Nuk x Hellboy Rodd – Hellgodz (2020) Kodak Black – I Wanna Live (2020) Peezy ft. Rio da Yung OG, RMC Mike – CFWU (2020) Sosa Geek – Rambo (2020) Peezy ft. GT, Overlord Scooch, Motown TY – YRN (2020)
Nuk x Hellboy Rodd – Hellgodz
UMM HOW DID I JUST FIND OUT ABOUT THIS NOW? I think Hellboy Rodd is easily my new favorite rapper. And Nuk is coming in as a close second. Just when I thought this whole Detroit/Flint ecosystem couldn’t possibly get any deeper, I belatedly find out about two new guys who could both become two of my top artists of the year.
Hellboy Rodd is getting that COVID money, $150,000 in the pandemic. This dude is flowing like a… demon on this.
“On the east or the west I can’t be touched, they got these fake ass demons trying to be us, that murder or that dope I got my hands in it, I made $150,000 off this pandemic.”
“These ain’t regular Adidas these the Yeezy kind, big demon big Glock don’t get demonized”. Side note I love how dedicated Rodd is to pushing this demon ethos.
I don’t know why but I love the “Bitch I’m on the block I’m selling big pies, I pull up on the east I’m with the big guys” line and Hellboy Rodd’s mannerisms as he raps it. My favorite part of this video is the look on Nuk’s face as he holds up his Bag Godz chain when Hellboy Rodd says “Pull up on the East I’m with the big guys”
I sent this video to my brother a couple of nights ago and he said that when the video started he wasn’t sure who the rapper was going to be and was surprised when Hellboy Rodd was ‘the big dude’ which I feel like just makes Hellboy Rodd even better. One of the things I like about Rodd is that he raps like he has a chip on his shoulder, but I’ll get more into that in my next post that I’m working on.
While Nuk might not have quite the same ridiculous bars as Hellboy or quite the same commitment to the demon vibe, he more than makes up for it with the casual swagger that he delivers his lines with; “trap nigga so they get the picture just like Vizio, ” “Pull out 50 if I get provoked,” “My bitch been to 8 countries”
As you all know I’m a fan of the rapper’s whole crew joining in and yelling along with the end of a line once per video, a la Big Wan’s Fast Lane Lifestyle or Rio and Big Colin’s Ghetto Boyz so I was pleased to see this tactic used again here. I’m not sure who made this beat but it sounds like it could be a 1800.
Seems like we’ve got not only the East and the West coming together here but a demon and a Bag God linking up to create something magical. Definitley one of my top videos/songs for 2020 already.
P.S. is it just me or is Nuk really tall?
Kodak Black – I Wanna Live
Lil Kodak did it again. Kodak came through and knocked down the buildings with this one. They can try to keep Kodak locked in a cage but they can’t stop him from making a hit!
This is that vintage, ebullient Kodak that I’ve been missing. The hook goat is back…
I WANT THE ROLLS ROYCE TRUCK IM IN A MUSTANG, I ALREADY SHOWED MY ASS NOW I LET MY NUTS HANG
“I wanna live I want to chill I want a bunch of things”/”I’m tryna run my money up I’m tryna die slow” Can’t we all get behind this message? If you can’t get behind this message/song I don’t want to be friends with you. Maybe this is like when Snoop Dogg linked up with Willie Nelson, something that can bring everyone from all walks of life in this divided country together.
“My uncle knew I was a star he called me maestro. I’m blowing jet fuel pack I blow nitro, I’m tryna throw the roof back and live life though.” I hear you Kodak, I hear you. I love the nitro/life though rhyme; Kodak really is underrated as a lyricist.
I havent seen the production credits but whoever made this for Kodak laced him with the perfect beat for this type of Kodak.
FREE KODAK
Can Kanye get in Trump’s ear and PLEASE tell him to pardon Kodak before he leaves office?
Peezy ft. Rio da Yung OG, RMC Mike – CFWU
What a blessing it is to get a new album from Peezy right at the tail end of 2020. It’s too bad Peezy can’t be here for the video but his team is in here heavy. Like Peezy himself said back in ‘New Car Smell’, Ghetto Boys really is the “new Death Row.” I’d go as far as to say the new Death Row, new No Limit, and new G-Unit.
We’ve even got some cameos from Babyface Ray and GT here.
Rio absolutely slaughters this. “Ghetto Boys we untouchable. I bet a nigga ain’t gon hit my bitch she unfuckable. Real ghetto shit, turned some Benny’s down for Lunchables. TAKING PICTURES WITH MY FAMILY FRESH AS FUCK LIKE THE HUXTABLES, HALF A MILLION WORTH OF JEWELRY THEY CAN’T FUCK WITH US.”
Free Big P!
Sosa Geek – Rambo
I’m feeling Sosa Geek’s ‘blunt instrument’ type of delivery here, “I KEEP A GUN ON ME LIKE I’M RAMBO, I GET MAD I’M USING THIS AMMO”. I also just love the name ‘Sosa Geek’.
