The best songs of the 2020s so far IMHO

HAAAAAAAAAAAS ANYBODY SEEN PITCHFORK'S 100 BEST SONGS OF THE 2020'S SO FAR LIST??? I haven't because I've been too busy ripping it off with my own list of Martorialist favourites from the last four years. Obviously there are songs missing from this list, but plz believe they aren't the songs you think should be included. On one hand, the past four years has resulted in some of the absolute worst music I've ever heard; on the other hand, it's also resulted in these choonz.

KMD - Scrambled Eggs (1993/2021)
Max B - Phenomenon (2020)
Flo Milli - Not Friendly (2020)
The Chats - Pub Feed (2020)
Duke Deuce - Bad News (2020)
Jenevieve - Baby Powder (2020)
Homeboy Sandman - Waiting On My Girl (2020)
Rio Da Yung OG - Groovy (2020)
Cookiee Kawaii - Vacation (2020)
Mac J - OldSkoo (2020)
Bris - First 42 Hours Freestyle (2020)
Pop Smoke - Armed N Dangerous (2020)
79rs Gang - 79rs Bout To Blow (2020)
Maurice Fulton & Peggy Gou - Jigoo (2020)
AZ - Different (2020)
Gzus Piece - Hot Tub TIme Machine (2020)
Sault - Wildfires (2020)
Mozzy - Big Homie From The Hood (2020)
Ether Da Connect ft. Mr. Swipey & Waka Flocka Flame - WAKA (remix) (2020)
Beabaadoobee - Care (2020)
NHale - Dealin' Wit A Hoe (2020)
UNiiQU3 - UNiiQU3'S Groove (Get Down) (2020)
Dee-1 - Corona Clap (video version) (2020)
2nd Grade - Velodrome (2020)
Ka - I Love (Mimi, Mom's, Kev) (2020)
Juiceboxxx - Deal With The Dream (2020)
YG - Swag (2020)
Boldy James & Alchemist - Speed Demon Freestyle (2020)
Ezale - Raised Like This (2021)
Remble - Touchable (2021)
Eatem - Go Get Yo F**kin' Brotha (2021)
Turnstile - New Heart Design (2021)
Seiji Oda ft. Lil' Ricefield - Gasbreakdip (2021)
Monaleo - We Not Humping (2021)
Dru Down - Everywhere I Go (2021)
Pa Salieu ft. Slowthai - Glidin' (2021)
P-Lo - Going Off (2021)
DAWN - Boomerang (2021)
Ballout - Lift It Up (2021)
Bruiser Wolf ft. Apropos - Momma Was A Dopefiend (2021)
Danny Brown - Dylon (2021)
Olivia Rodrigo - Brutal (2021)
Stunnaman02 & QuakeBeatz - Big Steppin' (2021)
Children Of Zeus - I Know (2021)
Saweetie - Fast (Motion) (2021)
Cajmere - So Happy (2021)
Yuno Miles - Road To Riches (2021)
Day Day Sustaaa - B.A.N.P (2022)
Benzz - Je M'appelle (2022)
Hitkidd & GloRilla - FNF (Let's Go) (2022)
Real Lies - Dream On (2022)
Mouse On Tha Track - Big Blossom (2022)
Mr. Fingers - Coastline Paradox (2022)
Asian Doll ft. Bandmanrill - Get Jumped (2022)
Young Jr - Bird Walk (2022)
2Rare - Oochie Coochie (2022)
Luh Tyler - Law & Order (2022)
Paramore - This Is Why (2022)
Young Bleed - Dat' Water (2022)
Texas Boyz - Awready (2022)
Knucks ft. SL - Nice & Good (2022)
D4M $loan - Swiper (2022)
SZA - Nobody Gets Me (2022)
Lady Ice - Up North (2022)
Kookei - Incredible (2022)
AD - All I Do (2022)
Lebra Jolie - What Kinda (2022)
TREE - 10 Mac 11's (2023)
The Guy - Sorry Buddy (2023)
Coyote ft. Shaquille O'Neal - 3 Lokos (2023)
J Hus - It's Crazy (2023)
Zae Shakur - Donuts In A Benz (2023)
Peggy Gou - It Goes Like (Nanana) (2023)
Sexyy Red - Shake Yo Dreads (2023)
Lil' Ricefield - Him Burton (2023)
Everything But The Girl - Nothing Left To Lose (2023)
Mic Terror ft. Gzus Piece - The Titty Song (2023)
Mean Jeans - I Don't Give A Shit Anymore (2023)
Nef The Pharaoh ft. LARussell - Furley Ghost (2023)
Kenya Grace - Strangers (2023)
iCandy - Keep Dat N*gga (2023)
Berner ft. The Jacka - Gone (remix) (2023)
Lord Sko - Pimp Socks (2023)
Myaap - HTS (2023)
Suga Free & Kokane - Bitch In Da Trunk (2023)
Donae'o - Let There Be Light (2023)
BeatKing ft. Sukihana, Diamond & Princess - On Yo Head (remix) (2023)
BigXthaPlug - Texas (2023)
Mello Buckzz - Move (2023)
Pete & Bas - Mr. Worldwide (2023)
LARussell & P-Lo ft. D-Lo & Malachi - Yankin' (2024)
LL Cool J ft. Busta Rhymes - Huey In The Chair (2024)
Busta Rhymes - Do The Busabus Pt.2 (2024)
Pookie F'n Rude - Hold Up (2024)
Mac God Dbo - A Whole Brick (2024)
Kurious - I Don't Even Exist (2024)
Pooh The WriteR - Bestie (2024)
Common & Pete Rock - Wise Up (2024)
Alfonso de Vilallonga - Dog and Tin At The Beach (2024)
Nine & Dex - Pecan Pie (2024)

My Mind Spray 16.5

For the past 5 or so days YouTube has recommended me videos of Lord Jamar talking about homosexuality while dressed like an Egyptian mummy. Trap goin' Hamunaptra?

