Freddie Gibbs ft Young Jeezy - Go For It

Yep, 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. 

Bodega Bamz ft Willie Hex - P.A.P.I

Written by Jimmy Ness and originally published at Passionweiss

Fried chicken, Versace robes and spilled champagne, the Tanboys dabble in decadence. Bodega Bamz and Willie Hex trade verses about the high life over 808s and a haunting melody. The relatively unknown Hex flows particularly well, name dropping Cam’ron, Attila the Hun, Reggie Miller and… Boy George. He also looks like a skinny Big Pun, which is probably important to those who reside in The Bronx.

As you can tell from the “P.A.P.I” video, which features cameos from Yamboghini and A$AP Ferg, the crew are buddies with fellow Harlemites A$AP. They also share stylistic similarities, the most obvious being their quasi-cinematic videos. Both groups favor lavish imagery, in this case A$AP’s trademark gold grills and the Tanboys affinity for holding razor blades in their mouths. They also use creative flair instead of shooting homemade videos next to a borrowed car with borrowed broads.

“P.A.P.I” is inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of Jesus and his disciples “The Last Supper.” However, I am still confused about the significance of the guy ripping his singlet at the end of the video like a 90s Usher. Rap game Latino Backstreet Boyz?

I’ve been checking for these guys since Bamz killed this track in May and while I’m not fully sold on Tanboys, along with “My Name Is,” he’s putting out some good stuff. One thing to consider though: would these songs still be getting as much play if not for their unique videos? Will you still be checking for A$AP and Tanboys once the hype dies down and you realize how hard it is to eat or brush your teeth with a grill on? Time and your dental plan will tell.

Ab Soul - Nibiru

Written by yours truly and originally published at Passionweiss

Ab-Soul stunts with the ancient gods and turns his on Mesopotamian swag. Each TDE member is releasing a new song this week and he follows Jay Rock’s “YOLA” with raps about aliens, pyramids, and conspiracies. If you’re not part of the hip-hop star-gazer society or you don’t wear a lab coat over your Wu Forever shirt, you probably didn’t know “Nibiru” is named after a concept in Babylonian astronomy. It’s something obscure about the highest point in the sun’s path around the earth, which I can barely understand and I doubt Soul fully grasps. His real name is Herbert Anthony Stevens IV though, and that would make an excellent alias for a spectacled professor who spends his time in dusty libraries reading books longer than the Bible.

A Middle-eastern female vocal repeats during “Nibiru” and it sounds similar to the classic Ofra Haza loop on Eric B & Rakim’s “Paid and Full” (Coldcut Remix.) This is a unique track and its subject matter guarantees you won’t be hearing it in a club or car sound system any time soon. Soulo spits enough spiritual and paranormal references to make Jay Electronica assume the lotus position. The black lipped one also mentions wacky conspiracy theories about the Illuminati and fallen angels, which the unemployed and underage will enjoy debating in the Youtube comments section.

Like he hinted on Control System earlier in the year, which featured the Kabbalah’s Tree of Life as cover art, Ab Soul is clearly interested in the esoteric. That makes him 100 times cooler or geekier depending on your feelings toward Aleister Crowley and sun spirits named Marduk who throw lightning bolts.

Future - Welcome 2 Mollyworld

Written by Jimmy Ness and originally published at Passionweiss

Welcome 2 Mollyworld is the astronaut kid’s foray into recording under the influence of serotonin hog Molly, also known to white people as MDMA. It's mostly a collection of popular material and remixes, but DJ X-Rated seizes five new tracks, all of which are more listenable than Diddy’s aimless boasting on “Same Damn Time remix.” The best of the bunch is “Double Cup and Molly” with its solid hook and R&B sensibilities that made Pluto so good. Future inexplicably begins with the phrase “Codeine Miley Cyrus,” which I’m sure the party girl would appreciate. 

“Hard” is also the shit and while the thumping bass sounds similar to his previous work, he’s in a zone where the majority of his verses sound fresh. The three other tracks aren’t particularly special, but it’s enough to subdue auto-tune addicts until Nayvadius Cash (yes, that’s his real name) releases Future Hendrix.

Despite boldly claiming he’s the MDMA rap pioneer, Future walks in the jaw-clenching company of known love-drug enthusiasts Danny Brown and Jackie Chain. The latter dubbed himself “a pill-poppin animal” and claimed he hadn’t slept in weeks on January’s After Hour’s mixtape. As long as we don’t see a trend of thugs hugging it out and succumbing to suicide Tuesday, I don’t mind if my music is on that Ringwald.