Peezy ft. GT, Overlord Scooch, Motown TY – YRN
Another selection off of the new Peezy album, mainly off the strength of the Overlord Scooch verse (still my favorite name in rap). Overlord’s verse is just so damn smooth. I’m feeling the “I hit the yard with Vice Lords nigga all is well, if I feel threatened nigga we gonna fill your car with shells” line, so dope.
Lil Kodak did it again. Kodak came through and knocked down the buildings with this one. They can try to keep Kodak locked in a cage but they can’t stop him from making a hit!
This is that vintage, ebullient Kodak that I’ve been missing. The hook goat is back…
I WANT THE ROLLS ROYCE TRUCK IM IN A MUSTANG, I ALREADY SHOWED MY ASS NOW I LET MY NUTS HANG
“I wanna live I want to chill I want a bunch of things”/”I’m tryna run my money up I’m tryna die slow” Can’t we all get behind this message? If you can’t get behind this message/song I don’t want to be friends with you. Maybe this is like when Snoop Dogg linked up with Willie Nelson, something that can bring everyone from all walks of life in this divided country together.
“My uncle knew I was a star he called me maestro. I’m blowing jet fuel pack I blow nitro, I’m tryna throw the roof back and live life though.” I hear you Kodak, I hear you. I love the nitro/life though rhyme; Kodak really is underrated as a lyricist.
I havent seen the production credits but whoever made this for Kodak laced him with the perfect beat for this type of Kodak.
FREE KODAK
Can Kanye get in Trump’s ear and PLEASE tell him to pardon Kodak before he leaves office?
Now that we’re done with the more arduous task of making the ‘Top 50 songs of 2018’ list, I’ll switch to the easier task of putting up a quick top 10 songs for December 2018. We’re going a little overboard this month as you’ll see. Thanks for reading this year and see you in 2019!
Yung Skreww ft. Philthy Rich, J. Stalin, TD, Yung Getta Dro – If I Wasn’t Getting Money
Saw this one on Crimedawbylaw and while it’s two years old, it’s become one of my favorites that I’ve heard in a long time. It really is the ultimate mellow slapper, like he described it. I’m especially loving the chorus from Young Getta Dro and Skreww’s verse, outshining his more famous contemporaries. “You a mohterfucking snitch like what was you telling for, if you wasn’t with the shit what you hung with the fellas for? If you don’t like it, stay away from the clique nigga, 187 on an undercover bitch nigga!” Skreww’s verse just had so much heart.
Cash Click Boog – 200 Proof
I’d heard Boog’s name here and there and probably as a feature in passing but didn’t really start checking him out until reading Raygarraty’s great all-Detroit top songs of 2018 list, and then I decided to delve more into his music and he really grew on me. ‘200 Proof’ is my favorite of his songs so far. “Blues got me feeling cool as ever, snow or rain nigga, shoot whoever, your main bitch on my dick cause I do it better. Southwest in this bitch then there’s stupid cheddar.”
Side note – I love the Thizzler best of 2018 cyphers that they came out with this year, and the fact that they had one including a bunch of the Detroit guys like Boog and guys from BandGang/ShredGang, commemorating the timeless and always-fruitful Bay Area to Detroit connection.
Kodak Black – Identity Theft
Kodak with a heartfelt ode to credit card fraud. Rappers have been rapping about the dope game for probably at least 30 years so it’s about time the identity theft game got some love.
Kodak with a heartfelt ode to credit card fraud. Rappers have been rapping about the dope game for probably at least 30 years so it’s about time the identity theft game got some love.
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.
I’m so late yet again bruhs… here’s my top 10 songs for October… I’m cheating here too because I’ve got about a dozen songs again this time
Kodak Black – Zeze
This had to be number one for October. Or basically a tie between this and the Peezy/Cash Kidd song for 1A/1B.
From original article…
Zeze finally came out and it had your host walking into Midwestern travel plazas and Quaker Steak & Lubes going ‘Bum bum bum bum bum’ and pretending to play the steel drums all weekend while I was on a road trip.
The song with the highly-flammable steel drum beat that Kodak has been teasing in snippets where he’s dancing in his sensibly understated lavender church sweater for the last month or so finally came out, and I’m thankful to say that not only did it live to see the light of day unlike other fire snippets that never lived to see the light of day like ones from Kevin Gates or Ya BoyBig Choo, it also lived up to the hype. The D.A. Doman beat could cure a lot of the world’s problems, you get a simple but incredibly catchy hook from Kodak, and solid verses from Kodak and Offset. An all around solid effort on all levels and certainly a song of the year contender for me. Also my favorite Kodak song I’ve heard since probably some time last year.
My only real gripe is Offset’s lazy ‘in the middle of the field like David Bekcham’ line because it just sounds dated at this point and David Beckham wasn’t even really a central midfielder in the first place, he couldn’t have said someone more current/central like N’Golo Kante or Tanguy Ndembele or someone and rhymed soemthing with that? But hey c’est la vie.
