mike will made it

Young Thug - I Need Chickens

If Thugga continues to spit, mumble, and stutter artful raps at this pace, the staff at Passionweiss might get twin lip piercings to celebrate. With “I Need Chickens,” Young Thug throws out his second freely inventive single alongside Mike Will Made It in four days. Much to the annoyance of the U.S Marshals Office and Conservative Rap Coalition, the persistent rise of the skinny jeaned martian continues.

Young Thug doesn’t need extended metaphors and multi-syllabic wordplay; he barely needs English. The tropes might not change, but the vibe is on a thousand. For a joyous three minutes, Jeffrey Williams harmonizes with himself, ad-libs bird calls and slings a few rhymes about moolah. Being near incomprehensible doesn’t make it any less vital. This is music for distorting how you think rap should sound. What Thugga does in five words is more exciting than what many rappers do with an entire song.

Freddie Gibbs ft Young Jeezy - Go For It

Freddie Gibbs Young JeezyYep, I'm back from vacation and writing again. This article was originally written for Passionweiss

Gangsta Gibbs is on a roll. The former train robber got dropped from Interscope in ’06, but has carved a niche for those who prefer gritty street tales over label-endorsed drivel. Baby Face Killa recorded an album, three EPs and at least a dozen collaborations within the past 24 months, yet the quality still hasn’t changed. Neither has our fanboyism.  

Gibbs’ demolished last week’s anthem “Kush Cloud” with Krayzie Bone and the phrase “Mo Murda” hasn’t sounded more potent since E1999. Recent release “Go For It” is a leak from Freddie’s project with DJ Drama and shows a lighter side of the typically sullen Indiana native. 

Gibbs and Jeezy cover familiar territory, trading sexscapade stories and verses over a DJ Mustard/Mike Will-like ratchet beat. Gibbs is more versatile than many narrators, bringing his grimy presence to a strip club track without sounding less compelling or out of place. You wouldn’t catch Freddie dancing on tables ala Sean Combs, but he wouldn’t be sitting unnoticed in the corner either. Like its spiritual predecessor, this could be a hit with a clean edit and proper promotion. But unlike Freddie’s taste in women, we prefer our music untainted. 


Future ft DJ Infamous - Itchin'

  
 By Jimmy Ness and originally published at Passionweiss

Future’s best friends are his cash, calculator and accountant. The Dungeon Family affiliate joins Mike Will Made It for another hypnotic victory lap and their money multiplies. You know how it goes. As rap’s auto-tune flame keeper, Future favours charisma and song-writing over lyricism. Heavy bass and sharp keys support lyrics about his mom telling him to hit the streets, neighbors from hell and having guns/drugs as his two main hoes. The track’s not quite as hot as jams like “Magic” or “Parachute,” which have converted non-believers (myself included) into disciples, but it’s still catchy enough to be memorable.

The video is oddly cinematic and Future’s robotic vocals work well with the paranoid concept of hustling under surveillance. FBI agents follow him as he goes about his shady dealings, raps outside a dog cage and visits the Blue Flame strip club instead of remaining inconspicuous. Ludacris has a brief cameo in the video, but he needs to stay in the studio until he creates something which makes us forget about several shit albums in a row. A Birdman hand-rub would have been 100 times more powerful.

Despite only a minimal appearance, this is actually a song by Michigan’s DJ Infamous. He does whatever rap DJ’s usually do on tracks, which is pay for them and for that we should be thankful. There’s also an “Itchin’ Remix” floating around that features a motley crew consisting of Jeezy, Young Gotti and Fabolous. Their verses aren’t anything special and Jeezy probably feels weird about Gotti impersonating him on the same track. Plus they can’t swag rap better than Juicy J or Dos Chainz so stick to the original until one of them shouts some new similes.


Juicy J ft Lil Wayne - Bands Make Her Dance (Remix)



By Jimmy Ness and originally published at Passionweiss

2 Chainz, Drake, Future, Juicy J. Mike Will’s stellar production has steadily been tricking me into liking rappers I think I shouldn’t. My inner rap snob dies a little each time Juicy J’s strip club anthem knocks my ears, but this song’s just too good to ignore. Will’s first single from Est in 1989 Pt. 2 flicks between atmospheric keys and hand claps making it both ominous and thrilling.  (The rest is probably a little NSFW)

The “Bands Make Her Dance” remix is unchanged from the original except for a throwaway Lil Wayne verse. Luckily almost anyone would sound good over this cinematic beat (not Kreyashawn though, never that). Weezy uses the hilariously stupid name “Steven Spielnigga,” switches his flow slightly and thankfully doesn’t sing … much. “I make it rain on ya like a windowpane,” is a very lame metaphor though, and mentioning that stupid “Cashin Out” song should be illegal. Post-jail Wayne only receives a 3/5 grade and participation award for this rhyme.

Jordan Houston is still the star of the show and his chant raps work extremely well. The rap elder continues his strange comeback streak with a reworked a line from Blue Dream & Lean : “You say no to ratchet pussy, Juicy J can’t!” It’s particularly magical when he says “these chicks clapping and they ain’t using hands,” just as Mike Will’s slapping beat kicks in. Juicy also states that it’s not a strip club if there are no vaginas on display, which is hard to disagree with. This track should earn Juicy J a second Academy Award and Mike Will a free lap dance from Gangsta Boo.