Jarell Perry – Smoke + Mirrors
DOWNLOAD: Jarell Perry – Smoke + Mirrors
Jarell Perry quietly became one of my favorite artists in 2013. If you missed my story, you can read it here. Anyways, you probably slept on a majority of Jarell’s releases in 2013, but I decided to highlight this leftover track ‘Smoke + Mirrors’, which is possibly one of my favorite tracks from Jarell. This was a throwaway from his project Simple Things, and man, this deserved to be a standout cut on the project. The beat sounds like electronic rain is hitting the ground, and then Jarell’s signature snyth-heavy style comes in full swing on the hook and reminds you why you started, or should start, listening to Jarell.
EMP DASME – You See Me
DOWNLOAD: EMP DASME – You See Me
Ever since the video for ‘You See Me’ dropped, it has been permanently implanted in my head. Chicago’s EMP DASME has been having a ton of unexpected success in his career, with him getting King Louie & Lil Bibby to hop on his track, to getting his track featured on Fools Gold’s Loosies compilation, & now he has his own C-Sick produced single ‘You See Me’ getting airplay in Chicago. It’s definitely well-deserved, as EMP has been developing at a pretty remarkable rate, and don’t be surprised if 2014 is the year you really see EMP. His new, and what he considers his first ‘real’ mixtape, The Consortium, is due out in Q1 of 2014, & with ‘You See Me’ & the title track giving us a look into the project, you definitely should get tuned in. He may not be the next Rakim lyrically, but he has the perfect balance of melodic and radio-ready tunes while also tapping his flow onto some soft-electric production to keep things diverse. Oh, and if you are interested, Chicago’s YP & Duke Da Beast hopped on the ‘You See Me’ remix. Check that.
The Concept – Collection Plate
DOWNLOAD: The Concept – Collection Plate
You know, I really do not want to be THAT guy, but I am always one to be honest, and honestly, The Concept did not release ONE BAD SONG in 2013. Need proof? Go through our archives, or just head over to his Soundcloud. It’s just straight up quality tracks, and there’s a good quantity of them too. The Concept released two EP’s in 2013, with the first being his nostalgic Orange Soda: The 90s EP, and the second being a collaboration with producer Remot, No Role Models. While there was quality on both of those releases, his release ‘Collection Plate’ was hands down my favorite release from him this year. ‘Collection Plate’ features The Concept showcasing his honesty as usual over a key-heavy beat, and the candance he has in his voice while speaking out on his frustration and violence is powerful. So, after giving this a listen, hopefully you will start paying attention when I post songs from The Concept.
Le$ – Champagne
DOWNLOAD: Le$ – Champagne
Whenever I see a release from Le$, I get an excited yet upsetting feeling. While I know he’s coming through with some smooth, jazzy sounding tracks, it hurts me to know that Le$ has not and may not ever get the attention he deserves. If you needed one track to figure out if you should get into Le$, I would present you this track, ‘Champagne’. It’s short, to the point, yet showcases Le$ full ability to just make you sink into a jazzy, key-heavy beat while speaking on his view of the game. ‘I ain’t worried about bars/ I ain’t worried about a hook/ I ain’t worried about a topic my life an open book’. Those lines point the spotlight right at the honesty needed in the rap game today. This cut was off his extremely laid back project E36, which is probably a must listen if you’re into jazzy production and smooth raps. Ironically, Le$ answers my concern at the beginning of this paragraph in this song, ‘Maybe I ain’t blow yet ’cause I ain’t got a gimmick’. Maybe so, Le$. Maybe so.
