Saturday 7/28: G Herbo x Southside - Swervo [Review]
Sunday 7/29: Denzel Curry - TA13OO [Review]
Monday 7/30: End of July 2018 Write-Up
Tuesday 7/31: Soundtrack (New series where I come up with a best-of album for certain artists)
Wednesday 8/1: July Listening Report
Thursday 8/2: Travis Scott - Rodeo [Revisit]
Friday 8/3: Reviews and stuff
This week's releases aren't as exciting as other weeks but there's still plenty to look forward to. Denzel Curry's TA13OO finally dropped as well as a collaborative project between G Herbo and producer Southside called Swervo. We also got a bunch of singles. Here are my thoughts on 10 singles from Smokepurpp, Mac Miller, Logic, and more.
Smokepurpp feat. Lil Pump - Nephew
This is the first single for Smokepurpp's next project Deadstar 2. Or it may be the lead single for his upcoming collab with Lil Pump called Gucci Gang. Doesn't matter. Smokepurpp and Lil Pump have great chemistry and this song is no exception. Smokepurpp interpolates Valee's "Womp Womp" and sounds really good using that flow. The hook sounds really nice but the verse from Purpp was underwhelming, not because I was expecting some mind-blowing lyrics, but because Purpp uses the same flow and it gets really boring after a while. Lil Pump's verse was the brightest spot in the song as he once again demonstrates how much he's improved this year. He's getting more versatile and using different flows. I've never heard him use this flow before.
Verdict: It's a banger and nothing more.
Mac Miller - What's the Use?
This is the third official single for SWIMMING. His last single, "Self Care," was a great song, so I was looking forward to what Mac had in store next. The production from Pomo is very smooth. Thundercat was on the bass guitar and provides a nice groove. Mac's singing has gotten so much better and sounds amazing on the hook. Snoop Dogg makes a cameo on the hook and the outro of this track. You can barely hear him on the hook and he isn't credited. The groove makes a nice contrast to Mac's numb and melancholic tone.
Verdict: Another great single from Mac Miller.
Tyga - SWISH
This is the follow-up to his comeback hit song "Taste." The beat is incredibly similar to "Taste" and was made by the same producer, D.A. Doman. The beat was the brightest spot of "Taste" and is also the highlight of this song. D.A. Doman's production samples "Play" by David Banner. The hook is a little weak but the verses aren't too bad. There weren't any awful lines unlike on Taste.
Verdict: This song is way better than Taste.
BROCKHAMPTON - 1997 DIANA
This is the third single for the upcoming album THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES. The title references the year where Princess Diana suffered a tragic death. The beat of this song sounds awesome and certainly will keep you from sitting still. I love the high-pitched vocal effects on Kevin Abstract and thought there wasn't a single bad verse on here. I'm very thankful that Joba's one-dimensional fast rapping and Bearface's needless singing on a beat switch wasn't present. The only problem I have with the song is that it ends too quickly. Its runtime is just over 2 minutes but it seems like, with the amount of members on this song, it should at least be a minute longer. It felt like they were rushing to finish this song so they could make the next one.
Verdict: My favorite of the three singles but it feels very rushed.
Verdict: My favorite of the three singles but it feels very rushed.
6ix9ine feat. Nicki Minaj x Murda Beatz - FEFE
Why does 6ix9ine release his new singles on Sundays? If he's trying to get all of his singles to chart, wouldn't Friday be the best time to release new music so he could get a full tracking week? And why does it seem like 6ix9ine gets his inspiration for his song titles from baby talk? Regardless of that, this song is projected to debut in the top 10 of next week's chart. This was released just a few hours before 6ix9ine got jumped and got hit for talking loads of shit. I think he's okay and it's possible that he could have exaggerated the details to gain publicity for this song. He's also an opener for Nicki Minaj and Future's upcoming tour. As for the song itself, I didn't have any hopes for it being good whatsoever. His debut project, DAY69, demonstrated that Tekashi is a one trick pony who might lose his voice from screaming so much. You might as well call every track he's released GUMMO, GUMMO 2, GUMMO 3, etc. On the bonus track for his album, GOTTI, he tried his hand at melodic rap and that turned out horribly. Then we got TATI with DJ SpinKing, which was very forgettable, and now we're here. Surprisingly, this song is...actually not bad. 6ix9ine's melodic rapping sounds much better on here than on GOTTI, which I cannot stress enough is hot fucking trash and might be his worst song. I like his flow on here although it's rumored that he's biting Valee on "Two 16's." However, I'm pretty lenient on biting so this won't have an effect on how good the song is. The best part of this song is Nicki Minaj, who unfortunately had to collaborate with the SoundCloud Circus Clown to gain relevance. I thought it was pretty weird that Nicki, a 35-year-old woman, referred to 6ix9ine, a 22-year-old goblin, as Papi but the rest of her part was great. This was also one of Murda's best beats in recent memory.
