So first things first, if you, like me, willingly live in Boston, New York, or LA then you are a sucker of the highest order. The rent is too high, theres too many people, and the traffic is soul crushing. The only thing you can do is just put on something that goes hard and turn it up to 10. Run the Jewels does that better than most.
#RushHourRap – Logic Drops New Album YSIV
Does anyone in the game right now put out great music more consistently than Logic?
Logic is back with YSIV, the fourth iteration in his Young Sinatra series, and it is a heater led by the first single, The Return. He even has a 7 minute song featuring the entire Wu Tang Clan. So stop what you’re doing right now and check out YSIV.
https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/1lyjkFTJ6yxUyNYysWVBo9
This comes after not releasing a new album since allll the way back in March of 2018 with Bobby Tarantino II. Seriously this guy is a machine when it comes to putting out music, and it’s all been very, very good. Take a look at this resume:
- Logic: The Mixtape (2009)
- Young, Broke & Infamous (2010)
- Young Sinatra (2011)
- Young Sinatra: Undeniable (2012)
- Young Sinatra: Welcome to Forever (2013)
- Under Pressure (2014)
- The Incredible True Story (2015)
- Bobby Tarantino (2016)
- Everybody (2017)
- Bobby Tarantino II (2018)
- Young Sinatra IV (2018)
Obviously thats not all studio albums as a large chunk of those are mixtapes, but most of those mixtapes are better than a lot of what artists put out today. Logic just recently blew up in the mainstream with his mega-hit 1-800-273-8255 in 2017, which became a Suicide awareness anthem. As he’s shown over the past couple of years with 4 albums released, Logic will sleep when he’s dead.
PS – If you haven’t watched Logic’s episode of Rapture on Netflix, it is an absolute must watch for any rap fan.
#RushHourRap – Meek Mill and Drake Made Up in Boston So is it Cool to Like Meek Again?
I was at TD Garden on Saturday night when Drake finished off his concert that had already featured him rocking a glow in the dark bullet proof vest, a floating Lamborghini, and a Tron-style basketball court with Terry Rozier, before he finished it off by bringing out his former rap beef nemesis Meek Mill. The roof blew off as people went ape shit while Meek rapped Dreams and Nightmares to the sold out crowd and it. was. awesome.
I was at TD Garden on Saturday night when @Drake finished off his show by bringing out his former rap beef nemesis @MeekMill. The roof was blown off as people went ape shit while Meek rapped Dreams and Nightmares to the sold out crowd and it. was. awesome. #RushHourRap pic.twitter.com/Bjj6xpMd7x
— The 300s (@The300sBoston) September 10, 2018
People forget that Meek and Drake used to work together a lot with songs like Amen and RICO.
If we’re being honest here, I never stopped liking Meek Mill. Even when he was getting body bagged by Drake. When Back to Back dropped in 2016 it was probably a top 3-5 diss track that was legit getting played on the radio. It was superb; the perfect diss track. It essentially buried Meek in the public eye plus he then went to jail not long after that so he was out of sight for a while. Meek of course recently got out of the clinker with a little help from none other than Mr. Robert Kraft, which was ironic because Meek’s music was basically the theme song for the Eagles ripping out the Patriots’ hearts in Super Bowl LII.
But if we’re being honest here, I never stopped liking Meek. The dude has put out some bangers and I think a lot of people forgot just how good he is after the Drake beef. It was too easy to clown Meek and forget about jams like
Monster
Ooh Kill Em
Levels
So I just hope now that Drake has buried the hatchet with Meek the rest of us can all openly admit how much we enjoy Meek’s music.
#RushHourRap – Eminem Just Dropped a New Album Called Kamikaze From the Clouds
I went to bed last night after another victory on the battlefield that is beer league softball only to wake up this morning to see Eminem released a new album, Kamikaze.
No warning. No hints. No viral marketing campaign as he tends to do. Nope. Just a brand new album to close out the summer. I haven’t listened to it yet so we’ll be in this together, but the Spotify link is embedded below to put some flava in ya ear.
https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/3HNnxK7NgLXbDoxRZxNWiR
The only heads up was a tweet from Em featuring a sample of a song he made for the new Venom movie. Dope, but did not prepare me for 13 new tracks from Marshall.
.@VenomMovie pic.twitter.com/TBPdhaf2WR
— Marshall Mathers (@Eminem) August 30, 2018
I thought Em’s last album, Revival, was pretty good, nothing amazing. It was enjoyable, but it didn’t have the unforgettable raps that you’ll save to your memory bank. A tall task for a guy with so many classics over the years for sure. The surprising collab with Ed Sheeran on “River” was my favorite track of the album and the one I revisit the most. There was the anti-Trump anthem “Like Home,” the Cranberries’s Zombie sample “In Your Head,” the tributes to his struggle with addictions and his relationship with his daughter on “Castle” and “Arose” back to back, the Pink feature “Need Me” and of course the opening track “Walk on Water” featuring Beyonce.
