Cyncere ft. Young Thug - “She Know It”
Young Thug has a rich and consistent history of absolutely dominating any song he’s featured on, but it’s even more impressive a feat when he manages to eclipse an entire song with only a chorus. Here on Cyncere’s “She Know It,” he does just that, singing, She wanna fuck me. That pussy look lovely. I’ll eat it up real good, like I was hungry. Although the verses might require some grinning and bearing from the listener, Young Thug’s wailings more than compensate for Cyncere’s contrasting tedium. As far as recent Young Thug appearances that have flown under the radar go though, ”She Know It” is just the tip of the iceberg…
Stebo ft. Young Thug & Ola Playa - “Foreign Cash”
Drug Money is proud to premiere Stebo’s “Foreign Cash,” a distinctively Atlantan ode to wealth produced by Sonny Digital and assisted by Young Thug and Ola Playa. Over Sonny Digital’s downright triumphant backdrop, Stebo and Thug share a call-and-response chorus. It’s euphoric. Most notably, “Foreign Cash” sees Thug as mischievously giddy here, singing, I’m on that pussy like a nine-month baby. Oh yeah, oh yeah! as he did when he so gleefully proclaimed, Shoot him in his face! on “Big Money,” his last venture with Stebo prior to this. It’s also my pleasure to premiere two more songs by Stebo: “Finally,” featuring MPA Wicced, and “Money Problems,” featuring Bloody Jay.
Casino ft. Young Thug - “Communication”
“Communication” is a short and simple song that juxtaposes two of the most unorthodox and compelling flows in rap right now. Thug effortlessly transitions between disinterested lullaby and tightly wound double time cadence without missing a beat. Meanwhile, Casino, forsaking subtlety altogether, opts instead for a steady assault of guttural roars. Together, the two strike a satisfying balance between Casino’s blunt force and Thug’s breezy insouciance. The two performances on “Communication” together offer a cheerful reminder that new music can still be really exciting.
Young Thug ft. PeeWee Longway - “My Lil Woddy”
The combination of Thugga and PeeWee holds a special place in my heart, as the rappers first appeared in tandem on Yung Booke’s “Can’t Complain,” the conduit for one of Thug’s all-time greatest verses. While the two clearly share some serious studio chemistry, as evidenced by each one’s appearances on the other’s flagship 1017 release (“Nigeria,” “Dead Fo Real,” and “Patna Dem” from Thug’s 1017 Thug & “Dress Her” from PeeWee and Gucci’s Money, Pounds, Ammunition), this track is a different beast altogether. “My Lil Woddy” immediately rises to dizzying heights as each rapper’s own screeches and esoteric ad-libs swirls into Y.D.G.’s shimmering production to induce a sense of vertigo in the listener. These elements, all together, cultivate the ideal atmosphere for the two to shine individually while still playing to each other’s strengths. Thug is damn confident throughout, using statutory rape as a metaphor to brag about his kilo prices, 17.5 for these lil girls—I’m a pedophile, but PeeWee’s verse is nothing less than a total onslaught. Where Thug once requested, Nat nat, let me through, PeeWee here simply commands, Fuck out my way, you fuckin’ nat nat.
Bloody Jay ft. Young Thug & Ola Playa - “No Strings”
Taken alone, “No Strings” would be proof enough on its own that the unendingly dynamic triumvirate of Young Thug, Bloody Jay, and Ola Playa begs to be unified under a LOX-like banner. When considering the strength of the trio’s past collaborations, though, there can be no question that an ensemble is in order. They were first seen as a group on one of last year’s most unforgettable songs, “Sex, Money, Murder” from Bloody Jay’s Blatlanta, and last seen together on the excellent “Gotta Be Hard” from Ola Playa’s poorly promoted and highly underrated Slime Boss. The group’s other efforts include the anthemic “Against Me” as well as the less impressive but still worthy “For Somethin,” which has actually grown on me since its release. I should mention that the Bloody Jay-hosted Gas Plug 3 is not only home to “No Strings,” but also to “Addicted to These Streets,” a somber street anthem with a Playa Fly appearance every bit as compelling as the one found on Ola Playa’s “Fuck With Me.”
Goddamn, this song’s chemical daze is irresistible. What’s not to like about plaintive autotuned musings about Oxycontin? I’m actually really impressed with the competence and execution exhibited by Blaze on “Mars,” as well as on his other selections from We Appreciate the Hate 26, “Drugs” and “I Ain’t Know.” Sure, Blaze isn’t striking any new ground here, but all three of these songs are Metro Boomin-produced paeans to narcotics. As such, I’m powerless to their charms.
