Meet Brooklyn’s own Radhames Rodriguez AKA Radamiz. If you haven’t heard of him yet then stop reading and start listening because this man can rap. He hasn’t really popped mainstream (not to say everyone even wants to go mainstream), but he has opened up for rap legends like Nas and Black Star so he definitely is getting respect from those in the know. Anyways this track “Stage Fright” is off his 2019 album Nothing Changes If Nothing Changes. Give it a spin and let us know what you think and check out the rest of Rad’s work.
I can hear the voices in my mind when I rhyme Give it up, you’re out of time Never even had a prime Like the Preemo never linked up with 5’9″ Bitch, I’m back like the muscles surrounding my vertebrae Okay, fuck what you gotta say I keep it going, already know when I’m flowing For the listener, you’re kind of like a therapist Or rather Cole in 2005, flowing like Canibus That throwback shit, yeah, that throwback shit Fuck what you heard, my catalog, it ain’t got no wack shit ‘Cause I’m a gladiator in the Colosseum, everybody wanna be him ‘Til they feel like they can’t be him, then they wanna see him lose Wrote this poem in navy, that’s what I call singing the blues Word to Dot D, my family got me, no carbon copy Life can hit you harder than Drago But if I roll with the punches when it’s rocky, don’t ever stop me
Logic is a frequent feature of #RushHourRap and for good reason. I feel like a lot of people only hear the few songs of his that really went mainstream like “1-800,” “Sucker for Pain,” “Every Day,” etc. which are all good songs, but don’t show Logic’s real lyrical prowess. This track from his most recent album No Pressure that dropped earlier this year came on my Spotify this morning and as a 5+ minute song it can definitely get lost in the shuffle, but my goodness the wordplay here is elite. I couldn’t even pick just a couple of bars to point out, which is why I listed 17 lines above. The amount of double entendres, deep cut rap references, and slick wordplay is unreal in a 30 second span.
I don’t know why, but the visuals for this song are only for a couple of the verses, which is why the below video is not even two minutes long.
So give this a spin, then go listen to the rest of Bobby’s catalogue, and then pour one out because according to him No Pressure was his final album (for now). Logic’s musical career is to be continued…
All the things that we thought we were losing I’m a ghost and you know this That’s why we broke up in the first place
This absolute banger was released in 2011, back when the rapper Childish Gambino was just Donald Glover’s side project, before he evolved into pound for pound the most talented guy in entertainment. Think about it, he can legitimately rap, he can crush a stand up set, he was a writer for shows like 30 Rock, and he won a Lead Actor Emmy on a show that he created and writes for in Atlanta. Save some shine for the rest of us, man.
“Heartbeat” was on Gambino’s 2011 debut album Camp, which is an excellent collection of catchy songs, serious raps, but also delving into some introspective insecurities from the then 28-year-old. The other single from this album “Bonfire” was another heater that was even featured in an Adidas commercial with RGIII, back when he was coming off a Heisman and was the next “it” guy. Gambino went on to release the even better Because the Internet in 2013, which we’ve featured before with tracks like “Sweatpants.” Gambino dropped an album earlier this year called 3.15.20, as well as his more crooning, funk style album Awaken My Love back in 2016, which will probably be best remembered for providing the chilling intro to “Get Out” with his “Redbone” track.
Released 10 years ago this week, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is one of the best albums of the decade and in my opinion the best work of Kanye West’s career.
MBDTF won the Grammy for Rap Album of the Year along with two other Grammys for “All of the Lights.” The album is Kanye’s magnum opus and has contributions from so many heavy hitters in the industry that it really is mind blowing. Across production, features, and writing credits there were contributions from RZA, No ID, Scott Mescudi AKA Kid Cudi, Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Bon Iver, Swizz Beatz, Pusha T, John Legend, Charlie Wilson, and Beyonce to name a few.
While I know everyone has heard the singles like “All of the Lights,” “Runaway,” and “Monster,” I cannot recommend enough that you watch the above 34 minute film. It is a glimpse into Kanye’s brain and his love for grandiosity. It is wild, and weird, and beautiful. I always said this could have been a legit broadway play and if you’ve ever been to a Kanye concert and seen his set pieces then you know the thought’s probably crossed his mind.