Verdict: The best 6ix9ine single since "GUMMO."
Logic feat. Ryan Tedder - One Day
This is Logic's first single since Bobby Tarantino II, which I thought was a bit of a return to form after the absolute disaster that was Everybody. I was very skeptical of how this song would turn out because when I saw the title and feature from OneRepublic's lead singer Ryan Tedder, I thought this would be one of those uber positive corn-fests. However, this was anything but that. I usually hate when rappers recruit pop singers for hooks but Ryan Tedder sang with such passion that I was able to love it. The production from Kevin Randolph and 6ix is incredible and I loved the piano. Logic flowed very well on his verses as he raps about realizing that his dreams have come true and that he's at the peak of his career.
Verdict: The Biracial Man delivered.
Vic Mensa - Metaphysical
So this is the second single since Vic Mensa released The Autobiography, which was a very mediocre project. The first single, "Reverse" with G-Eazy, was not good. It had Vic Mensa imitating Quavo and G-Eazy stinking up the joint like he usually does. For this song, Vic Mensa decided to do a shitty imitation of a different artist: Drake. His singing style sounds exactly like Drake. I said before that I'm very tolerant of rappers biting other rappers and taking too much influence from contemporaries, but what makes Vic Mensa stand out from other rappers? I feel like Vic Mensa is squandering his potential because he doesn't know what his sound is. In my opinion, Vic peaked when he released "U Mad" with Kanye West. Anyway, it sounds like Vic is trying his hand at Dancehall, a subgenre that Drake had already abandoned. I like Vic's singing, but I think this song is very forgettable.
Verdict: Vic Mensa could do so much better.
YG feat. A$AP Rocky - Handgun
When I searched for this song on Spotify, I thought he and Rocky released two songs and the other was called "Band Drum." It turns out that "Band Drum" is actually the clean version of this song and I am very unobservant. This is the third single for his upcoming album Stay Dangerous, which has had a very shaky rollout. This is supposed to be the cover of the album and it looks horrendous. YG looks like the guy in the iconic tweet that says "You know I had to do it to em." Why is the dragon making the okay sign above the waist instead of below? The dragon isn't even meming correctly. The cover would at least look better if YG wasn't on it. I should probably get to the song itself, which was very disappointing. TM88 was on production and he kills it like always, but YG shat the bed here. The flow on the hook is okay, but YG's voice ruins it. Also, there are way too many instances of "uh" and each one sounds worse than the last. YG's verse was terrible and it was especially evident when he started playing duck, duck, goose in the middle of it. A$AP Rocky was okay but he could not save this mess. Also, A$AP Rocky's "uh's" sounded much better. And why did YG feel the need to put a 30-second spoken word outro at the end? This should be a separate skit on the album. It feels so out of place on the song.
Verdict: YG's worst Stay Dangerous single.
DJ Durel feat. Migos - Hot Summer
DJ Durel is one of Migos' go-to producers and he generally does a good job at nailing their sound. His production on this song sounds like it fits the summer vibe. However, the Migos themselves were not great. Quavo's hook is very weak and belongs on one of those pop songs that he usually phones in. His verse was okay but was also generic autotune Quavo. Takeoff continues to kill it. I seriously haven't heard a bad verse from him. Takeoff is the best Migo. Offset was okay and oddly enough, there isn't a single mention of his Patek watch. All in all, this song just wasn't good.
Verdict: This belongs on the boring second half of Culture II.
Russ - Tell Me Why
More like "Tell Me Why I Take So Many L's." HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
Verdict: Another L for Russ.
Best Single: BROCKHAMPTON - 1997 DIANA
Honorable Mention: Mac Miller - What's the Use?
Worst Single: Vic Mensa - Metaphysical
Dishonorable Mention: YG feat. A$AP Rocky - Handgun
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