This is a big change of pace from both emo-rap and boom bap: some straight up Mannie Fresh type beat Big Tymers trunk-rattling Dirty South shit. I’m feeling it. Flayyth3don’s woozy delivery is a perfect match for the beat, which is courtesy of lxj4h, another of those fancy new artist monikers that looks more like a password than a name. Then again, if you’re pushing product that slaps this hard, call yourself whatever the fuck you want, right?
A raw, urgent and powerful banger, right here. Any time Omega Jade and Rajnii are on the same track, it’s going to be something serious, but this one is special. It also closes with one of the best Rajnii verses in recent years; the flow, the fire, and above all the message…impeccable bars. Much respect. Naturally, it’s another Rico James production for the backdrop, a sparse, heavy funeral dirge of a beat. Turn it up.
Es-K dropped a masterpiece recently and it looks like he’s got a few more in the chamber for 2023, too. Raw Essentials is a timeless boom bap compilation album entirely co-produced with a long-time collaborator, Norwegian beat wizard Type.Raw. Note to collectors: there is a limited and lush vinyl run which is still in stock. The list of guest rapper featured here is huge and imposing, plus every track, obviously, bangs; this is the cut that jumped out at me on first listen. Ruste Juxx kills it, but Ill Conscious just completely leaves the building on his verse. He’s a Baltimore emcee who has been releasing a slew of incredible albums lately and worth checking out.
If you told me that this song was an unreleased Rawkus single from 2002, I would absolutely believe you. And good god damn, if ever a rapper’s voice has been 1000% equal to their name, that man would be Rhinoceros Funk. Bringing an authoritative & bombastic style to mic, he absolutely laces up this dirty Rico James boom bapper. Also available as a limited edition 7”, this is another home run for Man Bites Dog Records, who are building up one of the most consistently curated catalogs in the game right now.
Topia has been carving out a distinctive lane with some wildly creative variations on the current pop/emo/trap formulas. Just check out the opening 30 seconds of “Keep It,” morphing between a half dozen approaches and showing off the versatile pipes he’s been gifted. It’s pretty clear that he could hold down a song with nothing but some reverb, unlike a lot of the current crop of autotune warblers who couldn’t hit a note without a mountain of VSTs. But Topia is using all that technology as an extension of his vision, rather than a crutch. I feel strongly that this cat is going to have a big year between now and next summer.
The Write Hooked team is back with a new project featuring Slim Tofer x Highh Def flexing over some THEN WHAt production. THICK X THIN is scheduled to drop on Friday, June 9th, but they’ve broken off a lil’ promo video over a haunting slow burner of a beat to set the tone. I gotta say, Highh Def kinda steals the show in the second half here, but he does that a lot these days.
Checking in with Real Ricky and hot damn, he’s bringing something hella different for his latest single. No question, this kind of melodic, more than slightly pop approach is going to gain him even more fans. And definitely no question this is a slick summer jam with a great mix, stacked with some carefully layered takes. An LP of this kind of material would slay on Spotify.
Lead track off the latest Freddie Losambe project, this time a collab EP with the ever-industrious Rico James, who took Best Producer in 2022 Vermont Hip Hop Awards. Mr. Losambe is in peak form, careening from cracking jokes to mining universal truths, with references spinning off in all directions. Mr. James, of course, brings the SLAPPERS to the table. It’s a perfect summer combo.
This stream of consciousness blast is one of my favorite 802 songs from anyone this year. Wool See is a transplant from Portland, Oregon’s sprawling underground scene but he seems to be growing out his roots in the NEK pretty comfortably. He’s a writer’s writer, weaving dense allusions through a carefully pruned, bare minimum word count, a miracle of economy every time. But what really matters is the fact that listeners don’t need to follow any of that to know exactly where he’s coming from.
Brand new joint outta nowhere from Selfish Presley, back with a speaker-folding summer anthem. “Dropping a single, they running for cover,” and Pres is staking a claim clearly in his opening verse. That’s just the beginning, though: Yung Breeze and D.FRENCH both bring their A+ game here, absolutely floating and showing off their range.