Legacy Track of the Week: BJ The Chicago Kid ft JID, Buddy & Kent Jamz - Get Away
“You've got me flyin' home to smoke with you, yeah/ (I'll go to Houston then Atlanta, baby)/ when we fuck it feel like Vegas (Feel like Vegas)” The Chicago Kid both sings and raps on this album cut that has all kinds of sauce on it. This hook is 🔥🔥🔥
BJ The Chicago Kid ft Anderson .Paak - Feel the Vibe
“Yeah, my dreams were realized, the wings was double fried/ my green was stuffed between the peas and kettle fries/ I quit with the beef then I, gave up the pork then I/ snatched up a cosign from one of the GOATs” The Chicago Kid released his third studio album, 1123, and by no surprise, the introduction with Anderson .Paak is one of the highlights.
Chance the Rapper ft Death Cab For Cutie - Do You Remember
“Do you remember how when you were younger/ the summers all lasted forever? Days disappeared into months, into years/ hold that feeling forever” Chance the Rapper released his ‘debut’ studio album, The Big Day, after much anticipation and three critically acclaimed mixtapes, and per usual he delivers with the entire entertainment industry in his pocket. For example, Chance is indeed one of the highlights on this high-powered production, yet no one shines brighter than the featured Ben Gibbard who sings lead for the alternative rock band, Death Cab for Cutie.
Chance the Rapper ft Smino - Eternal
“You send him to the store and forget that he left/ you send me to the store, I come back with a chef” That’s a rather decent Chance the Rapper bar for you, although this track is once again all about the energy in the production.
Chance the Rapper - Sun Come Down
“Please don't let my death be about my death/ please don't make no movies about my death/ please make my death about my life/ if you make a movie about my life, make it right” There are about 10 producers on this record where Chance gets introspective about his legacy, one that in hip-hop still remains to be seen.
Chance the Rapper ft SWV - Found A Good One (Single No More)
“I done messed around and found a good one/ made just for me, yeah, made just for me/ and I found one” Another 10 producers on this record and the return of SWV is the highlight.
Chance the Rapper - Town On The Hill
“They built a town on top of a hill/ it was yellow in hue, 'cause it was bursting with light/ and that's when I caught a view, what a magnificent sight/ cause it reminds me of you, I guess” To his credit, Chance the Rapper is a poet with different pockets of flows that create big moments, and at his best, he’s still good music any day of the week.
YBN Cordae - Wintertime
“Whoever said shit was easy forever lied/ I mesmerize, how simple decisions can jeopardize/ when Martin Luther cheated and stared in Coretta's eyes/ this is lyrical exercise, told my idols to step aside” YBN Cordae released his highly anticipated debut album, The Lost Boy, and the intro produced by Cardiak sets the tone for a well-rounded body of work.
YBN Cordae - Thanksgiving
“You see I brought you home to mama/ introduced you to my cousins/ met my aunties and my uncles/ know they crazy, they be buggin'‚ but/ promise that I got you, didn't bring you here for nothin'” Produced by Coop the Truth and Kid Culture, this album cut gives credence to all the hype, and is one of the best Cordae records to date.
YBN Cordae - Thousand Words
“They say a picture's worth a thousand words/ you paint a canvas, better let it shine, huh/ I know I done some things that's dead wrong, huh/ the flash is on this little light of mine” Introspective bars from one of the more popular lyricists of the next generation, yet truth be told, it still remains to be seen whether he’s more J. Cole than Vic Mensa.
YBN Cordae - Been Around
“We'll get through, we'll make it work/ cause I've been around/ and you've caught me down bad, I say/ next time in town/ you're always welcome 'round my way” Continuing on the analogy above, he’s more Chance the Rapper than he is Kendrick Lamar, yet even still YBN Cordae is one of the best artists of the new school with real talent to his name.
H.E.R. - 21
“21, yeah, yeah, yeah/ I'm made for this/ wouldn't trade it for the world” H.E.R. released her second compilation album, I Used to Know Her, comprising songs from the previously released I Used to Know Her (The Prelude) and I Used to Know Her: Part 2, with five additional new tracks including this celebratory birthday records that’s a vibe if nothing else.
Jae Millz- Unappreciated
“If you ever felt unappreciated/ you know that overwhelming feeling when you finally make it/ after nobody gave it/ knowing you had to take it/ and then somebody try to discredit or downplay it” It’s untold how many mixtapes Jae Millz has released at this point, yet his latest effort, Key Words, has the Harlem vet sounding more hungry than his Young Money days, of course disregarding this classic.
