The Rap-Up: Week of June 5, 2023

Image via OT/Instagram in Mexico

The Rap-Up is the only roundup that gives you the best rap songs you’ll want to hear every week. Support authentic, independent music journalism by subscribing to Passion of the Weiss on Patreon.

harley jeffner I heard Rihanna is reading POW.

For quite some time, Ganna has seen the world as colorless. While prosecutors finalized the RICO lawsuit against him and his friends, he was confined to Fulton County Jail, denounced and criticized for Alford’s pleas that allowed him to walk as a free man after a boring life. faced an onslaught of Despite the fact that he had no real affiliation with prosecutors, the word “informed” was circulated and some of those who called him close friends, collaborators and brothers shunned him. The world must feel a little dull to see the people closest to you separated after the events he just went through.

On the first song since his first arrest over ten months ago, Gunna paints us his vision of a colorless world. Through monochrome hues, Gunna drives a sports car through Mulholland, detailing every thought and feeling she has about her current situation. He denied the allegations of tipping and said he had never made a statement or expressed his position to anyone, but he had fallen into the prosecutor’s office’s dastardly trap. He talks about the dark tunnel he’s trapped in and what it’s like to watch his friends retreat. The symbolism with the crows is a bit over the top and a little crude when he refers to certain people in his life, but overall this feels smooth and cathartic for Gunna. It was a man who had been gagged and watched the world revolve around him, until he finally had little to no control over speaking his mind. The bassline is cool, but the song’s palette is serious. It’s not exactly the most fun song to play, but it’s essential for Gunna to keep her chest up so she can continue moving forward into her new reality.

Kodak Black thinks of death like an illusion. Throughout his new album, he paints it very vividly in a variety of ways, none of which are out of the ordinary. He calls someone pointing a gun at him and shooting him a blown kiss, he describes close encounters with guns with his affection, and he personifies entire love songs dedicated to guns like Shakespearean sonnets. .

This is as pronounced as “Murder Mystery”. Those who spoke no English would probably think this was a love-filled pop ballad, as he sings a very sweet melody in the chorus and the beat drips into soft pink. But he talks about how cold he has become to the concept of death. Moms are crying and quickly roll away from him. He once had a heart, but it has been broken so many times that he can no longer feel pain. Now he’s a hired killer, singing sweet lullabies about bodies never found.

Johnny Dunn has been a central figure in rap music for the past two decades, but he wouldn’t be here without Paul Wall. After he immigrated from Vietnam in his late ’90s, he worked in a jewelry repair stall in the free market around Houston. Then Paul Wall passed by and was impressed with his custom grille and decided to start a business with him in 2002. Twenty years later, Dan has appeared in multiple rap his videos while customizing his items for Beyoncé and LeBron around the world. can count.

All things considered, this might be the greatest Johnny Dunn tribute in rap history. His OT in Mexico sounds like a mixture of brisk Da Baby and Sauce Walker-esque Houston drag, with rolled-up consonants so clean. He enlists his sidekicks Dorody and Paul Wall himself to damage this sparse but smooth-rolling beat, each complementing the other’s flow as if they were made for each other in the lab. there is Paul Wall pulls over to his court and throws a ball to remind everyone that he’s still okay, uncle rapping about how heavy his diamonds are and how much he moves off a lowrider is.

The collaboration that everyone is begging for<3>

Another bop! pic.twitter.com/4y4Xu78EHC

— ANYCIA (@princesspopthat) June 6, 2023

All the best rappers are still in Triller. All TikTok snippets are fully TikTokified, market-tested for the masses, and selected based on the best ways to drive virality. People put anything on Triller, but clips of the spirit of the moment have a more genuine appeal to them. In this snippet, two friends listen back to a track they made together, watching them move bars and perform in real time. It’s about 30 seconds long, but faces from the first two songs where one of QC’s newest additions, Concrete Kara, raps “Lucky if you like it, you’re my clover” over smooth Detroit beats. gave a shock to And Anycia’s voice feels like a knockout blow the moment you touch the song. She sounds like a 70-year-old lifelong smoker, rapping about running laps around her counterparts and her tendency to choose money over flowers. Get away from it!

Everyone loves to feel nostalgic. That’s why music anniversary posts are always the most engaging content on social, and part of the reason New York sample drills have grown so explosively. The troubles seem to fade away over time, and looking back at the music and moments gives me a rosy frame. Even the name “Ugly God” is nostalgic for internet rap geeks. Ugly God takes Lil Yachty and transports us back in time to her summer of ’16, when the two of them were on top of the world, making weird, fun, happy music that keeps us in our heads. floating inside. This song has the same vibe as when the wave first peaked. It doesn’t feel like you’re in a cloud, it’s light and airy, with both rappers galloping through the upbeat melody with sharp energy. It’s refreshing and nostalgic, and it’s a really good song with flashy bars.