Harley Geffner knows the quickest way to go viral on TikTok: do something that people do everyday and call it a symptom of ADHD.
EBK Jaaybo – “Rrari 4Eva”
On the first track of the EBK Jaayboās Rrari 4Eva album, he raps āIām tryna leave the streets alone and make my mama proud, but when you fall in love with guns itās hard to put āem down.ā When most rappers say theyāre addicted to guns, theyāre bragging. But for Jaaybo, itās heavy and sounds like baggage, like heās sick of it all. Itās a horror story that heās living out in real time – too attached to his close friends lost to not seek revenge, but too smart to fake like heās not contributing to more heartbreak and the continuing cycle of grieving mothers.
Thereās no glory in gang life. Itās torturous to the soul, pitting people against each other, and bringing out the worst aspects of human nature – tribalism, blood-lust, cold revenge, and through it all, misery. Jaaybo understands that as well as anybody, and thatās the central tension of the album.
Over soft vocal-laden lullaby samples and snappy Stockton-style percussion, Jaaybo rips out his own heart on these tracks, laying bare those contradictions inherent to his existence. The push and pull of the PTSD, street paranoia that has him hearing voices pitted against the security and safety that rap can provide for him and his family. The type that he knows in his heart that he wants, but questions if he really deserves.
Itās powerful, yet simple bars where Jaaybo shines brightest, like when he claims the music is trying to trick him out of the streets, as if heād be betraying his brothers if he were to stop doing skits (their term for red-tinted missions). Itās wiggling through the North Side with his people, waiting in cars at the crack of dawn, and how he āwent about his dayā after killing an enemy. Itās these descriptors that bring listeners into those moments between life and death, the blur of the incomprehensible beyond that heās constantly brushing up against. Itās anonymous shooters, the things his little brother was never supposed to see, and prayers for his father Rrari, his friend Kasino, the other people who should be in the limelight with him, and his mother whoās had to endure the pain of it all. Did I mention Jaaybo is only 18?
Even the cover art is brutal – a picture of a young Jaaybo with his now-deceased father hangs on the wall while a child looks out the window at the red and blue lights around a crime scene. The pen and pad frame the whole thing. Jaaybo doesnāt talk about it in person, but the music is his sanctuary. That pen is where he lets it out, and how he copes with the unthinkable, and he even says as much on the album, puffing out āI canāt tell you how it feels, go listen to these rapsā like a loud whisper.
Jaaybo currently sits behind bars, and the last song is recorded over a jail phone. Unconfirmed reports say itās on firearms possession charges. It must be said that the lines of veracity in his music, like with any great artist, are obviously blurred. Heās telling a story with his album, talking from his heart about what heās thinking in relation to the challenges of growing up in one of the homicide capitals of the U.S., but in interviews, he has talked about his non-affiliation and how heās managed to stay out of the mix.
But in this story, heās āin too deep, canāt nobody helpā him.
Duwap Kaine – “On My DanceHall”
Duwap Kaineās voice seems to float in the liminal space between every autotune pre-set on Earth. It somehow feels like itās simultaneously above, below, and swimming in this beep boop internet spin on a dancehall beat. And it works perfectly, clicking exactly into place, as he sings about loving the small things in life before you look back, rolling up āa dolo, thatās a facer,ā taking drugs through his ass, and valuing honesty in his relationships.
Eric IV – “Paper Plans”
BLXSTās snappy R&B thug style has officially reached the U.K. now. Shoutout to Rosecrans Ave for the discovery of this one. Eric IV and the guys around him are all smiles in this video as he sings in short melodic quips over the smooth flute and clicks in the beat. The melodies are real sticky too, and Iāve found myself muttering under my breath āOne thing about me never folded under pressure / Iāve seen some brothers lose it all and itās so messed up,ā any time my brain is empty for more than 10 seconds.
E-40 and Sada Baby – “It’s Hard Not To”
A match made in heaven. E-40ās pimpalicious style and the absurd goofiness of his voice and flow can be matched only by someone like Sada, whose energy always verges on bursting at the seams of his body. And this beat was made by a genius.
Mary J. Blige ft. Fivio Foreign – “On Top”
Iām not going to lie to you – I didnāt even make it to Fivio Foreignās part on this song. In a cruel turn of events, some A&R handed Mary J. a terribly weak Brooklyn drill beat and asked her to sing out of her ass about keeping it 100 and peace and love, while imitating a stop and start flow. This is, of course, with all due respect to the queen who did a fine job at the SuperBowl, but Mary and her team must be smoking K2.
Emptying the Chamber
FCG Heem – Shallow Side (fast) – Weekly dose of sped up Florida rap
03 Greedo x BlueBucksClan – Pourinā – Beautiful flip and interpolation of Mike Jonesā classic āFlossināā
Drakeo The Ruler – Whole Lotta Ice – Long Live The Ruler
EBK HotBoiiz – Sweet Lady Remix – 3 years old, but the EBK guys kill one of my favorite beats of all time. It just came out on
DSPs this week.
Snoop Dogg – Crip Ya Enthusiasm – Snoop Dogg rapping (well) over the Curb theme song is insane
G Perico – Tango – Going to give this album a full write up soon, but itās some of Gās best yet