Peezy ft. Cash Kidd, Big Rizz – Duckin’ Wreck
Peezy is out here living his best life right now. Seriously this guy is like a fine wine just getting better and better with time (Pause! Pause!). Peezy has emerged from being a consistent, reliable performer in the Detroit scene to now making a strong case for being at the very top of it (although I’m also partial to be FMB DZ but they’re almost a 1a and 1b to me at this point). I saw the homie Ray Garraty post Duckin’ Wreck the other day and couldn’t wait to check it out. I usually post my favorite line or two from every song but in this case the entire verse just went so hard that I couldn’t even pick out one line and wanted to post the whole thing…
“We ain’t ducking wreck we want all the smoke; in a Hellcat fresher than a bar of soap. Sippin’ syrup out the pint like I caught a cold, catch a nigga down bad he thought he saw a ghost. Heard he said he was a shooter and he keep a stick, still livin’ with his mama, drivin’ a piece of shit. Get your head knocked off you ever make the list, you ain’t fuckin’ with my son, boy get off my dick. Bentley trucks and G-Wagons riding down Ocean, rose gold dog tag off the diamond choker. Never played in no Finals but I’m buying trophies, I’m talking chains full of diamonds with the matching Rollies. Balling on these little niggas I was made to flex, you can’t do it like me you better save your checks. Knockin’ niggas off the board like I’m playing chesss, Team East, Ghetto Boys, nigga fuck the rest.”
On a side note, as someone who drives a piece of garbage for a car, I usually don’t feel great when rappers call people out for driving cheap cars, but in this case I can definitley feel where Peezy is coming from when he says “Heard he said he was a shooter and he keep a stick, still livin at his mama’s house driving a piece of shit” as the guy across the street from me still lives with his mom and parks his garbage car in front of my house every day even though there’s a whole plethora of spots outside of his parent’s house. Although in fairness I don’t think he calls himself a shooter like whoever Peezy is talking about.
Young Thug ft. T-Shyne – Real in My Veins
My favorite song off of Jeffrey’s ‘On the Run’ EP. This whole project was great I definitley listened to this a lot more times than Slime Language. Upon first listen the Elton John-assisted ‘High’ was an easy favorite but after a few more listens Real in My Veins emerged as the crown jewel of the tape. I don’t know much about T-Shyne but I really liked his verse here and upon further research it looks like he features Max B on his album so he’s good in my book. I have to listen to that next. I love Thug’s chorus ‘I’ve got real running through my veins’ and the message, and I love the part where T-Shyne says ‘I called my dad and told him that we made it.”
Rod Wave – Way Up
Man I’ve really been sleeping on this guy. Nice song and video from Rod Wave out of Tampa, as if Florida needed more good artists. This was on his Hunger Games 2 album that came out a couple of months ago but the video just came out a few weeks ago. I remember this guy was talking about Rod Wave a year ago.
I slept on Hunger Games 2 for way too long. It’s too early to say but the tape is a borderline classic in my opinion, you can listen to the first 6 tracks over and over again with no skips and it stays flammable the whole time.
Young Thug ft. Elton John – High
So this happened. When I first saw this my initial thought was that this looks like one of those collaborations that sounds like it should be really good but will inevitably end up being bad/disappointing, but it actually did end up being good. It sounds like it would be a wierd combination, but then again, I can picture Sir Elton having a decent amount in common with Thugga.
Kevin Gates – Discussion
The opener off of Gates’ excellent ‘Luca Brasi 3’ project which had a couple of songs featured here last month and keeps producing more and more gems the more times I listen to it. I love the intro of Gates talking about wanting to get back from jail to see his kids and the hook goes super hard.
Kevin Gates – Great Man
LOOK IN THE MIRROR, AND I SEE A GREAT MAN!
I started writing this top 10 before the video for this song came out but it looks like now it has a video which is blowing up. The song is great on its own accord; Gates is really baring his soul here and showing what elevates him above the run of the mill artist but the video adds a nice additional layer of depth to what he’s saying. This is the type of song I would listen to every morning at the gym, if I wasn’t too lazy to go to the gym.
Mozzy – Run to the Mansion
Dope song by Mozzy and my favorite off of Gangland Landlord. People who read this blog might be surprised because for whatever reason I just haven’t really written about him/mentioned him much but gun to my head Mozzy is one of my favorite current rappers and if I had started this blog say 2-3 years ago instead of in the last year and a half there would have been about 50 Mozzy articles in a row on it. For whatever reason I haven’t been bumping him as much lately but Gangland Landlord was good and I have to get back into his recent stuff and check it out again.
“We got the drums for the hammers/they need the drugs in Atlanta/they got my youngin’ in the slammer/he carry guns on the campus/they be on the run for a murder/they just gon’ run to the masion”
The album outro, ‘Tear Me Down’ was really good too.
Rod Wave – Tomorrow /Rod Wave – Praying Grandmothers
Two more Rod Wave bangers I’m hella late on. This guy definitley has a gift. Incredible voice, great charisma/a lot of soul, and dope songs. He should definitley be a bigger star and maybe he will be soon.
Quando Rondo – Kiccin Shit
Always down for some new Quando Rondo. Always melodic AF. I didn’t realize he was a Crip until this song.
