Hip Hop Headquarters
By Brad Trevenen, Editor-at-Large
03/27/2018
DJ Khaled // "Top Off"
Feat Jay Z, Future, & Beyonce
Memetic producer DJ Khaled brings together Jay Z, Beyoncé, and Future for a no frills, straight-forward and fun banger. Future screams “I took the top off the Maybach” several times. Jay Z tells “Georgy-Porgy Zimmerman” that he couldn’t “beat a flight of steps.” And Beyoncé’s “the only lady” but still the “realest n***a in the room,” coming on to the track with unmatched swagger. This track is in every way expected from Khaled, and there’s frankly little room to complain.
Vince Staples // "Get the Fuck Off My Dick
Staples is fed up. But then again, when hasn’t he been?
Recently, some attendees of Staples’ concerts have taken to Twitter to complain about his live performance. After roasting them online he had only just begun. Shortly after, Staples created a GoFundMe campaign with a target monetary goal of 2 million dollars, which haters could donate to under Staples’ promise that upon reaching his goal he would shut up forever.
“Get off my dick, or fund my lifestyle – the choice is yours,” he said in the video posted. After raising over $1500, Staples released the accompanying single, where he ridicules “NPR and XXL” for being as equally useless press outlets, and the VMA’s and Grammy’s for being as equally useless award shows, both pairs failing to recognize that Staples’ is “avant-garde with this shit.”
Flatbush Zombies // "Vacation in Hell"
Due for release on April 6, the hip-hop purist trio Flatbush Zombies has pre-released two songs from their upcoming album, Vacation in Hell.
“Headstone” feature the trio with an insatiable hunger to make better music (than legends they reference, like Kanye, Jay Z, Biggie, Gorillaz, OutKast) as if their lives depended on it because to them, it does. The Zombies are building a legacy, and they’re here for a good time and a long time.
The second single, “U&I,” after beginning with a painfully cracking and inept intro vocal is redeemed by a smooth bassline underscoring everyone’s verses. Meechy Darko steals the show however, his rich graveled voice in juxtaposition with a soulful ostinato.
Rae Sremmurd, Slim Jxmmi // "Brxnks Truck"
Swae Lee // "Hurt to Look"
The duo is taking a break from their joint effort SremmLife albums, and Slim Jxmmi and Swae Lee have both released their own singles to kick off their solo resumés. Jxmmi released “Brxnks Truck,” which is a mindless banger featuring rich-and-famous braggadocio and leaving a lot to be desired. Swae Lee, who was always the more talented half of the group, offers a smooth R&B track, “Hurt to Look,” which is a bit more focused, but lyrically non-specific, and somewhat generic on
