I’ve honestly never really gotten into these guys and admittedly I haven’t checked out much of their previous stuff that I can think of off the top of my head but I’ll be damned if this intro off of Little Brother’s unexpected comeback album May the Lord Watch isn’t some serious heat.
North Carolina is having a really nice year between the surprisingly good (to me!) Dreamville album, DaBaby planting his flag on the map and now this unexpected comeback from Little Brother.
I don’t know why but I love the ‘Raleigh…Durham… Chapel Hill’ of the intro right before the beat kicks in. This beat is so smooth and laid back.
My favorite part is the mental image the chorus conjures up of a turned-up Phonte about to go so hard at the bar or club just stomping onto the dancefloor one step at a time and warning his companions that they may literally need to reel him in because he can’t promise that he won’t get completely out of hand.
The rest of the album was also a very nice listen as well and I’m usually not a huge skits guy but even some of the skits weren’t bad. I agree with Ray Garraty that unfortunately a lot of new albums/music these daysis just made for the sake of being made and don’t really need to exist and just blend together into one big forgettable haze, but thankfully, unlike those I feel like May the Lord Watch is one that while not my usual style, stood out from the morass and needed to be made.
Cash Click Boog, ChirsOnTheBeat ft. Rockin Rolla – Tapout
I wanted to see what my guy Cash Click Boog has been up to lately since I haven’t heard him in a little while since my big Gang In Here kick earlier this summer; this is from a month ago but I’m liking what I’m hearing here. Pretty much exactly what you want to hear from Boog over typically harsh ChrisOnTheBeat production that’s perfect for all these Bay/Detroit guys. I love Boog’s voice (pause! pause!), definitley one of the most unique in rap.
Boog is sounding like every old, grumpy suburban dad here when kids are playing outside near their car; “Tipped the valet at the door told him grab my whip, I’ll put my foot in your ass if you scratch my shit”.
Another hightlight is Boog bluntly telling the squares to get out of his way – “Nigga shut the fuck up if you ain’t making flips, on the plane with a roll I had to take a risk”
From what I gather from features etc. it seems like Rockin Rolla is one of Boog’s top right-hand men. I like his name Rockin Rolla it has me picturing a greaser from the 50s or an Elvis type instead of a rapper. But Rockin Rolla quickly puts that notion to bed because he comes out firing here – “Boog I’m tired of niggas saying all this hating shit, take a trip with 10 bags that’s a baby trip, I just bought a Draco with a baby Kick… Southwest we the army and the navy bitch.” I’ve got to check out Rockin Rolla’s solo stuff because I like what I’m hearing from him.
Cheers to ChrisOnTheBeat for putting his name as one of the artists now instead of just a producer credit in parentheses at the end of the title. I’m definitley a fan of this guys’ menacing production. Bonus points to Boog for holding up the pool stick like a chop when he raps ‘If I gotta up the shhhhhhh’
THIS is the type of song I want to hear for new music from a legend with three decades in the game. Rising up above the circumstances to not only grow but blossom in a hostile environment.
“They outed me doubted me didn’t want me to flourish, I come from the ghetto where we was famished, malnourished. When people first heard me they thought that I was a fluke, but I’m a real nigga like Kunta Kintae from Roots. I’ma keep running even without any shoes.”
“Broken towel racks and bullet tissue holders, used to keep the bacon fat up in a can of Folgers, and if the heater ain’t working and it’s freezing cold? We open up the oven and turn on the stove.”
I’m absolutely loving E-40’s verse it’s low-key one of my new favorites; Simultaneously inspiring, reminiscent and defiant. I love his tone and flow/cadence on it whether it’s the affectation on ‘keep running without any shoes’ or the way he raps ‘We open up the oven and turn on the stove’ like he’s answering a question. The Kunta Kinte line and the part about how he keeps running even without shoes is just too fucking real. I wish it was a little longer!
