Image via @thankyousnapgod
Steven Louis is trying out that diet sunscreen. Less sugar, same great taste.
I’ve always been a bit miffed by Smoke DZA’s sleeper status. There are cosmetic reasons, sure. Maybe the “_ZA” name felt uninspired for a New York rapper. He definitely got a bit lost in the crowded sour plumes of early-2010s Smoker’s Club. Whatever all that’s about, I consider him a paradigm of indie consistency (30 self-released mixtapes since 2016, to go along with five studio albums in that span). He’s also an artist with deceptive versatility — full-lengths with Harry Fraud, Pete Rock, Flying Lotus and Girl Talk.
As Rugby Thompson, DZA was New York’s streetwear stylist when KidSuper was fetal. Vowing to never pass Trump the blunt, the son of Guyanese immigrants proudly endorsed Bernie Sanders back in 2016. And he was most certainly the culture’s chief wrestling correspondent before Griselda’s mainstream turn. Fittingly, “Freebird Rules” tag teams with Fourth Rope’s Flash Garments and Flatbush Zombies’ Juice. Our protagonist is on his way to Berlin without going through TSA or stressing about that new REAL ID stuff. The trio breaks kayfabe as Mike & Keys lay down a galactic plasma beat. “Neck in Quebec, a real Montreal Screwjob.” Never tap out on the KushGod.
Almost a decade after Frank Ocean built a ladder in barren studio space, MAVI and Smino idle around a whole outhouse, grafted from Carolina Beach and into fluorescent-white lighting with steel paneling. Much like “Landgrab,” his dexterous lead single with Earl Sweatshirt, “Potluck” applies minimalist tones to undeniable god-tier rapping. It all comes together like finely-distilled constructivism, or Alexander Rodchenko set to No ID beat loops.
MAVI has the unique ability to bar out without shirking melody or smoothness. “Spank ’em then thanks for the memory / got a ring for the game on a bended knee / I can’t name all the thangs that they lend to me” is a six-syllable scheme that somehow anchors a top-down summer hook. Smino is still one of the best rhythm runners in the business, and his feature here is more eminent domain than cameo. The triptych of Asean Bwoy, Nephew Hesh and Cade fashion a backdrop from cadet gray plywood.
In which the Spillage Villager and ATLien raps over his old varsity football mixtape. This has to be an industry first, and for curious Division-I recruiters, he lists himself as the best rapper under 100 years old. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think that means he still has NCAA eligibility? At Stephenson High School out in unincorporated DeKalb County, JID was a standout cornerback, even securing a full athletic scholarship from Hampton University.
As the site’s on-call football fan, I feel obliged to tell our readership that his tape is kinda nice. He’s shifty in zone coverages, hyperactive with his footwork and has a nose for the ball. The punt return TD at the beginning is extra swaggy, though some of his interceptions are just result of dogshit high school quarterbacking. The on-field IQ is off the charts, though. Who else is name-dropping Eric Bieniemy (current running backs coach for the Chicago Bears) while dialing up a deep passing play on second-and-10? JID is unafraid of the Cover 2, damn right. Oh, yeah … the rap song is good, and DJ Swamp Izzo is still All-Pro.
Since taking on this column in 2023, I’ve made a concerted effort to not double up on featured artists. The current rap world is heavily fractured and impossibly large, and so many worthwhile drops go uncovered. Each year has forced one exception, though, off a certain undeniable magnetism. It was 03 Greedo in 2023, finally back after a particularly cruel incarceration. Last year was Kamaiyah — her ability to crank out rapid, high-quality music warranted much love. Now, it’s the CUZZOS, Los Angeles’ ultra-confident quintet that just dropped Family Reunion. Here, the Sade classic gets a massive bass boost, and the ladies glide with predestined airiness.
First up is Milly Mo, the best technical rapper of the group, who hilariously describes the opps’ tough talk as “mythical” and dirty macks with spiked Capri Sun in the tea carafe. She’s followed by Jasscole, whose monotone flow is electric coolant, then Allstar JR, who has four straight bars about not telling us the cost of his new truck (gauche of us to ask, really). Batting cleanup is Big I-N-D-O, who is “doing swell” since cutting off the inadequates. The whole album bumps, and this one is a favorite in the early going.
I haven’t done a Rio song for Rap-Up yet (Donny Morrison rightfully owns that domain) but I’m closing out with this gem from six days ago. Danny G Beats leads the Gaffle Boyz delegation on “Sneaky B.” The fan-favorite Yung Og is unrecognizable, though. Not because he switched up the flow (never that) or tried out ambient trance (we can dream), but because he’s incognito. “Caught a body when I had the fade, I had to grow some hair / stand on so much business that I don’t own a chair” is hilarious. The revving Escalade V sounds like a wailing infant. And the solution to erectile dysfunction is … let’s have him tell it, actually. Rio raps about a July 11 probation date, and his unencumbered presence going forward will be a tremendous gift to us all.
We rely on your support to keep POW alive. Please take a second to donate on Patreon!
