SEARCH FOR: LIL WAYNE

One positive thought from this whole quarantine situation is that people have been finding ways to be creative and to entertain people, and one of my favorite things that have been birthed from this is the Verzuz battles that have been taking place weekly on Instagram Live. We’ve watched some classic matchups so far in the series, one of my favorite being DJ Premier against RZA, but last week we got another great matchup in Ludacris vs Nelly. This was an awesome watch that had me entertained for some hours last Friday, but during a time where Nelly was having some network connection issues, Ludacris decided to fill up some of that idle time with an unreleased record with Lil Wayne & Timbaland, which he ran back at least five times. Many of the viewers in the chat were giving Ludacris some positive feedback about the track, and here we are a week later, as he has just released the track, officially titled “Silence Of The Lambs”. When you hear of a trio such as Ludacris, Lil Wayne, and Timbaland getting together, you know that it’s going to be special. I shouldn’t even have to tell you the damage that …

FOREWORD In the history of the hip-hop industry, there has never been a more dominant artist than Aubrey “Drake” Graham. The 33 year-old superstar has undergone several re-inventions over the years, much to the delight of his ever-growing fanbase. As much as we have seen him progress, however, the substance in his music carries one glaring constant – heartbreak. It’s no secret that Drake is the master of the introspective love song, and as much as it probably pains him to have to go through experiences that inspire these records, the music has continued to serve as salvation for distraught fans everywhere.  At this point, we owe Drake for giving us all this incredible music at the expense of his own emotional distress. My first thought in paying homage was to curate a carefully-selected 100-song playlist of all his best music. Quickly, I realized that: 1) it’s an impossibly subjective task to narrow down his 100 “best” records, and 2) a playlist that deep is sure to oversaturate the respect we’re trying to pay in this instance. So I took a different approach. I thought to myself, ‘what would Drake appreciate the most from the perspective of a long-time fan? …

There are several different ways to describe someone on a hot streak. Comparable to a LeBron James triple double, or a thirty kill-streak on Call of Duty, Lil Baby is undeniably one of, if not the hottest rapper in the game right now. The Atlanta, Georgia native and Quality Control member turned heads when he released his second studio album My Turn in February, with guest appearances from Lil Wayne, Lil Uzi Vert, 42 Dugg, Young Thug, Gunna, Rylo Rodriguez, and Moneybagg Yo. The chemistry shared between Lil Baby and his chosen features is magnificent like a Lamar Jackson juke. Lil Uzi Vert arguably delivered the most memorable guest verse of the year on “Commercial,” with Lil Baby somehow not being overshadowed on his own part. From “Drip Too Hard,” “Sold Out Dates,” Life Goes On,” and more, it is no secret that Lil Baby and Gunna are a formidable brotherly duo, linking up once more on “Heatin Up.” According to Billboard, in its first week alone, My Turn debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 charts, with a staggering 197,000 album-equivalent units (including just under 10,000 legitimate album sales). Lil Baby is a fascinating artist because he completely understands what he’s best …

If you haven’t heard last summer’s project Chasing Summer by TDE’s rising artist SiR by now, this is the perfect opportunity to check it out. He was able to recruit some massive features for the album including Lil Wayne, Smino, and his label mate Kendrick Lamar, who all brought a different aesthetic and vibe to the record. While he dives into various opinions and experiences related to love, he focuses heavily on the relatable downsides that catching feelings can often result in. On the album’s second song “John Redcorn”, SiR puts himself in the shoes of the King of the Hill character who gets his heart broken in the show. While I’m not very familiar with the cartoon or the plot that this character follows, I learned this after doing some research and the themes SiR touches on seem very similar to that of John. Consistent rattling percussion, touching guitar strums, and toned-down drums offer a calm yet melancholic basis for SiR to get emotional and vulnerable. His voice sounds beyond sad and almost desperate for companionship as he asks why he’s alone, knowing that the person in his mind wants to be with him as well. As he sings, …

