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Tag Archives: California

Take the Pedals off the Bike and Ima Hop on the Pegs

29 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by in Bay Area, L.A.

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ALLBLACK ft. 03 Greedo, Prada Mack – Florida Gator

Here ye here ye, your host is hereby temporarily abstaining from the Martorialist-issued embargo on listening to rappers with septum piercings, which as you know, I usually strictly adhere to as they are wise words to live by, but ALLBLACK has me breaking the embargo. (Plus, ALLBLACK actually looks pretty badass with his, unlike some rappers who get them and just end up looking like bratty kids that hang out at Hot Topic.). I originally came here for 03 Greedo’s chorus but left as a new fan of Oakland’s rose-gold-grilled ALLBLACK. (I’m definitely feeling this rose gold grill).

ALLBLACK is certainly a character, and he links up with another big personality here in 03 Greedo in this ode to Florida Gators of an entirely different nature (and nothing to do with Tim Tebow or Aaron Hernandez). ALLBLACK mixes that old school, Oakland/Bay Area attitude with the newer vibe of these Soundcloud era type guys that dress like punk rockers. I fucking love what he’s saying here in his verse… “Y’all want ALLBLACK to be like James Stacy, wouldn’t stop running if the doctor amputated my legs… grinding like Chris Cole cause I gotta keep Maxine fed… take the pedals off the bike and I’ma hop on the pegs”. (By the way I feel like Chris Cole and James Stacy are two of the most random/unexpected references ever in a rap song and here they are basically in the same line). ALLBLACK’s verse and whole flow/vibe have grown on me very quickly and now I’m blasting his verse all the time. His song Canadian Goose is a flamer as well.

Could Greedo’s hook here possibly be any more flammable? 03 Greedo on auto tune is on a whole different level. God Level perhaps? It’s just a short cameo from him here on the hook and no verse but it sounds heavenly. My only complaint is I wish they looped it in a couple more times at the end or something.

ALLBLACK is definitely adding his own spin and style to the Bay and really out of nowhere is turning into one of my new/recent favorites and this and Canadian Goose are turning into two of my most heavily-played songs of this young summer so far. I’m also just starting to delve into the new Greedo album ‘God Level’ which I’m only halfway done with but looks like it’s going to have at least a half-dozen bangers on it. FREE GREEDO!

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Only My God Can Judge Me, Too Rich for a Judge. Unless I Get Paid I Don’t Go to Clubs

21 Saturday Apr 2018

Posted by in California, L.A., Uncategorized

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03 Greedo ft. Drakeo the Ruler, Fenix – Wake Me Up in Traffic 

Even 03 Greedo’s unreleased loosies are better than 95% of other current artist’s best material that they would choose as the singles for their new album. This guy really is on a different level. Almost reminds me of an in-his-prime Gucci Mane with all the vaults upon vaults of quality material he has laying around. I really hope this one doesn’t get taken down from Youtube! This is going to be a dope summer driving song.

“Wake me up in traffic, fell asleep at the wheeeel. Lately I’ve been trapping, kush, lean and the pillllls”.

“And I got my mask and my gloves, dead presidents chasing bank do some drugs, every day I repent but I keep fucking up, only my God can judge me, too rich for a judge…Unless I get paid I don’t go to clubs.” This line was so dope and mind-blowing to me because it was so braggadocios but also simultaneously so humble, which you would think would be impossible but Greedo pulled it off.

03 showcases so many different flows, voices, and cadences on this one it’s almost ridiculous. His cohort, Drakeo the Ruler, who if not for Greedo would almost certainly be the most dynamic rapper in L.A. right now, also contributes a dope verse as does, according to Youtube, someone named Fenix of Shoreline Mafia who I know nothing about but if he has Greedo’s approval than he’s alright by me. Let’s keep our fingers crossed/prayers up that Greedo and Drakeo both beat their cases and we can keep getting awesome collaborations from them for years to come.

03 Greedo has easily usurped the Dos Equis guy as ‘The Most Interesting Man in the World’ at this point.

Image result for 03 greedo drakeo

Refrigerated Cup Holders When I’m Sippin’

07 Wednesday Mar 2018

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Nipsey Hussle – Freestyle on Funk Flex 

Neighborhood Nip killing it on the Funk Flex show a couple of weeks ago. I’m always a sucker for the ‘If I Ruled the World’ beat and this was a great use of it.

“Bullets got blue tips like they Crippin’ nigga, F&N got 30 in it and I’m tripping nigga, refrigerated cupholders when I’m sippin’ nigga, fuck work sell words it was written nigga, see the Staples Center from my kitchen nigga, on the phone with Forbes asking how I did it nigga”.