All pretty good, but nothing to get people buzzing as critical reception of the album was lukewarm. I think Em took that to heart too. Rather than go on the campaign trail promoting the new album, he dropped it in the middle of the night with a brief and seemingly unburdened tweet.
Tried not 2 overthink this 1… enjoy. 🖕#KAMIKAZE Out Now – https://t.co/ANw73KbwMt pic.twitter.com/qfQoTYBTUy
— Marshall Mathers (@Eminem) August 31, 2018
Here’s to hoping this album is a smash and it inspires Em to go back on another world tour. I saw Marshall at Boston Calling, which was an amazing experience watching the GOAT rapping under steady rainfall.
It was his first time performing in Boston in nearly 20 years with the only other time I’ve seen Eminem live being at MetLife after a 5 hour drive back in 2013.
Do the right thing people, buy the album and force Marshall’s hand.
#RushHourRap – Frontin’
I can’t do basic math, I’m bad at directions, and I’m terrible with names, but I can still rap Jay-Z’s verse on Frontin’ word for word in my car 15 years later.
#RushHourRap – Eminem – Walk On Water
A much more somber and reflective Eminem than we’re used to is on full display in “Walk On Water.” Its something that every artist grapples with as they get older and further removed from their biggest hits. Em is a rap legend, but as he has referenced in several songs in the past few years, he’s not as big as he once was, which is something he’s coming to grips with.
“Walk On Water” is a much more mellow song than you normally hear from Em, which is why I worry most people won’t give it the proper attention and actually listen to it. Its not a heavy ass beat like Rap God, its not full of blind rage like Stan, and its not full of jokes like Without Me, but its definitely one of his deeper tracks. It also explains why we don’t hear much and why this track came out of nowhere. He seems to be struggling with trying to create perfection as he battles the perception of being older and past his prime, which is exactly what Dr. Dre struggled with for years in search of the unachievable “Detox.” Not a huge Beyonce fan, but this is a damn good song with some great wordplay and her chorus pairs well with the somber tone of the song. Pumped for the full album to drop, hopefully sooner than later.
It’s the curse of the standard
That the first of the Mathers discs set
Always in search of the verse that I haven’t spit yet
Will this step just be another misstep
To tarnish whatever the legacy, love or respect
I’ve garnered? The rhyme has to be perfect, the delivery flawless
And it always feels like I’m hittin’ the mark
‘Til I go sit in the car, listen and pick it apart
Like, “This shit is garbage!”
#RushHourRap – YEEZUS
Get fired up this morning with Kanye at his most Kanye. Yeezus, as most of Kanye’s albums, was looked at as pretty “out there” by most when it dropped in 2013, but now people look back and say that album was ahead of its time. Same thing happened with 808s & Heartbreak when Kanye basically brought autotune into the mainstream before anyone else. But thats why I love Kanye. He’s the definition of an artist. He’s an absolute fucking maniac, he’s always trying new shit, and he’s usually ahead of the curve with his sound. Yeezus still absolutely bangs.
Not to mention, I saw Kanye on the Yeezus tour in Boston and that concert was completely mental. Who needs Broadway when you get a show like this every couple of years?
#RushHourRap – Mobb Deep
Shook Ones is a first ballot Hall of Fame rap song.
Now obviously this song came out in 1995, but it had a renaissance when it was the featured instrumental on the final 8 Mile rap battle in 2002. The unforgettable scene where Eminem just rips Papa Doc to shreds over the Mobb Deep beat. That movie was a pre-game go to for me and my roommates back in college. Just have like 6 captain and diets and then see who can rattle off the rap battles the best. Hell, to this day we jokingly ask which one of us is gonna have the 8 Mile rap battle played at our wedding. CUE THE HIGHLIGHTS!
#RushHourRap – Atmosphere – Trying to Find a Balance
One of my all time favorite artists, these guys have been around for a longgg time, dropping their debut album, Overcast, back in 1997. Since then they’ve released 7 additional albums, plus countless mixtapes and side projects. So there are a ton of tracks to pick from with these guys, but here’s a good intro for the uninitiated; Trying to Find a Balance.
Life, love, stress, and setbacks.
#RushHourRap – KYLE – Remember Me
If Sammy Adams and Mike Stud embodied the frat rap movement, KYLE is leading the way for the introverted guys who take drama classes and play video games. Seriously. Listen to his first album, Beautiful Loser, and you’ll notice how he works in sound effects from games like Star Fox into his music. This is the next guy to pop as he’s been piling up hits the past couple of years and on “Remember Me?” he collabs with Chance the Rapper for a fire flames track.
KYLE signed with Atlantic Records earlier this year so the big guns are now behind him and he had his first radio hit this summer with iSpy, which was one of the biggest songs of the year. Hell the guy was even on AskGaryVee so he’s far from an unknown, but I feel like most people still aren’t in on him. Load up your iPod kids, KYLE bangs.
The 300s 