Tag Archives: 21 Savage

Top Songs October 2020

12 Thursday Nov 2020

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Favorite songs from a month where I went from YN Jay and the Flint boys to Charlie Wilson to 21 Savage and Morgan Freeman and back again. I’m super late posting this for October now because life has been getting brazy but I have a bunch of new songs I want to get to so might as well post this first.

21 Savage x Metro Boomin – Runnin (2020)
Charlie Wilson – One I Got (2020)
21 Savage x Metro Boomin x Morgan Freeman – Intro (2020)
Lil Yachty x Rio da Yung OG x Veeze x RMC Mike x Louie Ray x Grindhard E – Run Down (2020)
YN Jay – Nicki Minaj (2020)
21 Savage x Metro Boomin ft. Drake – Mr. Right Now (2020)
21 Savage x Metro Boomin – Steppin on Niggas (2020)
Drake ft. Lil Durk – Laugh Now Cry Later (2020)
Lil Yachty x Krispy Life Kidd – Krispy Boat (2020)

21 Savage x Metro Boomin – Runnin

I’m hella late on this but you’ll have to forgive me because life has been brazy lately. Better late than never!

Like I said in my last post, this feels like a fucking movie! I’m loving the foreboding beat and the evil laugh in the beginning. As my brother pointed out, Savage’s half-assed ‘running’ dance move also just adds to the overall dark vibe here somehow; if I was doing it it would not look remotely intimidating but he somehow makes it sinister.

“I’M SLAUGHTER GANG P*SSY, YOU KNOW I BOUGHT MY KNIFE” I love Savage’s sporadic but consistent messaging over the years going back to his earlier tapes that you know he has his knife on him/that he brought his knife because he’s Slaughter Gang; all rappers talk about keeping their strap with them but something about always having your knife on you just sounds even grimier. I’m feeling Metro Boomin’s knife dance move when he says it too.

“2016 we was running around beating niggas up in the club”

“I LEAVE ALL MY CARS RUNNIN, RUNNIN, RUNNIN, ALL MY OPPS BE RUNNIN, RUNNIN, RUNNIN”

“I’M IN THE DEN WITH THE THIEVES”

“All that pillow talk I’ma have to send the boogie man come and get you”

I hate the sample that they play at the end of this/beginning of the next track on the album but I’m glad that Morgan Freeman drops plenty of jewels throughout to make up for it. Like I said in my last post, my brother nailed it when he said they got Morgan Freeman going from narrating March of the Penguins and Nat Geo’s “God” to talking about rats and snitches on a trap album; these guys are winning. I don’t listen to a ton of mainstream rap these days as you obviously know if you read this site but I have to give 21 Savage credit, this whole album feels like a movie. This is the first album I’ve listened to in a while that felt like an ‘event’ to me and we could certainly use that in 2020.

This was a dope concept for a video too, to bring the Grammy back to the hood.

Charlie Wilson – One I Got

Ummmmm… HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS UNTIL NOW??????

Legend in the game.

CW is feeling himself here, see the epic head shake move at 2:20, and you know what, why would he not be? The man is a beast.

(Thank God my wife had the DL Hughley show on in the car last night late at night on the way back from a family party (since you know, I can’t always have Rio da Yung OG or YN Jay on in that situation) so I found out that Charlie Wilson blessed us with this new single this summer.)

All of these fits are on POINT too, some of the young bols in the game could take note

The beginning of the hook about Wilson’s relationship with the ‘one he’s got’ could just as easily apply to Wilson himself; after all this time, it just gets better

I’m feeling this one today as a nice Sunday jam

21 Savage x Metro Boomin x Morgan Freeman – Intro

As my brother said, Morgan Freeman was narrating March of the Penguins and National Geographic’s ‘God’ and now 21 Savage and Metro have him narrating a trap album; if that’s not going big I don’t know what is.

I had kind of stopped checking for 21 Savage tbh but he came back and knocked down the buildings – this whole Savage Mode 2 slaps. This feels like a fucking movie.