Something about the imagery of the refrigerated cupholders and seeing the Staples Center from his kitchen is such dope use of imagery and just paints such an evocative picture to me. I’m not sure if he means refrigerated cup holders in his house or in the whip but either way I want them now. Nipsey can’t miss right now!

“$30,000 for the pythons, rocking knee-highs, sipping white wine, listening to ‘In My Lifetime, looking at the city skyline, getting sky high.”

 

“All My Chains On I Don’t Tuck None, Call Me Simba Bitch You Fucking with the King’s Son”

07 Wednesday Feb 2018

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Cookie Money – Pops Died Last Week

An intense and heartfelt song by East Oakland’s Cookie Money about the death of his father. You can really feel both the sense of sadness and loss as well as the feeling of resolute determination to carry on the family legacy and shouldering the burden of making sure that the rest of his family is straight no matter what it takes. You can really feel where he’s coming from with the unique mix of angry defiance and deep sadness that’s hard to describe. Apparently his father was a serious hustler during the crack epidemic of the 1980s and then spent a lot of time in prison but he and Cook remained very close. I usually don’t watch Vlad TV that frequently but the Cookie Money interview on it was pretty good and delved more into Cookie Money’s background/life story etc it’s long but I would definitely recommend it.  It seems like he’s lost a lot of people close to him recently over the last few months from his dad to his grandmother to some of his homies so hopefully he can find some peace and things get better for him soon.

I don’t think Cookie is doing anything crazy lyrically but he’s a real, genuine artist who can really make you feel what he’s saying, which makes it even more impressive. He’s not doing it with crazy wordplay or rhyme schemes he’s just doing this with pure heart.

“All my chains on I don’t tuck none, I’m tryna tell them that they fucking with the wrong one, call me Simba bitch you fucking with the king’s son.”

“My daddy died last week bruh this shit hurt. I never thought he’d be the one who had to leave first. I gotta hold my brother down I gotta take the torch, show these niggas what this East Oakland shit is worth.”

“Ready to kill any pussy nigga that look at me wrong. Broad day, no mask, whole clip to his dome. I would never question God I can’t say that he wrong, you were more than my father bruh it’s hard to move on. How the fuck you tell (???) that her Papa is gone, I hear your voice late night ‘Lil nigga be strong, same name do your thing keep the legacy going’, I lost my best friend bruh y’all didn’t even know him.”

Gucci’d Down to the Tube Socks

11 Thursday Jan 2018

Posted by in Bay Area

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Willie Joe, Benny, YL Next Up – Mo Guap Mo Problems 

You wouldn’t think that attempting a remake of ‘Mo Money Mo Problems’ in late 2017 with a bunch of youngins from Cali and adding in a whole lot of auto tune would be a good idea… but it’s actually kind of fire?!?! Yhung T.O -nemesis Benny and his merry gang of DripSquad cohorts fucking kill it here (The DripSquad logo of the anthromorphic water droplet is actually pretty dope). I’ve always been a sucker for this beat and remember the original Biggie version being one of the first songs that ever caught my attention/that I liked as an earnest young elementary schooler.

I can’t lie, I’m definitely a little jelly of the guy at 0:27 that’s rocking that super clean long-sleeve Samoa rugby 7’s pullover.

Benny brings the heat on the melodic hook which goes surprisingly well with the Mo Money Mo Problems beat; “Blue paint on the new drop, too hot Gucci’d down to the tube socks, 19 young nigga with a bank roll, mo money ain’t a problem with a draco”. Props to Benny for making the motion of fanning himself off when he says ‘too hot’.

I like how Willie Joe changes the ‘no info for the DEA’ from the OG version to just ‘no info for the DA.’ “N-O, S-O nigga, D-A, H20 no info for the DA, Yanni got the draco got you running like a relay, bruh locked up his BM had us on 3-way. It’s Joey though, started from the bottom like we OVO, somebody sleeping in the bed it ain’t Nokio, rappers doing all this lying like Pinocchio, I’m a fly nigga rocking Bape straight from Tokyo.” (Side note – first time I heard Willie Joe was on ‘Top Ramen‘ this time last year which had a great hook from Lazy Boy). I’ like how DripSquad henchman YL Next Up just keeps snapping harder and harder as his short verse goes on. (Side side note – most of these same guys Willie Joe, YL Next Up etc. are in another dope song ‘Cruisin’ that Corolla Club highlighted in his monthly top 10, which also features another pretty sick Samoa rugby jersey).