More heat from Peezy/Cash Kidd & co. Great group cut. I’ve been meaning to post this one for a while after seeing it on Sislafami a while ago and I’ve been bumping it a whole bunch again this month so I figured this is as good a place as any to mention it.
I’m not sure who’s who in this video besides for Peezy and Cash Kidd obviously but I like the first guy he’s got charisma and some good bars, “I got 100 on this bitch I don’t miss often. Back to back Cats I don’t miss walking” and I love when the third guy says “If they ain’t got no money have them take it out the church offering”
“Got it out the mud I ain’t never did a scam nigga, RIP to all the fallen soldiers, free the fam nigga, shut the fuck up if you ain’t got 100 bands nigga.”
On an interesting side note, at least to me, I’ve noticed a couple of times now, like here in Peezy’s line ‘Got it out the mud I ain’t never did a scam nigga’ line, it seems like there’s a clear hierarchy amongst people engaged in criminal activity, with dealers/robbers etc. clearly being above people doing scams in the pecking order and looking down on them.
Zeze finally came out and it had your host walking into Midwestern travel plazas and Quaker Steak & Lubes going ‘Bum bum bum bum bum’ and pretending to play the steel drums all weekend while I was on a road trip.
The song with the highly-flammable steel drum beat that Kodak has been teasing in snippets where he’s dancing in his sensibly understated lavender church sweater for the last month or so finally came out, and I’m thankful to say that not only did it live to see the light of day unlike other fire snippets that never lived to see the light of day like ones from Kevin Gates or Ya BoyBig Choo, it also lived up to the hype. The D.A. Doman beat could cure a lot of the world’s problems, you get a simple but incredibly catchy hook from Kodak, and solid verses from Kodak and Offset. An all around solid effort on all levels and certainly a song of the year contender for me. Also my favorite Kodak song I’ve heard since probably some time last year.
My only real gripe is Offset’s lazy ‘in the middle of the field like David Bekcham’ line because it just sounds dated at this point and David Beckham wasn’t even really a central midfielder in the first place, he couldn’t have said someone more current/central like N’Golo Kante or someone and rhymed soemthing with that? But hey c’est la vie.
Another unexpected tres amigos type song here and this one is top notch. Philthy Rich is smartly jumping on the ALLBLACK bandwagon. ALLBLACK is literally everywhere right now, just crushing the feature game.
Rexx Life Raj kills the chorus here; this is definitely one of my favorite choruses in a long time. He’s rocking a very different look with the messenger bag, coat that looks like an old white grandma would wear, red winter hat, gold shades, and gold smartwatch but he can pull it off. If I wore that I’d look ridiculous but Raj has the style and presence to make it work and actually looks pretty badass. I’ve listened to more of his stuff a year or two ago and it didn’t jump out at me (which probably says more about my bad taste than him as an artist!) but his chorus and verse here are his magnum opus thus far and now I want to go back and re-listen to all of his stuff again… maybe he could become my 2018 version of Berner…
Philthy’s verse to open things up is textbook Philthy. “From the regal to the Wraith; I can tell what he’s thinking see the evil in his face.” I love the fact that he’s rapping in front of his own billboard.
It wasn’t my favorite ALLBLACK verse ever but even an average ALLBLACK feature is better than 95% of other rappers’ best efforts these days. As evidenced by the fact that he’s in about half the songs on this month’s and last month’s top 10 lists. The shot of the bus with the ‘Go Warriors’ message was a nice touch.
03 Greedo & Nef the Pharoah ft. ALLBLACK, Chris O’Bannon
There were a couple of other serious contenders but this song and the above were my two favorites this month I couldn’t decide between them. From the original post…
“Could this new choon off the new 03 Greedo/Nef the Pharoah collaboration possibly be any flamier?
I was hyped up enough about getting a joint project (albeit a short one) from two of my favorites and as if that wasn’t enough there are multiple ALLBLACK features on here who like I said last time is quickly ascending to those ranks, as well as a wildly catchy chorus from Chris O’Bannon who I don’t know but who sounds like some sort of benevolent angel welcoming you to the pearly gates here on this song (Pause! Pause!). ‘Choosy’ just may be in the mix for my top song of 2018 so far. My favorite part is Greedo crooning ‘Make project music like Juvie’.
An added bonus here is the always-entertaining ALLBLACK comparing himself to the ‘fat nigga from D12’ because he’s not wearing a shirt. I absolutely was not expecting to get a Bizarre shoutout/reference in 2018 especially not on a banger like this, but I’ll take it.
I’ve talked about unexpected ‘Tres Amigos’ pairings before, i.e. 3 (or in this case I guess 4) guys you would never have expected to hear on a track together working out surprisingly well i.e. Berner with Young Dolph and Gucci Mane – I don’t know if this is so much an unexpected grouping as just a dream team Tres Amigos type of combo that is not to be trifled with.
This is that California sunshine-y type of summer music we need right now. FREE GREEDO!!!”
