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Posts Tagged ‘Wale’

New Rap Music

Friday, February 10th, 2012

Metro Zu – “Sell Ma Hoe

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from MINK RUG (Mixtape, 2012)

Metro Zu is a Miami crew that is loosely affiliated with SpaceGhostPurrp, or at least have a song with him. They are hyper-productive, their videos look like this and their songs sound different from other rap songs and they sample the Animal Collectors all of which inevitably adds up to them being the rappers that all of the weird just discovered rap through Clams Casino avant bloggers get really excited about in the near future. Which is perfectly fine. The Zu certainly wouldn’t be their worst choice. Mink Rug has some very high points, the highest of which is “Sell Ma Hoe.” It owes a lot to Lil B, which is to be expected at this point with young fringy experimental underground rappers, but the thing that separates it from most other young fringy experimental underground rap is how hook driven it is. Yes it’s wonderful being yourself and hilarious and weird and spontaneous and lo-fi but none of that has any value if you aren’t actually writing songs that are likable. B’s success was as much about his hook writing ability as it was his personality. “Sell Ma Hoe” is simple enough but it sticks to the inside of your brain, with its “second things first” nonsense and the sheer amount of conviction that’s put into the performance. You can imagine the kid pulling his arms into his chest as he croons, like some sort of demented preacher/pimp hybrid. (Prod. by Mr. B the Poshtronaut)

Torch f/ Meek Mill, Wale, Gunplay, Stalley & Young Breed – “Slow Down

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from UFO 2 (Coming Soon)

There should be a law in hip hop in which any and every rapper, regardless of house or creed, is required to jump on some old Ultimate Breaks And Beats shit once a year. It should be like tithing or a operational exam. Here all of MMG – minus the Bawse who could only phone in some ad-libs from WingStop – hits EPMD’s “Rampage” (or by extension Lowell Fulson’s “Tramp“) running. I can’t tell who of Triple C’s is rapping where in this lineup, because all of these guys went from sounding like Jeezy to sounding like Chubb Rock for this very special occasion, but they all come off. Meek is in his close-to-Peedi mode, which is always welcome while Wale probably has the weakest verse here, which is ironic considering he’s the only one of these guys corny enough to kick the words “one time for hip hop” in 2012. Show us, don’t tell us, Wale.
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New Rap Music

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

rap

Wale – “BASEhead

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Wale picks up on the rolling double time flow that folks like Meek have been popularizing in Philly. For a short while it seemed like Wale would be stepping in as a remote member of State Property. Or at least Young Chris’ new Lil Neefy. So it’s no surprise that he’s been paying attention to rap trends in the City of Brotherly Gun Similes. He’s snapping too. This is produced by someone or someones going by the name Basshead which is strange because there’s virtually no bass on the record. Just church bells and 8 bit blips. That drum programming seems a little complex for a NES game though, I wonder if Basshead is rocking Nanonloop or something similar.

Kurupt f/ DJ Quik, Terrace Martin & Snoop Dogg – “Bounce, Rock, Skate

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from Streetlights (Penagon, 2010)
So Kurupt still hasn’t quite figured out how to hold down a solo album, no news there. Too often on Streetlights he either falls into the trap of mathematical hypothetical lyrical spit or that of his recent completely confusing directional obsessions. “I’mma take the top and put it where the bottom drop / then I’mma reverse it and make the bottom touch the top / see this what they all call the top spot / then I’mma show the top where the bottom stop.” That’s an actual quote, sounding like a particularly twisted game of Simon Says. Anyway, the real Streetlights highlight goes to his Blaqkout partner demolishes this bonus cut, delivering purposely clunky insults with calm malice. “You’re the color of money / and your weed looks like autumn / and the pockets on your jeans look like they did when you bought ‘em.” (more…)

Girl Talk

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009


Ultimate Force – “Girls

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from I’m Not Playing (Uni, 1989 / Traffic, 2007)

Daedelus f/ Busdriver & Abstract Rude – “Girls

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from The Quiet Party EP (Plug Research, 2002)

Ever since Wale’s “Pretty Girls” dropped I’d been wracking my brain trying to figure out which random rap group had previously rocked a “Girls” sample. I finally remembered, it was Ultimate Force, the recently unearthed pre-DITC Diamond D project. And it turns out nerd rappers like girls as well, with Busdriver and Ab Rude going uber emo on their Daedelus helmed take.

Of course both UF and Daedelus flip the Moments/Whatnauts version, vastly inferior to the BYB cover, because BYB is generally better than everything, especially drum n’ bass. But you get the point. Things go in cycles. Girls, and records about them, are like buses. You miss one, next 15 one’s coming.

New Rap Music

Monday, August 10th, 2009

Plies – “Chef

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It seems like Plies has been gone forever. Maybe it was because he was so prolific on his DMX two albums a year tip for so long or because he’s not really dropping mixtapes like that, but it doesn’t even seem like dude is a significant rapper right now. Sure there was his limp verse on “Wasted” (now upgraded? to OJ) but otherwise he’s been suspiciously quiet. Maybe he’s crafting his masterpiece. “Chef” isn’t that, but it’s a nice enough teaser single and a good return to form. He raps about drugs and stuff.

Wale f/ Gucci Mane – “Pretty Girls

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from Attention: Deficit (Interscope, Coming Soon)
I guess I’m obligated to weigh in on this one, being the intersection of two of our favorite rap memes. The thing about Wale is his rigid flow and enunciation is taylor made for a go-go beat. Whether he realizes it or not his hard pronunciation style is a direct descendant of the Fat Rodneys and Stinky Dinks. Gucci is more slithery on this beat, like he isn’t really sure what to do with it. A friend of mine was recently bemoaning Gucci’s attachment to this song as a shallow attempt for Wale to expand his southern audience. I suspect it’s more an attempt to win over his hometown. Gucci is a bigger star in DC than Wale will ever be. On the street case study: this song was blaring from a nearby radio the other night. A girl in her late teens passing by started freaking out and singing along, thinking it was the Backyard version. Then the rapping started and she immediately shifted demeanors, looking like her dog just died. Word is A:D has been pushed back. Hopefully this is to give him time to record more songs that loop up classic go-go records, but realistically they are probably just holding out for a Cat Power hook or something. (more…)

A Brief History of Wale ∪ BYB

Monday, July 6th, 2009

wale

Wale f/ Southeast Slim – “One Thing About A Playa

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from Paint A Picture (Mixtape, 2006)

Southeast Slim f/ Wale – “The Bomb

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from That Dope (Mixtape, 2008)

Wale – “Pretty Girls (Demo)

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Wale f/ Gucci Mane – “Pretty Girls

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Wale doing what he does best. Forget Lady Gaga and TV On The Radio just give Best Kept Secret or The Hitter Quitter Boyz a couple old PAs and let them go to town.

[Update: added the Gucci mix for the sake of completism.]

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