Legacy Track of the Week: Smoke DZA ft Shoota 93 & Pounds - 500 Thousand
“Rapping toe to toe that’s like Russian Roulette, hate crime to themselves/ fucking Jussie Smolletts” SMOKE DZA ENOUGH SAID 🔥🔥🔥
Smoke DZA ft Cory Gunz & Shoota 93 - Perspective
“Sometimes I wonder/ will everybody make it through the summer?/ would you ride if I had nothin' on the come up?/ Like, what if I never picked the blunt up?/ would this shit really be fun?/ keep it a hundred/ all these questions keep recurring while I'm blunted” DZA coasts all over this BaconEggAndTrees EP.
Smoke DZA ft Abby Jasmine - Smoke n Me
“Is you high is you chillin’/ you babysittin’ or sippin’/ to survive/ not peer pressure that’s a separate addiction” The flow is impeccable and DZA is one of the best flamethrowers in the business.
Beyonce - Sorry (Homecoming Live)
“He trying to roll me up (I ain't sorry)/ I ain't picking up (I ain't sorry)/ I'm headed to the club (I ain't sorry)/ I ain't thinking 'bout you” Beyonce performed her best song in recent memory at the 2018 Coachella, where backed by an All-Star HBCU Marching Band she continued her reign on the throne.
Beyonce - Deja Vu (Homecoming Live)
“I used to run base like Juan Pierre/ now I run the bass hi-hat and the snare” Hov blessed the stage and of course the chemistry is still there.
Beyonce ft Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams - Say My Name (Homecoming Live)
“Any other day, I would call, you would say/ ‘baby, how's your day?’/ but today, it ain't the same/ every other word is ‘uh-huh,’ ‘yea okay’/ could it be that you are at the crib with another lady?” A Destiny’s Child reunion is always appreciated.
Beyonce - Before I Let Go (Homecoming Live)
“You make me happy/ this you can bet…” The only ‘new’ record off Beyonce’s Homecoming is her cover of the Frankie Beverly & Maze classic, of which she adds her own twist for better or for worse.
RZA, Weather Park - Can’t Change
“Pray for me/ I feel we should pray for you/ look what this make of you/ feel the killer inside I awaken you” ODB’s son has the standout track on RZA’s soundtrack to the indie slasher film Thriller, and that fact went completely unnoticed in the culture altogether. Salute to Weather Park and the legacy of Ol’ Dirty Bastard and the Wu-Tang Clan.
RZA, Hue Hef, Earth, Young Dirty Bastard - Chauncey Did It
“Lately been feeling like Chauncey/ Lisa done fucked up my chemistry/ y’all ***** ruined my life/ I’m a make sure you remember me” Another one of ODB’s children, the one who looks just like him, blesses the other standout track on the soundtrack that complements the film perfectly.
Wiz Khalifa ft THE MXNNLIGHT - G.O.A.T. Flow
“When I wake up in the morning/ I'm rollin' up the weed and I'm thinking 'bout you” Khalifa released his 18th credited mixtape in 2019 entitled Fly Times Vol. 1: The Good Fly Young, and the twins from California (MXNNLIGHT) continue to impress every time they’re featured.
Wiz Khalifa ft Young Deji - What You Deserve
“If we ain't close, then we closin' in/ hittin' that chronic and holdin' it in/ how many J’s he gon' roll again? Made a mil' gettin' stoned with his friends” A cool laid-back vibe for the summer.
Wiz Khalifa ft Young Deji - Yea Yup
“Get up off your ass/ this cash ain't gon’ get itself, the race ain't gon' win itself/ focus on your business and your health/ put them notches on your belt/ treat them haters like they not here/ only smoke it if it’s top tier” Khalifa floats on this Harry Fraud production.
Fredo Bang - Famous Crushes
“You can be my Nia Long, I'll be your Craig off of Friday/ you be my queen, I'll be your warrior like Pompeii” Produced by Hardbody this is one of the only redeemable records off Fredo Bang’s latest mixtape Big Ape.
Waka Flocka Flame - I Remember
“No drummer, but we got a lot of ammo/ I remember having hammers in my JanSport” Produced by Lex Luger this is a solid introduction off Waka Flocka’s latest mixtape, Salute Me or Shoot Me 6.
