“I be balling for fun, high like the Sun, Fendi the belt, it hold the gun”
Pollari hits us with a wavy new space-age track called ‘Lil Elroy Jetson’ with a sick beat and chorus. My only qualm is that clockin in at just over a minute and a half it’s too short but like Pollari himself said, ‘No time for you, I’ve got to run’.
I’m too old and boring to engage in the recreational use of mind-altering substances but I have to say from what I’ve heard of Pollari so far he sounds like the perfect type of music to mellow out to after a few xannies.
Who doesn’t like the idea of balling for fun? Have we gotten too cynical as a society to remember to just ball for the sake of balling, instead of to try to impress others? Cheers to Pollari for reminding us about what’s important in life.
P.S. check out his EP ‘Dorothy’ that came out a couple of days ago here
After previously featuring Long Island’s Polo Hayes’ growing hit ‘Gucci Shoes’ a couple of days ago and mentioning him twice in my top 10 songs for April, I today wanted to also pay some proper attention to Nighttime with its own dedicated post. As much as I love Gucci Shoes ‘Nighttime’ might honestly be the sleeper for Polo’s best song so far/my favorite song by him and that’s saying a lot. Polo almost ‘sings’ most of the verses on this rather than ‘raps’ and has a sick flow on this hidden gem. I love the way he sings the chorus, ‘I’m the one inside the trap house with my eyes open.”
He also gets a contribution from Vine star Live Like Davis (LLD) on this one, who adds some nice singing and ad libs plus his own verse. ‘Nighttime’ has no shortage of dope lines like ‘I’m the one inside the new foreign with the new foreign, I’m the one who put the work away in a food storage, I’m just here to prove to you that the pain worth it, I’m the one who keep f*cking up but we stay working’ and “I’m the one inside the mini van with the chopper on me, all these niggas ain’t wearing diamonds they wear Savorsky, gotta stay up til I make it homie so I’m drinking coffee’. I love the imagery of being strapped up in a mini van with a chopper and also more importantly of a hard working artist staying on his grind and drinking coffee to ‘stay up’ until he makes it to the promised land.
So far ‘Nighttime’ has about 26k plays on Soundcloud, compared to Gucci Shoes’ 55k+ but this underrated jam should keep steadily garnering more and more attention as Polo’s buzz continues to build.
Check out the rest of Polo’s work here on his Soundcloud and keep an eye out for the official music video for Gucci Shoes which is rumored to be coming out soon
With recent production including some of the biggest songs on the current rap landscape \like Drake’s ‘Free Smoke’ and Playboy Carti’s ‘Magnolia’ (as well as the lion’s share of the rest of the production on Carti’s self-titled debut mixtape and a lot of work with Young Nudy one of the really underrated artists right now), I decided it was time to find out more and delve into his extensive ‘back catalogue’ on Soundcloud. I found out that not only does this Queens native have a ridiculous amount of material, but that in addition to producing he also raps and is actually pretty good at it.
With over 51k plays on Soundcloud after being out for just 2 months, ‘Gucci Shoes’ by Polo Hayes is blowing up on Long Island and beyond right now and I’m predicting this regional hit could make waves nationally soon because its’ just that good and that unique. The artist and song are riding a big wave of momentum right now with the track going from 20k plays to well over 50k in a matter of just a few weeks. Polo is one of the most dynamic and creative artists to come out of Long Island and is garnering considerable buzz right now. Polo comes out firing on all cylinders with these two ridiculous lines in the first verse…
“They don’t want me in the Benzes, with Versace lenses…none of my niggas got pensions, I ain’t never learn my lesson, my AK need extensions, bullets the same size as wrenches”.
I usually wouldn’t dedicate a post to a song like ‘I’m the One’ which already has millions of views in its first day out, but I have to admit, the wild combination of artists and the wave of hype that DJ Khaled created for it by talking about ‘history in the making’ was intriguing to me. With the amount of anticipation that had been built up on social media for the song’s release, it would have almost been impossible to live up to the hype, but honestly I have to give these guys credit because it comes close. The song actually did end up being pretty good and I really liked the beat and the chorus which were both really catchy and infectious. Admittedly it’s not a very bold prediction given the star power involved, but I have a feeling that even beyond the borders of rap music this will be ‘the song of the summer’ for pop music general.
