“Family and Loyalty” came out last October on Gang Starr’s “One Of The Best Yet” album and if you know anything about me you know I am a huge J. Cole guy. So it’s pretty cool to see him link up with living legends in Gang Starr. Although with all due respect to Gang Starr, J. Cole absolutely murders this track and burns the whole damn thing down because thats just what Jermaine does.
I’m like the realest one you ever met If you don’t feel this one, give it a sec Go live a little, let the years pass Experience pain, watch the tears crash on to the floor Hurt brings wisdom Wisdom brings a whole ‘nother sort of understandin’
Let us never forget Gang Starr also had one of the best features on Entourage way back in the day when Vinny goes to buy a Rolls Royce.
With just one week to go before Election Day, Kanye West is here with a new drop to remind you that he is in fact running for president because he is completely out to lunch. BUT, this song actually kinda bangs and has an A+ Star Wars reference right out of the gates.
Next time you text, can it wait? You are talkin’ to a presidential candidate (Candidate) I know you think Obi-Wan gettin’ tired now Don’t jump, Anakin, I got the higher ground
Now whether you are actually considering voting for Kanye after that is up for debate, but it’s nice to see Ye put out a new song that isn’t store brand church gospel music.
Coming straight out of the hip hop hot bed that is Canada, Lou Phelps is back with the debut single off his second album, “Nike Shoe Box,” which shows off a laid back delivery that eases you into his rhymes. That is far from a criticism as Eminem is my No. 1 ranked rapper of all time, but not every song needs to require a dictionary handy with machine gun flows like “Rap God.” And maybe it’s just because the beat reminds me of “High Rise,” but I’m getting a young Big Sean vibe from this.
Phelps is probably the first rapper from Canada since Drake to pop so maybe things are looking up for our overly friendly neighbors to the north.
A little Friday afternoon #RushHourRap bringing you into the weekend even though most of you are probably only commuting from the desk in your bedroom to the couch in your living room. Doesn’t mean we can’t crack a few crafties on a Friday night with some new tunes though.
Jack Harlow blew onto the scene when he dropped Whats Poppin earlier this year with one of the catchiest beats I’ve heard all year. Well now he’s back with Tyler Herro, named after the rookie Miami Heat sniper who you may remember for the assault he committed against my Boston Celtics. The song itself has some sneaky one liners that are super relevant during these UNPRECEDENTED TIMES.
Can’t touch me, I got instincts Locked in the house, but I’m plottin’ things
I came home nice, but I’m goin’ back mean I’m ’bout to globe-trot when they know a vaccine
Is it a little early in his career for Tyler Herro to have a rapper name a song after him? Maybe, but Herro played at Kentucky, where Harlow is actually from so the connection makes sense. Not to mention, Herro has the best drip here. So now he’s got a song to match.
Hopefully Herro’s career goes better after having a rap song named after him than Johnny Manziel’s did once Drake made him a rap anthem with Draft Day.
Introducing the official #RushHourRap playlist curated by The 300s. Dozens of songs compiled from the past 30 years so you can take my obscure music recommendations with you anywhere. Featuring everyone from household names like Eminem and Kanye to lesser known artists, rappers you need to know, and young guys on the come up.
Some of the deeper cuts of #RushHourRap unfortunately did not make the list because Spotify doesn’t exactly have a plethora of obscure mixtapes. So that means you’ll still need to track down hidden gems like Switch by Lupe Fiasco on YouTube.
But if you’re a fan of our morning rap recommendations then make sure you save and share this playlist because it’s a living breathing entity that I’ll be adding to all the time.
On #RushHourRap we try and mix it up with throwback tracks from the big guns as well as some artists you’ve never heard of to give you a stacked playlist.
Meet Henry AZ, the 20-year-old up and coming rapper raised right in our own backyard down Cape Cod. Remember that name because this ain’t just some scrub YouTube rapper, Henry AZ’s signed to Juicy J’s Mo Faces label and already has features from heavy hitters like Wiz Khalifa on his most recent mixtape.
Henry AZ has said some of his inspirations range from Eminem, to Andre 3000, Mac Miller, Drake, and NF; all artists we’ve featured on #RushHourRap over the years so if you like what we put up here, then AZ should slide right in.
Okay soo this isn’t actually a rap album, but as the curator of #RushHourRap it’s my duty to tell you that a pretty well known rapper has pivoted and dropped one of the best punk albums I’ve heard in a long, long time. This is wildly impressive from a rapper that is known by most people as the guy that picked a fight with and got a fiery diss track response from Eminem.
While 2020 continues to be one of the shittiest years on record, MGK is riding a hot streak like no other. Pairing up with arguably the best drummer on the planet in Travis Barker he dropped a legit album in an entirely different genre, performed at the VMAs, oh and he landed Megan Fox too.
