Insomniac’s Weekly Top Ten is back with a vengeance! In fact, the heat contained on this week’s chart is nearly boiling over!!! So don’t waste a second. Jump to it & check out the Top 10!
1) DANNY BROWN set off major explosives on a global scale when he enlisted ultimate rhyme warriors, KENDRICK LAMAR, AB-SOUL, and EARL SWEATSHIRT for a lyrical tour de force called “Really Doe.” The “Atrocity Exhibition” super cut laced by Beat Monster, Black Milk, showcases the emcees flexing breath-taking bars over a dark, foreboding soundscape that signals destruction to all opponents who cross their path! It’s certified dope! Put your muthaf***in’ foot down and keep listenin’ ’til your ears bleed!
2) You can’t stop D-Block! SNYP LIFE & THE LOX delivered on the ‘anticipation that the whole world was waitin’ on’ with a funky Psycho Les laced gem called “NY90’s.” The banger from the forthcoming “Back Again” EP will regale listeners with REAL lyricism from tried & true emcees who can’t be beat. Join the gangsta celebration and take it back to the 90’s!
3) SLAINE is back on the countdown this week with another “Slaine Is Dead” power cut featuring the one & only TERMANOLOGY. “Just The Way You Are” features production credits from DJ DeadEye, The Arcitype, and Termanology himself, with ill cuts from Statik Selektah. The track opens with children laughing in the playground and segues into Boom Bap nirvana of the highest order. Is Slaine really dead? Hell no! The music’s keeping him AND THE LISTENERS very much alive!
4) LES collective, THE MANORAIL, enlist PUNCHLINE & SADAT X for some head-nodding Boom Bap that showcases the artists in their natural “Habitat” of delivering dope music. Take a tour through the gritty streets of NYC and rise up out of negative situations. You can win in life. This crew will show you how!
5) APOLLO BROWN & SKYZOO put in a call to Griselda Records Kings, WESTSIDEGUNN & CONWAY, for “The Easy Truth” track, “Basquiat On The Draw,” and delivered another work of art that would make SAMO proud! When you hear a line like, “Told my Sun Tzu Im’a write The Art Of War,” you know you’re being to exposed to greatness. The easy truth is that talent like this comes once in a lifetime. Take it all in & enjoy!
6) G.FISHER stomped out his opponents with rapid-fire rhymes that incorporated the periodic table of elements on the Dark Keys produced, “Periodic Murder.” The lyricist served up both creativity and intelligence(two features sorely missing on the current Hip Hop scene)with a track that will be studied and dissected…but never duplicated. G. Fisher is a true original. His skills on the mic always shine through!
7) MARVELOUS MAG x SHABAAM SAHDEEQ really outdid themselves on this one! Individually Mag & Sahdeeq have consistently proven themselves by dropping a celebrated body of material…but there’s something about “Positivity”, which features a superstar performance on the 1 & 2’s by Chinch 33, that captivated us in a way that can only be felt rather than explained. We’ll try anyway by saying that if you want a song that completely conveys joy, success, and good times THIS IS IT! Creating a track of this magnitude that so successfully taps into the pure emotion of happiness is a major triumph. Mag, Shabaam, and Chinch 33 should be applauded for their efforts. We’ll be the first to give ’em a hand. Salute!
8) SULTAN MIR & RECOGNIZE ALI deliver new “Too Visible Too See” heat & link up with EL AY & THA SOLOIST for the supremely soulful, “I Can’t Take It.” Check out the artistry of this gem – THE RHYMES. THE BEAT. THE HOOK. It’s a track so immaculately crafted that it DEMANDS repeat play action! Sultan, Ali, El Ay & Tha Soloist can’t take it…but we can!…so keep the music coming!
9) HUS KINGPIN is so monumentally talented that even a fleeting, stream of consciousness ditty about online interaction warrants a spot on the Top 10! On the WIK101 produced “Social Media,” Hus reflects on the familial RE-connections he’s made through the power of the internet. It’s a laid back, jazzy gem that will transport the listener on a mood-altering journey – signed, sealed, and delivered by a #Winner.
10) FONGSAIU is a BEAST on the mic who devours his enemies and swallows them whole! On his latest banger, “TALK TALK TALK,” he tells lame ass rappers who can’t rhyme AND the OGs who support them that they’re all targets for his special brand of lyrical destruction! What makes him so exciting and IMPORTANT to Hip Hop is that he doesn’t bite his tongue when it’s time to get his point across…and just like on his past chart-topper, “A Time To Kill,” he delivers his message with high-caliber skills and a bangin’ beat! We know this is all a warm up for his forthcoming project, “Blood On My Lawn.” But it’s a warm up we’ll keep playin’ ’til the full platter drops October 15th!
Well that’s it for this week. Catch ya next time and…DON’T SLEEP!
– Kevin Keith