As good as the song is, my favorite part really may be the intro and the ridiculous phone call that DJ Khaled makes to Chance the Rapper. All I can really say about this one is that I can only dream of one day being in a position where someone calls me to invite me to their lush tropical villa in order to ‘do them the biggest favor’ and engage in the important business of ‘celebrating life, success, and blessings.’
Also, I may be overanalyzing here, but did anyone notice the low-key power move by Khaled that he tells Chance the Rapper to ‘do him the biggest favor, no do yourself the biggest favor’ and call Bieber, Quavo, and Wayne to tell them to come down to his mansion to celebrate these blessings, rather than just calling them himself? Almost as if Chance is some sort of high-paid secretary or personal assistant?
I found this song via redlitedj.com, a great blog, and had never heard it before, and it ended up becoming arguably my top song of the month. As far as I know it’s a Future ‘loose end’ from January that was probably overshadowed by the two full-length projects that he released in February and the ubiquitous success of Mask Off, but it may actually be my overall favorite song by him to date. The song improbably samples K-Ci and Jo Jo’s ‘All My Life’ and kind of reminds me of a lullaby. As an added bonus I love the nostalgic vibes of the VHS-esque video for the song.
Drake – Passionfruit
Those who know me are probably surprised by this selection as my friends know me as a bit of a Drake ‘hater’ sometimes but I have to admit I did enjoy the ‘More Life’ album, specifically ‘Passionfruit’ and ‘Glow’, and I have to be objective and give credit where credit is due. The light, lilting tropical beat for Passionfruit is so relaxing that at the very beginning of April, I had listened to it a bunch of times in a row, and almost felt irritated and unrelaxed when it wasn’t on for about a day or so, almost like withdrawal from some sort of depressant drug. For some reason I can picture this song being in the background of one of the Yoshi type video games playing as the Yoshis dance around and enjoy their island paradise. One of the writers for Pitchfork called this version of Drake ‘Margaritaville Drake’ and it really is the perfect description.
Polo Hayes – Gucci Shoes
With over 51k plays on Soundcloud after being out for just 2 months, ‘Gucci Shoes’ by Polo Hayes is blowing up on Long Island and beyond right now and I’m predicting this regional hit could make waves nationally soon because its’ just that good and that unique. Polo is one of the most dynamic and creative artists to come out of Long Island and is garnering considerable buzz right now. He’s affiliated with the same YGRF group as Z$tat$ who I featured the other day. I’m planning on doing a full post about this song tomorrow. Polo comes out guns blazing with these two ridiculous lines in the first verse…
“They don’t want me in the Benzes, with Versace lenses…none of my niggas got pensions, I ain’t never learn my lesson, my AK need extensions, bullets the same size as wrenches”.
“They don’t want me in that ‘Rari, sh*ttin on em never sorry, I know people want to harm me, but they don’t want it with the army.”
He has a lot of other really good songs check out his Soundcloud here
This song ‘Filthy’ by the up and coming artists on 100 Clay Recordings is catching a nice buzz out on Long Island right now and deservedly so. Hailing from Central Islip, 100 Clay consists of multiple rising young stars Zayah2x, Bigga, and Quaa Drugz.
These guys are consistently working hard on their craft and have a wealth of material out on the streets , with approximately 60 tracks already under their belts, an impressive haul for a group of young, fairly new artists. You can hear more of their songs and various collaborations at https://soundcloud.com/100clayrecordings. ‘Filthy’ has nearly 10k plays combined between Youtube and Soundcloud already but I believe it should have a lot more and will get a lot more as these guys get bigger.
Z$tat$ is an up and coming young artist out of Central Islip (known affectionately as “C.I.” to locals) in Suffolk County on Long Island. Those not from the area or not in the know may think of Long Island as a rap ‘no man’s land’ full of yachts and golf courses but there’s a lot more to it than that – C.I. in particular has a burgeoning rap scene with a lot of talented artists and exciting work going on beneath the surface, and it’s a lot different than the image of Long Island you probably have in your head. It has its own vibe and style and you’ll be seeing a lot more about the local scene here on this site and beyond in the days and weeks to come.
Here, Z$tat$ hits us with a couple of smooth verses plus a bold and memorable chorus over a classic, saxophone-infused beat that makes you think of rap from days gone by, but puts his own modern take on it. He’s a young artist whose simultaneously part of the current scene in terms of style but you can tell he also has an appreciation for/has been influenced by the classic New York rap sound. He’s equally at home and adept on a Playboy Carti style song or beat as he is with a Jadakiss one.
