding downright exquisite, all 3 rappers are on point; even Kendrick’s hook is dope. And while Cole and one of his Dreamville footsoliders with Da Baby sounds like a strange mix they come together seamlessly like tres heat-producing North Carolina amigos here. (According to Reddit/Wikipedia etc. the sample is ‘The Argo Singers- How I Love to Call His Name’ and the producers are Christo, Pluss, and Nice Rec).
Upon first listen, without knowing any better I assumed that the either the Cole verse or the Lute verse was Da Baby, and that Da Baby’s verse was one of the first two; what with Cole and Lute rapping about having a couple of guns and their cousin airing out a party for fun, and Da Baby rapping about being in college and smashing college bitches. (I’ve got to check out some more of Lute’s stuff this is the first time I’ve ever heard him).
There are a couple of other nice songs on this album too but I’m still trying to remember which is which with all the features etc. and how they kind of blend together. My one complaint is that this album keeps giving me anxiety when I listen to it on my phone especially during work hours because with the way the songs cut off abruptly/before you expect it I keep thinking that I’m getting a phone call.
I’ve got to give Cole credit he really brought together a pretty impressive list of artists for these Dreamville sessions, with everyone from Rick Ross to Terrace Martin (was Terrace Martin really on this?? Or maybe he’s on one of the songs that hasn’t been released yet). I think if I could choose any 5 artists that weren’t there/weren’t invited to throw into the mix at the recording sessions, off the top of my head, regardless of how realistic it would be, I’d go Peezy, CML/Lavish D, Rich the Factor, let’s throw ALLBLACK in there too, and the last spot is a tie between Duke Deuce, 03 Greedo and Kodak.
Jim Jones ft. Jadakiss, Philthy Rich – Don’t Know what They Took Him For
This Heatmakerz beat is unbelievable. Almost makes me feel like I’m in the 80s watching some type of promotional video from one of those sketchy self-help gurus where the actors are talking about how good their lives are after they paid him to walk over hot coals in his sketchy desert retreat and made his suggested life changes, or like a corporate training video from the same era telling you how to be a good employee. Or maybe even some sort of anti-drug PSA where the kids are talking about how great their lives are by not doing drugs. So many good Heatmakerz beats on Jim’s new album but this might be the best.
“On birthdays was the worst days, now I might pop $80 grand on a Thursday”. I love the over the top ‘Grrr’ ad lib after he mentions goons his goons purging which we’ve also seen previously in ‘Dipset Forever’ (the second coming of it). Ad lib game on point as always, and Jim does very well with the hook.
I’m never opposed to hearing what Jadakiss has to say and I obviously welcome the Phil feature. Jadakiss sounds like he’s in a very good place here (‘Count my blessings get my lessons out the Good Book’). Jim and Philthy have done some good work together before on ‘East Side‘ with Peezy. (Wish he would have gotten a Peezy feature for this album!) It’s kind of random that the Jim Jones album ends with a Philthy Rich verse but again I’m down with Philthy so I don’t really mind.
Harlem to Yonkers to Oakland
Side note: is Nef the Pharaoh locked up or is Philthy talking about a different Nef?
Taking a little break from The Bay and from Suga Free for a minute to post some heat out of Detroit by this newcomer DamJonBoi, but everyone knows that The Bay and Detroit are like cousins anyway. This dude DamJonBoi is a monster, he’s getting some buzz right now and not only does he rap he also makes a lot of these beats too on his own songs and for other artists like Mozzy and FMB DZ. His song ‘Capers‘ is blowing up and he has a lot of other heaters on his new ‘The Number 20’ project like the Barry Sanders intro and RIP Icewood.
Coach Joey aka Jospeh McFashion is doing his thing here as a Motor City version of DJ Khaled except with better taste and putting some dope collaborations together with some of the D’s biggest movers and shakers instead of say Jay-Z and Nas or Beyonce for the umpteenth time and without the Weight Watchers endorsement money or book deal.
“RIP my nigga Woo, niggas lying in their songs but on the stand telling truths, in the D it’s a zoo, raised in the Zone my first words was sowuu”
Lmao @ “Fuck these hoes I just want some lambchops to tell the truth, Red Zone in this bitch Joey pulled up in a coupe, lil blood like Klay Thompson with the chop he can shoot”. I kind of feel where you’re coming from about the lamb chops sometimes Jon Boi.
I love the ‘Red Zone’ name. Clearly DamJonBoi is from 7 Mile and he’s a Blood he’s not making it much of a secret; but I’m unclear on where he stands on the rest of the Detroit rappers that we all love like Peezy, FMB DZ etc. Because on the one hand he’s doing songs with DZ etc. but on the other hand I’ve seen him and Sada Baby throwing shots back and forth at each other online so not sure what the situation is.
A lot of times when producers start rapping the verses aren’t as good as their beats but Jon Boi is killing it in both departments.