I wonder if Morgan Freeman wrote this stuff himself, or if they gave him a general idea of what they wanted him to say, or perhaps best of all (what I hope) is that they all sat around at a table together with a bunch of drinks and chopped it up together to come up with what they wanted.

Lil Yachty x Rio da Yung OG x Veeze x RMC Mike x Louie Ray x Grindhard E – Run Down

Man it seems Yachty really took Hotbox Social’s advice about buying a $75k fixer upper in Flint and staying in town for a while to heart. Seriously, how long has Lil Boat been here for?? CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE BUY THIS MAN AN AUTOWORLD SWEATSHIRT

I’m pleased to see Rio has finally joined him on one of these since he was conspicuous in his absence before this. As an added bonus I love seeing Grindhard E aka Lil E on here since not too long ago it would have been hard to imagine him appearing on a track with Lil Yachty but the whole scene is deservedly leveling up. As Mike says, “Spice talking got the Ghetto Boys moving up the ladder” Perhaps my only regret is no YN Jay this time, but hey I guess he can’t be in all of them.

Yacthy is sounding better than ever and is clearly being influenced by his new Flint cohorts, talking home security “I live on the lake leave the crib and forgot to lock it, it’s okay I got cameras there, and my brother’s sleeping upstairs he’s got hammers there.”

The only guy I wasn’t too familiar with here before this was actually Veeze, and he actually has some fire; “I’ve got bitches selling p*ssy that look like Tyra Banks, I’m rocking Carhartt shooting basketballs like I’m Drake”

“I’ve been sipping dirty water with my Flint niggas, hey Cuz I just made a lot of blues with my Crip niggas, hey Blood I could never be bool with no snitch niggas”

Martorialist won’t like this part but “I’ve been dripping since the Trues with the thick stitching”!

Rio is always cold af “The funeral home will probably run out of dirt if you murk me, if the pastor sold dope I’ll walk into church with a turkey” (2 church references in the same Rio verse!)

RMC Mike never disappoints “Walking through the set with seppys on by Palm Angels, lil bitch been chasing me for years she got strong ankles”

I’m kind of feeling the Washington Nationals hat/Heron shirt combination

P.S. even more fire from Enrgy Beats

P.P.S. Yachty is really taking his artist-in-residency seriously as there is now even Yachty/Krispy Life Kidd collab

YN Jay – Nicki Minaj

I’m feeling this quick hitter off YN Jay’s Coochie Land. Is Nicki Minaj really typing back to YN Jay’s DM? We have no way of knowing for sure, but one thing is for sure – if she’s not, it’s her mistake because Jay is the hottest artist in the game right now.

Dude’s ad lib game is a work of art too.

21 Savage x Metro Boomin ft. Drake – Mr. Right Now

I’m not even going to front, I actually really like this one. Metro Boomin came up with some sick production for this. I could obviously have lived without hearing about Drake’s sex life but it’s Drake what else do you expect. It’s some good feel good music to drive around with in nice weather. However, words can’t explain how much I hate the snippet at the end of this song.

21 Savage x Metro Boomin – Steppin on Niggas

Yet another selection from the 21 Savage/Metro Boomin album; this Eazy E beatjack is tough.

Drake ft. Lil Durk – Laugh Now Cry Later

Two Drake songs in one month? I don’t know maybe I’m getting soft but I like this one too. I wasn’t expecting to hear Lil Durk on a megahit in 2020 but good for him; the part where he swoops in with his verse after Drake sounds sick and works really well because of the contrast. I still am more used to seeing bald Lil Durk than Lil Durk with dreads.

Cardo came through with some heat for this production and I’m glad he’s getting paid.

Could this be the first time Cleveland Browns gear has ever made an appearance in a rap video?

Lil Yachty x Krispy Life Kidd – Krispy Boat

I kind of just love the fact that Yachty is so deep in the Flint rap game now that he’s linking up with Krispy Life Kidd, and that Krispy Life Kidd is about to get a million views on this. That Georgia Tech hat is kind of fire.

I’m Slaughter Gang, You Know I Brought My Knife

30 Friday Oct 2020

Posted by in Atlanta

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21 Savage x Metro Boomin – Runnin

I’m hella late on this but you’ll have to forgive me because life has been brazy lately. Better late than never!

