Generic list post: April 2025

Papo2004 & Subjxct 5 - Chopper City Pap
(From Papoholic, vol. 1 album; 2025)


Obligatory wrap-up post of those songs I've played most during the month when Papo2oo4 finally made a song I really fuxwit. Cot-damn, that beat sounds like Ralf & Florian remixed a Mannie Fresh track.

Big Scoob - Say It Loud (American & Proud) (2002)
Murs ft. Shock G & Humpty Hump - Risky Business (2003)
Murs - The Night Before (2003)
Myaap ft. Vae Vanilla & Tre 3200 - Feeling Dis (2024)
Myaap - Fairy (2025)
Ezale - On The Radar freestyle (2025)
Wiz Khalifa & DJ Fresh - What's Hannin' (live) (2025)
La Reezy ft. Malachi - Venus Fly Trap (2025)
504icygrl - Where He At (2025)
504icygurl - Throw Me Something Big (2025)
Real Lies - Arielle (2025)
Real Lies - Shulgin (2025)

Bonus bloggin: 1nce again I'm gonna use my monthly wrap-up post to keep track of the best movies and TV shows I've been watching. * indicates rewatches dunnit.

Movies I watched and liked:
The Monster Club (1981) *
Tombstone (1993) *
La Haine (1995) *
The Descent (2005)

TV shows I watched and liked:
Neighbours (new episodes) (2024)
Doctor Who (new episodes) (2025)
Mastermind (semi finals) (2025)
How To Win The Champions League: José Mourinho (2025)
Arsenal vs. Real Madrid (2025)
Real Madrid vs. Arsenal (2025)
Aston Villa vs. PSG (2025)
Manchester United vs. Lyon (2025)
Barcelona vs. Celta Vigo (2025)
Crystal Palace vs. Aston Villa (2025)
Barcelona vs. Real Madrid (Copa Del Rey final) (2025)
Barcelona vs. Inter Milan (2025)

Russell Athletic

LARussell - Nothin' Like It
(From Nothin' Like It single; 2025)


Ya host Ronaldo Dregan has been tryin' to front on this LARussell single to no avail. As a Brit, I neither know about nor care about Baseball or any other American sport, but that doesn't stop me enjoying this song just like I enjoy Twista's NBA Live theme. What Nothin' Like It manages to do is be a personal anthem for fans of the San Francisco Giants while tapping into the universal feeling of watching your sports team win. It's NorCal Rap music for the local community with so international appeal like B-Legit.

La La La

'New Orleans Chance The Rapper/Hot Boy hybrid rapper making Swag-Rap/Boom-Bap hybrid music' is a bizarre concept, but I'll be damned if this La Reezy kid doesn't make it work on a few tracks from his new EP. I'm kinda feelin' his latest single I Look Good and really feelin' his song with LARussell's m8 Malachi which hits like some vintage Dungeon Family.

"I seen a lotta n*ggas fade to black before they hit they teens
Like I wish my brother could see me on a screen"

La Reezy ft. Malachi - Venus Fly Trap
(From Welcome To La Reezyana Vol. 1 EP; 2025)

Late pass again!

"Now in L.A., as you know, there's a war goin' on
And it's been goin' on since before I was born
Though the undisputed origin has yet to be formed
It all used to boil down to the red and the blue
But that got f**ked up as the many led the few
Now there's bloods killin' bloods and crips killin' crips
That's n*ggas killin' n*ggas they played kickball with"

Murs - The Night Before
(From The End Of The Beginning album; 2003)


Murs' perfect song/video with Shock G & Humpty Hump inspired me to pick up his Def Jux debut CD. My 2nd favourite choon on there is another storytellin' track The Night Before, altho ain't shit funny about this tale. Murs uses each verse to whip up a whole world about L.A gang violence like Ice-T used to do, albeit from a different angle about 'bangers like triangle isosceles. Woulda been another perfect song had Murs not referred to THE REAL FOOTBALL™ as kickball. It's the exact same myopic 'Murican refusal to accept THE REAL FOOTBALL™ on its own terms which gave us such sporting calamities as the way Major League Soccer players used to take penalties in the 90s.

Fresh Is The Word

Wiz Khalifa - What's Hannin' (live)
(From the On The Radar YouTube channel; 2025)


LARussell & Wiz Khalifa's I Might Be is such a killer single it inspired me to peep Wiz's new long-touted sequel to his Kush and Orange Juice mixtape. Naturally, I Mught Be is the best choon on there, but there's a couple of other legit jams including a sad boi wavy song produced by DJ Fresh called What's Hannin'. However, Wiz performed What's Hannin' live for the On The Radar YouTube channel with the sort of crystal-clear chutzpah which has made the studio version superfluous 4 me.

Bonus bloggin': what better time than now for an official Martorialist top ten favourite Rap songs produced by DJ Fresh list? One song per rapper so everybody gets their chance to shine.

Beeda Weeda - Bass Rock Babies (O.G mix) (2010)
Keak Da Sneak - Maxi Pads (2010)
Ezale - We Want Some Pussy (2016)
D-Lo - It Won't Be Long (2009)
Nef The Pharaoh - Giggerz (2021)
J.Stalin - Cocaine Cowboys (2008)
Shady Nate - Bottom Of My Bottle (2009)
Mozzy - Wet Woozy Wop Em and Wolly (2013)
Mistah F.A.B - Summertime In My City (2006)
The Jacka ft. Bo Strangles - Boomin' System (2012)

Late pass!