FMB DZ – Fast Money
From original post…
“DZ with what I guess you could call a homage to his crew over a more somber-sounding but dope beat, just killing it. This is my favorite song off his new album ‘In My Bag’ and one of his hardest songs to date which is saying a lot because those of you who have been checking out this site for a while know that ‘The Gift’ and ‘Washington DZ’ were two of my favorite albums last year and this guy had a heavy presence on my top songs of 2017 list. It’s good to see him not taking his foot off the gas and picking up where he left off in 2018. I feel like this song is both DZ taking a moment to step back and reflect on what he’s had to get through to get to where he is now, as well as to stunt on those who stood in his way or otherwise didn’t believe in him. I wasn’t expecting to hear DZ sing on this album but him singing his own hook here ended up sounding really good.
“Big strap on my lap I can’t lose, where would I be without them motherfucking blues? My nigga Jocka will put a nigga on the news, self defense knock him out his shoes, we’ll hit whoever nigga we don’t pick and choose”
“Got a crib out the way it’s on duck, boss man I’m that nigga you can’t touch, wrong move my young dog know the clutch, it’s all hustle over here it wasn’t no luck, catch a nigga out in traffic flip his truck”
“You’re looking at a made man I got big money, rich nigga bitch my shirt cost your rent money, I know if you’ll go a mile you’ll go an inch for me, test run take this package down to Flint for me.”
FMB DZ – Not the Same
After ‘Fast Money’, my favorite song off of In My Bag was the intro track ‘Not the Same’, which really set the tone for the album and let you know FMB DZ was coming out swinging.
“Ain’t no faking in my blood bitch I’m orignale, I just poured up a four in my ginger ale.”
“That nigga Joseph in this bitch he got another chain, if that boy ain’t got no ice on he ain’t with the gang.”
03 Greedo & Nef the Pharoah – Pluto
Another gem off of Porter 2 Grape. Nef is sounding incredible on the chorus here.
Rick Ross ft. T Pain, Kodak Black – Florida Boy
“It’s hard as hell for a young Florida boy, where we play football and sell dope…”
Alright I’m mucho late on this one since I guess it’s from February and I definitley wasn’t expecting to put up a T-Pain song on my blog any time in 2018 but damn I’m feeling this one this is some ultimate summer/driving music. The T-Pain chorus here is so fire, he’s still got it it just took a tribute to his home state to bring it out of him. I’m loving all the Florida pride here, from the Florida A&M rattlers jacket T-Pain is rocking to Rick Ross’ all Canes gear to the numerous Florida cameos like Khaled, Baby Soulja, and probably a few more that I don’t even recognize, to the Haitian flags flying to just the pride and passion for the state you can feel emanating from the song.
Ross gets all political on us here, “wake up nigga wake up, all these politicians need they face cut.” He doesn’t get too specific but I can’t disagree. “Beefin’ with niggas you went to school with, Easter Sundays at the church I prayed in the pool pit. Rocking rollies with homies I made some moves with.”
I love T-Pain triumphantly exclaiming, “I beat all of them cases, I’M ON!” and Kodak’s “Young nigga in a stolen car with no headlights, I’ll stop at the Wingstop but never at a red light!”
ALLBLACK ft. Shoreline Mafia – Road Run
While I’m generally in accordance with The Martorialist’s edict that “Shoreline Mafia are just Brockhampton if they’d met in the NoJumper YouTube comments rather than on the KanyeToThe message board,” this one was definitley worth it for the ridiculous ALLBLACK verse and I admittedly was kind of feeling the chorus too. I love how just absolutely reckless ALLBLACK can get; “I’m in the Ville tweaking and shit right hand on my tool, I’m high as fuck I feel like white bro who shot up the school.”
03 Greedo & Nef the Pharaoh – Blow-Up Bed
Yet another one off of Porter 2 Grape. I feel like I spent the last month or two mainly listening to Greedo, which made me obviously listen to this tape, which made me go back and listen to a bunch of Nef the Pharoah, and ALLBLACK was all over a bunch of songs with all of them and I listened to a ton of ALLBLACK as well and he’s become easily one of my new current favorites so those 3 have basically become the holy trinity of my listening this summer, with the new FMB DZ and Peezy mixtapes sprinkled in over the last week. I don’t like this one as much as Choosy or Pluto but it’s another cool song off an all-too-short EP, and I like the concept of the blow-up bed as an inanimate object illustrating how far these guys have come.
ALLBLACK – ALLWHITE
Got this one from the homie icebergsweater. No, unfortunately ALLWHITE isn’t ALLBLACK’S Waspy alter ego from New England, but it’s him warning you to stay back from him because he’s rocking all white and doesn’t want you to have to suffer the conseqeunces of getting any stains on him.
03 Greedo ft. ALLBLACK, Prada Mack – Florida Gator
This was my top song last month and I’ve still been bumping it all July.
Dave East & Rick Ross – Fresh Prince of Belaire
Cheating with an 11th song here… honestly the Fresh Prince homage seemed a bit out of place/half-hearted but the beat was heavy and it also just whetted my appetite for more Ross (Pause! Pause!). We need a new album from the big man soon.
