Hip-Hop Lives Here
Hip-Hop Lives Here
Today is Friday, which means there are a ton of new releases to look forward to from some of your favorite Hip-Hop artists. To help you unwind and enjoy the weekend, check out VIBE’s picks of songs and albums you should hear and add to your soundtrack of weekend festivities.
Sexyy Red continues her hot streak by adding 11 new records to Hood Hottest Princess. This deluxe includes features from Summer Walker, G Herbo, 42 Dugg, Chief Keef, and Sukihana on the already-released single “Hood Rats.” What we get is more vulgar raps, hilarious bars, and unfiltered expression. “I Might” featuring Summer Walker is the standout track where Red steps into a more melodic bag and Summer ascends on her verse. The St. Louis rising star especially shows that she has a knack for making hooks and matching up with a variety of rappers. This is good stuff. – Armon Sadler
Quiet MoneyWith the acclaim surrounding Doe or Die II creating a clamor for more consistent drops from the Brooklyn vet, AZ obliges with his latest effort, Truth Be Told. Produced entirely by Buckwild, the album sticks to the hallmarks of AZ’s artistry, as observational couplets and nods to his debonair countenance are prevalent on joints like its lead-single “The GOAT,” which finds the East New York native basking in his greatness.
Getting into his zone on “Reintroduction” and “Dont Go Astray,” Sosa reminisces on the golden era of New York rap on “One of One,” as he gives himself and his peers flowers for their cultural contributions. “Wu was winning, Nas hit like a comet/ My true beginning, Illmatic, I got it honest/ Out of bondage, spit it and they responded/ Life’s a b*tch, can’t forget I come from carnage,” he rhymes on the track, before colliding with fellow rap luminaries like Pharoahe Monche (“Go Time”) and Fat Joe (“How We Get It”). —Preezy Brown
Family drama within the Harris family has garnered headlines as of late, but Domani looks to shift the focus back to their musical talents with his new EP Before The Ink Dry. Two years removed from the release of his last full-length offering SKYDIVE, Domani displays exponential growth throughout the project’s four tracks, asserting himself as skilled wordsmith with a preternatural purview of the world around him.
“I know sh*t can get hectic/ Land of the lost, tell me where has your head been,” he rhymes on “Calm Down” alongside Ray Vaughn. He laments the struggle of the grind on the airy groove “All Day” before closing out Before The Ink Dry on a strong, yet contemplative note – PB
Taylor Gang Ent.Wiz Khalifa has been on a quiet winning streak this past year, as the Taylor Gang general has served up a succession of dope projects to keep his listenership locked in. Mere months after unleashing his vibey longplayer Khalifa Sober, the rapper returns with Decisions, a project that finds the Pittsburgh native reeling off cocksure stanzas about the trappings of his plush lifestyle.
“Money on the way, feel like I ain’t make enough/ Jets on the way, feel like I ain’t take enough,” he drawls on “Looking For Nipsey,” a grooved out opener that blends Khalifa’s lyricism and melodicism in one fell swoop. Devoid of any features, Decisions finds Wiz doing all of the heavy lifting on highlights such as “Freeze Turkeys,” “Heavy Hitters,” “Roscoes,” and “Zodiac.” – PB
An Overkill Entertainment/300 EntertainmentOMB Peezy looks to close out the year strong with Le’Paris. The West Coast rep’s third studio album finds him giving an unfiltered glimpse into his mindstate across the course of 16 high-powered tracks. On “God First,” Peezy reflects on persevering through the hard times on the road to success while maneuvering atop booming 808 drums.
