Rap Up: Curren$y ft. Wale, XV, G-Scott, Childish Gambino ft. Beck, Meek Mill ft. Drake & Jeremih + Chevy Woods & Wiz Khalifa with Harry Fraud Production
UPDATED WITH ACTIVE LINKS!!!!!!!! 6-15-12
It’s been a minute since I shared some new rap music, so let’s keep this rolling with a handful of jams I’ve been sitting on. I still can’t decide how I feel about Curren$y. I mean, I guess I can say that I’m not much of a fan, but wouldn’t feel comfortable discrediting his abilities. He can rhyme, but I just don’t like his flow at all. I feel like it works on some select beats that match his style, but most of the time it just seems so off to me. Wale on the other hand, oooh weee! How many time do I have to tell ya’ll he’s killin this rap game! This one’s off Curren$y’s debut LP The Stoned Immaculate.
“No bullshit, every
Chishy bitch can get a rose
Meaning arouse, I’m sorry I’m not too good with vowels
I got a thousand bitches I’m not too good with vows” – Wale
Curren$y ft. Wale – What It Look Like
We all need to get up on some G-Scott. I say “we” because I’ve only come across a couple of songs and luckily found this gem. But damn, dude can rhyme. I had to share a healthy portion of his mastered craft below just in case you’re one of them fools Jay was talkin bout, skimming through music and shit….smh. This one’s off G’s mixtape Weekend in Los Vegas….currently on the to-listen to (in full) list.
“Verse three, my first two verses connect
An intercourse of my wisdom, my lyrics are having sex
Keep Nikes all on my feet, my motivations in check
my focus’s to succeed, your struggles to suck less
Put my soul on these tracks in hopes that one day I run it
Did it all blunted and kicks us a couple hundred
Eat beats, though I am no Doug Funny
Pork chops these dog days were spent chasin the money
When you don’t got it she saying pleasure to meet her
Soon as she see green she beggin ya to skeet her”
Welcome to the Harry Fraud portion of this weeks Rap Up. I can’t get enough of this dude. I mean, he even gets me excited to listen to Chevy Woods! Well not really, he just makes it tolerable. Nah, that’s not true, Chevy does his thing. I really like both of these hooks though. Harry just provides such a beautiful canvas, I really don’t know how anyone could fuck that shit up. Something to ride to right here….just keep the army guns at home, Delonte. First one is off Chevy’s Gangland mixtape.
Chevy Woods – Delonte West (prod. by Harry Fraud)
Wiz Khalifa – Oz’s & Lb’s (ft. Chevy Woods & Berner) (prod. by Harry Fraud)
Dreamchasers 2 is also still on my to-listen to list (fuckin never ends), but this is a pretty nice single-worthy track to garner some more attention to Meek and the mixtape. Gotta love the church piano & organ combo.
Meek Mill – Amen (ft. Drake & Jeremih)
XV is absolutely one of my favorite new school rappers. Just an honest dude who represents himself to the fullest, along with everyone else who would rather be different while true to themselves as oppose to the norm/popular/sheep.
“You watch a throne? I just see a chair
And a crown that I’ma get and not even wear
Cuz before I got on they didn’t seem to care
So I said fuck your circle I’ma be a square”
XV – Be There, Be Square (prod. by Xaphoon Jones)
Real interesting joint right here, specifically the verse from Beck. But it’s different and it works. Also, I think Donald is at his best over a piano instrumental. Diggin’ in.
Best of….The Funk’s First Half of 2011: Top 25 Rap Songs Pt. 1
So I was reading the new Simmons on Grantland about the NBA lockout, and this part just kinda of stood out to me…
“Because that’s what this lockout is about: stubbornness in its rawest form. The league is too proud to change. The players are too proud to admit that they’re a huge part of the problem, and that we wouldn’t be in this mess if more of them took pride in the deals they signed. Both sides would rather point fingers instead of figuring out how to improve their product going forward.”
I feel like that is where we’re at in politics right now. All this debt ceiling, tax percentages, revenue sharing, posturing for upcoming elections, its all a bunch of bullshit. Politics in general is all a bunch of bullshit. No one really means what they say and no one really says what the mean. Now I don’t really know the whole story because obviously it makes me vomit to even try to follow these ass clowns and their agendas, but from what I’ve read on CNN, it seams as though Obama continuously gives up some in negotiations (to the dismay of many democrats because of all that posturing bullshit) but like the greedy owners, Republicans don’t end up budging one bit on their end. This because, like the NBA owners who easily have enough money to withstand not having an NBA season, the Republicans in congress will let us go into default and be straight with whatever national/global financial crisis ensues. Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s my opinion.
They’re actually very different situations in that the Players actually already have the money, whereas Obama and the Democrats are asking for more. I just hope it doesn’t play out one sided in Washington or the NBA because things definitely need to change, but we need to move toward middle ground. Obviously that means the Democrats/NBA players have a responsibility in this as well. One subject they probably need to address is spending. But regardless, both sides need to start being creative and stop being too proud. And the Owners/Republicans need to stop being so selfish and think about the big picture, America/NBA as a whole, and not just how it affects them personally since they have the upper hand. I really don’t know all the facts, I just hate people who are too proud to practice GIVE and take.