It’s been a wild month over here, and this month’s top 10 will reflect that. I went down a lot of different wormholes whether it was a Tupac nostalgia trip brought on by my birthday and feeling old, to randomly bumping a lot of 80s R&B which rarely happens either, to a journey through the new Memphis to exploring a bunch of stuff I missed from the Griselda label and ultimately checking out a bevy of quality new releases from Nipsey Hussle, Kodak, Ralo, 6ix 9ine, and more. Hey any month that you can headbang to 6ix 9ine and slow dance to New Edition in the same month is a month worth living if you ask me. So here’s my February top 10, we’re a day late but let’s do it…
Benny the Butcher – Fat Dom
Benny’s got me feeling like throwing on a Buffalo Sabers jersey (the red and black one with the evil-looking buffalo, of course) with all this fire he’s releasing. I posted about Benny last week after seeing a really nice freestyle from him and this song ‘Fat Dom’ is my favorite song from his ‘Butcher on Steroids’ tape with Green Lantern that came out in November. Between Green Lantern shouting out his name and ‘Invasion’ over the tracks, to the flashy coke raps and the next-level lyricism, this tape (and song) really brought me back to another time and place, like the mid-2000s Dipset golden age and that is a very good thing in my opinion. Benny is like an Upstate NY, modern-day Diplomat. I’m going to feel like an idiot, but a grateful idiot, when one of my loyal readers points out to me what this beat is from since I know I’ve heard it before and it’s probably something obvious but I just can’t remember what it’s from, but in any case Benny kills it. This tape was great, and his project that just came out about a week or so ago entitled ‘Stabbed & Shot’ with his fellow Upstater 38 Spesh was really good as well (and features one track with Benny & 38 trading bars with Styles P and Jadakiss in typical Styles and Kiss fashion)
6ix 9ine ft. Tory Lanez, Young Thug
Much to the chagrin of rainbow-grill haters from coast to coast, the 6ix 9ine debut album (mixtape?) finally came and while it was short, it was economical in that it packed a lot of bangers into just under a half hour. Everyone already knew Kooda, Gummo and Keke which were amongst the best songs on it, but perhaps the best of all of them was a new song called Rondo. Rondo features a trio of collaborators in 6ix9ine, Tory Lanez, and Young Thug that is as unexpected as it is potent. I feel like Young Thug basically was the 6ix 9ine of a few years ago, with people up in arms about him wearing a dress and having a nose ring so it’s perhaps only right that these two kindred but very different spirits came together to bring some serious heat. I’m usually not really down with Tory Lanez but I have to admit his vocals on the chorus here were sick and really brought the whole song together. Like most of 6ix 9ine’s other big hits so far, especially Keke, really the only problem with ‘Rondo’ is that it’s way too short for such a dope song especially when you have 3 different guys of this caliber on it. Whether you love 6ix 9ine or hate him, or fall somewhere in between, I challenge you to bump Rondo at top volume and not get amped up about it.
Nipsey Hussle – Grinding All My Life
I actually posted this song in my top 10 a while back probably in September or October, but after appearing on Nipsey’s highly-anticipated ‘Victory Lap’ it’s back in this month’s 10. Nipsey was talking about Victory Lap for literally about a year and a half and it finally came out for All-Star weekend in Los Angeles. There were a lot of dope tracks on it and I have to say, I don’t think I’ve seen an album get this much love/anticipation both from the internet whether it was blogs, social media, or forums AND people bumping it outside in real life in quite a while, so good for Nip. There were a lot of good songs on it and it’s a nice, cohesive album where he really hammers home his vision of entrepeneurship and empowerment, but Grinding All My Life is still my favorite after all this time. I like his flow and bars better in the first half of the song than in the second, but either way it’s a banger.
“Don’t know a nigga like myself. I say self-made meaning I designed myself. County jail fade you could pull my file yourself. Spot raid, swallowed rocks I’m getting high myself.”
“Damn right I like the life I built, I’m from West side 60s, shit I might got killed, standing so tall they think I might got stilts. Legendary baller like Mike like Wilt, ’96 Impala Thug Life on wheels. Up against the wall, squabble at Fox Hills. Like a motherfucking boss ask me how I feel, successful street niggas touching their first mill.”
“Look I’m married to this game, that’s who I made my wife. She said I’d die alone I told that bitch she probably right. One thing that’s for sure, I’m not a stranger to this life, got a safe that’s full of Franklins and a shoulder full of stripes.
Nipsey Hussle ft. Kendrick Lamar – Dedication
Another highlight from Victory Lap. I’m usually not crazy about Kendrick but this song was incredible and it was cool to see him and Nipsey on a song together. Nice beat, great verses from two of the biggest modern-day LA/West Coast rappers, and furthermore it’s actually a pretty uplifting/positive song. Favorite line… Nipsey – “This ain’t entertainment. This for niggas on the slave ship. These songs are the spirituals that I swam against the waves with; made it to the shore to their amazement.” That line is so real it legitimately sent a chill down this old jaded blogger’s spine.
