Can’t believe I’m already writing the wrapup for August 2020 this year is going by fast but then again it’s been a pretty bad year so I guess that’s not a bad thing. It probably goes without saying but also just wanted to chime in here to say justice for James Blake and his family!

Here this month we’ve got the surging YN Jay topping the charts with two appearances on the first two songs (is anybody taking over more right now then this guy??), a resurgent Babytron making two appearances with two different crews, and an unexpected appearance by Lil Yachty, who my colleague Hotbox Social astutely pointed out “should take advantage of Flint’s cheap housing market and stay in town for a while because he sounds at home with these dudes on Flintana”.

I also spent some time traveling down a memory lane that I didn’t even know existed, with Martorialist’s post about old-wave British bbq music. I didn’t even know that this time existed but I’m feeling nostalgic for it and since we can’t go anywhere/do anything this summer anyway I’m walking around with a Guinness, rocking a Sheffield Wednesday third jersey, bumping these jams and pretending that I’m at a real British cookout.

One additional side note on the KrispyLife Kidd video – you guys remember those old Philly battle rap/freestyle DVDs where it would like show the rapper who was about to spit spit a line and then it would like freeze on him or do some sort of cheesy visual effect and show him spit it again and then his name would come on the screen with some sound effect? (For example, here) I feel like if someone was making one of those about KrispyLife Kidd the part where he raps ‘Hire a hitman from Jerusalem he’ll whack you for a plate of hummus” would be the perfect moment for him to do that with lol

YN Jay x BabyTron x  YSR Gramz – Candy Land (2020)
RMC Mike, Lil Yachty, YN Jay, Louie Ray – Flintana (2020)
CML ft. YID – I Be Mashin
KrispyLife Kidd ft. RMC Mike, Babytron – Spicelation (2020)
Damjonboi – Hayukin (2020)
Soul II Soul – Back to Life (1989)
Aretha Daye – No More (???)

YN Jay x BabyTron x YSR Gramz – Candy Land

This beat by Marc Boomin, the man behind some of my favorite beats of the last 2 years, has me going absolutely crazy in the house by myself right now. This man needs to start getting more acclaim.

YN Jay’s flow is crazy. Fresh off his surprise hit with ‘Coochie’ and an unexpected collaboration with Lil Yachty who seems to be taking up a residency in the Mitten a la a late career rocker in Vegas, here he is with another slap. I love YN Jay’s voice. “You sittin’ at home in the crib with your kids you the family man, I just pulled up with some doonies in a family van, bitch want me to send her my location we in candy land” I’m kind of feeling the Dallas Cowboys hat. I love the sheer level of disrespect of “Old lady walking cross the street too slow I’m finna hit your granny, I’m the real Coochie Man I’ll hit your granny.” YN Jay was not lying when he coined that moniker for himself.

Is YSR Gramz wearing an Animal Chin t-shirt?? “A nigga playin’ YN Jay nigga I’m gon kill him, FN 57 308’ll knock down a building”

I love the shade for Matt Stafford in his own city lmao

BabyTron is rolling super deep, working with RMC Mike and KrispyLife Kidd a couple of weeks ago and linking up with YN Jay and YSR Gramz here. “Shooters hitting baskets at the funeral we gonna hit his casket”

RMC Mike, Lil Yachty, YN Jay, Louie Ray – Flintana

I kind of love the fact that Lil Yachty seems to be hanging around in Michigan now, first doing the song with Sada Baby before now migrating to Flint to chop it up with Mike, Louie Ray, and YN Jay. This has to be one of my favorite unexpected developments of 2020. I kind of wish they got Rio on this because he would have killed this but on the other hand I’m glad these guys are stepping out of his shadow a bit too. YN Jay and Louie Ray are really getting some serious momentum behind them now after scoring a hit with ‘Coochie’ and now rocking out with Yachty. Say what you want with Yachty but hey the guy was in his own Nautica commercials in the not too distant past so to me it’s a win for Mike, Louie and Jay and anything to get them more exposure is a good thing in my book. Yachty’s verse on this is actually goes hard as fuck too. “Bro n them just shot another opp, cooked another crab. Young nigga mouth full of gold riding on slabs.” I’m kind of loving the Apple hat?

That tie-dyed Pittsburgh hat RMC Mike is rocking is fire. “First time I seen a dope sale I was in Pop Warner.”

“Went to church, prayed for my sins, then served the reverend.

CML ft. Yid – I Be Mashin

Missed this one from a couple months back from Mr. Reliable; CML. Here he links up with Oakland’s YID of ‘Keep it On Me’ fame for a track that just runs you over like an 18 wheeler.

CML really is the hook god of these simple but catchy hooks; I love the straightforward bluntness of ‘I’m a felon, nigga’

Is that CML’s boy at 1:33 rocking a newsboy cap??

“On my dead homies, I ain’t never caught a body, ask your dead homies” OUCH

Even the cops in CML’s hood are throwing up gang signs? (2:02). Maybe it’s some sort of peace offering to CML to be able to pass through.

YID seems to be adhering to CDC guidlines and sensibly wearing a face mask. On the other hand, CML unsurprisingly seems to be unconcerned about it.

KrispyLife Kidd ft. RMC Mike, BabyTron – Spicelation

This dude KrispyLife Kidd is hilarious. “I don’t think niggas know how I’m boming, hire a hitman from Jersualem he’ll whack you for a plate of hummus.” Is it an angry Palestinian or some sort of crazy Israeli mossad agent or something?

“When my son seen an opp they had to rope off the pep rally”

I’m trying to see what kind of hat Kidd is wearing but I can’t see the logo because of the angle.

RMC Mike is feeling himself and deservedly so. “40 million streams in a year yeah that’s kind of priceless, finna do a show overseas I’ve gotta fly to Iceland.”

Babytron must feel invincible rolling around the city with RMC Mike and KrispyLife Kidd.

“Catch an opp in traffic punch his window til it shatters”

Damjonboi – Hayukin

Can’t decide if the beat or the verses on ‘Hayukin’ are harder, and they’re both Damjonboi since he’s the producer too. Just so sinister.

Damjonboi is posted up in the red zone heavy. I love the look on the female cop’s face at 1:27, she’s just like ‘Alright I’m out of here.’ Jonboi’s boy in the orange looks like a total loose cannon lol.

“Slidin’ in an Audi with the top off nigga. Real zone ties get you knocked off nigga. Take that chain and that watch off nigga.”

“I’ve been stacking so much paper it’s getting scary. I love my city, dropped a tape and called it Barry.”

HAYUUUKIN HAYUUUKIN

Soul II Soul – Back II Life

Boom. Heard this before including in DB the General and Mistah FAB’s fantastic ‘Dope Era‘ but I have a new appreciation for it listening to it with a fresh set of years thanks to Martorialist’s British street soul post and it’s still fire 30 years later. Also, being a typical provincial American I had no idea these guys were British lol. 

Aretha Daye – No More

See note above regarding my solo virtual British cookout. This beat is fire. I could honestly listen to more of this all day. No idea who the rapper is but I’m guessing he’s Asian, perhaps my main man Martorialist can enlighten us…