Friday has always been my favorite day of the week, but ever since I've started following music, Friday has gotten even better for me. This week, Freddie Gibbs released an album that wasn't quite a surprise but also had some short notice. Lecrae and Zaytoven have released their collaborative project with one of the best titles of 2018, Let the Trap Say Amen, which has a Waka Flocka feature and I'm looking forward to it. Kanye is once again late releasing yet another 7-song album, this time for Teyana Taylor. As of right now, that album still isn't out. However, I will only be focusing on 12 new singles released today, including two from Trippie Redd and Juice WRLD, as well as other singles from Jaden Smith, Rick Ross, and more. By the way, I'm gonna give my favorite and least favorite singles a best and worst of the week award.
1) Lil Skies - World Rage
I've already accepted the fact that Lil Skies will never make a song better than "Red Roses" and will probably never make anything different and continue to be one of the most generic artists in hip-hop. That doesn't change the fact that he can create some nice melodies and make a decent song every once in a while. Since the release of his debut, Life of a Dark Rose, Lil Skies has yet to provide anything that I can see myself listening to regularly. This is no different. Danny Wolf is a solid producer who can make some banging beats but doesn't provide anything noteworthy here. Lil Skies provides some nice melodies like always but lets them do all the work and provides nothing interesting in terms of delivery and content.
Verdict: This song was boring and I already forgot about it.
2) Tory Lanez feat. Rich The Kid - Talk to Me
Smash David is the producer of this song. Wanna know how I know that? Because of his annoying tag and the fact that he goes on the Genius lyrics for every song he produces and highlights it saying, this is the producer tag for Smash David. Tory once again uses his high-pitched vocals, which don't sound annoying as they usually do. The production is boring and feels looped and lazy. Tory uses the same flow throughout the track, which makes it boring. Rich The Kid does Rich The Kid things, which are usually boring, and then says "She got good head and she eat her cornbread."
Verdict: Did I mention this track was boring?
3) G-Eazy feat. Blac Youngsta x BlocBoy JB - Drop [WORST OF THE WEEK]
"Drop," or as I like to call it, "No Limit 3: Because 1942 Failed to Chart," is an ass anthem, I think. This song has some good parts, mainly the guest features, but most of this song is just bad. The hook is mind-numbingly repetitive as it is just the word drop over and over again. Then there's G-Eazy, who compares a woman's wet pussy to Niagra Falls, once again demonstrating that he is the rap equivalent of white bread. The backing vocals used in the production sound absolutely awful, so I can't compliment this song from a musical standpoint. Blac Youngsta and BlocBoy JB have some nice contributions, but this song just isn't good otherwise.
Verdict: You tried, G-Eazy. You tried.
Verdict: You tried, G-Eazy. You tried.
4) Rick Ross feat. Future - Green Gucci Suit [DISHONORABLE MENTION]
Because "Gucci Gang" wasn't enough, Rick Ross is back with his equivalent, where the hook is 90% Green Gucci Suit. From a lyrical perspective, this song is a Shakespearean writing in comparison, but is this song good? Not really. Rick Ross doesn't usually speed his flows up, but he does on this track, and it's actually not that bad. In the second verse, Future makes it his goal to mention Gucci every chance he can as the fashion brand is name-dropped in almost every line. It's not an interesting verse at all and falls under Future's worse guest appearances for me. The third verse is shared by both Ross and Future, and while it's probably the best part of the song, it's still not that interesting.
Verdict: Not interesting.
5) 6LACK - Switch
I don't consider myself a fan of 6LACK, but there are a few songs I like. This falls under the middle category. Ty Dolla $ign is a co-producer on this track and provides ad-libs throughout. The lyrics give an interesting perspective of what it's like to be in the shoes of 6LACK, as shown in the chorus that talks about switching to someone else. I think this song teaches a casual lesson about empathy, but I could be reaching.
Verdict: It's okay.
6) Trippie Redd - How You Feel
The first of two singles for his upcoming July album goes for a more rock approach. It opens and closes with a guitar riff. Over the course of his career, Trippie's singing has greatly improved, and it sounds amazing on this track. I think he fits rock music surprisingly well. His vocal delivery on this track is very reminiscent of many punk singers. He only has one verse, which is four lines long and is mixed in between two choruses and a long bridge. The bridge is very long and repetitive, and I think it brings the quality of the song down. Other than that, I think it's good.