Not a bad year for Colson Baker.
You’ve probably at least heard about the music video for “bloody valentine” because it essentially announced his relationship with Megan Fox, who was still married to Brian Austin Green at the time.
But the entire album is awesome and angsty in a way that all your favorite CDs from high school were. I wouldn’t be shocked to hear a few of these on the Top 100 whether it’s concert for aliens, forget me too (ft. Halsey), all i know (ft. Trippie Redd), my ex’s best friend (ft. Blackbear). Point is, the album bangs. Check it out below.
If you’ve been watching the NBA playoffs at all then you’ve been hearing a lot of Big Sean lately as they’ve been using tracks off his new Detroit 2 album over game highlights. (The NBA does this every year and plays one artist ad nauseam, it was Logic last year and it was Kendrick the year before that). D2 is a return to form for Big Sean and it’s peak features a collab with the late Nipsey Hussle on “Deep Reverence.” Not to be a rap hipster, but I wanted to throw it back to 2010 for a minute when Big Sean was ready to blow but still grinding on the mixtape game. The Don Cannon produced “High Rise” is one of the first Big Sean tracks I heard and is still one of my favorites. It just embodies everything about him as Big Sean has always exuded youth, charm, and an effortless cool. Tracks like this remind you what its like to be 20 years old again. Just as he predicted in his music, not long after this Big Sean was Finally Famous.
I heard “Tie My Hands” for the first time in a minute and it really has aged incredibly well as a biting political commentary. With everything going on in this country right now it feels just as relevant today as it did in 2008 when Weezy released his post-Katrina anthem to New Orleans.
They try to tell me keep my eyes open My whole city under water, some people still floatin’ Then they wonder why black people still voting, Cause your presidents still chokin’
Take away the football team, the basketball team Now all we got is me to represent New Orleans No governor, no help from the mayor Just a steady beatin’ heart, and a wish and a prayer
But the song isn’t meant solely to look back and mourn whats already happened. With the help of Robin Thicke’s silky vocals, Weezy turns it into an optimistic ode; something for people still reeling from a tragedy to look forward to.
And if you come from under the water then there’s fresh air Just breathe baby, gods got a blessing to spare Yes, I know the process has so much stress But its the progress that feels the best Cause I came from the projects straight to success And your next, so try they can’t steal your pride its inside Then find it and keep on grinding Cause in every dark cloud there’s a silver lining
With that we’re left with one of Lil Wayne’s more underrated tracks, which is easy to forget in an album like Tha Carter III that’s littered with monster hits.
Well the world might be on fire right now, but at least Lil Wayne re-released his classic 2009 mixtape “No Ceilings” on streaming platforms last night. Lil Wayne was the Best Rapper Alive for a long time, but he also recognized that content is king long before anyone understood its true value. Between 2004 and the day he went to prison in 2010, Weezy was featured on 373 tracks! That is insanity. I mean the guy strategically recorded songs ahead of time and had them released throughout his year long prison sentence so it felt like he never left. Thats genius.
Complex rightfully points out that this is a shortened version of the mixtape with just 12 tracks compared to the original 21.
The re-released mixtape also features an updated version of “Kobe.”
I understand a lot of people probably weren’t scouring HotNewHipHop.com for new mixtapes like I was in college. So it’s easy to lose track of the more than 25 mixtapes Lil Wayne has dropped over the years, but if you only listen to one Lil Wayne mixtape make it 2007’s Da Drought 3, which is arguably the greatest mixtape ever made.
No Ceilings came at the back end of Lil Wayne’s final stretch of elite releases and was effectively the end of his reign as the Best Rapper Alive. In consecutive releases, he dropped Da Drought 3 (May ’07), Tha Carter 3 (June ’08) [Platinum], Dedication 3 (Dec ’08) No Ceilings (Oct ’09) and followed that up by putting together a super group of himself, Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Tyga with appearances from Birdman, Lloyd, and Gucci Mane on We Are Young Money (Dec ’09) [Gold] all back to back.
After 2009 Lil Wayne was more of a veteran NBA superstar like Carmelo Anthony who could surprise you with a 32 point game in his age 36 season, but his days of dominating night in night out were over.
Thats what I equate 2011’s Sorry 4 the Wait (July ’11) to because that was a surprisingly excellent mixtape following two mediocre albums (Rebirth, I Am Not a Human Being). There have been some heater singles from Weezy over the years like Right Above It, 6 Foot 7 Foot, Drop the World, Believe Me, but there hasn’t been an entire Lil Wayne CD that I’ve been excited about since.
Lil Wayne may not be the must listen to artist he was at his peak, but don’t ever forget the sheer quantity of bangers this guy gave us in less than a decade.
The 300s 