Like I said in my last post, this feels like a fucking movie! I’m loving the foreboding beat and the evil laugh in the beginning. As my brother pointed out, Savage’s half-assed ‘running’ dance move also just adds to the overall dark vibe here somehow; if I was doing it it would not look remotely intimidating but he somehow makes it sinister.

“I’M SLAUGHTER GANG P*SSY, YOU KNOW I BOUGHT MY KNIFE” I love Savage’s sporadic but consistent messaging over the years going back to his earlier tapes that you know he has his knife on him/that he brought his knife because he’s Slaughter Gang; all rappers talk about keeping their strap with them but something about always having your knife on you just sounds even grimier. I’m feeling Metro Boomin’s knife dance move when he says it too.

“2016 we was running around beating niggas up in the club”

“I LEAVE ALL MY CARS RUNNIN, RUNNIN, RUNNIN, ALL MY OPPS BE RUNNIN, RUNNIN, RUNNIN”

“I’M IN THE DEN WITH THE THIEVES”

“All that pillow talk I’ma have to send the boogie man come and get you”

I hate the sample that they play at the end of this/beginning of the next track on the album but I’m glad that Morgan Freeman drops plenty of jewels throughout to make up for it. Like I said in my last post, my brother nailed it when he said they got Morgan Freeman going from narrating March of the Penguins and Nat Geo’s “God” to talking about rats and snitches on a trap album; these guys are winning. I don’t listen to a ton of mainstream rap these days as you obviously know if you read this site but I have to give 21 Savage credit, this whole album feels like a movie. This is the first album I’ve listened to in a while that felt like an ‘event’ to me and we could certainly use that in 2020.

This was a dope concept for a video too, to bring the Grammy back to the hood.

GREAT MEN WITH GREAT IDEALS

30 Friday Oct 2020

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21 Savage x Metro Boomin x Morgan Freeman – Intro

As my brother said, Morgan Freeman was narrating March of the Penguins and National Geographic’s ‘God’ and now 21 Savage and Metro have him narrating a trap album; if that’s not going big I don’t know what is.

I had kind of stopped checking for 21 Savage tbh but he came back and knocked down the buildings – this whole Savage Mode 2 slaps. This feels like a fucking movie.

I wonder if Morgan Freeman wrote this stuff himself, or if they gave him a general idea of what they wanted him to say, or perhaps best of all (what I hope) is that they all sat around at a table together with a bunch of drinks and chopped it up together to come up with what they wanted.

Top 10 Songs November 2018

08 Saturday Dec 2018

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Diplomats – Dipset Forever

Dip Gods are back. Just in time for Thanksgiving Dipset laced us with this reunion album. This was easily my favorite song off of it. Such a triumphant, prime-era Dipset, all-conquering Heatmakers beat. Apparently it samples a Queen song but I have no idea I just know it’s making me feel invincible right now. I love the over the top ‘Grrrrrrrr’ ad lib at 0:34 after Jim Jones says he was ‘purging for a check’ almost sounding like a rabid grizzly. Jones actually probably had the best verse out of anyone on this and has quietly had a really strong 2018. While Juelz rapping that he ‘gets loose like a tooth’ seems uninspired and isn’t the prime Juelz we all remember, it’s still good to hear from him and he makes up for it with just the sheer self-belief and intensity as he raps ‘From the stoop to the coupe, money stacked from the floor to the roof’ or ‘Cam saw a star and showed the world my light… I put in work they can’t take my stripes’. The song ends on the strangely sad note of Juelz musing that ‘I guess forever means forever til forever’s gone’ until, of course, Dame Dash breaks in with a typically firey Dame Dash half-time speech and starts yelling about that Dipset will live forever. A grandiose effort from the Dips and I would expect nothing less at this point. I wish I got to go to the album release party where, from what I can gather, it looks like everyone went around Harlem in an open-top bus, listened to the album on headphones with some sort of blue LED’s, smoked vape pens and ate chop cheeses.