Jae Millz - Patience
“I used to think I’d overachieve because I over grind/ then one day my motto went from work harder to work smarter/ you can have every single thing you dream about/ relax your mind, take your time, you got to think it out” Grown man bars from one of the greatest battle rappers of all time.
Jae Millz - Priorities
“I never heard a bill collector care if you tapped out/ ‘where that money you rap ‘bout” Humble flex from a battle rap legend who can speak from experience.
Big Sean - Overtime
“When my hunger was more, advice to you and yours/ they say it's over for you, that's when you go overboard” The first single off Big Sean’s upcoming 5th studio album, Detroit 2, this one produced by Key Wane, Hit-Boy, and TheTuckerBrothers gains steam as it samples Jay-Z’s Hovi Baby from the Blueprint 2 era.
Big Sean - Single Again
“What have you done for yourself? What have you done for your mental health? I even tried the drugs and they didn't help/ short term fix, that breaks everything else” This one samples Carl Thomas’ “I Wish’ and has Jhene Aiko and Ty Dolla $ign on the hook (singing adlibs), and after all that I’m really not all that impressed. [The TWENTY88 album has some 🔥🔥🔥 moments tho]
Burna Boy - African Giant
“Tell 'em Africa we don tire/ so here comes the African Giant” Nigeria’s own Burna Boy released his fourth studio album to critical acclaim, and the title track is a good introduction to his work.
Burna Boy ft Jorja Smith - Gum Body
“I'm in the middle of the street/ how did I ever let you leave?” The rising star from England, who is often seen on social media more than she’s heard in music, compliments this record well.
Burna Boy ft Jeremih & Serami - Secret
“I know you want to be more/ baby oh, but I got my wife/ I know you want, you want to be my wife” Burna Boy and company want to know if you’re good at keeping secrets, and even though Jeremih taps into his roots with an unorthodox delivery, it’s the Jamaican dancehall artist Serami that steals the show.
Burna Boy - Collateral Damage
“Oya dey there ooo/ Ambassador go dey chop/ and Governor go dey chop/ and President go dey chop” A political record is Burna Boy at his best on African Giant.
Burna Boy ft M.anifest - Another Story
“Stuck in traffic I dey hate delay/ big man get the motorcade, big Benz and the Escalade/ hustle just dey escalate/ but March 6, we go celebrate” Ghana’s own M.anifest does his numbers as well.
Denzel Curry ft Tate Kobang - Shawshank
“Cook it up, gourmet/ I go Super Saiyan, Gotenks/ anything I ever do is top rank/ got more bars than the Shawshank” Madden 20 soundtrack bars from Denzel Curry, and honestly the Madden soundtrack is always on point.
Kxng Crooked - Flowers
“Tell me why I gotta die just for y'all to give me all my flowers? Why a ***** gotta die just for you to see my superpowers” Crooked I over a sample of Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” is one of the best tracks off The Weeklys, Vol. 3
Slim Thug - Beating Up The Block
“H-Town legend, yeah bitch I don't stop, every summer I be off the lot with a drop” Slim Thug released his 19th credited mixtape, King of the Nawf, not including two EP’s, eleven albums, and eight collaborative albums, and this one is that H-Town sauce the Swishahouse legend is known for.
Slim Thug - Topless
“And I put that on Texas, ride Rolls Royce not Lexus” Slim Thug is an H-Town legend off this Beyonce feature alone… “Gamecube, Nintendo…”
E-40 ft Quavo, Roddy Ricch, A$AP Ferg & ScHoolboy Q - Chase The Money
“Look at the way that I be pushin' in that Hellcat/ I was jumpin' out the gym in Nike Air Max/ three bad bitches in the coupe slidin' down Fairfax/ bitch, I been gettin' to this money, I can't dare cap” Roddy Ricch smoked the hook on this CHASETHEMONEY production, and honestly E-40 to this day is one of the greatest conundrums in hip-hop history.
E-40 ft Jeremih, Rick Ross & Chris Brown - 1 Question
“Faded, got me callin' you all through the night” Hitmaka samples Keith Sweat’s “Make it Last Forever” and the rest is history.
E-40 ft Fabolous & Red Cafe - Another One
“Ayy, you know I keep a bankroll, but I'm finna get another one/ and I'm finna get another one” Street Fididididammm 🔥🔥🔥 it feels like it’s been a long time since we heard Fabolous and Red Cafe together, and shoutout the Bay Area legend for making it happen.
E-40 ft Anthony Hamilton & K-Ci - My Everything
“You are my everything (You know), my everything” K-Ci (from K-Ci and JoJo) and Anthony Hamilton on the same hook??? Say less and long live E-40’s industry connections!!!