Chance the Rapper has always been a favorite artist of mine, and it’s not only because he represents Chicago so well. He has proven time and time again that he can bring talents together to push their own boundaries sonically, as he continues to do himself as his career progresses. Although I’m still pretty firm in my belief that Acid Rap is his best project to date, he has clearly grown and matured with his music as he has gone through major life changes, and that’s something that should be noted. His ability to challenge himself and adapt to any instrumental placed in front of him is nothing short of incredible, and his dynamic abilities as an artist never go unnoticed. While he has some major connections with other staples in the industry, he just has a knack for recruiting musicians of all types to come together and create wonderful music together. The Chicago emcee has been turning to Instagram in order to deliver random snippets as well as full songs as we are stuck inside during this quarantine period, but it definitely gives fans some much-needed entertainment throughout this strange time. Despite a bit of a feud that seems …

Very few artists had the ability to deliver a sort of shock appeal quite like XXXtentacion. Whether he spoke of dark and morbid themes with his lyrics, used his voice as a vehicle of aggression, or used haunting imagery in visuals, he was never one to shy away from intense storylines. Even on his posthumous album Bad Vibes Forever, his voice was kept alive in a way fans had never heard before. Of all the chilling and eye-opening topics covered in this album, “School Shooters” had to be one of the most unnerving songs of them all, and it just received an even more shocking visual. Featuring the legendary Lil Wayne, this song begins with troubling, distorted guitar strums of sorts before some calm yet chilling percussion comes into the picture. X begins the song with a whisper-like delivery, portraying someone who would do graphic, violent things to these school shooters. On the other hand, Wayne looks into the mindset of one of these killers, boasting a frantic flow while talking about the wild thoughts that are bouncing around in their mind. This song is in no way, shape, or form glorifying or advocating for school shooters, but rather looks …

For nearly fifteen years Atlanta has been the pre-imminent and most flourishing hotbed for trap music talent and innovation and as we head into the new decade many people were concerned that their flame would finally be burning out, but thanks to a host of new talent from a generation that was not expected to have nearly the impact as their respective predecessors it is clear that Atlanta will always be at the forefront of rap music. East Atlanta’s Baby Plug is a young artist who already has a lot to say and it is evident already that his work ethic and wisdom are far beyond his years. It is obvious from just one listen that Baby Plug is one of those rare talents who was put on this Earth to rap. His voice is effortlessly swaggy and this charisma has enabled him to climb the ranks of popularity rather quickly. With a mixtape and an EP under his belt now it is clear that Baby Plug is not just another rapper but rather is almost ordained to lead his section of New Atlanta to the promised land. Most recently Baby Plug released his collaborative EP with South Carolina producer …

Kemba had a terrific year in 2019 and kicked off 2020 with an unreal start, jumping on the remix of XXXTentacion’s “School Shooters” record with Lil Wayne, and today he is back with a solo record titled “None Of This Matters”. Kemba has always had a super interesting rap style to me, he has a unique + addicting voice and is a superb storyteller, but here on this track he basically just talked his shit for two minutes nonstop! I believe that Kemba is going to continue to take a step forward in his career over the next nine months and have an even better year than last year. Take a couple minutes out of your afternoon to listen to this brand new song below, and if you like the track then follow Kemba on Soundcloud here. produced by mygxd beatz

Lil Baby has rose to become one of the best new artists in the game in just a short amount of time, and now he is fresh off of the release of his fantastic album My Turn, so I was very excited to see that he sat down with Joe Budden for a brand new interview on his Pull Up series. These two spoke about many subjects such as his come up, his first studio session, growing up in Atlanta, the importance of Gucci Mane, the release of his first mixtape, what a normal day for him looks like, his family, Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, brand sponsorships, artists that he signed under him, his friendship with Gunna and so much more. This was a very insightful interview on Lil Baby and everything that has led up to this point,

Even before the release of XXXTENTACION’s album Bad Vibes Forever, X left a void in the world of music that will never be filled. His multifaceted talents could bring him from vocal cord busting yelling over distorted production to crooning over lighthearted and meditative acoustic guitar, as well as anything else along that spectrum. Many outsiders looking in just saw him as the beyond hyped wild boy that was new to the industry but making major waves, but those who really paid attention knew he went much deeper than that and had a lot more depth than what could be found on the surface. An example of this can be heard on “School Shooters”, one of the standout tracks on his posthumous album featuring the legend Lil Wayne. In this song, the two artists bring light to a very real and awful phenomenon going on in the world. They look inside the minds of someone who would commit such a heinous act and express their thoughts via song. It’s intense, hard to wrap your head around, and violent, but it sheds light on an issue that has been unfortunately becoming more common in the past few years. This song, in …