The best songs of the week vary in style and texture. Fine, that’s being sort of facetious, but they’re all pretty damn good and are all aimed to get you through the work week at least.
BEATKING, “BussibaK”
There’s no sample that Stunt N Dozier and BeatKing won’t turn into a twerk anthem. They’ve already used Juvenile’s “Ha” for last year’s “BDA (Remix)” with Danny Brown. On “BussibaK,” another euphemism for pantomiming doggystyle sex, the pair decide to cut up Yung Joc’s 2006 deep cut “Patron” to help people make sure their first moves in 2016 are well…either having sex or considering it. Look, BeatKing wants the universe to have fun while also being conscious that said fun can put you in fucked-up situations. He’s literally the devil’s advocate for these sorts of things.
KAY JAY FEAT. Z-RO, “Hater Maker (Remix)”
In terms of literal bullies to intercept burgeoning rap careers, nobody’s been more of a hawk than the Texas Department of Corrections. At least to Texas rappers, anyway. Kay Jay, whose Tees, Trees & MP3s tape was featured here a few weeks ago, is quite proud of his “Hater Maker” track with Z-Ro. Why? Because he literally wrote it on a cold-ass TDC table about seven years ago while plotting his plan post-prison release. So how does “Hater Maker” turn into a positive marriage between Kay Jay, producer Trakksounds and Z-Ro? Two of the three can tell those within the walls of TDC to keep their heads up. All Trakksounds has to do is offer some bubbly piano-and-drum concoction to keep those guys nodding their heads with hope.
ROCKY BANKS FEAT. MUSTAFA ENZOR, “Sunday”
On the last day of 2015, Rocky Banks released In Other News, I Don’t Do Drugs Anymore, which could have easily been a D.A.R.E ad back in the ‘90s. Since he happens to be a child of the ‘90s, Banks probably has the faintest recollection of what D.A.R.E meant and how society eventually refused to give a shit about it. I.O.N.I.D.D.A. is littered with a lot of murky, almost sullen production from Daud Leon, among others; “Sunday,” however, is the sunlight above the clouds. Leon’s alter ego, Mufasa Enzor, cradles the hook in search of salvation as Banks lists off things he’d be condemned for (being a child out of wedlock, say), but instead just looks for someone to twist his dreadlocks up. “It’s Sunday, trine figure out my worth, my nigga,” Banks sings on the chorus. “Never doubted that prayer worked, my nigga.”
TRAE THA TRUTH FEAT. RICK ROSS, T.I. & AUDIO PUSH, “All Good”
T.I. spent much of late 2015 working his way into a highly charismatic and cohesive group with Young Thug in Bankroll Mafia. What’s underrated, though, are the offshoots he does with Trae Tha Truth. “All Good” features Trae’s usual slab of grim production mixed in with zero pontification — well, unless your name is Rick Ross. Mr. Rozay uses “All Good” to throw a chandelier in the trap house while Trae and Tip discuss how one officially is growing a black heart (Trae) and the other is from a time in Atlanta’s geopolitical history when transplants ruled the city structure. It’s deeper than it has any right to be, but makes a perfect opening volley from Tha Truth 2, which drops in February.
X.O. FEAT. SOSAMANN & RIZZOO RIZZOO, “Off the Lot”
If there’s a such thing as a trap lullaby, “Off the Lot” would register as one with relative ease. Much of the LMG artists’ takes from Reloaded, his late 2015 mixtape is Autotuned singing that plays like the soundtrack to a woozy Saturday night driving down 288. It’s self-reflective and knee-deep in boasts that hide whatever pain he may be going through. More on that next week. Since he represents Southwest Alief Texas, X.O plays gatekeeper for Rizzoo Rizzoo’s pledge of allegiance to the Northside (“Nawfside Baghdad,” in his words) and Sosamann’s spastic audio guitar riff all in the name of 8900 Braeswood.
This article appears in Jan 7-13, 2016.
