Every week, seemingly a gazillion songs release on streaming services. From Soundcloud and Bandcamp exclusives to the endless array of songs on Spotify and Apple Music, it’s a lot to take in. Additionally, some of the tracks aren’t nearly as good as it should be. Who wants to waste their time sifting through records in fear that some aren’t very good. How can one possibly have the time to even do it?
This is where us at Noisey have you covered. We’re saving you time in the playlist department to narrow it down to the three most essential songs in hip-hop and R&B you should hear. Maybe you’ll find a new favorite artist or album in the process.
Three of The Best New Rap Songs of The Week
Metro Boomin- “Drip BBQ” [feat. J Money (ATL), Quavo & Waka Flock Flame]
Atlanta has been going through some identity crises lately. The larger sound emerging from the underground for a long time was brooding. Playboi Carti and his camp would favor distortion and vampiric aesthetics, from Dracula to Blade alike. Meanwhile, others stuck true to the blueprints Future and Young Thug worked within on their songs for years. It was all over the place, no foundation for what it could.
Additionally, the city has lost some of its legends along the way. From Trouble to Young Scooter, Atlanta was losing some of its crucial history far too soon. Consequently, Metro Boomin wanted to dust off some of the past glory to chronicle how we got to this moment. On his latest project Metro Boomin Presents: A Futuristic Summa (Hosted by DJ Spinz), he taps legends of the past to depict a moment in history that got lost in time pre-streaming.
One of the best songs on the album was “Drip BBQ,” a song that might as well be resurrected from a 2009 Sprite commercial. This is LeBron in his first Cavaliers stint, the kind of horns you hear to an Adrian Peterson highlight reel. This is a blog era all-star game, proof that when tapping into nostalgia, it doesn’t always have to sound cheap. It can be a warm, fun, and loving ode to its history as the city searches for its identity again.
Zukenee- “Sleep Walk”
One name Metro absolutely should’ve checked out for his album was Zukenee. He’s one of the most exciting rappers I’ve heard in a long time, the spiritual successor to Bankroll Fresh. His album SLAYTANIC sticks you in the thick of what the Atlanta streets is like through the lens of medieval imagery. They have sticks and swords, his village burned down, the heat is visceral. Meanwhile, his songs still preserves some of its core identity through past Atlanta royalty like Gucci Mane.
“SLEEP WALK” continues this run, placing him with Mike WiLL Made-It for something sour and sparse. It sounds like Mike WiLL is conjuring spells in a basement with a lantern illuminating the table. Meanwhile, Zukenee oscillates between stark imagery and brash flexes. “I’m dreaming but walk, I’m dead but still talk/My closet walkin, I’m on some boss shit,” he smirks. Atlanta has a superstar brewing in the underground. Slowly, guys like Mike WiLL are noticing– hopefully Metro sees it next.
BabyTron- “PunchGod 4”
Every once in a while, BabyTron will turn back the hands of time to channel his prime in 2018/2019. Back then, unafraid of sample clearances on songs and enamored with the glitz of 80s disco and soul, he was the Punch God. He was always good for a quotable every 4 bars, offhand flexes that slink around in your brain all day.
On “PunchGod 4,” he summons a scroll of punchlines and zany references. He could bend strange rhyme patterns and syllabic contortions like “Commander cubic zirconium, dude just a jabroni.” Or he’ll throw a Payton Pritchard bar from half court like the Celtic himself. Who else would rap about the 7th or 8th man on the Boston Celtics if not BabyTron?
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