With so much music every Friday, it’s kinda hard being F-F-double-F, but somehow someway, keep coming up with a list like every single week.
This week was probably the hardest week so far to determine a top five. There was so much good music that was released this week that much like a top rapper list I have about 10 records for my top five. Thank god for honorable mentions and my ability to construct this list and article anyway I want.
Before we get to any of those song here is some of the songs that didn’t make the list:
Kota, YG, and Jorja just missed making the honorable mentioned list this week. They had good efforts and their releases were good, and in previous weeks most likely would have been locks to make the honorable mention list and contenders for the top five list. This week was just so contested and too congested at the top that they fell a little short. If this were the NBA they would be in the play-in tournament.
Let’s start with the honorable mentions list…this list is in no particular order:
Yet again Benny makes this article and yet again he just misses making the top five. I really feel as though I am beginning to have a bias against Benny. He makes such great music and I particularly love but at the same time, he keeps getting beat out by the smallest of margins.
Benny and Ransom show that real rap is still alive and kicking. They prove they are some of the top lyricists active today and any fan of real Hip-Hop, real lyrics and real rap will enjoy these tracks.
You can never go wrong with a Weeknd song, and adding Ariana to the remix makes for a smash. The original was amazing and like most other Weeknd songs at the moment is holding strong on the charts. Ariana adds a good verse and fits vocally right in with Weeknd.
I couldn’t put this in the top five because it is a remix, other than her verse nothing was really changed. If you would’ve added something else to this remix it could’ve been in contention. Still, his signature vocoder effect at the end is amazing though.
Old Snoop is back. The signature west coast synth line is back. And J Black gives that similar Nate Dogg sounding hook that we loved to hear with Snoop back in the day. This was a strong contender for the top five, but as a stand-alone song got beat out by some of the other full projects that were released.
Uncle Snoop took us back to his street rapping days and I absolutely love it. I guess all that time on a beach sipping Coronas with Bad Bunny cleared his mind and gave him the space to get back to his roots.
How can you not love these two together? “On the low, on my own, I’ll be waiting / Hit my phone I’ll be waiting.” What man doesn’t want to hear his girl say that. A great R&B chill semi-love song from two outstanding superstars. I had this as a top-five song this week, but then I got to some of the full projects and I couldn’t justify putting a single, no matter who it was or how great it was, in the top five and take out a full body of work.
Ok, here is the moment you have all been waiting for…the top five of the week. A great mixture of R&B, Pop, Hip-Hop, Trap, and Country all make the list this week. Some from an artist you may or may not know and others from household names in the industry.
I won’t lie to you I am not the biggest fan of Moneybagg Yo and have not done a complete deep dive into his music, so I was a little skeptical coming into this album, especially seeing that it was 22 songs. My skepticism was toned down when I saw features like Future, Jhene, and Pharrell though.
I will happily say that he proved me wrong. I can definitely see his Memphis sound, he sounds almost identical to Three 6 Mafia. He has a style, he has a sound, and he has a flow that you can get behind.
Something that is rare for me is the fact I liked his trap songs more than his slower “R&B” songs. I usually trend the other way. For me, he sounds better when he is rapping and flowing in the trap pocket than when he slows it down and tries to do the “fake” singing. To me, it doesn’t suit him well. He attempted to flow this way on a few songs, and nothing showed that he was a little outmatched on this more than, “Hard for the next” featuring Future.
As I got to the middle of this album some of the songs began to sound the same. This may be due to my lack of knowledge on his whole catalog but around the track, 13ish is where he started to lose me. He didn’t lose me in a bad way just a long album with a lot of the same sound can be good and bad for an artist at the same time. Fans will love it and non-fans can get lost in the sound.
There were a few skips on this album for me, but again in 22 songs, there are bound to be a few for any person. There are very few artists that can put out a body of work this large at one time and have a listener love every song. Most of the time when I see a 22 track album I shy away completely because I can’t listen to that many songs in one sitting. I tried to and even, in this case, I failed.
Overalll it was a good album, I enjoyed most of it and I am sure his fans will love all of it.
Let me tell you that the reason I stopped and listened to this song was because of the cover. I stopped scrolling when I saw her on the cover brightly placed and saw a title, “Worth It,” and thought, “R&B yep got to listen.” I am glad I did.
“You don’t think you deserve it but you are so damn worth it…let the love in.”
I heard those words repeated in the hook and it hooked me. A great uplifting song with a great message. If you are not familiar with Amber Mark, like I was until this song, I urge you to go listen to her even if it is just this track.
It had me moving from the start, it has a great rhythm and with the message it brings she did everything right.
Another track I stopped on because of the cover and name of the song, and another one I am so glad I did. Same as, “Worth It,” I thought, “Great another R&B song,” and it was.
“You got me looking in the mirror for a ghost / can’t believe I let you so close.”
Who doesn’t love a great powerful London, UK-style R&B love song about how they are affected by a person leaving. This song got me from then start with the R&B feel than when the hook drops and the big instruments come out I got Emeli Sande vibes, and you can’t go wrong with Emeli Sande vibes.
I love, “Ghosts,” and you should go listen.
When you start your project with a hook from Q-Tip you immediately got me hooked. I would’ve loved to hear a verse from Tip, but I guess just the hook will have to do. Then when you start storytelling and rapping lyrically you got me along for the ride. This kid can really rap and he got punchlines and bars to back it up.
“My girl a tennis star / you be out here wifing hoes.”
“Dream in Color,” Cordae does his best Drake type singing impression and it’s not too bad. It’s not as good as his rapping on the rest of the project but it doesn’t make me immediately want to turn the song off.
“Drove a lam truck but that shit was rented.” How many rappers or artists period are admitting to driving a rented car? Here the answer…nobody! He put this in a song and said he doesn’t lie and kept ongoing.
“Are your friends real or are they bogus / are they there at your lowest?”
“I don’t know what I’m fighting for but I’m fighting for it / Every song I record saving lives I’m type important.”
The craziest part of this four-pack is, “Wassup,” with Young Thug. I didn’t know it was possible for Thug to rap without auto-tune and coherently. CORDAE HAD HIM DO IT! If you can get Thug to do that especially coming off, “Slime Language,” you have a win in my book. And the song was dope in every aspect too.
This four pack is crazy. The only bad thing I have to say about it is that I wish there were more tracks.
If you haven’t heard of Lathan Warlick I don’t blame you because I haven’t either. I have seen his music and his face in a couple of places but not enough to really look into him. Let me tell you I am mad I didn’t know about this guy earlier. His music is incredible. His mix of rap and country is fantastic. And he does it with no cursing. I can only name one other rapper who doesn’t curse and that would be Chamillionaire.
Lathan does rap/country as well as Nelly and to an extent even better. Nelly was able to mix his rap style with country music. Lathan is a country music that raps. The beats and instruments that he is using are the signature country sound with twang guitars that everyone knows, but then he is rapping over it, and he is rapping with a “country accent.”
This album includes seven heavy-hitting country superstars on the hooks and it doesn’t sound out of place one bit. I was jamming to each and every song and loving every second of it. He speaks on all of the country topics you would expect and still keeps it rap and covers all the rap topics you would expect and still keeps it country.
GO LISTEN TO THIS ALBUM!!! I can’t say that enough, words don’t do this justice because you can’t comprehend rap/country in this way without hearing it. Don’t think Nelly cause you would be wrong. This is a style of its own and one that is going to work.
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