Phil Adé – Xscape
DOWNLOAD: Phil Ade – XScape
Phil Adé has been busy working on honing his craft in the past few years, which is the reason for the lack of records from him, but in 2013 he returned with his latest mixtape R.O.S.E. While the mixtape featured a very matured sound, this track ‘Xscape’ was a nice little track with a lessened mood from the mixtape, and ended up being one of my favorites from the project. Phil is tired of these hoes & has finally found some wifey material and wants her to be his ‘Xscape’ from the hoes. Sunny Norway produced 10 of the 17 (16 if you exclude the interlude) tracks on R.O.S.E., and this beat from Ashton Gold was probably the only above average beat from a producer not named Sunny Norway from the project. More of these beats, and obviously more Sunny Norway, for Phil in the future. If this track got you intrigued about getting into Phil, either download R.O.S.E. here or listen to ‘Nas Told Me’, and then go download the mixtape.
IamSu! – Changes
Previously Posted (With Mixtape)
DOWNLOAD: IamSu! – Changes
‘Changes’ is definitely my favorite song in IamSu!’s discography. The self-produced cut from his 2013 release KILT II was extremely slept on, and it’s a nice change of pace from Suzy’s normal sound. Like previous songs on this list, this is a key-driven instrumental, and it sets the tone for the inspiring track from Suzy. Tracks like ‘Changes’ are the reason I finally was able to get into IamSu! in 2013, and with his major label debut album dropping in April, I’m hoping IamSu! doesn’t change it up too much and delivers a few gems like this one along with his classic Bay Area sounding bangers.
Nipsey Hussle – Smoking With My Stylist
DOWNLOAD: Nipsey Hussle – Smoking With My Stylist
Beyond a few features that won’t even fill up the number of fingers on your hand, we were without music from Nipsey Hussle from September 2012 until May of this year, when Nipsey Hussle returned to provide us with ‘Smoking With My Stylist’. This was the first of six leaks from the Victory Lap leaks series, and even though we ended getting a mixtape full of other leftovers instead of Nipsey’s proper debut album Victory Lap, he still delivered us some quality tracks in 2013. ‘Smoking With My Stylist’ was the pinnacle of them all. Although a quick listen, the track featuring a chopped up, looping sample has Nipsey Hussle sounding as slick as ever. You want some real music? Nipsey delivered here, as always.
Rapsody – Never Know (Ft. Nipsey Hussle, Ab-Soul, & Terrace Martin)
DOWNLOAD: Rapsody – Never Know (Ft. Nipsey Hussle, Ab-Soul, & Terrace Martin)
Rapsody released hands down her biggest project of her career this year with her DJ-Drama hosted She Got Game. While her boss 9th Wonder handled a majority of the production, she got some features from some of the best out right now, as well as legends like Jay Electronica, Raekwon, Common, Ab-Soul, Nipsey Hussle, Wale, Chance The Rapper, Big K.R.I.T., Mac Miller, Jared Evans, Phonte, and others. The main standout, in my eyes, was her Nipsey Hussle, Ab-Soul, & Terrace Martin assisted track ‘Never Know’. While Terrace Martin doesn’t vocally appear on the song, the other three artists on the song definitely do. I can’t pick who did better on the song, because that would be just impossible, because all three artists gave great verses. Ab-Soul delivered arguably his best verse of 2013 on this one, but his 2013 didn’t feature too many standout verses, so this more reminded us that he could rap still.
Jeezy – No Pressure (Ft. Rich Homie Quan)
Previously Posted
DOWNLOAD: Jeezy – No Pressure (Ft. Rich Homie Quan)
While Young Jeezy spent most of 2013 building up his CTE roster, most notably dropping two EP’s and a mixtape while crafting YG’s breakthrough hit ‘My N***’ featuring himself & Rich Homie Quan, Jeezy also came through with a lot of quality tracks and I feel like ‘No Pressure’ was one of the most slept on the tracks of the year. The D. Rich produced single sounds like something that Atlanta should of taken and just blew it up like they continuously do. Rich Homie is effective as ever on the hook, and Jeezy talks about just grinding through the pressure and also talking about helping many of the artists that have blown up in Atlanta thanks to him. Yo, Shawty Lo, Rocko, Roscoe Dash, 2 Chainz, and Future, send some love Jeezy’s way. With Jeezy’s success with YG this year, he can add the Bompton artist to his list as well.