Streaming has made us all extremely spoiled. Imagine getting the choice to listen to almost any song that’s ever been released. There’s arguably too much to choose from, and it’s made a lot of people ungrateful as a result. As legendary producer Terry Lewis once told us, “You used to have to invest. But now you just pay $9.99, and you get every song that ever existed. You have every flavor lollipop, and you get to lick ‘em all, so you don’t even have a taste for what the really good ones are.”
However, there are still some records that are lost in time, never finding a home on streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music. So, in the spirit of preserving history, Noisey has picked out 12 songs that should make it to streaming. Or at the very least, it’ll encourage you to go out and download songs that you’re missing on your phone.
Twelve Rap Songs That Are Long Overdue to Be Released on Streaming Services
“Nate” by Vince Staples
Quietly one of Vince Staples’ best songs that has gone a little lost to time. “Nate” is a devastating record about how troubled parenthood manifests in our children.
“Contemporary Man” by Action Bronson
Copyright law makes a song like “Contemporary Man” almost impossible to stream. It would cost Action Bronson copious amounts money to clear all the records he rapped over. Consequently, if you want to hear Phil Collins or Peter Gabriel songs with rap verses to them, you may have to settle for YouTube or ol’ fashioned mixtape sites.
“135” by Capital Steez
Capital Steez was a star in the making with Joey Bada$$. Unfortunately, he passed away all too soon at just 19 years old. Consequently, it’s vital for his singular mixtape, Amerikkan Korruption, to find a way onto streaming services so it’s not lost to time.
“Speed Racer” by Young Thug and Metro Boomin
Young Thug was an extremely prolific artist during his prime years. There were dozens of leaked songs, scrapped projects, and rough ideas floating out in the ether. But arguably the most anticipated was a full-length effort between Thug and Metro Boomin as “Metro Thuggin”. Thankfully, we have “Speed Racer” left behind, a time capsule that captures the Atlanta legends at their most creative.
“Khaki” by Isaiah Rashad
Before Cilvia Demo marked his formal entrance into the rap game, fans cobbled SoundCloud uploads and turned them into the Welcome to The Game compilation. There, it shows many of the everyman attributes that made Rashad such a warm, relatable artist. “Khaki” is one of the highlights, where he shrugs about how he wants to smoke weed but knows it’ll get him fired from his job. In the end, he sparked up anyway.
“Fetti” by Playboi Carti, Maxo Kream, and Da$h
“Fetti” was released long before Playboi Carti became the most influential artist to hip-hop’s current underground sound. Here, Carti raps one of the catchiest, most memorable hooks of his career while Da$h and Maxo Kream grunt and flex in their verses.
“Dream/Southern Hospitality/Partna Dem” by Childish Gambino
Kauai making it to streaming services made the STN MTN mixtape become a little forgotten over time. However, people who were there at the time can vouch for it containing some of the best rapping of Childish Gambino’s career.
“Boring S**t” by Lil Uzi Vert
There are a truly preposterous number of leaks and throwaway Lil Uzi Vert songs floating around in the world. Hearing him take on gospel stylings certainly makes for one of his most memorable outings on “Boring S**t”.
“Christian Dior Denim Flow” by Kanye West, Lloyd Banks, Kid Cudi, Pusha T, John Legend, and Ryan Leslie
Good Fridays were the stuff of legend. In the buildup to Kanye West’s mammoth comeback, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, he released a series of grandiose loosies from the recording sessions. “Christian Dior Denim Flow” is arguably the best, as Lloyd Banks proves why he was the best lyricist in G-Unit and, indeed, hip-hop as a whole.
“Us Placers” by Child Rebel Soldier (Kanye West, Pharrell, and Lupe Fiasco)
Three of hip-hop’s coolest, most creative artists of the 2000s uniting over Radiohead is a music nerd’s wet dream. Unfortunately, the stars never aligned for a full-length Child Rebel Soldier record. Moreover, it doesn’t seem like it’ll ever come to streaming services either.
“Spiteful Chant” by Kendrick Lamar and ScHoolboy Q
Some people will go their whole lives without hearing this song on Section.80. The reason why it was taken off streaming remains a mystery. But for the sake of history, it desperately needs to be chucked on the mixtape again in its proper sequencing.
“SLR 3 (ROUND OF APPLAUSE)” by Lupe Fiasco
Hearing Lupe Fiasco engage in lyrical exercise is one of the greatest treats a rap nerd could ask for. “SLR 3 (Round of Applause” is one of many examples that were chucked on places like YouTube and SoundCloud for the love of rapping. If it made it to streaming, we’d have further proof of why Lupe is one of the greatest rappers of all time.
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