The top song of the month finds your host sitting back eating a bag of crab chips, taking a long, relaxed drag from my Black and Mild taking in this Baltimore rap scene feeling like I’m Prop Joe. Caught this one Betchua (apparently aka Bitchuary) by Shordie Shordie on Crimedawbylaw the other day and haven’t stopped playing it since. This is the hardest song I’ve heard in a minute.
Betchua is going to hit millions of views, or at least it should. Shordie Shordie is a star. So far everyone I’ve showed this too in real life basically for the first 30 seconds or so was like ‘I don’t know about this one’ and then shortly after was nodding along and agreeing that it’s pure fire. Shordie Shordie has the requisite charisma and image that give Betchua the star power needed for a smash hit; Betchua has literally got it all – the song, the dance, the beat, the super catchy chorus, and most importantly it pulls off the difficult tightrope act of simultaneously having something for the ladies but still being something that the hard rocks in the trenches will appreciate, for example “When I leave you be going seeing different faces, when I leave I be fucking bitches different places; still in these streets, I’ve got charges that a nigga facing”. It’s basically the perfect slap for 2019. I challenge anyone to listen to it and not have it in their head for at least a week afterward.
“I’m in the club drinking Henny with my black and Mild, got my gun in I can wave it and start acting wild, but I won’t do that ’cause I guess that shit is out of style, that’s why I left the club early.” This line really says it all these days.
YNW Melly ft. Fredo Bang – Ingredients
Basically a 1a and 1b for song of the month because ‘Ingredients’ is up there too.
ure, unadulterated heater off of the YNW Melly album. Another early nominee for song of the year for 2019? Save for a track here and there the entire Melly album is straight heat. I’ve been blasting this all week and I think I played in 9 or 10 times in a row in the car after I first heard it. I’m a total square but I can def see the appeal of bumping this in the car driving away after hitting a lick in Florida. I love the hook here and the beat is nice too. It took me a minute to warm to NBA Youngboy opp extraordinaire Fredo Bang’s part but it’s grown on me more and more and now him stepping up to give his verse is one of my favorite parts of the song. While lyrically it’s pretty run of the mill/mediocre (what exactly does ‘picking that ass apart’ entail anyway? Lol), I’ve grown to appreciate the blunt-instrument quality of his voice/flow that he brings to the track as a foil to Melly.
FREE MELVIN!
YNW Melly – Robbery
Another banger off of the new Melly album. Pure heat. Possibly the most melodic song ever written about robbing? (Although I’m sure readers can come up with a few other candidates). Melly is definitley getting some shine but I’m surprised he isn’t blowing up even more with songs like this and the above.
Shordie Shordie – Pablo
Another heater off of Shordie Shordie’s fantastically-named ‘Captain Hook’ album. Shordie’s flow to kick this one off is sick. He definitley won’t be a one-hit wonder.
Earl Sweatshirt ft. Navy Blue – The Mint
I never really checked out or got into Earl Sweatshirt or any of these guys over the years, but I finally gave in and checked this out after seeing it on a bunch of year end lists and seeing a lot of positive reviews for Some Rap Songs, and I have to admit, this was just as dope as everyone was saying. Earl’s flow on this was sick. I ended up listening to the album probably 8 or 9 times in a row over the course of the long MLK weekend, it was only 24 minutes or so but it was definitley a captivating album. I also really liked ‘Ontheway!’ and ‘The Bends’ on here.
DB Tha General ft. Mistah FAB – Dope Era
Got this one from Rap Music Hysteria’s Best of 2018, just one of many gems on there. Beat is so sick. DB is always reliable and I’m never opposed to some new Mistah FAB. I’m still wondering why DB keeps yelling that he’s Brutha Man, Fifth Floor, like the Martin character but whatever I’m down with it.
JPEGMAFIA – Panic Emoji
As you can probably see by now I’ve been getting into some wierd stuff over the past month. Actually, let me rephrase, I’ve been getting into a lot of Baltimore stuff and a lot of wierd/’artistic’/avant garde type rap which I’m not usually into but for some reason I’ve been feeling in January. I finally checked out JPEGMAFIA for the first time, after seeing him on a lot of people’s Year End lists, and I had no idea what to expect with ‘Peggy’ i.e. I had no idea what to expect him to sound like. He was a bit hit or miss to me but the songs I did like by him were absolute bangers, my favorite of which is ‘Panic Emoji’. This beat is wild, it almost reminds me of some song you’d hear in some dark 80s movie in a scene about a prom or something.
MIKE – NeverKnocked
Another favorite from my out of left field avant garde grind. I love the ‘This year I’m playing Pac for my kids’ line and the lo-fi beat really grew on me after a few listens. This was an interesting album I’m looking forward to see what this guy does next. Side note – this guy is going to be hard to Google.
