01 Sunday Aug 2021
Pop Smoke ft. Rah Swish – Brush Em
Made a quick stop at the vaunted Vince Lombardi service area on I-95 in Jersey the other night during a business trip and was pleased to see a couple of local hard rocks blasting this at car-shaking volume out of a Toyota right outside the entrance. One old head was just marching around the car fist pumping during the “GDK and I don’t even play about it” part lol
I KEEP A GLOCK, WHEN IM IN CHURCH
NYC summertime music of a different variety, RIP Pop Smoke
02 Friday Apr 2021
Posted in NYC
22 Gz – Fallen Bixkys
I’m a little late here but this one goes hard as fuck. THIS BEAT Is MAKING ME WANT TO SPIN THE BLOCK AND I DONT EVEN HAVE ANYTHING TO SPIN IT WITH
Would it be too much to ask the Nets to play this as the intro music for home playoff games this spring??
13 Saturday Feb 2021
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Fivio Foreign – Trust
Sorry to leave you all for so long, I’ve been super lazy about posting lately and have had a lot of my attention tied up with a lot going on (mostly good things dont worry). I’m back in the saddle now, didn’t realize I hadn’t posted in almost 6 weeks, probably the longest I’ve ever went without a post! I also just celebrated my 34th birthday this week, where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday I was a youngster listening to Dipset, Max B, Gucci Mane, Waka Flocka Flame for the first time and that was probably about 15 years ago now. Still have to post my January list although it will be shorter than usual.
Haters will say that Fivio raps in bullet points… does it really matter when the bullet points are all fire? Fivio really is the king of New York right now, and has been since last spring in my opinion (although he mentions in the first verse here that he could care less about who holds this title). This AXL beat has me ready to go to war and I’m a nerd.
This first verse/hook is flames… one of the hardest I’ve heard Fivio go… they may be bullet points but he’s turning the bullets into an art form, and as far as I’m concerned that’s called being an innovator…
“War
Everybody on the floor
We don’t knock we shoot through the door
We give a fuck who the king of New York
I say what I mean when I talk
the hood ain’t showing no remorse
gun fights in the hall
bullets going through the walls
My niggas cripping for a cause”
P.S. I grew up as a Mets fan but I kind of want that blue and green Yankees hat Fivio’s boy is wearing at 0:49, so hard
02 Saturday May 2020
Tags
Fivio Foreign – Drive By
One of the tres amigos behind last year’s ‘Waka’ is back with a new project, ‘800 BC’, and while the project is not as fun as Waka, and is in fact a very different, MUCH darker vibe, the whole project is fire, highlighted by the opener, ‘Drive By’.
It seems like since ‘Waka‘ (the post on Waka is actually by far the most read post on this website, believe it or not), Fivio Foreign has only gotten bigger and bigger, for example releasing probably the biggest Brooklyn drill song to date (Big Drip), getting a Meek Mill feature on this project, to now going where perhaps no Brooklyn drill rapper has gone before, getting a feature on Drake’s new album. Say what you want about Drake, but he’s the unparalleled expert of latching onto the buzz of new rappers and scenes right as they’re blowing up (i.e. Lil Baby, Blocboy JB), so this certainly solidifies Fivio’s star status and perhaps that of Brooklyn Crip rappers and Brooklyn drill itself. I had actually been bumping the 800 B.C. tape and ‘Drive By’ in particular all week so imagine my surprise when I lazily clicked to see the tracklist of the unexpected new Drake album on Friday morning and saw that Fivio was one of the few features.
If I had to define Fivio’s ‘identity’ or what makes him unique in the rap game, it would be hard to pinpoint an exact feature but I’d point to his heart, grit, aggression/anger, and that he just absolutely HATES opps. ‘Drive By’ is the perfect example of that. It’s a total tour de force by an artist just coming into his own and reflecting on both the triumphs and losses on the road to get here as well as where he’s going next. The beat is sick and almost a calm backdrop to the anger that Fivio punishes the track with; I’d describe the vibe of ‘Drive By’ as almost apocalyptic, it’s Fivio riding around the ruins of the city in a tank after he won a war there and surveying the damage and carnage of his victory.
“The opps tell me we be going too hard, we be shooting too much we be going too far”
“I’ve got wolves I’m still feeding them off. I’ve got money so I’m feeding them all. Stood tall when they needed to ball. Ten toes, two feet on the floor.”
“Fovvy, boss, now I could by me a loft. But I ain’t satisfied at all. Still got Fetty (?) in the fort. Going back and forth to court. Couple of fights that still need to get fought.” On the one hand he’s enjoying newfound success and touting the money and fame that signing a major label deal brings, but on the other hand he’s still focused on vengeance and settling old scores.
“Fovvy, I’m different. Everyone know that I’m gifted. 2 shots for the wicked. Pull up, silence, critics. It’s my crib you evicted.”
Also anyone else reminded of Chief Keef’s ‘Now it’s Over’ by the mansion and specifically the staircase?
I’m also loving the plain blue Balenciaga hat
(P.S. interestingly, Fivio was somehow left off of the ‘Waka’ remix featuring Waka Flocka himself?)
27 Saturday Apr 2019
Posted in NYC
Ether x Fivio Foreign x Swipey – Waka
THIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE SONG
You can’t tell me this isn’t hot!
From the fact that it’s loosely a Waka Flocka Flame homage in 2019 to the Mexican sombreros to the ridiculously fuego spin move that they choreographed at 0:33 I’m down with everything going on here and want more of it. This is the hottest song I’ve heard out of NYC (or pretty much anywhere) in a minute. Only in NY could you hear a rap song with no Hispanics in it mentioning bachata, pandejo, etc. The beat is dummy hard too.