The intro to Moneybagg Yo’s new project ‘2 Heartless’ goes hard as a mother. It’s under a minute and a half long but it packs quite a punch. I wish it was a full-length 3 or so minute song because it ends right as he’s really heating up. The beat is harsh and I’m always down with rappers starting mixtapes with clips about themselves/their crimes/shootings etc. from the radio/news. I’m also down with Moneybagg including a clip of a guy yelling ‘Man, fuck Moneybagg!’ on his own tape. “Niggas turned hippie, they want peace, hit ’em with the iron get ’em creased, hottest nigga moving through these streets, all in my shows with the heat, dealt with more crosses than a priest, I ain’t let it break me with the lease.” The ‘niggas turned hippie they want peace, hit ’em with the iron get em creased’ is one of my favorite rhymes in a while it’s so simple but so effective. The hippie line has me picturing Moneybagg Yo’s opps in Memphis walking around with bell bottoms and tie-dyed shirts and something about hit ’em with the iron get ’em creased just sounds so brutal. I love the way he says ‘iron’ with that Tennessee drawl; ‘eearun‘.
As I predicted a couple of weeks ago, Drake wasn’t down at the FedEx Forum taking in a Grizzlies game with Blocboy JB because he wanted to take in Mario Chalmers NBA return or to see one half of the Harrison twins. Drake knows exactly what he’s doing – while it may look like he’s trying to help out a less famous up and coming artist, he actually needs Blocboy more than Blocboy needs him – he sees the hype Blocboy JB is getting and the love he’s getting on the streets, so he jumps on a song with him and rides the wave with him. I’m not even hating on it it’s actually a great business strategy and as much as I’m not usually a big fan of Drake as a rapper I will say he does have a great ear/eye for talent in terms of a lot of the guys he’s co-signed over the years and would make a great A&R.
I’m down with the Jordan jumpsuit Drake is rocking in the video; I’d be in full favor of clothes like that making a return instead of the women’s jeans and designer man-purses that a lot of rappers are sporting today. Drake’s dance actually isn’t bad in this video, but it’s no surprise that he’s upstaged by Blocboy, the guy who has all kinds of college and pro teams copying his dance from Shoot. And speaking of the fashion in this video, anyone of you readers out there know what the cargo pants w the orange stripe on the side that Blocboy is sporting are? Those are pretty fresh. P.S. I think he’s also wearing a Green Day ‘American Idiot’ shirt?
The ‘blow you like a flute’ line was kiiiiind of suspect but hey for the guy that made ‘Rover’ and ‘Shoot’ we’ll let it slide, Blocboy has earned himself a few slip-ups. He gets back into more typical excellent Blocboy form shortly after with this dope line – ‘Came a long way from sitting in the nosebleeds. Now a nigga on the floor talking to the ath-letes, man I’m so close to the game that I could steal the stat sheet.”
Drizzy is feeling grapey after his Memphis Vacation and who can blame him?
6ix 9ine – Billy
‘Billy’ is just so, so aggressive. It’s almost more of a hardcore song than a rap song. Apparently the video shoot for this got shut down in NYC today. I had thought there was a clip or version of this with Cuban Doll in it but I guess it didn’t make it to the album? I don’t know who is giving the speech in the beginning but it definitley sets the tone for the rest of the tape. A lot of high school kids are going to get punched in the face at parties with this song on in the background. I kind of want to make a mixtape with this, Kooda, and Knuck if You Buck just on a continuous loop.
Even 6ix 9ine’s harshest critics have to indirectly give him credit for at least getting Casanova to make ‘Set Trippin,’ one of the unfriendliest songs out of NYC in a long time, which then indirectly caused a wave of Set Trippin remixes all over the city and beyond, my favorite of which may honestly be this OG ‘Top Dolla’ trying his hand at it. I don’t know much about him and he only has a couple of songs over the last few years but I’ll take him over half the rappers out here these days, the man has charisma and stage presence.
I love the skit at the beginning. To summarize; Top Dolla and his boys are cooling out on the block when an erstwhile Blood is unlucky enough to stumble across their path. Top Dolla disappointedly asks him when/why he turned Blood and chides him for turning Blood in jail when he didn’t even have a long bid. Top Dolla’s henchman also takes his flag out of his pocket for wearing it on the wrong side. But then ultimately in a surprise twist, Top Dolla acts fairly magnanimously and decides to spare him because they grew up on the same block, their moms know each other, and he basically watched him grow up. Knowing he’s no match for him, he lets him cross the street and leaves it to the Damus down the block to deal with him.
The navy blue and gold Pelle Pelle jacket he’s rocking looks sick and goes well with his standard Yankees hat, always a timeless classic. There are a lot of dope clothing choices in this video amongst his crew, whether it’s his boy in the Seattle Mariners pullover from the skit, or the guy with the New York Islanders jersey. Perhaps best of all is the rarely seen Minnesota Wild hoodie.
I like the raw aggression/energy and just sheer gravity Top Dolla brings to his version of the song, you just feel an added weight with some of the lines since you know he’s lived what he’s rapping here in his unique take on the song. He mainly talks about being in the minority as a Crip at Rikers Island and the NY State prison system, and standing tall whereas many other Crips were afraid to claim in jail since they were vastly outnumbered.
