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.
I wasn’t super active this month so figured I’d post this now…
Fivio Foreign – Drive By (2020)
Mozzy – Boyz To Men (2020)
Mozzy ft. Blxst – I Ain’t Perfect (2020)
Stove God Cooks – Rolls Royce Brake Lights (2020)
Drake ft. Fivio Foreign, Sosa Geek – Demons (2020)
Mozzy – Bulletproofly (2020)
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?)
Mozzy – Boys II Men
This ‘Boyz To Men’ off the new Mozzy album absolutely knocks. This beat is hard as fuck and Mozzy’s flow is perfect for it. But after the way Mozzy made magic over that Mario sample in ‘Big Homie from the Hood‘, I can’t be the only one that saw this title on the tracklist and was hoping it was Mozz flowing over a smooth Boyz II Men sample, am I right?
I think I’ve mentioned this before, but before I made this site, Mozzy was probably my favorite rapper of 2015/2016. Then for whatever reason I kind of moved on and wasn’t as into some of his material over the next year or two. But lately Mozzy has been back with an absolute vengeance. Big Homie from the Hood is probably my favorite song of the year so far (yeah I know, December 2019 but still) and this album is really good. I love this one, the aforementioned Big Home, and the surprisingly introspective ‘I Ain’t Perfect’. (Was not expecting to hear the line ‘Compassion for the homeless cause they’ve been through enough’ from anybody I listen to but Mozzy makes it work.) There are a couple of other bangers that I’m sure I’ll add to that list to after a few more listens. I’d go as far as to say that between the quality of the album and his recent songs, the increased mainstream attention/buzz he seems to finally be getting, and his history/track record, as well as the step up in material he’s taking on in this album, Mozzy seems to be making a pretty credible run for the (always up for discussion/unofficial) crown as king of the West Coast. In a lot of ways it seems that Mozzy is taking a Nipsey type turn in terms of subject matter and becoming more concerned about the youth, his community, business etc. and I think he would be proud of this album.
“Suckers on the Gram with blammies they tell them to use them. My brother’s brother just paroled, family reunion. I know 100 niggas broke that ain’t selling the toolage. Pink 50’s is looking crispy the 100s is blue in. My location is the ghetto I’m bomfortably booling. The Crips love me on the beat they fuck with the movement.”
“If they threatened you with life would you crack on your goon? I tend to whisper when I feel there’s a rat in the room.”
“How you put the homies on but let your brother starve? That nigga Bob was taking trips inside his mother’s car. It’s Oak Park 4-5 forever fuck a star. 30 P’s inside a duffel, this 100 large.”
Mozzy ft. Blxst – I Ain’t Perfect
I think Crimedawgbylawsummed up ‘I Ain’t Perfect’ when he said, “Mozzy keeps supplying the music that I need right now.” I never thought I’d hear the line “Compassion for the hopeless and the homeless because they’ve been through enough” from any rapper that I listen to and certainly not from Mozzy, but he seems to really be taking his game to another level and is thinking more about his community, his legacy, etc. He seems to be heading down the Nispey Hussle path and alludes to that himself on the album.
As I said to my man Yohan in the comments for ‘Boyz II Men’…
“I feel like Mozzy’s storytelling and imagery are always on point and you see that on this album, but he also seems to have taken a step up in terms of some of the subject matter/themes he’s approaching. It’s interesting because he hasn’t turned into a full-on conscious rapper obviously or anything like that but he appears to be spending more time thinking about his community, his legacy, the weight that comes with being ‘the big homie’ and your whole hood relying on you etc. This album seems to kind of catch him at a crossroads in life.”
It was nice as well as unexpected to hear Mozzy rap over an acoustic-guitar type beat and the hook from Blxst actually really grew on me over time and I even catch myself singing it to myself here and there.
Some of Mozzy’s bars on this just hit so hard…
“Let me tell you about the absence of a rolling stone. Mama said he want to leave, then let that nigga go.”
“Compassion for the hopeless and the homeless ’cause they’ve been through enough. Right there on the ave with the killers before I knew enough. I just bought a truck for my daughers and bulletproofed it up.”
“There was roaches in the apple jacks we eat at home. Mama manage a McDonald’s she rarely be at home.”
“If I middle man the play then I’m gon tweak the price; on Jesus Chris retaliation helps me sleep at night.”
The video was on point too; just an unvarnished look at Mozzy’s hood.
I feel like Mozzy is taking the mantle as the champion of society’s downtrodden and ‘have nots’ and I can certainly get behind that; I’m intrigued to see where he goes next with this direction.
Stove God Cooks – Rolls Royce Break Lights
I keep going back to the well of this Stove God album. This guy can really paint a picture but he’s not boring like the average ‘lyrical’ rapper and actually makes actual music that you want to come back to. (Case in point, even the god of function music himself, Martorialist, was feeling Money Puddles, calling it a Faux Marciano song with chutzpah, which all in all is a pretty apt description). This is just bar after bar after bar on the album’s opener, Rolls Royce Brake Lights.
I love the reprisal/flip of Drake’s ‘I just want to beee successful’ taking it from someone corporate like Drake and flipping it into the ambitions of a young stove god just trying to cook his way up in the game.
“I’m the truth, I’m the light I’m the way. Niggas broke, niggas fake, they in the way.”
P.S. after quite a few spins of the whole album I’m kind of intrigued by how many space/planetary/religious references there are are here and there sprinkled in amongst the drug raps.
Drake ft. Fivio Foreign, Sosa Geek – Demons
I wrote about Fivio Foreign above so not too much more to say here except that while I’m not necessarily a huge Drake fan, it was cool to see Fivio go from a local/regional artist that I mentioned in passing as being part of a fun song a year ago to blowing up to the point that he had maybe the biggest song in New York over the past year and now hopping on a song with Drake. You can certainly question whether Drake is a ‘vulture’ or a just a well-intentioned fan of these artists and scenes just trying to give them a bigger platform, but in any case, I’m always happy for these guys when they get a huge spotlight like this. (P.S. is it just a coincedence or does Drake love Crips? Between these guys and Blocboy JB…)
“I love the 6, 6, 6, 6, 6,” at the beginning of the song and I actually don’t mind the hook from Drake. “I’m in this bitch with the wooski, ball in the summer like Drew League”
It wouldn’t be a Fivio song if he didn’t come after the opps.
While Fivio Foreign’s rise was unprecedented, Sosa Geek would probably be even more unexpected to be on a song with the Champagne Papi but here he is and he’s making the most of it/enjoying his time in the spotlight. This is the Sosa of ‘Free Sosa he a demon’ fame from Big Drip.
With the unfortunate passing of Pop Smoke, you could really make the case that his confidante Fivio has filled the void and is arguably the king of NYC right now.
Mozzy – Bulletproofly
Another introspective song over a nice beat for that type of song off the Mozzy album. As I mentioned above I always love Mozzy’s imagery and short-form storytelling, painting a picture with sometimes few words…
“The pictures that my father sent me prepared me for jail”
“I gave him packs of cappucino for his pain pills”
“Remember that sweet and sour spread we shared in the cell?”
“We turn on ovens when it’s cold inside the house, they found a qualude but no poles inside the house”
