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5 On It is a feature that looks at five of the best under-the-radar rap findings from the past two weeks, highlighting new or recently discovered artists, or interesting obscurities.
Two years ago while Jacob and Constant Gardner were in Austin for SXSW, they let me try something new.
I had been dealing with personal and professional chaos. Uncertainty undercut my consistency as a contributor. I took a step back to reassess what I could contribute to the team on a regular basis. The result: 5 On It, a then weekly now bi-weekly look at my favorite recent under-the-radar discoveries.
Over the ensuing two years, 5 On It has turned into a ritual for meāa steady, insatiable hunt for the new and strange, the emotive, the catchy, the trunk-rattling, and, in the best cases, some combination of all the elements. Two years certainly isnāt five years or ten yearsāthereās still much work to do and much more music to discover, but it does provide cause to pop a (cheap) bottle and tip the hat to another round of under the radar artists doing dope shit.
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Corbin Butler ā Is It Safe To Sayā¦
Corbin Butler was one of 2015ās best surprises and an easy standout from last yearās editions 5 On It. A rapper, singer, and producer with an eclectic palette that seemingly stretched from Outkast to Blink-182 and all sorts of unexpected destinations in between, Butler collided his ability and taste into the fascinating and entertainingly messy Rolling Ridge. Butlerās personality, smart introspection, and knack for weaving a few recurring sounds and textures throughout the project held Rolling Ridge together while pointing to ample room for growth.
New mixtape Is It Safe To Sayā¦ doesnāt jump lightyears ahead, but it does showcase Butler rapping with increased sharpness and the same cleverness that gave life to self-deprecating songs like ā23.ā Project standouts āSidelines,ā āMYLOVE,ā and āWONTDIEā display the diversity that made Rolling Ridge exhilarating, narrowing the focus without losing the sonic ambition and uniqueness now codifying as Butlerās signatures.
(Credit goes to producer AygsB as well, who co-produced much of Rolling Ridge with Butler and returns here on production and co-production duties).
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Fidel Sun ā Valley Sun
PhiladelphiaĀ rapper Fidel Sun draws from a wide range of sounds, with new projectĀ Valley Sun sounding like the spawn of a postĀ 808s and Heartbreak world in which pain is best served in auto-tune, rap songs donāt need drums, grunge is fair game as inspiration, Wu Tang might still exist as an echo in the ether, and emotion transmitted through texture takes precedence over pure technical rapping and even, on occasion, intelligibility. Valley Sun serves up a current vision of hip-hop, at times not even resembling hip-hop at all (āMageā is basically echoey, incoherentĀ singing over ambient noise), seemingly more concernedĀ with the creation of complete mood than anything else. Itās an intriguing project in its collision of influences, feeling entirely of the moment (particularly and coincidentally in the wake of The Life of Pablo careening, fractious vision of hip-hop)Ā and yet as if it might have been sitting around on a secret Tumblr somewhere since 2011, waiting for an intrepid internet traveler.
Basically, wait until 4AM, smoke some weed, turn out the lights, turn on Valley Sun, and stare at the static of your television screen.
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The Samo D ā āCreepinā
I heard Massachusetts rapper The Samo Dās aptly titled āCreepinā at an appropriate time: 2:07AM, alone in my apartment. Trawling Twitter for informationānew music, new humor, new videos, new anything to satiate the modern hunger that demands more for the sake of moreāI came across a link to āCreepin.ā Finding precious little evidence in the YouTube description, a bit of quick googling brought me to a defunct Twitter page, a Soundcloud with two year old songs on it, and ultimately an active Twitter account proving I hadnāt jumped into a deep, dark internet dead end (like I did with one of my favorite 5 On It entrants ever, Hot Boy Majorāwho, as it turns out, appears to be a part of Kevin Gatesā Bread Winners Association).
That search wouldnāt have happened had āCreepinā not been the excellent, unsettling slice of drug-fueled aquatic rap. Though brief and largely unstructured, it succeeds on Samo Dās limber raps and an eerie, plinking beat.
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Denham ft. Marty Khan and Home Movies ā āS.P.L.U.R.G.E.ā
San Clemente, California singer Denhamās āS.P.L.U.R.G.E.ā incorporates rap like pieces of a hallucinogenic collage, building an atmospheric dirge for drinkers and smokers that sounds like celebration inside an abyss (its title is an acronym for āSpending Paper Like U Really Got Everything,ā which is as grim as it is seemingly indulgent, since it implies that you do not, indeed, really got everything). Tone set by producer (and former Kendrick Lamar collaborator) Axlfolie and Denhamās pained vocals, āS.P.L.U.R.G.E.ā feels like it earns its of-the-moment bleakness, rather than wearing dark sonics as grim fashion.
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M Nat / Ricky Flamez ā ā15ā
Hey Jon I actually have a confession to make
A few weeks ago, I received an email from a rapper named Ricky Flamez.
āIām a new artist from Milwaukee getting ready to launch my career,ā the email read. Inauspicious and par for the course.
Click play. Polished production. Solid rapping. Not the most original content or approach, but it felt clever enough to engender repeat listens.
I asked Ricky when he was planning to release ā15ā and told him Iād be down to feature it in an upcoming edition of 5 On It. My plans conjured an unexpected response:
āHey Jon I actually have a confession to make. My name is M-Nat and I had to use this alias of Ricky Flamez in order to rid the stigma of some underwhelming records Iāve sent to you in the past. I was afraid that if I sent this record to you as M-Nat it may have gotten overlookedāwhich is totally understandable. Iām just an artist hungry to improve and eager to show you Iāve been listening to the advice youāve been giving me. I apologize if I went about it the wrong way.ā
I recognized the name M-Nat almost immediately from past submissionsāsubmissions I admittedly didnāt love. I did, however, love being tricked like thisāremindedĀ almost immediately of a far more outrageous story that led to similar results on a much grander scale (involving Rihanna, a lie about a porn star, and a producer from Virginia). Taken for a ride, I liked the song even moreāit felt now like a calculated broadcast from someone trying to pierce what must have seemed an impenetrable wall.
I gave M-Nat his kudos and here we are.