RAP SH*T I'M ON.

There used to be a time when me and all my homies would just get in a car together and mob the streets looking for some sh*t to do. During these days, I would usually be driving and controlling the stereo and could bump whatever I wanted and put on the crew to the music I was feeling at the time. I would never let anybody talk in the car as I always had a decent system and just wanted the music to be our soundtrack to the cruise. From there I’d see which tracks hit and which tracks missed and would refine my mixtapes, mix CD’s, playlists, etc. Then I would make mixes for the crew and lace them with some tunes for their cars.

But nowadays, we all have kids and while I stay bumpin’ hip hop, I can’t say the same for all my homies. I get it though… We all got priorities and people aren’t into rap like I am. I know who and when I can push my rap sht to and right now it’s only down to a select few. But I haven’t stopped looking for that next banger. I haven’t stopped making Spotify playlists and sifting through what their algorithm serves me up. I’m on the YouTube rabbit holes as well. So without further adieu, I give to you my latest Spotify playlist that I’m building. This is the Rap Sh*t I’m On right now.

These are the beats that I keep going back to. These are the tracks that I can’t get enough of. These are those features that have me hitting the rewind button. This is that ICECOLDBISHOP sliding in on that track and just dumbing out over a beat from The Alchemist. Oh you don’t know ICECOLDBISHOP? Well this playlist is for you….

I listen to a lot of music just looking for moments that have me hitting that rewind button. Sometimes the tracks have dope lyrics and sometimes it’s just some good energy bars over some solid production. In this TikTok era we’re living in, nobody has time for 4 minute songs so I’m trying to find 30 seconds of heat. Even longer if you really got the talent. You up on Wiardon straight out of Austin, TX? When I first heard his track “Ginobili” I didn’t even know what hit me. The beat was on some old school RZA and Griselda type vibes but the kid’s flow matched how ill the beat was. I just need to hear something like this to remind me that rap ain’t dead. Most of y’all just aren’t trying to find the good music. How does this track only have 10K views on YouTube? Are y’all crazy? This is classic right here.

When I hear MAVI on a track that’s one minute long and he catches a vibe I’m not getting off of it. I’m like a fiend looking for more tracks just like what I just heard. And then I’m out here trying to research who MAVI is because he sounds like Earl Sweatshirt yet those beats are just different. Who handles MAVI’s production? Where is he from? Is he a youngster? Who does he roll with on the music side? I do this research because I can’t just take a song for that only. I need to know more. MAVI is from Charlotte, NC and the production on “Sense” below is from Earl producing under his real name Thebe Kgositsile. MAVI’s album Let the Sun Talk was a breath of fresh air. If you haven’t peeped him or the album just give him a look. It won’t be a waste of your time.

I’m trying to find the artists that are expressing themselves creatively right before they pop off and get heard by millions. And even when they do sign with a major and hit the mainstream I’m trying to find rappers who push themselves to make art that resonates with hip hop heads like myself. I’m looking for an emcee like JID (aka J.I.D) to dig deep and give me those early Andre 3000, Kendrick, and Devin the Dude feels. Listen to JID ride this beat on “Stars” to perfection. This is a thing of beauty. A work of art that even the Mighty Mos Def jumps on? JID has the best flow in the game right now. Happy to argue that point with you if you disagree. I’ll put all my poker chips on JID going bar to bar with anybody in the rap.

Or what about G. Perico popping up on a Dreamville project with absolute fire on “Hair Salon” with Cozz and Reason? DJ Drama sets the stage for G. to catch “hypothermia” on the track and he does just that. The passion in G’s verse and chorus is exactly what I look for in a rapper. I hear G. Perico on a track like this and I start going through his whole catalog racing to see what tracks I might have missed. And trust me, there’s a lot.

But then I hear a track from Pink Siifu and I get spun off onto another musical journey looking to find out everything I can about him. He hails from Cincinnati, Ohio and Birmingham, Alabama because he’s just too dope to be confined to one hometown. Shout out to Navy Blue on the production for “stay sane” which is just on some other sh*t. This is some spiritual music right here.

I love rap music and will never say goodbye to the game. How could I when there is always new music dropping and new artists doing things that have never been done before. While most will be happy just following Spotify’s Rap Caviar playlist, I’ll stay in my lane trying to find artists that are still under the radar or who haven’t sacrificed their art for a dollar. I’m trying to find those Westside Gunn bars over some Madlib instrumentation. Shout out Griselda and all of the artists I mentioned in this article. If y’all catch my vibe and you have more tracks you feel I should peep please hit me in the comments.