Waka Flocka Flame - Karma, Pt. 2
“Father God have my back, I see karma coming back/ I see karma coming back, I see karma coming back” Produced by Southside this helps maintain the theory that Waka Flocka has more to say than your average mumble rapper.
Shy Glizzy - Ridin Down Slauson
"All this pain inside me, you can't imagine/ riding down Slauson with a bad bitch” D.C. rapper Shy Glizzy released his latest project Covered N Blood, and this Nipsey Hussle tribute is one of the redeemable records on the tape.
Shy Glizzy - Panicking
“I fell asleep beside this bitch with all my jewelry on (Oh)/ I wake up and I get into a different zone (Oh-oh-oh)” Produced by Sonny Digital this one is decent as well.
Tyga ft A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie - Goddamn
“You a bad bitch, come and get your rent paid (Ayy, ayy)” A Boogie lends a verse to the remix of Tyga’s promotional single off his 7th solo album Legendary.
Tech N9ne - N9NA
“T-E-C-H-N-9-N-E” A single off Tech N9ne’s 21st album, N9NA, that is sure to satisfy his fans and no one else, similar to the first 20 albums that have garnered him a cult following outside of the genre that he supposedly represents.
Tech N9ne - Like I Ain’t
“Toured with the Jay Rock, with the homie K-Dot/ like I ain't never had the allure for the pay slots” A flex from Tech N9ne that to his credit is based on a strong resume that can’t be disputed.
Your Old Droog - Gyros
“God’s plan/ immortals in the crowd want to touch the God’s hand/ rocking stadiums in some odd land/ while your squad’s making beats on Garage Band” The Brooklyn native released his third and fourth solo albums in 2019, this being the former entitled It Wasn’t Even Close, that is as good as anything I’ve heard from his catalog.
Your Old Droog - Bubble Hill
“If you don’t know better/ dudes will have you think struggling is cool…” Droog’s well-documented delivery over a piano loop is good hip-hop music.
Your Old Droog - Babushka
“I kinda miss being anonymous/ there’s more to it than rap, you have to be some sort of politician/ social worker slash economist” Your Old Droog over orchestra music 🔥🔥🔥
03 Greedo - 10 Purple Summers
“I'll shoot at her dad right inside where he at/ go and buy some baguettes, you can't buy your respect” Produced by Mustard this is the best record off Still Summer in the Projects.
Blaq Poet - Innocent
“Reading comic books/ couldn’t afford an Atari/ my little green Army guys the life of the party” QB veteran Blaq Poet released his tenth official release in 2019 entitled, EST: Experience, Stories, and Truths, and truth be told it’s a better listen than any mumble rap cd.
Blaq Poet - Boy to a Man
“All you want to do is run the block/ make paper/ got a lil pager/ selling drugs to the neighbors/ always stay fresh/ always stay fly/ skipping out of school in the hood getting high/ all your friends the wrong influence/ why you stop playing ball you was so into it?” Blaq Poet spits this cautionary tale better than most.
Blaq Poet - Could It Be
“Should I put it to my own head/ I’m contemplating/ looking at Satan and he’s laughing and waiting/ I need help” A mental health record that feels like it’s from the heart, God bless all the veteran emcees still rhyming.
The O’Jays - Stand Up (Show Love)
“Turn off the TV to avoid the news/ look to Heaven because I’m so confused” The legendary R&B group from Canton, Ohio released their 29th studio album in 2019, that’s 54 years after their debut and the hit singles ‘Backstabbers’ and “Love Train’ that came a few years later, and this particular record off The Last Word is reminiscent of that same era.
SZA, The Weeknd, Travis Scott - Power is Power
“I was born of the ice and snow/ with the winter wolves, in the dark, alone/ the wildest night, I became the one/ and you'll know you're mine when the silence comes” The three superstars collaborate and deliver a hit record for the Game of Thrones soundtrack, For the Throne.
Lizzo - Soulmate
“'Cause I'm my own soulmate (yeah, yeah)/ I know how to love me (love me)/ I know that I'm always gonna hold me down” One of the many records off Cuz I Love You that made Lizzo one of 2019’s breakthrough stars.
Lil Dicky - Earth
“We love the Earth, it is our planet/ we love the Earth, it is our home” Produced by Cashmere Cat & benny blanco, this star-studded track features over thirty guest stars who take the role of different animals, all of whom appear in a Pixar-quality music video that uses humor to lend itself to a good cause.