Torii MacAdams will risk it all ’cause cats’ got his back
Earl – “Grief”
To Pimp A Butterfly may be dominating the music news cycle, but “Grief” is actually this week’s best representation of sadness. “Grief” is Joy Division rap for when the corner of Fairfax & Melrose turns into the intersection of aggravation and depression. Earl’s next album I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside arrives next week to pour ice water on all you smiley motherfuckers’ cupcakes and sparklers.
Memory Man ft. Edan – “PSA”
Edan emerges from his nuclear bunker to find the world largely unchanged–the truth remains subjective, those in power tell lies, and consumers are still going to spend too much money on a blender.
Kool Keith – “My Sons”
Statik Selektah is a B-Grade DJ Premier, but Kool Keith is a Grade-A weirdo. Keith’s free-associative internal monologue is his free-associate external dialog is late-career James Joyce resurrected as a middle-aged rapper from The Bronx.
Charles Hamilton – “Headed To The Top”
I’m offering Charles Hamilton three pink t-shirts for the licensing rights to this song, which might be a slight overbid, but I’m trying to get in there before Lyor Cohen catches wind and offers four pink t-shirts.
Kendrick Lamar – “King Kunta”
Nosaj Thing played this at Low End Theory before realizing the error of his ways less than 30 seconds into this funkless g-funk quagmire. He quickly transitioned to DJ Quik’s “Pitch In Ona Party,” which is much, much better.
Flatbush Zombies ft. Skepta – “RedEye to Paris”
Kanye West discovered Paris and invented grime. Now everyone’s vacationing in France’s little known, hidden gem, and clamoring to co-sign a genre that West definitely created two weeks ago and hasn’t at all been around for more than a decade.
Future – “March Madness”
Do sad, diamond encrusted robots dream of electric thots? Had he lived into the early decades of the 20th century, these are the types of existential questions Philip K. Dick would have had to confront. Future is the saddest robot, an invention imparted with maximal narcissism, perfectly calibrated to make music for wiping away tears with jewelry.
Kid Ink ft. Dej Loaf – “Be Real”
I like the idea of Dej Loaf more than I like the actual practice of Dej Loaf, which is more than I can say for Kid Ink. More like…Kid Stink.
Durag Dynasty – Neighborhood Dope Dealers
Just Blaze put a couple instrumentals on SoundCloud last month, one titled “Moleskine Conclusion,” with the description “Write your own tale of depression and eventual redemption! Best of luck!” The Durag Dynasty version’s called “Neighborhood Dope Dealers,” so there’s neither depression nor redemption, just dirty rotten drug dealers talking all types of shit. This week’s had a lot of critics doing backflips onto their high horses, rattling sabres and wildly waving their thesauruses– “Neighborhood Dope Dealers” doesn’t necessitate any of that ill behavior. This is solid ass grown man rap, unpretentious, and easily digestible.