Poppa da Don x Abillyon – Smoked 

1a and 1b this month were Dipset and this one. Staying on this unexpected NYC Crip wave/Poppa da Don wave with Poppa and Abillyon’s ‘Smoked’. Like one of those cartoon angels on your shoulder or a Loc’d out Sunday school teacher, Abillyon implores you to ‘do the right thing or you’ll get smoked’ in that heavenly voice of his. Abillyon is quite the hook-smith and this could be one of the best of the year. I also love the gleeful ‘I’m on the other side with the Locs!,’ willfully declaring themselves as the ‘other side’ or the opps and celebrating it. Abillyon is a name some may recognize from the height of the GS9 era; from looking at his Soundcloud and quickly browsing other streaming sites, it doesn’t look like he has released a ton of music since then but he seems to be making a resurgence now. Poppa is in the middle of a strong run as well between this, ‘Crip Shit‘ and his mixtape ‘Fucc Wit Da Cuz Vol. 2‘.

Dave East – No Pork 

East has me lacing up my Timbs and throwing on a big Marmot jacket with this first one. The smooth ‘No Pork’ might be the magnum opus of East’s career thus far. It’s a ‘classic’ sounding NYC rap song done right without sounding dusty or too formulaic. This is that classic wintertime music, and the type of track that you want to play while you’re hunkering down at the crib or out on a rare nice sunny day in the winter. East goes into full-on nostalgia/story-telling mode as he takes us on a trip down memory lane through the ups and downs of his life growing up in Harlem.

“I told Shooter (see below) we gon get rich no matter what, they was happy when we was down now when we see them they made as fuck. We don’t got to live in the projects no more, I dropped out, but it’s funny I’m hitting college on tour. I need ’em fresh, cop em again if I copped em before. Charlotte Hornets top and bottom, colored aqua velour. Ahki used to let me in after the locks on the door. I ain’t speeding, I ain’t smoking, what the fuck you stopping me for? I hid my first .38 behind the socks in my drawer, my mama asked me why you got a gun, you not going to war? If I go get a cigarette there might be opps at the store.”

Envy Caine – Intro

Your host got caught lacking in his car trapped in the big east coast snow storm this month for over 12 hours on the same mile of highway but fuck it it takes more than a few snowflakes to kill the old Pink C. Not only am I alive and well but as you can see I’ve been on a NYC kick lately catching up on some of these young bols. Even though I’m hella late on this one from Brooklyn’s Envy Caine but I’ve been blasting it non-stop. This is the intro to his ‘2 Many Situations’ mixtape from the spring.

“Damn, My whole city AGAINST me, but fuck it cause I got all these killers with me”

I love the raw aggression/malice and the me against the world ethos that Envy delivers that bar with. Almost reminding me a bit of AR-Ab.

This song goes so hard/aggressive it’s the new song I play when I want to get angrier in a situation, like in traffic or in a long line at a store, although that’s actually probably a counterproductive strategy on my part.

I also love the delivery of “Opp niggas throwing salt, tryna bad mouth” line. Salt kills snails but not Top Opposition.

Poppa da Don, Dave East, Tulito, Trap God Mula – Crip Shit 

It’s turning into winter fast out here, and you know what that means, it’s that time of year to hunker down, lace up the Timbs, throw on a big Marmot jacket and see what’s going on in the big apple. These NYC Crips have really been coming out with some heat lately. Here, we get two of the best linking up and Brooklyn and Harlem joining forces with Poppa da Don and Dave East, along with Tulito and Trap God Mula/Sha Mula who may have the best verse of all on this one.

I love the pure energy and fervor Mula brings here as he says ‘Sha Mula I’m the Trap God, probably made $100 thou in my backyard,” pounding his fist as he raps it. “Blue flag 100 Locs I’m moving wocky nigga, 2-seater, I8 they couldn’t stop me nigga!” I’m hyped off of the defiance he’s spitting with.

East makes a typically solid contribution here as well, and also just released arguably the best song of his career, in my opinion, with ‘No Pork .’ Poppa da Don put out a total banger ‘Smoked‘ with Abillyon over the summer which I think is going to start blowing up even more because Meek Mill was talking about it recently.