It may be quarantine season, but it’s still Friday so make sure you’re in your finest sweatpants having a couple cocktails shaking that ass tonight. There are few better songs for just that then this 2005 throwback from Snoop Dogg and Justin Timberlake ft. Charlie Wilson. This song is so old it was just a year after Janet Jackson infamously threw her titties at Justin Timberlake. This song is so old it was on my iPod shuffle. Do kids today know what an iPod shuffle, let alone an iPod, even is? This was before Sexy Back, My Love, and even Dick in a Box. So jump in the way back machine, grab your Zune and turn it up to 11.
I pray for Markelle ’cause they fucked up his shot, Just want you to know that you got it Though I never met you, I know that you special And that the Lord blessed you, don’t doubt it Dennis Smith Jr., stay solid
With the NBA Draft today I was looking for a relevant #RushHourRap (we already did Draft Day) so what better excuse for some more J. Cole? On last year’s Grammy winning 21 Savage track “A Lot,” Cole swoops in with one of the best features of his career as he gives life advice to everyone, including Orlando Magic point guard (and friend of The 300s) Markelle Fultz.
Fultz promptly unliked our tweet after all the blowback his twitter activity got. We miss ya, Markelle
Check out just how impactful that J. Cole line was for a struggling Fultz in this interview with NBA.com:
A verse written by J. Cole in that song helped inspire Magic guard Markelle Fultz and let the former No. 1 overall Draft pick know that not everyone had given up on his struggling basketball career.
Here’s the backstory: J. Cole and Knicks guard Dennis Smith Jr. are both from Fayetteville, N.C., and have known each other for years. Smith is also close to Fultz from NBA Summer League and the two refer to each other as brothers. Roughly a year ago, Smith described how his “brother” was hurting to the five-time Grammy nominee.
Less than a year after being chosen by the Sixers in 2017, Fultz suffered from a shoulder injury and was later diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome, which robbed him of his full-range shooting motion and jeopardized his future. Fultz played only 33 games his first two seasons and the Sixers virtually gave him to the Magic last February.
“He was going through a situation and it was a tough situation for someone mentally,” Smith Jr. said. “Cole said, ‘Let me holla at him.’ They just locked in. Cole chopped it up with him and one thing led to another. Crazy.”
Billboard Magazine rated “A Lot” by 21 Savage and J. Cole as the No. 6 song of 2019. It has gone platinum three times and Cole’s lyrics were hailed by critics. Fultz was nearly moved to tears the first time he heard it.
“It was dope,” Fultz said. “Him shouting me out on a song really showed the love and the person he is. I play it a lot, all the time. I love it. To get put in a song is like, dope, an honor.”
It’s been 10 YEARS since J. Cole dropped his “Friday Night Lights” mixtape. Now if we’re being honest, if we’re in the trust tree together, I’m more of a “The Warm Up” guy, which dropped the year before FNL. Either way, Jermaine has been spitting heat for over a decade and I am now starting to feel old. J. Cole’s mixtapes were A+ chill with a few beers music back in college. This was still in the relatively early days of YouTube, which went live just a little over three years before The Warm Up came out. So yes I was a cheap college kid either ripping mixtapes off DatPiff or cranking the speakers until my walls were shaking blasting YouTube videos three minutes at a time.
What’s a stage with no mic and no voice of a poet? What’s more important, the flower or the soil that grow it? Yeah, it’s cool, but one rule, don’t get caught in the moment
As Ron Burgundy once said, “Drink it in, it always goes down smooth” and thats exactly what this track is: smooth. Benny the Butcher released his new project “Burden of Proof” last month, which HotNewHipHop is calling “one of the best albums of the year.” If you needed any more convincing, the whole album was produced by Hit-Boy, who if you didn’t know has produced some of your favorite songs like Paris by Jay-Z and Kanye, Trophies by Drake, Clique by GOOD Music, Drop the World by Lil Wayne, Sicko Mode by Travis Scott and the list goes on and on. Get your earbuds in and get this album going right now.
“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.
The 300s 