“Rocking shades to hide the pain, some sh*t just don’t feel the same/ Talk to myself before I sleep, it makes me feel deranged,” he admits on “Lay With Me,” a solo standout mixed among collaborations with Kevin Gates, Tee Grizzley, Hunxho, Symba, Peezy, and Jdot Breezy. Le’Paris continues to showcase OMB Peezy’s relentless rhyme spills, as a lasting impression that should set him up for even greater fanfare heading into 2024. – PB
2023 FTD / ROSELLE USA / The Testing RoomDave East’s 30 For 30, released in collaboration with Cruch Calhoun, feels like his reintroduction to the rap game. He delivers some of the most inspired raps of his career and also adds some substance. “Terminator Vs. Tookie” is an especially gripping record, as it tells the story of Stanley Tookie Williams’ legal handling by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005. “Nipsey Voice” pays homage to his friend in Hip-Hop, the late Nipsey Hussle. The project’s songs sound like the music East wants to make without the pressure of labels, making a hit, and all that comes with being a star. It’s raw, authentic, and organic. – AS
2023 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music EntertainmentFlo Milli’s “Never Lose Me” shows that she’s intentional about proving she can do more than the high-energy raps she’s loved for. The downtempo record features more emotive vocals from the Alabama artist floating over the piano-laced production. It’s a heartfelt record and the mystery man she sings about ought to listen to the warning. Lil Yachty pops in for a verse, crooning about how he wants his lady to squirt on him with one hilarious line. “Never Lose Me” is equal parts romantic and sensual, but in all of the best ways. There’s definitely potential for a fun video within this track. – AS
NBA Youngboy is giving a stern warning on “Run.” The record falls right into his usual production wheelhouse: very downtempo and moody. He croons about having a 100-round drum in case someone wants to try him. It’s a bit jarring given his house arrest status and comments about his music possibly misleading the youth, but he’s sticking to his guns (no pun intended). “Run” is a solid record, certainly not his best, but definitely not bad in any way. You know what you’ll get from YB, and more often than not, it is pretty good. – AS
Nature SoundsElzhi and Oh No have joined forces for Heavy Vibrato, a collaborative album that finds Elzhi dropping bars over Oh No’s layered production. On “Trick Dice,” Elzhi likens his lyricism to that of artistic icons of the past, musing “I paint a picture just as ill as Basqui/ Yacht, what I jots hard to stomach like dry heaves” atop a spellbinding soundscape driven by tumbling percussion.
“RIP” is bolstered by a guest spot from Detroit’s Guilty Simpson, who references the murders of rap legends Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. in light of the rising death toll among Hip-Hop artists. Blu and Phez Roc also partake in a game of lyrical three-card molly on “Smoke.” Additional fare on Heavy Vibrato likely to tickle your ears’ fancy include “Possessed,” “Fireballs,” and “Last Nerve.” – PB
Brooklyn Reign LLC.Myles Brando is a young talent that has been honing his craft over the past few years. The Roc Nation School of Music alum has made a name for himself for his skills as a songwriter, producer, and musical artist. Breaking out with his hit single “She Ready” earlier this year, Brando caps off the year with a high-powered remix featuring Brooklyn’s Lola Brooke and R&B crooner Eric Bellinger. It ups the ante on the original and should give it staying power as we transition into the new year. – PB
BabyDrillBabyDrill’s “Watchin Now” opens somberly and maintains that tone throughout the record. It’s difficult to make hi-hats and drums sound so moody, but he makes it happen. On the song, the Atlanta rapper reflects on the difficult things he’s seen in life, namely the death of others, and how those experiences impact him today. Midway through the track, his vocals crescendo in a way that displays his passion for living life to the fullest and overcoming the odds. Although it’s difficult to listen to, it’s refreshing that BabyDrill is still here and pushing forward. He’s a talented upcomer and records like these show he isn’t afraid to peel back the layers of his projected bravado. – AS
Share
Advertisement
When James Blake and Lil Yachty debuted as divisive wunderkinds, they earned feverish acclaim—and controversy—for the way they blurred the lines etched by their predecessors. Blake stormed dubstep’s dancefloor and rendered it a dusty confessional booth; Yachty looked at the hip-hop landscape he inherited, cursed its gods, and spent the beginning of his career at war with a generation. Not everything has changed: They’re still divisive, and they’re still doggedly trying new things. But they aren’t upstarts anymore; nor are their disruptive ideas breaking boundaries so much as reinforcing them. (So long, saxophones, and so long, rap.) A pair that once embodied youthful iconoclasm now often seem to see only as far as their next grievance. More and more, they sound like the gatekeepers who didn’t believe in them years ago.