My only very minor gripe with this one is that I wish they grabbed my man Top Dolla and got him on this one this would have been perfect for him!

Peezy – Pressure 

Peezy is so consistent, coming out with one if not more song every month that usually cracks and sometimes tops this list. We really need to take a minute to step back and appreciate the run that this guy is on, he’s forced his way into the argument for top rapper of 2018 in my opinion. You’ve got to love the triumphant ‘Got shot a couple times they was hoping I died, popped up buying Rollies out the store with my guys’ especially since everyone really was briefly worried he died last winter.

Blueface – Respect My Crypn 

I have to admit I was a bit skeptical at first when I first heard about him but hadn’t listened to him yet, but Blueface is starting to grow on me. The ‘mop the floor and hide the wet sign just to catch him slippin’ line’ is genius; I can’t believe no one came up with that before. And to his credit apparently he really does ‘pull up and bounce out with a briefcase when it’s time to handle business,’ according to recent news reports.

I love his tone on the ‘I’m an alpha male, ain’t no bitch in me. Grown ass man, feed my family” line, like he’s incredulous that someone is even questioning if that’s the case. The ‘Give a fuck if he like it, he gon respect this Crippin’ hook is also strangely infectious. Blueface is almost sounding like a less artsy/creative but more Crip west Coast Young Thug. And while he can be a bit over the top, he actually has the charisma and personality to pull it off.

Juice WRLD – All Girls are the Same/Juice WRLD – Lucid Dreams/Juice WRLD x Future – Fine China/Juice WRLD – Used To etc. 

At the risk of getting cyber-bullied by music critics with far better taste than me, I’ll admit that I went back and listened to a ton of Juice WRLD this month. Yeah, it’s some guy whining about girls but some of these songs are actually really dope. Some of these beats are absolute fire as well. I’m cheating here and putting all the Juice WRLD songs as one song. I’m going to ask my mom to drive me back to Hot Topic now. GO AHEAD AND CYBER BULLY ME, DO YOUR WORST!

Kiing Shooter ft. Dave East – 30 Percent 

A third Dave East appearance here for this month’s top 10; 30 Percent is the first track from his aggressively-named protege Kiing Shooter’s mixtape ‘Fucc the Doubters’.  The interplay here as East and Shooter trade bars back and forth like a Styles and Jada is great. Whereas ‘No Pork’ is the type of song you could kick back and relax at home listening to, ’30 Percent’ is more of an aggressive one you’d blast when you’re in the mood to get rowdy. Shooter has a dope and pretty unique-sounding deep/’blunt’ voice and raps over the top ignorant lines like “I’m creeping through the back window hoping they don’t keep alarms, .40 on me just in case the dog or the grandma home.”

Kodak Black – Take One

So dark and foreboding from Kodak.

Metro Boomin’ x 21 Savage – Don’t Come out the House

This became more of a meme than a song at this point but I had to include it even though we’re at over 10 songs now. This was a risky gamble by 21 Savage that paid off – if done wrong, his whole whisper thing could have backfired and sounded way too intimate and sensual (Pause!) but somehow he pulls it off and makes it sound menacing. I feel like 21 Savage has went on a certain trajectory, when he was first making a name for himself he was releasing a lot of interesting stuff, then he sort of reached peak Savage and got oversaturated as he got super popular, and now that we’ve sort of crossed past that bridge he’s releasing some nice verse here and there again.

Top 10 Songs July 2017

22 Saturday Jul 2017

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Top 10 Songs July 2017

It’s been a long, hot July out here, but we’re still hanging in there and I finished my top 10 songs in a bit more of a timely fashion this month. This month took me down a lot of interesting paths as I stayed on my Lil Chicken/Milwaukee grind that started last month via Rap Music Hysteria, then a post from the Martorialist on Berner had me go down a huge Berner rabbit hole and after studying his back catalogue as if I was writing a dissertation on him, made me realize that this husky Bay Area renaissance man actually has quite a few jams, then from there I was bumping another large white rapper Jelly Roll for a couple of days to see what he’s been up to lately, checked out the new projects from A-Wax, Meek Mill, and 21 Savage before getting really into Mac J and having him take over the end of the month.

