Image via Complex Original
This month on Bout to Blow: digging for great records beneath the world's radar has become more difficult. More than ever, it feels as if the signal is getting lost in the noise. Yet dig deep enough and you'll find records which set themselves apart from the norm.
Welcome to the October 2016 edition of Bout to Blow. 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 harsh decision-making process, for October we narrowed a long list 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.
NBA YoungBoy "38 Baby"
Baton Rouge has one of the best underground scenes in 2016, with a diverse range of young artists bringing new life to the genre at a time when much of the most popular hip-hop feels more commercially positioned. NBA YoungBoy has become the most celebrated of the new stars, racking up view counts mainly south of the Mason-Dixon and earning the attention of hip-hop heads online, who've suggested he could be a star. There's something premature-feeling about the attention the 16-year-old has drawn; in a year, he released four tapes, and while they're well-balanced and his vocals have a consistency rare for younger artists, they also feel like buds rather than flowers.
Reading the attention he's garnered, one feels a bit like watching professional scouts browsing high schools looking for the next Lebron. Nonetheless, "38 Baby"—his most popular record—is an undeniable standout, at once of its time and place—post-drill regional rap meets Baton Rouge's traditional blues-inflected sound.
Frosty Da Snowmann "Milwaukee Bucks"
It may be tough to hear what feels especially novel about Frosty Da Snowmann's "Milwaukee Bucks"—a rapper with a post-Mustard street record popping off in Los Angeles. But his understated rap style—one common in Detroit, the Bay Area, and now L.A., alongside the city's regional star Drakeo the Ruler—has an unorthodox appeal. "Milwaukee Bucks" spare style, uninterested in competing in the "banger" sweepstakes, feels like the kind of casual street record that could end up sidling up to audiences, gradually seducing them with its unassuming charms.
Mr. Hotspot "My Friends"
Zay Hilfigerrr and Zayion McCall's "Juju On That Beat (TZ Anthem)" became an unexpected smash off the back of a "white girls are evolving"-style Vine meme in which a white woman danced to the record. Since blowing up its blanket press coverage—even mainstream magazines now cover hip-hop songs if they also happen to be memes—has focused on how its young artists rose to fame; however, it's seldom pointed out that the record itself has built upon the success of two other records, both of which were blowing up on more musical characteristics. The first is DLow's "Do It Like Me Challenge," which appeared in this column previously, and was the first major dance record to lift the beat to "Knuck If You Buck." The lesser-known "My Friends" by Mr. Hotspot was, previously, the origin point of "Juju on that Beat (TZ Anthem)"'s most famous lyric—"You yo daddy's son," which went viral as an individual line prior to "TZ Anthem"'s crossover moment. (The full lyric on "My Friends" is, "Your mama know you ugly/You yo daddy's son," which makes a little more sense in context.)
Of course, that lyric sounds like it could have colloquial origins. But the Mr. 2-17-produced "My Friends" is strong on its own, and hopefully will continue to take off, even though it may live in the shadow of "Juju On That Beat."
Blac Youngsta f/ Quavo "Come Thru"
Blac Youngsta makes for good spectacle in the rap world: a strong personality on social media and assorted Memphis rap beefs have given him a notoriety that belies his somewhat inconsistent music. But he's making some strides; the Dun Deal-produced "Come Thru" is one of the most replayable records in the rapper's catalog, and Quavo's guest spot is a perfect complement. Not only is the song stronger than the average, but Blac Youngsta's contributions feel well-molded to the song itself.
Khalid "Location"
Khalid is a Texas artist whose style feels as if it were constructed in the labs of Complex sister site Pigeons & Planes. A soul record that fools you into thinking it's a hip-hop record until you think about it, "Location" has a great concept and is well-executed. The production is clean; it could easily slide into home on commercial radio.
$ilk Money f/ Andre 3000 "Decemba (Remix)"
It's an event when André 3000 drops a guest verse, but it's major when he does so as cosign for an up-and-coming artist. Rapper $ilk Money has a dense, precise rap style that feels refreshing in an environment where melody and smeared mumbling are the dominant modes. ICYTWAT is an appropriate moniker for the producer who made this beat, which has an airy, frozen quality over which $ilk and Andre slide like a pair of skates. It's tough to say whether this will become a true Billboard single—it may be too ahead of its time, and the chorus lines about enemas don't feel like the stuff chart-toppers are made of—but it should shed deserved light on $ilk Money and his Divine Council crew.
Montana of 300 "Wifin You"
Montana of 300 has had an unusual career; "Ice Cream Truck" felt like a breakout moment, but despite a burgeoning, passionate fanbase, his music continues to exist at hip-hop's margins. He's seldom part of media conversations, and his focus on bars-for-bars-sake may alienate those looking for hits. Yet his song "Wifin You," released near the beginning of this year, has slowly begun to generate streams, particularly among the rust belt cities of the Midwest, from Chicago to Buffalo, New York. A love song, it's a startlingly earnest heartbreaker—one even forgives Montana's moments of pitchiness, side-effects of his sincerity breaking the song's boundaries as moments of raw emotion.
Stu Da Boi "That's You"
This is the future we imagined when Future, Chief Keef, and Young Thug became standard-bearers of hip-hop, as well as names dismissed as disposable, and—to use the contemptuous words of smug rookie Russ—"pump-fake" artists. This style is already becoming the lingua franca of a new generation, accepted and widely approved of. And Stu Da Boi's "That's You" is liable to be a big one. Stu weds EDM textures and collegiate lyrics ("Let me hit it raw/ Take an Adderall") to the broken, Auto-Tune-inflected croon of the past five years of "regional" rap music, for a lustful song that comes across as surprisingly tender.
Duckwrth "Rare Panther"
"Rare Panther" is fun R&B record with playful lyrics and a coy approach. It's boldness comes from its willingness to make neo-soul a little lighthearted, a little dangerous, to risk embarrassment in pursuit of a good time. Duckwrth is an artist from Los Angeles whose style in other videos verges on Terence Trend D'Arby, and also seems reminiscent of Wondaland artists like Deep Cotton.
Taylor Girlz "Steal Her Man"
Viral dance records come and go, often without leaving a mark. (Much of what makes songs like the "Nae Nae" appealing is its social quality, the way fans of the dance don't even need to be fans of the music—just friends with people who are.) The song, in the meantime, can sluice right by us. "Steal Her Man" is an atypical dance record, because it's so clearly polarizing. But this is exactly what makes it memorable, along with a strong sense of songcraft. The YouTube video has been out for a month and has 4 million views, so get ready for the "Steal Her Man" dance to celebrate mean-spirited, anti-social behavior, allowing a psychic space for people to indulge in it, even if for a moment.