For June, we dug a little deeper than normal, hunting for some off-the-radar cuts that haven't been heavily covered elsewhere.
This column has two goals:
1. To use the many tools available to us today to get some idea of what songs were really bubbling with "the people"—in other words, to insert some science into the process.
2. To contextualize that information, because raw numbers in a vacuum would have you thinking an anonymous rapper dropped onto a stellar track was hip-hop's next big rap star when he was more like an empty, tattooed vehicle for a dope beat and a hook.
The post is obviously intended to be somewhat predictive. There's also an element, though, that is cheerleading. Many of these songs might be flourishing in certain markets but could use wider exposure. They're tracks where the metrics suggest some forward momentum, even if the clubs and radio play don't reflect that.
After a long decision-making process, we narrowed June 2017 down to the 10 best records you have to know. It's this month's edition of Bout to Blow: 10 Dope New Songs You Should Be Hearing Everywhere Soon.
Terror Jr "Death Wish"
View this video on YouTube
Terror Jr. are a pop trio whose sound may remind music fans of Kiiara's 2016 classic "Gold." This is no coincidence; the group is composed of Felix Snow and former Cataracts member David "Campa" Benjamin Singer-Vine, who worked on that record. The third member of the trio is a singer who goes by the nom de plume Lisa. "Death Wish" builds on a similar composition of distorted vocal-esque tones, adding twisting, unpredictably elaborate lyrics: "You change me like hair dye/Then leave me like a hair tie." The song's central conceit is a Romeo and Juliet spoiler alert, but it's compelling because the dark subtext pulls against the song's cheery sonic elements.
Salsalino "FerReal"
View this video on YouTube
Salsalino is a 19-year-old Bay Area rapper whose success to this point has been in generating traffic and attention online, with the music's effectiveness coming in a distant second to the artist's charisma. "FerReal" is the first record—thanks in part to a guitar-laced beat courtesy of producer Architekz (who is currently engaged in a brave battle with cancer)—that feels like it comes together as a strong song that could match the power of his local breakthrough, "Long Run."
Bali Baby "Iggady"
View this video on YouTube
Bali Baby is an Atlanta-based rapper whose style bears a similarity to D.C. rapper Rico Nasty, who previously appeared in this column. The two were close; they recorded a remix to Bali's original single "Iggady" that proved to be extraordinarily popular online. Unfortunately, they've since had a falling out. Bali Baby's single retains its power though, thanks to the staggered, bell-accented RZA-goes-trap beat and concept originally created by ThraxxxGang, with Bali's added star power.
Travis Scott "Butterfly Effect"
Hoodrich Pablo Juan "Zabamambafoo"
View this video on YouTube
There was a moment last month where it seemed like everyone was telling me Hoodrich Pablo Juan was next. I'm not confident Atlanta can still just throw the switch and make these things happen—for one thing, streaming and SoundCloud have both upset the city's aesthetic centrality—but that doesn't mean there aren't some worthwhile moments in his recent output worthy of greater attention. My personal favorite was last year's "Dead People," but his latest release, HoodWolf, has a low-key banger in "Zabamambafoo." This is thanks in large part to producer Danny Wolf, whose thumping production has driving groove at odds with the off-center post-Zaytoven beats more popular today, which helps Hoodrich Pablo Juan—whose post-Migos style is well executed but not far out of line with what came before—stand apart somewhat from the status quo.
BallGreezy f/ Lil Dred "Nice & Slow"
View this video on YouTube
It seems unlikely this song will cross over—it's been nearly a decade since BallGreezy first graced the charts with the smooth jook anthem "Shone." But "Nice & Slow” has a sleek sound that feels refreshing amidst slumping west coast grooves and the more brittle trap and SoundCloud sounds. It's already huge in Florida, and though it's liable to remain a regional classic, it would be nice to see audiences pick up on it nationally.
Level f/ Mouse On Tha Track "I Bet U Won't"
View this video on YouTube
Though the song is now two years old, it's only become a major Baton Rouge smash in the last couple months, inspiring a series of inspirational #iBetYouWontChallenge videos. (Check out this stitched-up mega-cut.) Level and Mouse throw in some lyrics that are cleverer than your average dance challenge, while the song's regional groove is a surefire adrenaline booster. The use of vocals in the beat helps give the song's chest-flexing an added oomph, the better to test those quick to back down.
Lil Pete "Never Understand Me"
View this video on YouTube
With SOB X RBE dominating the West Coast, other Cali rappers are following close behind. Rapper Lil Pete has earned attention with spare, quiet production, as on last year's melancholic "Talkin," where the barely-there beat gives his thus far pro forma street raps a reflective quality. "Never Understand" is even bigger; the beat's understated use of space gives his bars a thoughtful sadness.
Peso Da Mafia "Money Man"
View this video on YouTube
Last year, Peso Da Mafia's "Pray on My Knees" caught my attention due to the group's singer, whose otherworldly vocal style, which sounded like a disembodied vocal detached from the song by a step, reminded me as an off-balance Fabo. Peso have now earned a real hit with the more typical-sounding and generically-titled "Money Man," which appears to be catching some real momentum in Baltimore.
Ty Money f/ Bump J "Yes or No"
View this video on YouTube
For fans of Chicago hip-hop, Bump J's return has been a long time coming. The rapper was recently freed after spending eight years behind bars on bank robbery charges; I had the opportunity to hear some of his new tracks in the studio last month, and his voice sounds unchanged. His first look back was a cosign of Harvey, IL lyricist Ty Money, whose 2015 project Cinco De Money was one of the strongest rap tapes released that year. This song was drawn from his not-insubstantial Cinco De Money 3, and is one of the project's obvious gems.
"Yes or No" is not, in traditional terms, a hit record, yet it's already earned 60,000 YouTube plays and pops up on Shazam from time to time on Chicago's South Side, suggesting that even after spending nearly a decade behind bars, the city not only remembers one of its true pioneers, but intends to keep him in play.