Myaap ft. Vae Vanilla & 3200 Tre - Feeling Dis
(From The Bigger Picture album; 2024)



I've been checkin' for Myaap since HTS but I completely missed this song from the tail end of last year. A posse cut where everybody came with their own perspective and everybody got their points across. 2nd best non-2025 Rap song I've discovered this week so far. The first is Risky Business by Murs & Shock G/Humpty Hump. Never in a month of Black Sundays would my square arse have guessed that Shock G guested & produced a song on a Def Jux album.

Murs ft. Shock G & Humpty Hump - Risky Business
(From The End of The Beginning album; 2003)


I'm sure most of youse lot were already familiar with Risky Business, but nobody ever told me about it! In fact, the only song I know from this particular Murs album is Transitionz Az A Ridah.

So Icy Entertainment

504icygrl - Throw Me Something Big
(From Caked Up album; 2025)


Sassy NOLA bird Mardi Gras parade-rap over a Trel Itz A Hit-type beat? 4 better or 4 worse, that's some shit I can't resist. It's Supa Sunday in N.O on The Martorialist today, so I'm compelled to admit I'm also diggin' 504icygrl's recent Bounce choon Where He At. When our 9th Ward breezy says "all white steppin', yeah, I'm feelin' Godly" I pray the lord keeps her kicks free from any dog/cat/bird shit. It's a cold world, but them streetz are filled with hot dung.

504icygrl - Where He At
(From Caked Up album; 2025)

My Mind Spray 19

In hindsight, I wish I'd have named this blog Transmitting Live From Mart's (geddit?)

Topics I'm hoping will be discussed in this book about independent Rap circa 1995 to 2005: why the Operation Doomsday re-recordings of DOOM's early singles are categorically better than the original 12" versions; Z-Man being Rap's O.G Courtney killed Kurt conspiracy theorist; Camu Tao's Hold The Floor single bodying the El P and Cannibal Ox albums on Def Jux; Big Scoob's 12" singles on Fully Blown Records; Vordul getting beaten up by Will High; Immortal Technique getting beaten up by Filipino Frank; Copywrite getting beaten up by Camu Tao and Cage; why the author decided 2005 was the cut-off point when J-Zone & Celph Titled's Bo$$ Hog Barbarians album dropped in 2006.

How's about a generic list of my favourite singles of 2025 so far? Billing it as the best singles of 2025 means I can include a few hot 2024 songs which officially became singles this year.

Ezale - Hang Wit Them
Juvenile ft. Mannie Fresh - Party
MelloBuckzz ft. Monaleo - Move Pt 2
Kurious - 1984
OnlyHeaven - In Here
Seiji Oda ft. Iamsu - HUU!
LARussell ft. Wiz Khalifa - I Might Be
Pookie F'n Rude ft. E-40 - Da N***a (video mix)
Supahbadd - I Am
YG ft. Buddy & The Gang - 2004
Murs - Silverlake Rec League
Richie Rich - Wires And Vogues
Robb Bank$ ft. Sir Michael Rocks, Shorty K & Boldy James - Top Shottas 2k25
EBK Jaaybo - F**k Everybody (Free Maxx)
TG Kommas - Out Yo Mind
Stunnaman02 & The Yee Section - Out That Window (live)

Champagne On The Blog

Big Scoob - Say It Loud (American & Proud)
(From Say It Loud (American & Proud) 12" single; 2002)


Here's a rap song which wasn't on the internet so I've uploaded a video of it to YouTube. Some proto-Top Shelf 8/8/88-core by Big Scoob FKA Big Daddy Kane's ex-dancer Scoob Lover, taken from the early 2000s when Scoob was dropping nice 12" singles like Kryptonite and U Got It, Can Du and Brooklyn Flava and Floss Filthy. Say It Loud (American & Proud) is Scoob's ode to the U.S.A recorded in the aftermath of 9/11, which basically means it's 30% patriotism/70% braggadocio. Don't get it twisted tho, this song would make a way better American national anthem than The Star Spangled Banner. That's one thing the U.K and the U.S.A will always have in common: national anthems which are tuneless dirges.

My Gran bought me the portable turntable in the video back in the early 80s and it's still going strong. I dunno how to rip vinyl to MP3 so Step One said he'll do it for me if I post him the Big Scoob 12". I'm gonna take him up on his offer, but first I'm gonna take a punt on a couple of the other early 2000s Scoob 12"s I've never heard which have never been uploaded to the internet. If they're legit jams then I'm gonna hit Step up with that Scooby pack.

**EDIT** I put the Say It Loud (American & Proud) instrumental on YouTube too.

We're All In The Same Yang

"Sauced up, bossed up
Just got a few dollars she coughed up
All in a bitch mouth like cough syrup
Can't help this the way I was brought up"

Ezale - On The Radar freestyle
(From P-Lo's For The Soil cypher for On The Radar; 2025)


A mere freestyle, but it's the first time Ezale has rhymed over a P-Lo production and it's a great fit like tighty-whities. I'm down for a proper Ezale & P-Lo collaboration, preferably an EP together like the LARussell & P-Lo EP where Ezale does the raps and P-Lo does the slaps.

Speaking of which, it's very weird to hear the word slap enter Britain's normie vernacular. Just last week I caught an episode of British soap-opera Coronation Street and one of the zoomer lads said "this curry slaps!" O rly? Nane 3 Mac Dre songs, m8.