Image via F03 Bear/Instagram
Harley Geffner stays plotting on the downfall of social media.
If I had to make a list of my favorite beats from the last few years, this one is close to the top. It comes from Mudbaby Ru’s Gun Class, which I wrote about in a Rap-Up last October, and still has the same chilling effect. These guys from Alaska handle the beat, and each put their own spin on it with their vicious verses about their gun addictions while excitedly bouncing around with each other between mafioso boss interludes. FO3 Bear’s granny is telling him he owes church a visit, but he knows his momma will love him regardless of all the bad things he does. Fairview Huna hangs out the side of his orange car with a jacket that matches – praying to god the fiends keep coming through with a signature squeaky voice. FV Fazo spends his whole verse revving up to a final reveal where he yells “THAT’S THE ART OF WAR,” before bouncing back into the sticky hook. An awesome crew cut here serving as a strong introduction to Alaskan rap over an all time beat.
Whatever “it” is, OG MarlynManRollUp has it. From the iconic name, to the flashy swagger she carries herself with in this video, it’s clear we are looking at a star in the making. “Vox,” is basically an Azealia Banks song, but it works. Clocking in at just one minute long, it’s a designer-clad flash grenade. I would go to fashion shows if people were walking down the runway to this, and I hate fashion. It’s the glamor of RuPaul drag with the swagger of a veteran Detroit kingpin. Packages touch down from Paris, dancers vogue, and Marlyn shows off her expensive shit over an upbeat pulsing house song. If AB is the blueprint, this song is Marlyn building off the plan.
Count on Akeem Ali for pimpalicious raps over classic Motown beats. Over a Temptations sample, Akeem switches from hoodie wearing Akeem in a broken down Hyundai to his 1970’s alter ego, a pimp named Keemy Cassanova. With slick and clever wordplay through the song, Keemy moves like water ripping lines like “Think I’m smoother than Boosie, I scoot in the coochie.” You better believe that nobody enjoys charcuterie boards more than this man.
Sometimes a simple flip of a classic beat with some extra thump is all you need to refresh the sound. “Wop It” takes Usher and Lil Jon’s “Yeah” and turns it into a modern West Coast ass shaking anthem. It’s not super crazy or anything particularly “interesting,” but it’s fun, carefree, and plays on nostalgia in a way that doesn’t feel maliciously opportunistic. It’s fast-paced ratchet music for the modern era.
Here’s a bonus song that fits into the same category as “Wop It,” from a classic LA hitmaker who had the whole city moving to this one years ago.
SME TaxFree is so effortlessly funny. On “Chief Keef,” he takes turns with RRB Duck rapping about all their drug dealings, who they can trust with their stash, the different types of drugs they have and different types of callers, all while reenacting their lines in real time. When Tax says “1-8-0-0 how these phones dumping,” he’s pushing random buttons on an ATM, then follows it up looking very sternly at his hand as if it’s a phone that he’s dialing angrily. When he talks about his callers he’s looking back and forth at each hand pantomiming a different phone. Milwaukee’s rap scene is equally as funny as it is fire, and it feels like that’s just naturally how these guys are.
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