Lil Chicken – No Grease 

This song is from the end of 2016 but Lil Chicken wins the award for hardest first verse of 2017 and maybe hardest song in general with ‘No Grease’ – “See the pain in my eyes this sh*t gettin tiring, eyes get bug as hell when I hear them sirens. Money, diamonds, gold, we a bunch of pirates, watching out for narcs trapping out a hybrid. Fiend keep nodding off man he can’t fight it, this dog biting nigga’s ears punching like Tyson.” I’m not sure what I like better the very apt pirate comparison or the image of him trapping out of a Nissan Leaf or Toyota Prius. I also love the weary, almost strained voice that Big Chicken P raps in on this one; the trap has been good to him but he’s also growing tired of the unwanted complications that come with it.

“All these motherf*cking grits I feel like Rich Porter, b*tch we ain’t no small fries we taking big orders, these niggas b*tches I’m finna change my hustle to extortion, phones slapping back to back they sound like walkie talkies.” Lil Chicken just goes too hard on this one.

Berner – Float 

As I said in my mea culpa on Berner, “In a more just world, with this type of chorus and vibes, Berner would be making royalty money off of Sandals or Atlantis or one of those other Caribbean all-inclusive resorts using his song in their newest commercial.” After a long journey into this affable weed/fashion entrepeneur’s catalogue,  I have to admit the man certainly has some gems I’ve missed over the years; the highlight of which would be the airy and enjoyable ‘Float’ from his 2016 Packs album.

Mac J – Differences 

I don’t know much about Mac J and only heard about him after reading about him on Rey’s Cafe a couple weeks ago but he certainly has some absolute bangers in his catalogue, my favorite of which thus far is ‘Differences’.  The beat for this one is ridiculous too. Based on the Mac J playlist Rey’s Cafe put together I definitely want to start listening to more of this north Sacramento artist and check out the rest of his output, including his new mixtape ‘Local Celebrity‘.

Lil Chicken – Pitty Pat

“I’ve got it all on me riding round in the foreign, Ballys on, white folks staring at me, make me feel important”

““Me and Max posted up in the stash house playing Pitty Pat, I feel like Chris Brown all these junkies hollering gimme that. Spanish ho like Dora that b*tch pulled up with a mac, said he want 44 watch me pull up with them racks.”

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Smokin’ Cookie Nigga, Chips Ahoy

12 Wednesday Jul 2017

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21 Savage – Baby Girl 

Given the uhhh let’s just say risque lyrics of the chorus I unfortunately think it’s safe to say I won’t be playing ‘Baby Girl’ off 21 Savage’s new album at the middle school birthday party I’m DJing next week but it’s definitely one of the bangers off of 21 Savage’s new ‘Issa’ album.

Admittedly, it was fickle of me but I had gotten a bit bored of 21 Savage after the initial wave of hype when he first came out, but I gave Issa an earnest listen and it definitely has some jams on it, like ‘Baby Girl’ and ‘Bank Account’. Menacing, cold-hearted jams to be sure, but jams nonetheless.

21’s ad lib game and flow are both on point in this one; for example when he rattles off perhaps my favorite 21 Savage couplet of all time – ‘Smoking on cookie nigga Chips Ahoy, had to block her number ’cause that bitch annoying’. We’ve all been there, 21 I feel you homes.

I also love the wierd voice he raps ‘Got an island girl and she comes from St. Vincent’ in (perhaps a faux Caribbean accent?), and how geographically specific he gets. He unleashes quite a few colorful and imaginative lines and references like that in this song, perhaps more than I’ve ever heard from him in one song before, from ‘Bitch I’m John Gotti I stay round a lot of henchmen’ to unexpectedly delving into U.S. history with ‘I pull up with the stick and let that bitch spark, I swear I would have shot that cracker if I was Rosa Parks’. I feel like Rosa Parks was pretty pacifist so I’m not sure how down with this line she would be but I’m not opposed to 21 Savage exploring some revisionist history with himself as the focal point.

21 21 21!

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