Don’t Sleep On These New Releases
Insomniac Magazine travels around the underground seeking high-grade heat for the Weekly Top Ten! Discover a list of stellar selections when you tap in below!!!
1) “Your life a movie you b**ch/You can play Tootsie!!” DJ RUDE ONE x ROC MARCIANO set off sonic fireworks with a superior soundscape & glorious lyrics aplenty!!! “Elegant” is so self-assured on the set that it literally serves as the rhythmic embodiment of a pimp strut!!! When you hit PLAY you’re sucked into a Blaxploitation flick where Godfather Marcberg’s in full control. Listen to the joint that makes gangstas boogie & keeps burrowing deep into your soul!!!
2) BENNY THE BUTCHER x 38 SPESH make a “High Stakes” investment into the underground and it pays off with new “Stabbed & Shot 2” heat laced by ASETHIC!!! The powerful partners-in-rhyme slide across the dissonant rhythms with ease while remindin’ everyone who’s firmly in charge! Keep your boys on the corner for quick change on the block & pay respect to these kings at the head of the table!!!
3) You muthaf**kas wanna know how to make an undisputed hit?!? Take a game show or tv sitcom taped live in front of a studio audience, throw in an off the cuff PSA to “STOP EATING SWINE”, add one ill MC at his most unhinged and a musical mad scientist to weave it all together!!! SQUEEGIE OBLONG & CHUCK CHAN throw in everything but the kitchen sink on “BeeBop’s Seed” and it made this “Upset Antagonists” selection a MUST LISTEN!!! Squeegie’s vocal inflections on this sonic triumph are out of this world!!! The celebratory vibe makes you feel untouchable as Squeegie smokes rappers on their own records and disses the f**k outta his cousin who tries to s**t on his career. THIS is the artistry & aggression we look for in the underground. We must’ve run this joint back 200 times!!!
4) RJ PAYNE, ROCKNESS MONSTA, KUNIVA & METHOD MAN are “The Unbearable” MCs who keep putting pressure on the competition!!! THEORY HAZIT conjures a wiry groove of audio ecstasy to absorb as the mic slayers get down to business!!! Rockness gets his Ralph Kramden on & kicks things off with some BANG, ZOOM chrome in your mouth before Kuniva’s star power is solidified with lines like: “You’re insecure as f**k wit’ this rap sh!t/you’re Issa Rae/I’m at your front door with full force/you like to Kid n Play/and dance around the issue all night/like Sidney & Sharane/I’ll be kickin’ some f**kin’ ass an’ burnin’ people up/bullets be havin’ a certain way of sayin’ keep in touch!” Next Meth hits ’em wit’ “Another obstacle/when an option ain’t optional/they poppin’ you wit’ 41 shots/That ain’t what Amadou!” LETHAL!!! Then RJ shuts s**t down with “Nothin’ sweet/this ain’t nothin’ new/this what you should expect/It’s dark & hell is hot enough/I made Lucifer sweat/am I angry/you’re f**kin’ right/but I’m through with regrets/I’m thorough/the illest in the world/but they ain’t used to it yet!!!” WHEW!!! Hip Hop is safe & these lyricists are the TRUE guardians of the underground!!!
5) ROME STREETZ & DARINGER knew we wanted more “Hatton Garden Holdup” heat so they rolled out a bonus banger with WESTSIDE GUNN!!! “Black Widow” flourishes with a dope beat & simple piano loop that triggers the mic terrors to spit the glorious gift of rhyme! Gunn takes us inside his lavish lifestyle & laughs at your poverty stricken mind-state before Rome notices your wack demo & throws it on the floor!!!
6) Who better to showcase “Machine Gun Vocabulary” than RJ PAYNE on a new joint with THA GOD FAHIM x CARTUNE BEATZ!!! “Volatile Vernacular” is an extreme case of incendiary lyricism burning a hole through its sonic foundation! More or less, it’s a funeral march for the competition. The booth’s a burial ground for any opps who bring the smoke!
7) How do we know y’all non-lyrical muthaf***as are straight up wack? Because PRO DILLINGER & FUTUREWAVE “Say So!!!” The “Dirtwave” duo are throwin’ ’em off balconies and burnin’ your whole career down in a bonfire to remind y’all you’re nothin’ but trash! You’re only permitted to move when Pro says GO! Otherwise, you better stand there stiff as a board!
8) Smokin’ blunts wit’ MUTANT ACADEMY’s FLY ANAKIN, BIG KAHUNA OG, and HENNY LO can get ’em “Paranoid!!!” SYCHO SID crafted this woozy wonder of production that finds the elite lyricists skatin’ across a hazy minefield of sound. If ya think they might set ya up you better start steppin’. And just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you!!!”
9) Hip Hop will live on forever and PHILMORE GREENE, SKYZOO & RASHID HADEE have been here the “Whole Time!!!” “The Grand Design” sizzler beckons listeners to transform their dreams into reality by applying well-honed skills and hard-work in equal measure! Never lose focus and strive to accomplish your goals. Let the men on this track serve as your inspiration!!!
10) NOTHING’S IMPOSSIBLE! Which is exactly how XZIBIT is able to arrive back on the scene with an incontestable supply of audio heat!!! “Play This At My Funeral” is powered by 21 THE PRODUCER and dominates the set with a soul-rousing soundscape that spurs the lyrical legend to reminisce over his long life journey!!! The “Kingmaker” is back in town so all bow down. His empire expanded from the hood to platforms worldwide!!!
Well that’s it for this week. Catch ya next time and…DON’T SLEEP!
– Kevin Keith