As soon as I saw that Practice Makes Paper was out and browsed the tracklist, this was the first song I jumped to as it seemed like the most interesting combination of features and it did not disappoint. (And I’ve got to hand it to 40, he did a really good job of putting together some interesting features on this album and some unexpected combinations of artists, i.e. Tee Grizzley and Rod Wave, or putting together an all-star team of Detroit hustlers with Payroll, Peezy and Sada Baby. Some people don’t like when an artist has too many features and guest appearances on his solo album but I for one love it; variety is the spice of life, and when done organically, it’s interesting to see who artists you like are listening to and who they respect). I like that he tapped Rexx Life Raj for the hook here and I look Raj’s take on it. Raj is great with these types of reminiscent more serious songs, i.e. his verse and hook on my song of the year for last year. The Boosie verse wasn’t one of his all-time highlights or anything like that but I’m never opposed to hearing some new Boosie.
As a side note, elsewhere on the album, I have to salute E-40 for his ‘I keep a stick like Moses’ line; at this point in time rappers have made so many references to staying strapped that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find original ways of saying it but comparing yourself to Moses is definitely a new and inventive way to do it. And lastly let’s all take a step back to appreciate E-40l this guy has stayed strong in the game for over 30 years now and has done it his own way the whole time. It’s been a good year for 50+ year old West Coast rappers between E-40 and Suga Free.
People use phrases like spitting knowledge/dropping knowledge/dropping jewels or ‘putting us onto game’ pretty loosely these days when a rapper talks about any type of life advice or (usually) financial advice in a song i.e. someone like a Rick Ross talking about investing or stacking up for a rainy day etc. But E-40 takes it to a whole new level in ‘Bet You Didn’t Know’ because the ENTIRE SONG IS JUST E-40 DROPPING KNOWLEDGE.
After the first two points, I was kind of like ‘Alright, I see where this is going, it’s going to be a political/socially conscious song from E-40’ but then I did not see the third point coming at all ‘You can bring your own bottle of wine and pay the corkage fee in the restaurant. You can have your own wine locker and you don’t have to pay the corkage fee in the restaurant.’ Not what I was expecting but nonetheless helpful advice for those who don’t know. After that, E-40 really blindsides us by schooling us (in order) on some grammar, anatomy and the corporate structure of Volkswagen as the crowd behind him implores him to ‘Teach, teach, teach’ and encourages him to ‘Drop gems on them’ over and over again. From there, it’s a pretty wide-ranging cornucopia of topics, from the genuinely useful and insightful like helping your kids build their credit and quite a bit of health is wealth advice to less applicable in daily life such as ‘A maggot morphs into a fly, a caterpillar is a butterfly’. There’s quite a bit of animal talk (my favorite of which would have to be ‘A dolphin can beat a shark’) and religious musings. (By the way is it just me or does the ‘glass of wine a day keeps the heart attacks away’ sound like a credo you would see on like some wooden wall art from Walmart in a middle-aged woman’s kitchen? Then again based on the name of my site I guess who am I to judge).
The beat is actually fairly fire too. In short, 30 yeas into his career E-40 is still one of the most colorful and unpredictable characters in the rap game. Elsewhere on the album E-40 makes references to everything from Moses to Ashley Graham. There are quite a few highlights on Practice Makes Paper that I want to get to on here but I felt like I had no choice but to address this one first!
Wow I have been lazy this month, posting my top songs for July almost halfway through August, and only posting 8 songs instead of 10 but they all slap. I guess better late than never!
ALLBLACK ft. Kosisko – 304
HOW IS THIS NOT THE NUMBER ONE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE RIGHT NOW
ALLBACK is the best. He’s like Oakland’s Dos Equis guy; the most interesting man in rap.
I don’t know who Kossisko is but since ALLBLACK is rocking with him I’m obligated to blindly be down with him, and he glided on the hook here. (I’ve since been informed by my knowledgeable and discerning readers, Kossisko is the rapper formerly known as the 100s.) This beat is wild too but I don’t know who produced it. ALLBLACK looking burly out here with the windbreaker and the taped up wrists. I’m loving the theme and format of the video which made 304 even more fun and took things back to a simpler time. ALLBLACK knows how to make function music; I have a feeling my man the Martorialist is going to love this one if he hasn’t seen it already. We’ve been blessed with a nice feast of fun songs/videos lately and 304 is definitely worthy of that company if not at the top of it.