Thus the defensive crossover spectacle of Bad Cameo, their new joint album. Few things announce themselves louder than a tag-team LP by a polarizing producer and an equally polarizing rapper-turned-rocker. But instead of provoking, this record largely takes the low-key road, like a terse postscript to a more transgressive past. It’s dreamy and occasionally danceable, steely electronica rubbing shoulders with a sharp, stadium-ready take on Yachty’s sing-rap sensibilities. The shoulder-rubbing is promising, but at a certain point, when the friction hasn’t progressed any further, the party starts to feel like a corporate lunch: Hey Post-Dubstep, have you met Post-Trap? I’ll leave you two alone to hit it off! Sometimes, they do. More often, Blake and Yachty are cozy in their respective corners, taking turns in the spotlight rather than sharing it. You get the sense that they’re trying to rekindle old magic—the wonders Blake worked with his glitchy soul-searching, the weightlessness Yachty proffered with his pitch-shifted lilts. These elements sound nice next to one another. They’d sound even better if they did more than just coexist.
When Yachty released “Poland,” his unlikely 2022 hit single, part of the draw was his quivering, liquid delivery: “It is a really fucking weird song,” Blake told him in a recent sit-down, revealing that it brought him to tears. He’s right to identify the weirdness as jolting—at least enough to channel raw emotion, or inspire it in others. But when they try to accomplish this on Bad Cameo, they sound maddeningly riskless. The title track registers like an attempt to run “Poland” through Blake’s chilly alt-pop processing and produce something equally apt for dorm rooms and sound baths. There’s a repeatable mantra, minimal frills that foreground the vocals, and an air of confession—only now, instead of spiking one another’s worlds, the crossover dilutes their respective strengths. “Did you ever love me?” Yachty begs, in full “Poland” voice, with Blake echoing his prayer in the background. You might recall a similar plea on the 2022 song (“Hope you love me, baby, I hope you mean it”). Where “Poland” producer F1lthy supplied Yachty with a jumpy, trap-infused hotbed, Blake’s canvas is restrictive, limiting the singer to a cramped crying closet both have outgrown. Solemn as it sounds, it’s hard to take very seriously.
Part of Bad Cameo’s appeal is the promise of a novel palette: lean meeting lemon tea, hip-hop meeting post-dubstep, confessionalism meeting vanity. Sometimes, as on “Twice,” this works beautifully—a staggered four-on-the-floor beat might morph into something airier, a haggard Yachty and wistful Blake taking turns reveling in their respective terrains. Other times, in moments where you’d expect the contrast to unearth rich new flavors, there’s a dulling effect. “Save the Savior,” a crunchy ballad that sounds a bit like a screen-adapted Future therapy session, would absolutely crush in a ritzy, white-walled gallery. Play it a second time, this time with the pair’s capabilities in mind, and it starts feeling like it should go beyond those insular limits. Blake is coming off his most energetic and danceable record to date; Yachty is freshly removed from a risky, compelling—if controversial—psych-rock dispatch. Considering the boundary-breaking instincts each contributor brings to the table, Bad Cameo feels too safe, too familiar, to tell us anything we don’t already know.
The bulk of Bad Cameo’s novelty arrives, instead, in songcraft. To Blake’s credit, he’s a master of seeing tracks as living things, subject to as much growth and meandering as the masterminds who make them. Familiar as they may feel, the most striking songs on this project keep some powder dry, sprawling into realms far beyond their starting places. Midway through “Midnight,” when Yachty and Blake’s harmonized refrain gives way to a beat switch and the drums fall out from beneath their voices, it sounds like they’re prostrate before something powerful. “Woo” begins with an echoey grand piano over a trap beat, no new addition to the annals of introspective hip-hop. But by the chorus, it seems like it’s all falling apart: The drum pattern sputters, and a sly ghost chord gradually infiltrates Blake’s somber progression, culminating in a single jolt of dissonance. You wish there were more room for such uncompromising mischief.
Share
Advertisement