I love his spin on the chorus; ‘Throw your hood up, nigga bang, on Rikers Island a lot of niggas they was scared to claim, Neighborhood nigga that’s the gang.’
‘Young top Dolla a known threat; 18 Years, Neighborhood, only been one set. They tuckin from the streets to the jail, nigga I bang mine, the Six is like kids around tax time, I claim mine. What I hate is tuck and tell, knowing well, they get in a spot with some Crips, they claimin’ other jails.’
‘Some niggas pick and choose when they rep, we gotta fix that, if you reppin over there adn not over here, you gettin’ bitch slapped…on Rikers I was making it known, they can’t forget that, and up north, I was keeping it funky like where the Rips at?’
SOB X RBE – God
Amazing song from SOB X RBE. Only caught this at the very end of the month but this is so good. ‘God’ is off their new album Gangin, which is apparently being called a debut album – I thought that last year’s self-titled one was their debut album but I guess that was a mixtape. Last year’s album/mixtape was one of the best projects of the year; I have to really get into the rest of this album and listen to it in full while I have time but so far it sounds great. SOB X RBE is definitley one of the top groups in the game these days and individually these guys all have some great solo stuff too. After being on the Black Panther soundtrack I’m sure they’ll blow up even more and they certainly deserve to. It’s too early to say because this was a last-minute change right before I put this article up but so far I’d go as far as to say ‘God’ is one of my favorite songs from the SOB X RBE camp so far to date.
Kodak Black – Why You Always Gotta Go
The new Kodak Black album was kind of hit or miss to me but when you really try to try some new things and push the envelope some things are going to miss so I can’t fault Kodak for that. I almost feel like this new album HBK was him going avant-garde. I picked ‘Why You Always Gotta Go’ as my top song from it and my 10th song for the month after a couple of listens of the album but really it was a close choice between this and the couple of other songs I liked from HBK, namely Acting Wierd, Laudy, Running Outta Love and When Vultures Cry. I loved the ‘I made my first $100,000 in my Soldiers’ line.
The big cuz O.T. Genasis hitting us with some surprisingly wholesome fire here. This is some inspirational ‘chicken soup for the trap star’s soul’. ‘Too Blessed’ is too inspirational and too catchy to ignore.
O.T. Genasis is Belizean but it looks like his hood pass is good in Haiti. Best music video shot in Haiti since Kodak and French Montana went down there for Lockjaw?
Is that O.T. Genasis considering buying a painting of O.T. Genasis at 1:05??
That ‘Haitian Veteran’ hat is intense. The floral Adidas shirt the other dude with him is wearing has got me jelly too. There are a lot of things to love about this video, from O.T.’s dance moves and how happy the kids are breaking out theirs, and the smiling old lady, and when O.T. points to the sky as he yells ‘My lil nigga coming home soon.’ This is O.T. Genasis’ best song of his career so far in my opinion, and very early on my favorite track of 2018 so far.
Blocboy JB – Rover
So Grapey. Blocboy JB is hitting so hard right now he’s got Drake down in Memphis taking in Grizzlies games. Rover is an absolute monster and has me abusing the grape emoji on my phone keyboard.
Ray Mula ft. Dave East, Don Q – Wassup with the Wassup Remix
This is what NYC rap should be sounding like nowadays. Done perfectly. The original Wassup was great but the remix takes it to a whole nother level. All 3 guys kill it…
“Shorty sleeping on the hookah so we made her pay for refills. I’m still taking her home, but if she throw me on the Snap than I’m breaking her phone.”
“Used to wake up for the count now I wake up just to count.”
“8 Ball rolling, nigga no pool, trap house jumping more scales than Whole Foods”
No homo but I love Mula’s voice it’s perfect for this type of song.
“I was fucking all these hoes way before I started trapping, looking like a rapper way before I started rapping. Yeah I’m from the 8 talk about it make it happen, we could get it poppin, we could get it crackin… Harlem world AKA money making, hoes started liking, niggas started hating. Tried to keep it funky, niggas started faking, grip on deck but we can still get it shaking.”
Dave East:
“I was on some broke shit, roaches by the mattress, on some Loc shit way before I started flagging.”
“All this double G be on me got me fucking nigga’s wives. Came home without a scar, could give a fuck about your life.”
Don Q:
“I be walking through the fire when the smoke clear. Tell my niggas open fire when the coast clear. Yeah that block was on fire but I post there. Don’t stand by that car tire we got coke there. Fuck a prince nigga I got king status. Stuffed $200,000 in a queen mattress. All my ice bright nigga I done seen darkness, my lawyer got pistol cases looking like weed charges.”
I almost want to include the original version with just Ray Mula as another one of my top 10 songs but I feel like that would kind of be cheating.
Cookie Money
Heartfelt and hard-hitting song from Oakland hustler Cookie Money. You can really feel what he’s saying here. I’m not going to say much here because I’ve been meaning to give this it’s own post which I’ll put up in the next couple of days.
PINK CHARDONNAY 