Verdict: Sounds like Kid Cudi's Speeding Bullet 2 Heaven, except it's actually listenable.
7) Trippie Redd - Me Likey
The second of the two singles goes more toward the kind of music we're used to getting from Trippie Redd: melodic trap. Once again, we get some nice melodies from Trippie as well as a nice-sounding hook. Then we get to the verse, which includes the line, "you's a poopy butt." You can say that line is...unique. I think this song could be a bit longer, but I don't think it's bad.
Verdict: Aside from "poopy butt," it's a good song that I can see myself replaying.
8) Ariana Grande feat. Nicki Minaj - the light is coming [HONORABLE MENTION]
I saw that Pharrell Williams was the producer of this track and assumed this was gonna be good before I even listened. Needless to say, I was right. You can always guarantee Pharrell production will absolutely SLAP. The song opens with Nicki's verse, which flows well and doesn't overstay its welcome like most Nicki guest verses nowadays. Ariana sounds a bit like Pharrell on the hook, which makes it obvious that he wrote the song, but it's kind of endearing as weird as it is. Despite my suspicions, Ariana's vocal delivery fits this production very well. Her verses are only four lines long, but she makes up for it with a killer pre-chorus.
Verdict: Way better than "No Tears Left to Cry" and is different from her usual work.
9) Jaden Smith - GHOST [BEST OF THE WEEK]
Jaden has released the lead single for his upcoming sequel to SYRE: ERYS. You're probably thinking, "lol that's just SYRE backwards," and you'd be right. I watched the music video yesterday before the song's official release, and it was one of the funnier Jaden Smith videos I've seen. While rappers usually flex real money in their videos, a true woke intellectual like Jaden Smith keeps his real money safe and flexes Monopoly money instead. Jaden is just on an incomprehensible level of woke at this point. He raps with a similar delivery to SYRE's lead single "Batman," which is my favorite Jaden Smith track by far. The production is clean and amazing like usual. It isn't hard for Jaden to afford quality beats since he's Will Smith's son.
Verdict: Jaden is at his best doing songs like this and not that fake woke shit on SYRE.
10) Juice WRLD - Rich and Blind
Following the death of XXXTentacion, Juice WRLD released two singles under a mini SoundCloud EP called Too Soon. The first is Rich and Blind, which isn't the song that has to do with his death but is still a nice song that has more to do with Juice's own fate. One thing that I love about Juice WRLD is his catchy hooks, and he delivers another one here. His verse actually provides some decent quotables like:
"It's funny how the blessed ones had the most curses."
and
"Yeah, gotta have some crude humor / Just to keep a good vice going, keep the song grooving."
Verdict: It's a good song, better than most of his album.
11) Juice WRLD - Legends
The second song serves as a tribute to the recent deaths of XXXTentacion and Lil Peep. Once again, Juice provides a great hook. Throughout the verses, he highlights the effects that these deaths had on him. He says that most legends die young and hopes not to be in that position since he is at the top of his game at the moment.
Verdict: Another great song and a beautiful tribute to X and Peep.
12) Wiz Khalifa feat. Swae Lee - Hopeless Romantic
This song is produced by Young Chop, the man behind one of my favorite producer tags. It seems like an odd choice for the man who made beats for "I Don't Like" and "Love Sosa" to be producing a love song, but it works. Letting Swae Lee handle the hook is a wise choice by Wiz, as Swae kills every hook. Swae Lee provides some beautiful vocals throughout and had a solid verse. Wiz isn't actually bad but that's mostly because Swae takes up a good portion of the song and Wiz only has one verse. I do find him more tolerable in small doses.
Verdict: It's a great Swae Lee song that happens to feature Wiz Khalifa as its main artist.
Here's what my post schedule is looking like:
Sunday: A review of either Teyana Taylor's album or the new Lecrae/Zaytoven project
Monday: A review of either Teyana Taylor's album or the new Lecrae/Zaytoven project, with Playlist Additions post
Tuesday: A review of the new Freddie Gibbs album.
I'd also like to point out that I will be releasing my best of 2018 (halfway point) lists following next weekend. Here's the schedule for that (may be subject to change):
Sunday 7/1 or Monday 7/2: Top 5 Worst Songs
Monday 7/2 or Tuesday 7/3: Top 5 Worst Albums
Tuesday 7/3 or Wednesday 7/4: Top 10 Best Albums
Wednesday 7/4 or Thursday 7/5: Top 50 Best Songs
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