Harold Stallworth Awakens From Holiday Hibernation: New Tracks from Migos, Agallah & Alchemist & Knxwledge

Harold Stallworth would rather be rich than famous.

As much as I enjoyed contributing to several 2013 year-end lists, blurb-season admittedly took a massive toll on my desire to write about music. But after a two-week hiatus, I’m ready to make up for lost time. Here’s a few notable rap songs I neglected to share with Passion of the Weiss’ loyal readership over the holidays.

Young Thug & Migos – YRN

I’m still not entirely sold on Young Thug, mostly because the tone of his voice is only bearable in transient doses. But his latest collaboration with Migos—which, oddly enough, functions a belated title track for the group’s breakthrough mixtape, YRN—has piqued my interest. It’s refreshing to finally hear the self-professed lobby runners atop tropical, sample-based production. Even my girl, who winces at the sound of Quavo, Takeoff, Offset, and Drake’s patented run-on flow, was willing to concede that this record isn’t a total abomination. Thug does the heavy lifting here, providing a melodic hook in lieu of Migos’ usual incessant chant formula.

Agallah & Alchemist – The Gods Must Be Crazy

Agallah’s latest mixtape, slyly titled Past and Present, sadly offers more of the former than I’d hoped for. But the handful of unreleased tracks credited to The Alchemist make a compelling argument for the duo to lock themselves inside Alan’s fabled Rap Camp recording studio and flush out a proper full-length album. The most addictive record packaged with the Frankenstein compilation, “The Gods Must Be Crazy,” surprisingly, is not Brand Nubian cover. Agallah gracefully teeters between bloodthirsty killer and motivational speaker over a sparse, dreamlike instrumental.

AZ & Knxwledge – A.W.O.L. Remix

I’ve never quite understood the appeal of Knxwledge. All his beats sound like the breathy alien transmissions intercepted by Jodie Foster in Contact. So you can imagine my surprise when I was introduced to his elegant remix of AZ’s “A.W.O.L.” by the good folks at Steady Bloggin. Knxwledge’s plush guitar licks and jiggy claps compliment AZ’s enlightened slick talk, making it a huge upgrade over the original Vinny Idol-produced record, which boasted a grating chipmunk soul loop. This almost makes up for the Detox-ification of Doe or Die II.

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