This is the part of the blog where I pretend my former quasi employers hold any relevance by breaking down XXL’s recently announced (sort of) Freshmen 10 list into some statistical ratings and snap judgements. But before we get into that, a couple quick notes:
- More than half these names were on that fake list that leaked a few months back. In fact, XXL has only officially announced four of these names. The rest have been leaked heavily. So if I’m jumping the gun I’ll be the gun jumper and if I’m wrong then I’ll be that too.
- Why don’t they just make it The Freshmen 15? That way it’d be an actual pun.
- No southern rappers from anywhere but Atlanta. Unless you count North Carolinian J. Cole and I don’t because Wikipedia tells me that he’s secretly German.
- Not one token New York rapper this year. The Statue of Liberty sheds a single tear.
- There has never been a Bay Area rapper on one of these things. #imjustsayin. (more…)
I thought I escaped these movements. But today a blogger who doesn’t particularly like street minded hip hop set me off again by blogging about the instant classic status of one such album. Yeah, I’m back in the labyrinth, this time to consider another variable: the critical darling status of country rap revivalists Freddie Gibbs and Pill.
Don’t get me wrong, Gibbs and Pill are both good to great rappers but they have become blog/msm favorites for an entirely different reason. They make music for a certain type of fan – ones who either grew up on UGK/Outkast/Ball&G or ones that wish that they did. They are what Little Brother was to Pete Rock and Tribe Called Quest. The new Okayplayers of Country Rap Tunes. The (perceived) golden age of Southern rap is now a good 10-15 years behind us. The cream has risen and with it critical norms that never existed. Where Pete Rock coexisted with Da Youngstas, UGK shared the same space as Silkk The Shocker. But we no longer have to acknowledge the latter, aesthetically inferior examples. The imperfections have been erased. What forms is a fictionalized nostalgia, a rewrite. (more…)
Forgive the silence, my internet is touch and go. Here are three recent tapes from Philadelphia Freezer, Atlanta’s Pill and DC’s own Kingpen Slim. I’ve yet to see the NODJ of the Free tape in the bogs but Jake One posted it to Soulstrut.
Got It For Cheaphipster hyperbole aside, *The* Clipse has always been a four man group. And I’m not talking about Ab and Sand, either. In much the same way Cannibal Ox proved forgettable without El-P or Guru was a horrible solo act, The Clipse are inextricably linked with their producers. Every Clipsetunes track we’ve heard thus far from the album has either been Sonic The Hedgehog melodic pop Neptunes or “Grindin” like simplicity. “Door Man” is P and Chad (maybe? is he still even a Neptune?) expanding into denser palettes. But unlike on say, “When’s The Last Time” Pusha and Mal get crumble under that weight. Their raps are forgettable and for this reason “Door Man” pales in comparison to their best work. But it still outshines most of what we’ve heard from the album so far.
from 6 Kiss (Mixtape, Coming Soon)
B at his weirdest, fully unhinged and maybe sending more shots at Drake? He’s a lion in the Pro Tools jungle, calling out Whole Foods inhabitants and perverting the “Successful” hook into a mystic new age yodel about (what else?) being based. (more…)
Pill – “Glass”
from 4075: The Refill (Mixtape, Coming Soon)
Pill went and got himself a budget. The 4th ward representative turned gray lady golden boy’s latest video explores a lot of the same themes that “Trap Going Ham” did, but the track itself is more sober. Suddenly it’s not about the madness of the hood, but the pain. “Trap” was a cool record but “Glass” is more indicative of what makes Pill a likable emcee – thoughtful, reflective and slightly spiritual. Not just go ham madness.
from Play Me Sum Pimpin Pt. 2 (Mixtape, Coming Soon)
I’ve been listening to a lot of mid-90s M-Town tapes as of late, inspired both by a sudden blogrevival and a four month late tape order from Tommy Wright’s ebay store. One thing I’m noticing is how much of an influence New Orleans bounce was having on Memphis at the time. The idea I got when I was interviewing these dudes a few years ago was that it was a simultaneous evolution. To hear the tapes speak (and tapes do speak) Memphis was more informed by New Orleans than the other way around. (And then Atlanta stole from both! I kid, but I don’t.) Juice’s old Vol. 9 tape is about halfway to being my Bounce For Relief compilation – a slowed down “Get The Gat,” etc. That influence trickles down to “Twerk”, from the “twerk dat ass” refrain to a full fledged Triggerman breakdown. But one of the great things about Three 6, even on those early tapes, is that they never let their influences overpower their sound. It ends up a loose hybrid between late 90s Cash Money and early 00ts Hypnotize. They are really having the best year ever, by the way. (A version of “Twerk” with Webbie was floating around a while back. I guess this is the official mix.) (more…)
