It’s that time again, for Insomniac’s Weekly Top Ten! These are the tracks that hit our desks from Mon, Jan. 12th – Sat, Jan.17th, 2015 and kept us so involved that we couldn’t help but play them over…and OVER again! Now lets get to it…
1) MILLYZ takes the title! When we first heard “Substance,” Statik Selektah’s soulful & hypnotic track instantly pulled us in…but then we went back & REALLY listened to the lyrics. That’s where the hidden power of this song lies. Millyz is truly talking about feelings and situations every listener can relate to. “My girl is stressin’ on a baby/I barely got income, I’m stressin’ on it daily,” is one of the lines that perfectly conveys that “every man” quality we appreciate about the artist. Millyz’ willingness to share his personal truths with the audience, combined with a fantastic delivery & compelling sense of urgency and strength in his vocal tone is what put him at the top of the winner’s circle.
2) We need more storytellers in Hip Hop. With “Black Timbs,” RCM2 proved that he has the potential to become one of the greatest! We didn’t know what to expect when we first received the joint. Maybe it would be another basic track about some rapper’s footwear of choice…But NOOO, RCM2 is far from ordinary! His song is about what happens when a relationship gets very…VERY…weird. He’s so smooth over the foreboding track that we’re bettin’ he’s recovered enough to make some more hits. We’ll be right here waitin’ for ’em…
https://soundcloud.com/rcm2ent/rcm2ent-black-timbs-explicit-version?
3) STALLEY already had a great track with “Always Into Something” from his “Ohio” album. But once he added Ty Dolla $ign, Casey Veggies & Kurupt to the remix, it sent the tune into another stratosphere! LA Leakers premiered it first & we’ve been listening to it ever since.
4) DELASEAN dropped off “We On”(featuring Hammer)as a loosie that won’t be on his upcoming “Champagne Lane” project. All we can say is, if that Sledgren produced heat couldn’t make the cut, imagine the amount of bangers he must be stashing away on the mixtape!!! For now though, we have “We On”…and that’s more than enough.
5) DON LOGAN(aka Gunplay)teamed up with Curren$y & Stalley for “Chain Smokin.” The result was pure magic. Mellow, clever lyrics you can ride to. Don, whatever name you decide to go by doesn’t matter. You’re shootin’ up the competition.
6) YOUR OLD DROOG doesn’t have the ability to fail. At least it seems that way to us. He goes rummaging through The Beastie Boys’ “Paul’s Boutique” and pulls out another winner with “Get The Paper.” Hmm, winner. Yep, ‘sums up Droog perfectly.
7) We didn’t fall asleep on BELLY’s new track “Counting Sheep.” He kept us fully awake as we stood on our desktops and cheered him on from the Insomniac office. The emcee’s raw ferocity on the mic is unmatched…and check out the way he changes up his flow mid track…DOPE!
8) JAHKOY shares many similarities to Drake with his Toronto upbringing & sing-song style of rap, but we know that he’s about to explode(possibly bigger than the Young Money superstar?)on the scene soon. He has an upcoming gig at SXSW AND can hold on to tracks for years & release them like new to worldwide acclaim. Take for example, “Feel,”(produced by DutchBoy & Chloe Martini). It’s an amazing cut that the public is just NOW getting a chance to enjoy. Thanks for giving it to us. Jahkoy, we appreciate ya!
9) People are sleeping on WESTSIDE GUNN, but not Insomniac Magazine, because as all our faithful readers know, we don’t sleep on REAL Hip Hop! Gunn represents the music to the fullest with “BLVK TAR” and brings lyrical pugilist, Sean Price, along…who kills it with his “Jack Tripper at The Regal Beagle” line. Intense, moody…Dope! Gunn, don’t change a thing.
10) WILLIE THE KID really caught our attention with this SupaNatra produced freestyle called “Stray Blade.” It was his way of getting us excited for his upcoming “The Fly 3” project…and MAN did it work!
***That’s a “RAP” for this week. Honorable mention also goes out to Oddisee and Phonte for their powerful “Requiem.”
We fought hard over that one, leaving writers’ bodies bloody and beaten…but ultimately, there can only be ONE Top Ten. Catch ya next week…
– Kevin Keith
