If you were looking for a rapper to save “All Gold Everything” from Trinidad James, meet Starlito. He mows down original and borrowed beats alike on Funerals & Court Dates with a flow that’s half Wayne, half 3 Stacks.
Chuuwee’s Wild Style is like Joell Ortiz’ Covers The Classics mixtape, but more subtle. He pays tribute to the spirit of the golden age rather than individual records. Grab favored cuts below.
Today, gangsta rap is supported by a crutch. A crutch named Gibbs.
On some 2012 mixtape marketing steez, Gibbs released Baby Face Killa with DJ Drama tags, but you can buy the deluxe version minus said tags and stream it at DJBooth.net. “Breaking Bad” and “Fuck Them Niggaz” only appear on the deluxe version and “The Diet” and “Every City” only appear on the Drama version. Maybe we’ll get them all on one disc on the tenth anniversary box set.
This is a remixed version of NoYork!, I guess? Tasteless artwork aside, I actually like this a lot more than the original because the beats are so far left. Half of them sound like they were recorded through a McDonald’s drive-through intercom, which can be grating for some, but I love it in this context: an alternate reality version of NoYork! where Blu has nothing to do with Warner Bros. and he’s still hurtling deeper down the rabbit hole after Below the Heavens. For all his ups and downs, Blu still has a unique brand of psychedelic rap that keeps getting more potent.
Big K.R.I.T. has condensed a career’s worth of work into three mixtapes. If K.R.I.T. Wuz Here was his humble debut and ReturnOf4Eva was his star-studded follow up, then 4Eva N A Day is his high level concept album here he shuns famous features and keeps it super personal. In the Behind the Music version of K.R.I.T.’s life, this would have spanned ten years, six Grammys, two divorces, and a DUI. That’s actually not quite the case for K.RI.T., who has yet to drop his major label debut. 4Eva N a Day is K.R.I.T. ascendant, turning from raucous trunk rattlers to deeper reflections on the traditions surrounding his Pimp C/Willie Hutch derived organic funk. His old school car gets a humble ode. Wah wah guitars are abundant (a staple of country rap tunes, DJ Burn One once told me). Strippers. Beyond that, K.R.I.T. gets elbow deep in the moral juxtapositions on his album cover. Forget a debut album with Def Jam’s fingerprints all over it. I’m content with another three mixtapes.
Apologies to Jay and Fif, but pimping belongs to the West Coast cats. Suga Free and Pimpin Young demonstrate that pimping is more than flamboyant dress and a yacht full of sluts. It’s about channeling supreme confidence over a picture perfect sample of “Who Is He And What Is He To You?” Peep the highlights from the duo’s new mixtape below.
The Cure 2 is stream of consciousness drug peddling rap and Willie The Kid has some truly dazzling wordplay. Download the whole thing here and grab the keepers below.