Warmer months are around the corner, and each new song from here on out is in contention for banger status. Find out which songs are on the come up for song of the summer.
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 April 2017 down to the 10 best records you have to know. Blac Youngsta, 2 Chainz, Lecrae, and Lil Yatchy are four names that should be on your radar for spring time. It's this month's edition of Bout to Blow: 10 Dope New Songs You Should Be Hearing Everywhere Soon.
Playboi Carti f/ Lil Uzi Vert "Woke Up"
Blac Youngsta f/ Lil Yachty "Hip Hopper"
View this video on YouTube
The excitement around Lil Yachty's music at times seemed to outpace his actual output, but lately his frequent guest spots have suggested not just great taste in collaborators, but a prolific drive that will make it difficult to discount his growing catalog. Blac Youngsta has been taken even less seriously, in part due to his extra-musical viral video antics and partly thanks to his fairly straightforward musical approach. But lately—just as fellow Memphis rapper Moneybagg Yo has risen, splitting his local audience further—his music began to swerve in more musically interesting directions, as on the minor hit "Hip Hopper."
Tee Grizzly f/ Lil Yachty "From the D to the A"
View this video on YouTube
Yet another example of how Yachty's industry clout is helping aspiring stars cross over while helping keep his name street-relevant, 300 signee Tee Grizzly—whose "First Day Out" was an instant Detroit classic—has joined forces with the Atlanta rapper for a promising new single that finds both artists spitting high speed verses in the vein of Grizzly's breakthrough. It's also an example of how Yachty's rapping has been somewhat underrated—although it's equally easy to take a cynical approach and see Yachty as a “Drake in waiting” as he chases the zeitgeist.
Nakuu f/ Lil Yachty "Flex"
View this video on YouTube
Perhaps the best of all recent Yachty collaborative singles is this cut with largely-unknown sing-rapping talent Nakuu. The Pennsylvania artist's gleeful gift for melody is a great contrast for Yachty's more monochromatic rap style, in that it captures the youthful Yachty spirit, but grants it a burst of color. At three minutes, it leaves you wanting more, and brims with energy.
Lud Foe "Recuperate"
View this video on YouTube
Lud Foe's back-to-back bangers "187" and "Cuttin Up" are already Chicago classics, offering bursts of aggression that wed the fast tempo of contemporary Detroit to a rapper who spits like a rhythmically taut Chief Keef, and reps Chicago's West rather than South side. On March 5, he was involved in a car accident with a truck, which left him with a broken jaw and multiple fractures; while he's been in the hospital recuperating, his team dropped the newly-retitled #GetWellFoe. One of its most popular tracks is "My Life," which is actually a few years old, and finds the rapper in an unusually reflective mode, sharing emotional stories over a classic Kanye beat. But its best new single is the explosive "Recuperate," which manages to turn up the frantic energy of his best singles to an even higher temperature, without losing the subtle cleverness of his bars-for-bars-sake rapping.
2 Chainz f/ Ty Dolla $ign, Jhene Aiko, and Trey Songz "It's A Vibe"
View this video on YouTube
You just have to root for 2 Chainz as he resists the youthful gravity of the music industry, even if his continued attachment to quality music has as much to do with his proximity to A&R plugs as it does his own particular skill for stupid-smart punchlines. "It's A Vibe" is just an easy record to live with, thanks largely to the presence of Ty Dolla $ign, whose presence on any song offers a sheen of soulful legitimacy.
Lecrae f/ Ty Dolla $ign "Blessings"
View this video on YouTube
It's got to be a challenge in an era of Chance “the Christian” Rapper for self-branded Christian rappers, whose ascents were pigeonholed before they even released a song. Here an Ear Drummers-produced beat and chorus courtesy the timeless R&B vibes of Ty Dolla $ign lets Lecrae's trap-inspired rap style combine a spiritual message with traditional pop songwriting to powerful effect. Lecrae has been making strong music for some time, but this is the first record that feels like it might have found that sweet spot that leads to long-term love.
Marian Hill "Down"
View this video on YouTube
In the vein of Kiiara's 2016 hit "Gold," Marian Hill's "Down" marries trap production—double-time hi-hats and heavy drums—to the poised politesse of vocal pop, and seems likely to find love on black radio as much as it does pop formats. The alternating between chopped vocal samples driven by its thumping drums with softer pianos is a simple trick that works, and is already seeing love across the country, according to Shazam stats. As a song, it feels somewhat slight—more likely to sidle onto playlists than conquer them a la Lorde's "Royals."
Evander Griiim "The Step"
View this video on YouTube
This El Paso rapper has dark banger that glows with eerie atmosphere and roils when the bass enters—all unsettling ambiance and disorienting musicality. Content-wise he raps with an insistent rhythmic pressure, and his flow has a rough similarity to Rae Sremmurd, but with a more aggressive, claustrophobic feel.
Jay Critch f/ Famous Dex and Rich the Kid "In My Coupe"
View this video on YouTube
Jay Critch's Rich the Kid collab "Did It Again" made this column a few months back, but the duo's latest collaboration with Famous Dex is guaranteed to be bigger, thanks to its unusually cool lute-like production punctuated with vocal samples. It's a relaxed "Ryde or Die"-style summer jam in waiting.