ALLBLACK is coming out firing with verse of the year material, “Can’t trust hoes, barely can trust my partners. In a Sprinter with 3 Glocks and a mint green chopper. My Cambodian niggas blacker than Barrack Obama. My migo niggas knock the meat out up your enchilada… Y’all know me I just walked down here for carne asada, sour cream extra cheese and a large horchata… Same nigga from the group home drinking UV vodka.” Like my homie Icebergsweater said, this opening verse was easily one of his favorites of the year, and I couldn’t agree more.
I love the ‘Pull up whenever wherever like Kerr from the Bulls, stole my granddad’s revolver and took it to school’ line because when you hear it you either think of ALLBLACK or an angry, goth-y suburban teenager. (See ALLBLACK’s verse on Road Run, he seems to be well aware of this dichotomy.) “Had an all black AP that held 32, I’ve been turned up since AIM this fame ain’t new.”
I’ve been rocking with ALLBLACK since Florida Gator last summer, and I’m glad to see he’s gotten bigger and bigger since then, and hopefully this song/video propels him into an even higher stratosphere.
Duke Deuce – Yeh
This is my new favorite/most fun song since Waka, and I’d say up there with Waka if not surpassing it for best choreographed group dance moves as you’ll see around the 0:59 mark or so. Seriously this sideways strut/spin thing they’ve got going on is fucking fire. (I’d say don’t try this at home but helpfully, Duke has a really comprehensive, easy-to-follow tutorial video on it that walks you through it step by step.)
Memphis’ Duke Deuce is kind of reminding me of a 70th Street Carlos but more of an evil twin/more sinister 70th Street Carlos. On ‘Yeh’, Duke pulls off the difficult task of making a song that’s hard as fuck that’s ALSO simultaneously fun and something you’d want to throw on at a party.
I’m absolutely loving the blunt and relatable self-assessment and flow on “Smoking weed at the school getting in trouble with the law, hard-headed ass nigga mama said your ass off, hard-headed ass nigga down their knocking heads off, Daddy found out I was GD damn near knocked my chest off.”
I’d also like to take a moment to salute the eclectic collection of sportswear in this video ranging from the New England Patriots to the more obscure Xavier Musketeers and even the fictional Los Angeles Knights from Like Mike, not to mention even a D Generation X t-shirt.
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 get ALLBLACK in there too (of course), and the last spot is a tie between Duke Deuce, 03 Greedo and Kodak.
ALLBLACK – Little Miami
I want to go boating with ALLBLACK.
This guy is on a completely different level right now; he’s unstoppable.
DaBaby – Suge
I’m hella late on DaBaby but between Suge and his verse on the J Cole song I’m coming at you with an unprecedented TWO appearances by DaBaby on this month’s list. I remember Martorialist talking about him when Texas Ranger came out and checking it out and not really seeing what all the buzz was about. It wasn’t until hearing people driving around in my area blasting Suge that he started to grow on me and now I can’t stop playing it. It hadn’t dawned on me just how big DaBaby had gotten until I heard multiple people blasting it in their cars on the same weekend and then checking it out on YouTube and seeing it was in the 100s of millions of views. I’m always favorable to Suge Knight references/homages so DaBaby is preaching to the choir here. I finally checked out DaBaby’s whole album and there were quite a few good songs on it; I have to say he was a lot more lyrical than I expected and he has a good sense of humor; definitely one of the most interesting out of the newer/younger dudes in this style.
Maxo Kream ft. A$AP Ferg – Murda Blocc
Maxo’s ode to his Murda Blocc is my favorite song off of his’Brandon Banks’ album after a couple of listens through. I don’t know how he made ‘I’m on Murda Blocc from the sun up to the sun down’ sound so catchy but damn it this one stays in your head. “And if you’re looking for me I be with the Forum Park Crips!”
Another highlight from Brandon Banks. Maxo going with the Lil Baby/Gunna acoustic guitar-beat angle and doing it very well. I like this video for it with just the audio and no video instead of the other one with the cheap CGI animation!
CML Lavish D – Real As Us
King Lav serving up more red meat to his base. This man delivers pretty much every time.
I don’t know how CML always does it but he always comes up with these simple lines that sound so fire when he says them; “.308s make a nigga Harlem shake, all this pressure I’m applying it’ll make a nigga break.”
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.
PINK CHARDONNAY 