“Oh let’s do it like I’m Waka, met her out in Opa Locka, baked potato with the lobster, that’s my baby – Goo… Gaga”.
Added bonus in the Youtube comments is a female Doordash delivery driver saying that she watched the video because these guys told her to check it out when she delivered food to them.
This always amorphous Brooklyn GD/Blood/Crip beef is serious and Game of Thrones-level complicated but I think these guys are Envy Caine’s (who I’ve posted here before) opps based on my extensive research of Youtube comments but like I said last time I don’t want to wade into all that I’ve got love for everyone I’m just here to enjoy the slaps. I’ve got to check out more of these guys’ videos.
P.S. for the record I’m definitely strongly in favor of silkies making this big comeback in 2019 I’ve been seeing them everywhere lately.
01 Saturday Dec 2018
Poppa da Don x Abillyon – Smoked
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‘.
I had heard this a couple of times over the summer and enjoyed it, but then for whatever reason forgot about it until I saw Meek Mill talking about it on Instagram and singing the hook and now I’ve been blasting it non-stop for the past couple of weeks. ‘Smoked’ deserves to blow up on its own merits, and has certainly done well, and I think with the co-sign from Meek now it’s really going to really reach a whole new level. It would be cool to get Meek on a remix. Possible song of the year contender?
P.S. Fun fact – apparently at one point Junior Galette who used to play for the Saints announced that Abillyon was on his record label and that he was planning to bail out the entire GS9?? Abillyon appears to be doing his own thing now and the label’s website doesn’t appear to be up anymore but they do have an IG; Galette may not be on a current NFL roster but he makes up for it by being a renaissance man of fine taste in music.
At some point when I get a chance in the next few weeks I want to go back and listen to the old Abillyon mixtapes to see what hidden gems they have in store.
I also want to find out what the deal is with these NBA player cutouts they’re holding up is!
24 Saturday Nov 2018
Tags
Brooklyn, Crip, Dave East, Harlem, NYC, Poppa da Don, Sha Mula, Top Dolla 60, Tulito
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!
16 Friday Nov 2018
Posted in NYC, Uncategorized
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Envy Caine – Intro
Your host got caught lacking in his car trapped in the big east coast snow storm last night 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. And not only am I alive and well 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.
25 Thursday Jan 2018
Posted in NYC, Uncategorized
Tags
Seqo Billy – Billy Dat
Crazy new song/video from Brooklyn’s Seqo Billy who starts 2018 with a splash. The beat is sick and Seqo snaps on it. I also highly approve of his use of a friendly and loyal-looking airedale terrier as the dog in this video instead of the usually far more prevalent pitbull which is normally the ubiquitous choice in these types of videos. Even the dog is flamed up with his red bandana. Watch this once or twice and you won’t be able to get the chorus out of your head, at this point it’s probably my most frequently played song of January.
“Red chucks low cut laces on the floor I’m really 9Trey, B-Hop all over a nigga’s face if he ever disrespect the gang. Always red flag when I billy rock, paint the town red make the biddy hot, bang like the niggas from Cedar Grove, trip on my set and get pita rolled”
And just to top things off we also get a brief non-rapping appearance-only cameo from one of his affiliates who just so happens to be one of the most divisive rappers out right now!
15 Monday Jan 2018
Posted in New Jersey, NYC
6ix9ine ft. Fetty Wap, A Boogie – Keke
Keke has landed and we finally got the full version. Don’t get me wrong – Keke is definitely a banger, but I’m not sure if it lived up to the hype of the snippet that’s been floating around online/on Instagram the last couple of months. However, in fairness, few things in life truly live up to the insane level of expectations we put on them. The anticipation is almost always better than the event itself.
Best part of the song was from about the 1:00 to the 1:20 mark, Fetty’s hook. My biggest regret with this song is that they didn’t have the hook in it more times because it was sounding absolutely heavenly. Fetty’s verse wasn’t bad but it slowed down the song a little bit and didn’t seem to totally fit in with the ferocious vibe/tempo that Tekashi set with the opening verse (you could say the same thing about A Boogie’s verse too, the song felt a bit disjointed). Still, it’s good to see him back out here and hopefully we can see him taking back his crown as the hook god going forward.
It’s a good hype up song between the aggressive verse from Tekashi, the dope but unter-utilized hook and all the general shenanigans going on in the video, which looks like it was probably a lot of fun to be at. I like all the quads and dirtbikes in the video but I’m wondering how these dudes have them in NYC I could rarely find a parking spot there let alone space for extra ATVs and bikes, and we all know damn well that NYC apartments are basically the size of glorified closets so it’s not like they can keep them inside. I expect to see Meek and them and D.C. rappers etc. riding around on toys like this since they have a ton of land down there but doing it in NYC is an even more impressive feat. NYPD is going to be salty about this video.
A Boogie is surrounded by an entire snack attack at 2:00. I can’t really get behind Tekashi’s rainbow-colored fur hood here, looking like he hunted a bunch of Care Bears and made a coat out of them, but the dude in the Lacoste jumpsuit and purple Lacoste hat looks fresh, and I’m not opposed to Fetty Wap’s Pelle Pelle jacket. Apparently the guy with the mask on is Rowdy Rebel’s brother Fetty. (Side note – ‘Fetty’s Song’ by Rowdy off of ‘Shmoney Keeps Calling’ might be his most underappreciated if not best song. So real and sounds so good over that smooth ‘Night Shift’ sample.) This song had the potential to be more but I’m still going to say that Tekashi is 3/3 now with 3 solid hits in a row between Gummo, Kooda and Keke, with Kooda being the best song so far. It will be interesting to see what he does next/how long he can sustain the momentum for.