The white dude with the dreads and the gnarly beard isn’t even named in the title of the video but through EXTENSIVE research (me lazily clicking around on Youtube while I’m supposed to be working) I believe his name is ‘Stony Bobby’ and he seems to be a DripSquad affiliate. (Is Stony Bobby the Bay Area’s answer to Kid Rock?) (Edit/Update: After more Youtubing, it’s also possible that the white dude with dreads and the black dude with dreads are called YL Next Up as a group, and Stony Bobby is someone else entirely?! Very mysterious). What he lacks in shaving skills he certainly more than makes up for in the sheer energy he brings to the track and his general over the top theatrics he uses to act out what he’s saying. Come on, look at the look on his face at 2:47 or the exaggerated running motion at 2:56; how could you not love this guy? And like he says, he’s just trying to push that Porsche Panamera with the leather, and who can begrudge him of that?

 

 

 

Smoking Cookie, and my Baby Mama Hating Tryna Jugg Me

15 Wednesday Nov 2017

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Lazy Boy ft. Snootie Wild – Kinda Famous 

Another highlight from the new Lazy Boy mixtape, this one the eponymous intro track featuring an unexpected cameo from Snootie Wild of ‘Yayo’ fame from a few years ago.

Best Lazy Boy line – “Got the draco on the seat when I’m in the car, I’m going hard for my brothers on the prison yard.”

I had basically completely forgotten about Snootie and didn’t expect to hear from him again especially not on a mixtape by Lazy Boy but I’m enjoying his feature on here as he plays more of a Fetty Wap type role, contributing a sing-song verse where he details how he’s ‘Famous Amos smoking cookie, and my baby mama hating tryna jugg me’ which I love because of how ridiculous it sounds. There’s also a very unexpected Al Bundy reference that works. I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing Snootie make a comeback in this type of a role going forward let’s see some more rappers utilize him on tracks in this fashion.

Had to Fall Off Before I Came Up, Every Single Pic I’ma Throw the Gang Up

13 Monday Nov 2017

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Lazy Boy – Not the Same 

I’m feeling this understated slap off of San Jose’s Lazy Boy’s new Kinda Famous project. I love the melodic, lazy (sorry I had to!) unassuming way he sort of half-raps, half-whispers great lines like these as he lilts over the beat…

“Doubting on me I came a long way, glizzy on me keep it on me all day, ‘Lazy Boy I fuck with you’ is what they all say, but they ain’t ride with me when I went the wrong way. Forty on my hip, gauge in the trunk, speaking on my name I’ll hit his face up. Had to fall off before I came up, every single pic I’ma throw the gang up.”

“I let 100 in the K go, they know my face so it’s kind of hard to lay low. One call have the gang on its Halo.”

“Homie this is real shit, tear drops on my face from the field trips.”

The way Lazy raps some of these lines is basically the same as the tone/timing he uses when he raps “I’m rocking Ralph Lauren, hella missed calls when I wake up in the morning” and gives him a unique flow.

I was a fan of last year’s In My Hood, his debut full-length, and Kinda Famous is shorter but a good release as well. As an added bonus there’s a pretty wild mix of unexpected features from anyone from Snootie Wild to A-Wax. If you’re looking to listen to something by a rapper with some bold face tattoos that ISN’T Tekashi I would highly recommend Lazy Boy.

BILLBOARD GANG‼️ Tully n King📍 San Jose, Ca • #KindaFamous 💎

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Back Then, You Could Give a Knock a Rock for a Book of Food Stamps

06 Friday Oct 2017

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With all the crazy stuff going on out here in the world lately, sometimes it feels good to reminisce about a simpler, more carefree time, for example, by taking a trip down memory lane with Key Loom, who affably leads us on a guided tour of his hood in those golden days of youth where you could “give a knock a rock for a book of food stamps.”

Key Loom really sets the aesthetic in his dope 2016 song ‘Succa Free’; “Back then, orange juice with the old E, on the turf soaking game from the OG’s”. Everything from the picture he paints with the verses and the scene he sets to the infectious chorus are top notch; this song isn’t new but I’ve probably listened to it about 30 times this week.

Another notable moment is Key Loom staking his claim to being the “flyest gang bang nigga that you’ve ever seen.” In most of the videos I’ve seen, Key Loom seems to favor more of a sensible, utilitarian fashion such as Dickies and plain t shirts and perhaps a winter hat (not to mention the obligatory blue bandana),  as opposed to some of the more daring “fly” designer gear favored by many of the younger rappers, but hey I have no reason to dispute his claim to that title. For example, see below for a quintessential Key Loom look…

(*Side note, I feel like this is a pretty underrated album cover/artwork)

Image result for key loom when animals attack

There are a bunch of other standout lines like…

“From the era of the D-boys, with a closet full of Air Maxes, in the trap counting stacks on an air mattress”.