Dunchie Baby ft. Young Thug & Skooly - “G Check”
Dunchie Baby, formerly known as Y.D.B. and also responsible for the Young Thug-featured “Patience,” has seen fit to update “G Check,” a song from 2011 by a rapper named 2500 Wee Wee. I have no idea if 2500 Wee Wee is just a previous pseudonym of Dunchie’s or what exactly is going on with this revision, but my head hurts at the mere prospect of how many abandoned Twitter accounts I would have to mine to solve that inquiry. Anyway, Thug lays down a monster verse that really picks up steam as it goes on, culminating in a shrill machine gun delivery that seems to leave you breathless. That is, until Skooly’s wickedly infectious hook returns to reassure you that everything’s alright in his own sugary sweet way. This is music to wear unplugged iPod headphones in public to.
Gucci Mane - Scholar
This is still one of the best song of the year. U.O.E.N.O. it but Lex Luger is still doing wonders.
Cousin Fik - Ain't ready
Purps on the beat.
10 Rap Cult Classics You Need to Hear (Part 1)
If you follow this Tumblr, you probably know a lot of these already. But this was a fun list to come up with. It’s basically a list of random regional/less-well-known joints from the ’90s that have survived my personal test of time & get regular rotation.
Shouts to the following people, who contributed (unintentionally or otherwise) to my regional rap knowledge base in the past ten+ years (sometimes directly to this project): Serg, Ethan Padgett, DK, Noz, Tyrone Palmer, Matt Sonzala, Rob Bell, Maurice Garland, Martorialist, Willy Staley, ANU, Kid Slizzard, Matthew Africa, many more I am regrettably not remembering at the moment. Salute also to dudes like Carlos Perez, Thomas Deiss, Scott Brown, Shea Serrano & others who keep the regional rap torch burning.
Lightshow - You Bleed Too (ft. Slim Tristan)
“Get well soon” is the first good mixtape i heard in a while. RIYL Meek Mill & Shy Glizzy.
Promo photo to promote the Magic’s Kingdom LP
Tamia ft Ludacris - Imagination (Lil Jon Bass Mix)
> Curren$y
Charlie Hanseen - True Players
(Produced by Mannie Fresh)
My Enemies [1997]
Untouchable Records
New Orleans, LA
Eddie Starks - Power Move
It’s 2013 & Baton Rouge is running this rap shit. After Kevin Gates, Dj B-Real & Foxx, Eddie Starks released 2 weeks ago the fourth good tape from LA’s capital this year (he’s from Plaquemine but this counts as BR). Features among others Foxx, Max Minelli, Gates, Mouse & C-loc.
One thing me and DJ Toomp have in common is that we’ve both spent time combing Atlanta pawn shops for a copy of the 1983 Royalcash 12” “Radio Activity.” That’s according to this interview, which is also worth watching for the 2 Live Crew / Shy-D tour stories. Toomp was after the song for its Young MC associations, but it’s also a good excuse to revisit Tha Dogg Pound’s West Coast family picnic video for “Cali Iz Active.” What do you think Kurupt means by “notes, uncompromisable quotes”?
Geoffrey O’Brien: “Look at the performers, but they couldn’t look back; they didn’t know you were there.”
I also wonder if Toomp has heard “Space Traveler” (I hadn’t until a minute ago), and what he would make of it.
also a good excuse to revisit dredio.
Ill Mannered Posse 8x10
Suga Free - I Wanna Go Home (The County Jail Song) from The Eastsidaz (2005)
“Snap, Crackle, and Pop are top dogs in the Eastsidaz gang in Long Beach. Pop, also known as Killa, is the alpha dog.”
Few people have the time to spend checking for all Snoop’s direct to DVD extracurriculars, which is a pity cos turns out they have shit like Suga Free doing I Wanna Go Home.
Lets all pitch in on a Suga Free, Alpoko Don, DMX (+any rapper whos ever banged on a cafeteria table) album.
JT Money - What y’all niggaz want ?
As you might have guessed, I’m on a huge JT Money kick currently. Basically i listen to at least two JT albums/tapes a day. So, while listening to J’s sophomore album for the second time (It didn’t struck me the first time), on the song “what y’all niggaz want ?”, i noticed a guy mumbling stuff using (what i think is) autotune on the intro & outro of the song.
Nothing special, except this was released in 2001. Only 3 years after Cher’s first use of it, and 4 years before T-Pain’s first album.
So i’m asking myself IS THIS THE FIRST USE OF AUTOTUNE ON A RAP RECORD ?
Being from Florida, did T-Pain hear this & freak out ? Is he the guy using autotune on the record ? Is it Dallas Austin ? Where is Dallas Austin ? Am I deaf & not able to hear the difference between autotune and vocoder ?