I do have some music to go along with this unrelated rant, and it’s songs 25-11 on my best of the funk rap list. I mean, I post at least like 4 times as much rap as I do anything. There’s no way I could narrow this down to just 10. Check it out.
25. Big K.R.I.T. – American Rapstar
24. Berner ft Wiz Khalifa & Big K.R.I.T. – Yoko Ono (prod. by Big K.R.I.T.)
23. Kendrick Lamar – Hii Power (prod. by J. Cole)
22. Childish Gambino – Break (AOTL)
21. Wiz Khalifa ft Curren$y – Rooftops
20. Lloyd Banks ft Eminem – Where I’m At
18. Childish Gambino – The Longest Text Message
17. Mac Miller ft Wale – So What
16. DJ Khaled ft Drake, Lil Wayne & Rick Ross – I’m On One
15. Big K.R.I.T – Rise & Shine
14. The Dean’s List – Dear Professor
13. Eminem & Royce da 5’9” – Fast Lane
12. OCD – Black Forest Gummy Worms
11. Skizzy Mars – Profound ……”everybody trying to avoid me, NBA lockout.”
Weekend Rap Up: New Chamillionaire, OCD, STS ft Joell Ortiz, J. Cole, Curren$y & Mac Miller
This one comes off Chamillionaire’s newest mixtape Major Pain 1.5. Cham isn’t your typical southern rapper, but even the most unique, anti-establishment rappers can’t resist an instrumental and chopped & screwed hook as dope as this. Feel me? Just listen.
Chamillionaire – Chandelier Ceiling
This song might take a couple extra listens to really grab you, but once it does, the grip won’t slip. I heard this “City Kids” joint from these dudes a lit bit ago, but wasn’t a huge fan. Still, I decided to download their newest mixtape, Up Before The World, to get a better sampling. I’m sure glad I did, because I can’t get enough of this song right here. Dudes got that quick, conversational type flow that may require a lil more attention than most, but you’ve got to expect that here. The piano and voice sample throughout the instrumental are perfect.
OCD: Moosh & Twist – Black Forest Gummy Worms
I’ll keep posting STS until he becomes a common name in hip hop circles while discussing the hottest newcomers in the game. Dude is nasty, nuff said. No surprise, Joell Ortiz delivers here as well. This one’s off the recently released Demand More.
STS ft Joell Ortiz – The People (remix)
This is another one of those powerful type instrumentals that can take you for a trip on its own, regardless if you’re already driving around without a destination in mind. But the only journey that really matters is the personal one you embark on everyday you wake up. One in which you don’t even need to open your eyes in order to put miles on the dash. Ironic that I could go on that trip for free simply by closing my eyes with my professional headphones on. Instead I choose to drive around blasting my below average car stereo to clear my head, all the while burning money through my gas tank. Always seem to make things more complicated/difficult than necessary. But hey, if the shoe fits….
StartYourOwnRebellion – Let it Go (feat. J. Cole)
This one comes off Curren$y’s newest mixtape Covert Coup. Not a huge fan of the project as a whole, but this one definitely stood out as his most solid contribution. Giving props to my dude Pip on the title won’t hurt his cause. Btw, reference #2 to Pip in this weeks Rap Up. I wonder which Air Pips he’s talking bout? Probably the original Nike Air Pippen. I’m not a fan of the one’s with the rain drops on the side and I do think I’m one of the few that really liked the one’s with “AIR” written along the side of them.
Curren$y – Scottie Pippens (feat. Freddie Gibbs)
I’ll close it out with this smooth freestyle from Mac Miller released last week after reaching 300k twitter followers, I think. The beat comes from an old People Under the Stairs joint called San Francisco Knights. I said it before, I wasn’t a big Mac fan when I first heard his shit. But I can’t lie, the more and more I hear, the more I’m starting to really appreciate dudes talents on the mic.
Wiz Khalifa – Rooftops ft Curren$y
Maybe it’s the simple fact that I was watching the Bulls dominate while I found this gem, but it kind of reminds me of their season. Ok that’s a stretch, but even as recent as a month ago, we still had doubters in Chicago. “A lot of shit done changed”, and “now we on the rooftop.” But “when you puttin in work, that’s how it goes.” I haven’t been wrong about…well, much of anything in my predictions for the Bulls success this year. Actually, I only predicted 57 wins, looks like they’ll reach 60. And I thought Boozer and Joakim remaining healthy would be the biggest determining factor in the possibility of winning the east….Derrick sure showed me. Damn, I’m gonna have a lot of friends this year come NBA Finals time when I look to sell my other season ticket. Anyway, smooth jam from Wiz. Check it.
Meet Chip tha Ripper
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White Men Can't Funk 