Before he throws an absolute haymaker with this strong verse towards the end…

“Burner glove* full of gun shot residue, stay ready what you bitch niggas better do, couple holes in my body but I’m still stepping, thank God every day that’s a real blessing. Still keep my eyes peeled ’cause I’m on shit, fuck them suckas if they throwing up the wrong set”.

*Note that burner gloves are another go-to staple of the Key Loom wardrobe

P.S. – Can we get a Berner/Key Loom collaboration album??

Ryan Hemsworth, Yakki, E40 – Hunnid

04 Friday Aug 2017

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File this one under unlikelist of trios I would have expected to link up and make a song together. Not only do these guys join forces, but unlike some other unexpected combinations where the actual track underwhelms and is less interesting than the combination of names itself, these tres amigos bring the fire on Hunnid.

Yakki (nee Yakki Divoshi) absolutely manhandles the chorus on this one as he gleefully booms out ‘I can make a hundred in a daayyyyyy’ and between Hemsworth’s bouncy, summery beat and Yakki’s catchy chorus this song really should get big and be one of the songs of the summer. I feel like Yakki should start blowing up to and start getting even more buzz than he already has, with a couple of bangers under his name now like ‘Trust Issues’ with PNB Rock and the Lil Uzi-assisted ‘Xans’ from his recent album ‘Yakkistick’ which was a pretty enjoyable project. “Every night I’m eating steak and shrimp ’cause I ain’t going back to Church’s”, howls Big Yak at the end of his verse about grinding day and night and then ungrateful people wanting things from you.

Approaching 50, E-40 has shown an amazing knack for longevity and staying relevant in the rap game. I’d imagine life is pretty good for the Sik Wid It CEO right now, with his young bols on the label like OMB Peezy and Nef the Pharaoh making a ton of noise over the past year, but on ‘Hunnid’, like a grizzled player-coach that can still step off the bench and hit a few 3’s in a pinch, E-40 shows that he’s still got it. I’m feeling the Backwoods hoodie E-40 is rocking here too; as one of rap’s elder statesmen he’s not out here rocking skinny moto jeans or some  designer shirt with sparkles and rhinestones on it, he’s just keeping it simple and relaxed wearing a comfortable hoodie and winter hat with shades, which is more befitting of a legend of his stature at this point. Shout out to E-40 for the casual, self-aware swagger.

I don’t know much about this dude Hemsworth aside from the fact that he’s from Canada, he produced this sick beat, and apparently he’s one of Yakki’s coworkers at the autobody in the video. From the looks of it this song is from his own album that he’s working on. It looks like he does work both inside and outside the rap genre, which I actually think is a good thing because it gives artists different types of beats to work with and brings in some different perspectives, and between this and working with Adamn Killa on his other recent rap foray ‘Commas’ I’ve definitely got to give the guy credit for having good taste in rappers.

I also like the choice of the yellow Firebird for the car in the video; an underrated American icon in my humble opinion, and the Nef the Pharaoh cameo rocking out with the Sik Wid It chain. I wish they added in a verse from Nef at the end since he was there anyway, but I guess we can’t get TOO greedy since it was already a great song.

Image result for yakki

Berner Deep Cuts Vol. 2 – ‘Gone’ aka Berner Links Up with Mozzy; the Jacka

01 Tuesday Aug 2017

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You thought we were done with the Berner exploration journey over here? Nah bruh we stay on this Berner grind all summer long, can’t stop won’t stop. I’m not sure if I should thank or blame The Martorialist for inspiring me to go down this treacherous but also sometimes rewarding path. About 10 Berner albums deep, imagine my surprise and pleasure when I saw that his 2015 album ‘Harvest Season’ featured not one but two separate tracks featuring both The Jacka (RIP) and Mozzy on each, along with two other songs featuring the Jacka and one more with Mozzy. Say what you want about this affable Urban Farmer, but the man has an undeniable talent for getting great rappers to work with him and join his projects, as well as getting great verses out of them.  I didn’t even know who Mozzy was in 2015 showing that as usual, Berner was ahead of his time.

‘Gone’ has the added bonus of not only featuring the Jacka and Mozzy but also one of my favorite Nor Cal artists who I had gotten into for a while and completely forgotten about, Lil Rue, so it was good to hear him again as well. (Push It and Self Made were both in heavy rotation five or six winters ago I remember bumping them on a New Year’s Eve).

Mozzy raps a bit slower on this track and seems like he has a little bit of a different flow, and it sounds great over the triumphant, battle-ready beat. It actually might be one of my favorite two or three Mozzy verses to date, he absolutely bodies this one…

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