The song is an odd but lovely mix of relaxing and menacing that’s almost impossible to pull off. I don’t know who did production on track but the beat mixed with the softly sung chorus lull you into a sort of hazy poppy dreamscape while SahBabii and his fellow Atlantan Loso Loaded mainly rap threats at their opps.
The simple, catchy, and subtly sung chorus “Pull up with a stick, let it hit… B*tch I’m with the Mob, you can’t get in’ will literally stay in your head for weeks, to the point that I had felt like I overplayed this song into exhaustion in February when it first came out and hadn’t played it in a long time, then found myself randomly humming the chorus one day this week, and now played it about 10 more times this week and decided to do a quick post about it. This song is obviously big, and is probably one of the biggest current songs I’ve mentioned on this blog, but it really should be even bigger. The most popular video for it on Youtube has about 11 million views but I think it will continue adding to that and go much higher. You also have to figure eventually some of the biggest names will want to do some type of remix or freestyle over it which will give the song an additional jolt of momentum. (There are rumors that Drake is going to be jumping on the remix because, well because of course he would).
I also recently heard ‘Pull Up Wit Ah Stick’ on the playlist of the last episode of Frank Ocean’s radio show on Beats One/Apple Music and was pleasantly surprised, and you figure that type of shout out/cosign will give the track exposure to a whole new type of audience that probably isn’t always looking out for this type of music. SahBabii definitely has the type of charisma/presence where you can see him becoming a star soon off of something like this.
Add this to the small catalogue of an all-too-rare ‘subgenre’ of songs that I’m still trying to define which is basically songs like this i.e. hard-hitting ‘drill music’ but over relaxing, dreamy, hazy or even shimmery, almost candy-coated production, like this song or for example Chief Keef’s Citgo. There’s something about that unlikely combination that just makes for almost the perfect song in my opinion.
There’s something about this DJ Screw remix that just reminds me of spring and simpler times, so I wanted to post this today. Something about this gem just makes me think of spring time, March Madness NBA playoffs, Easter, Shamrock Shakes from McDonald’s and riding around town in an old school in the nice weather. I have the vaguest memories of linking this up with one of those tape adapters that allowed you to play your Ipod in old cars and bumping this on a nice March or April day in my first car, a baby blue 1987 Cadillac Deville. Does life get any better than that?
In essence, the song is a remake of a remake, since its Screw working his magic and putting his own touch on ‘Scandalous’ a 1995 song by The Click, a group most prominently featuring E-40. Scandalous itself borrowed the beat and hook from Zapp’s ‘Computer Love’. Somehow, slowed down and ‘chopped and screwed’ by ‘The Originator’ himself, the remake takes on a totally different vibe and a life of its own. With all due respect to The Click Screw’s version outgrew the original and became a classic. There’s something about the way he slows down the way Roger Troutman sings ‘Scandalous’ in the chorus and accentuates the ‘electronic’ or ‘robotic’ quality of it that just makes it so memorable and emphatic that it has always stayed in my mind 10 years later long after the first time I heard it.
I also love the ‘I keep a chopper ’cause I’m tryna get paid, gotta shake these city slickers out of my way’ line. Whoever made the collage for this song on Youtube did a great job of making a touching tribute to Screw. Gotta love the White Sox jersey he’s wearing in it and the Chicago Bulls windbreaker; so 90s!
Screw was a genius in the truest sense of the word, and the fact that this loose track he threw together so many years ago has stayed in my mind so many years after I initially heard it speaks volumes about his impact and how far ahead of his time he was. It also shows how wide-reaching and expansive his expertise was – in the early/mid 90s you didn’t have the luxury of just jumping on the internet and having any music you wanted instantly accessible to you, which makes Screw’s selections of this (and other) songs to remix even more impressive and shows how remarkably resourceful he was. He was remixing everything from his own Screwed Up Click artists to E-40 and Tupac to Michael Jackson and Phil Collins long before the days of Pandora and Spotify.
While this burgeoning musical genius was taken away long before his time, he was so productive and dynamic of an artist that there are literally hundreds if not thousands of songs-worth of material that he lives on through and that fans can go through before they’ve heard everything in his expansive catalog. RIP Screw!
PINK CHARDONNAY 