Kiddo Marv ft. John Wicks, Freese Cola, YBJ & CBE – Visa
I’m always up for some new Florida Haitian rap. I had been listening to a bunch of Marv a couple of years ago and had unfortunately kind of just forgotten about him so it was nice to see he’s still out here grinding. I have to go back and check out the rest of his recent output.
Poppa – R Kelly
I honestly wasn’t sure before I clicked this if it was going to be an R Kelly song called ‘Poppa’ or a Poppa song called ‘R Kelly.’ I’m not 100% clear here on what Poppa is doing wading around in that dirty water which cannot be heatlhy, but this song is low-key fire and really grew on me after a couple of listens. It’s not even particularly recent it looks like it’s from 2017 but I guess people have been re-posting it because of all the recent R Kelly news.
Westside Gunn – Elizabeth
This is a great example of the type of music these Griselda guys are capable of when they are at their best and not trying to be overly lyrical just for the sake of it. This is like ‘classic’ hip hop to me that evokes memories of a bygone age while still being ‘new’. ‘Every color Lambo truck we can make it, OG just came home from being caged in, don’t know what to do been locked up since Reagan, Allah got a better plan for you be patient.’
Pure, unadulterated heater off of the YNW Melly album. Another early nominee for song of the year for 2019? Save for a track here and there the entire Melly album is straight heat. I’ve been blasting this all week and I think I played in 9 or 10 times in a row in the car after I first heard it. I’m a total square but I can def see the appeal of bumping this in the car driving away after hitting a lick in Florida. I love the hook here and the beat is nice too. It took me a minute to warm to NBA Youngboy opp extraordinaire Fredo Bang’s part but it’s grown on me more and more and now him stepping up to give his verse is one of my favorite parts of the song. While lyrically it’s pretty run of the mill/mediocre (what exactly does ‘picking that ass apart’ entail anyway? Lol), I’ve grown to appreciate the blunt-instrument quality of his voice/flow that he brings to the track as a foil to Melly.
There’s a whole bunch of other bangers on this album, my second favorite of which was ‘Robbery‘. People who were into the whole Lil Baby/Gunnna acoustic guitar wave will probably also love ‘My Heart‘ on here. The song with Kanye seemed kind of out of place with the rest of the album and wasn’t really my thing but it was different/worth a shot and should give him exposure to a whole new audience. I feel like he also might as well have thrown ‘Freddy Krueger‘ on here as well since it’s still fairly recent and had been a huge single. I didn’t think I liked that one at first but I can’t get that haunted house-sounding ‘Cooling in the cut with my shooters’ hook out of my head so I guess now I’m a fan.
The new year finds your host sitting back eating a bag of crab chips, taking a long, relaxed drag from my Black and Mild taking in this Baltimore rap scene feeling like I’m Prop Joe. Caught this one Betchua (apparently aka Bitchuary) by Shordie Shordie on Crimedawbylaw the other day and haven’t stopped playing it since. This is the hardest song I’ve heard in a minute.
Betchua is going to hit millions of views, or at least it should. Shordie Shordie is a star. So far everyone I’ve showed this too in real life basically for the first 30 seconds or so was like ‘I don’t know about this one’ and then shortly after was nodding along and agreeing that it’s pure fire. Shordie Shordie has the requisite charisma and image that give Betchua the star power needed for a smash hit; Betchua has literally got it all – the song, the dance, the beat, the super catchy chorus, and most importantly it pulls off the difficult tightrope act of simultaneously having something for the ladies but still being something that the hard rocks in the trenches will appreciate, for example “When I leave you be going seeing different faces, when I leave I be fucking bitches different places; still in these streets, I’ve got charges that a nigga facing”. It’s basically the perfect slap for 2019. I challenge anyone to listen to it and not have it in their head for at least a week afterward.
“I’m in the club drinking Henny with my black and Mild, got my gun in I can wave it and start acting wild, but I won’t do that ’cause I guess that shit is out of style, that’s why I left the club early.” This line really says it all these days.
Not to sound like a trend hopper but I’m feeling this Baltimore scene right now, could Baltimore be the Detroit of 2019?
And if you’re looking for a more serious show instead of just non-stop entertainment it also looks like he could be on HGTV and replace one of those house-flipper shows like Desert Flippers or Fixer Uppers just flipping/rehabbing/renting out houses in Toledo I’d def rather watch that than the Property Brothers in some cushy suburb…
Alright it’s that time of year again where we come together to celebrate the holidays and compile our top 50 songs of the year, as we deck the halls to the sounds of Kodak, Peezy, FMB DZ, ALLBLACK, and maybe even some OT Genasis and T-Pain. This is in order from top to bottom, and the top couple of songs were really hard to decide between for a true #1 but any of them would be a worthy #1 song of the year. There are probably another 10 or so songs that deserved to be on here but I wanted to cut it off at 50 just to have some discipline/organization. Wishing you all happy holidays and many blessings in the New Year