Back in 2002 Westwood played a Freeway song which I'd never been able to identify. A couple of days ago I randomly came across it and it's not a Freeway song, but a Naam Brigade song he guested on called Early In The Game. YouTube commenters reckon it's a Philly minor-classic?

Call me Poo Man because two of my favourite random regional Rap song discoveries of 2024 are Hold Up by Pookie F'n Rude and Bestie by Pooh The WriteR.

Some bloke recently tried to tell me that Eric B & Rakim's fourth and final album was "a disappointment". Bruv, an album which contains Know The Ledge, The Punisher, Casualties Of War, Keep The Beat, Don't Sweat The Technique, Kick Along and What's On Your Mind shits on the lives of you and your entire bloodline.

You midlife crisis Rap internet guys who are out here pretending to enjoy Xaviersobased's music need to grow up and listen to some real adult-contemporary Rap like Yuno Miles.

Double nickels on the humble pie

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Police Helicopter (demo version)
(From demo; 1983/Out In L.A compilation; 1994)


For 32 years I lived by the belief that Give It Away is the only good Red Hot Chili Peppers song and you couldn't tell me nothin' to the contrary. But a month or so back I saw Johnboxxx mention the demo version of Police Helicopter and that shit has been up inside my speakers like a diaphragm ever since. It's the best song Minutemen never recorded, and it conclusively bodies the official studio version (over)produced by that commie Andy Gill; them Chili Pepper lads shoulda heeded the Ramones' third rule. Anyhoo, I betcha Pimp C woulda loved this song as he loved Give It Away.

New York, ya out there?

Busta Rhymes - Do The Busabus Pt. 2
(From Do The Busabus Pt. 2 single; 2024)


Forget what the song title says, this is Busta's equivalent of Mystikal's Hit Me in a Do The Bus a Bus sequel's clothing. Very unexpected turn of events where LL Cool J, Kurious and Busta are dropping some of my favourite Rap songs of 2024. That Greg Nice saxobeat-core song from a few months back was cool too.

**EDIT** a video for this single just dropped with Busta wearing an outfit which looks like it was crocheted by my aunty Liz. More importantly, I just found out that Busta's song was inspired by this amazing 1983 TV clip set to Do It Any Way You Wanna by People's Choice. One day later it all makes sense. I'm guessing this video is some real everlasting Black History™?

Charlie Green - The Bus Stop
(From The Chicago Party TV show; 1983)

Generic list post: September 2024

Obligatory wrap-up post of those songs I've played most during the month when J-S.A.N.D said "anybody can get it and anybody can give it to you, it's like secret santa."

Kurious - Fill 'Er Up (1991/2008)
Kurious - Untainted (2024)
LL Cool J - Illegal Search (Pre-Trial Hearing mix) (1990)
LL Cool J ft. Busta Rhymes - Huey In The Chair (2024)
LL Cool J - Basquiat Energy (2024)
Seiji Oda - Last Summer (video) (2024)
UrFavGrannie - Boy Bye (2024)
Nine & Dex - Jesus Piece (2024)
Ramones - M.P.S.C's TV studio performance (1976)
Ramones - S-L-U-G (Road To Ruin mix) (1978/2018)
Ramones - 7-11 (New York mix) (1981/2023)

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 Stranger (1946)
Charade (1963)
48 Hours (1982) *
Miracle Mile (1988)
The Mask (1994) *
Hundreds of Beavers (2022)
The Substance (2024)

TV shows I watched and liked:
Prisoner: Cell Block H (episodes 147 to 153) (1980)
Neighbours (new episodes) (2024)
Colin From Accounts (series 2) (2024)
Jamali Maddix: Follow The Leader (all 4 episodes) (2024)
Only Connect (new episodes) (2024)
Match Of The Day 1 and 2 (new episodes) (2024)

One heLLuva guy

LL Cool J - Illegal Search (Pre-Trial Hearing mix)
(From one of the Jingling Baby (remix) 12" singles; 1990)


LL Cool J - No Airplay (Bad Boy remix)
(From Bad Boy's Gettin' Down In Da LB mixtape; 1995)


LL Cool J - Bring On The Mo's & Ho's
(From Double L Cools Down bootleg 12" EP; 1996)


Oil up your ankles and let your Timbs tap to three of my favourite LL Cool J deep cut gems. Firstly, we got the Illegal Search (Pre-Trial Hearing mix) which was done by Large Professor and is more flavour like praline than the LP version. Secondly, we got the blowticious No Airplay (Bad Boy remix) which features entirely new lyrics and a completely different beat. And third and finally, we got a track recorded for Mr. Smith which was relegated to a Def Jam bootleg EP due to it sharing the same sample as a certain 2Pac song, word to mama. If LL ever does a Lost Tapes album then I guess like the jeans that these three tracks would be no brainer inclusions alongside Mr Controversy, Year Of The Hip Hop, the uncensored version of the O.G No Airplay, and Set It Off New York.

Kangol bucket hat tips to EttelThun and Step Wun for the Audiomack uploads of the two remixes, and to Yohan for suggesting Year Of The Hip Hop which completely slipped my mind.

Hanging on the telephone

LL Cool J - 1-900 L.L Cool J
(From Walking With A Panther album; 1989)


What's an LL album track beloved by you and seemingly only you? I'm a 1-900 L.L Cool J type of guy, meself. Uncle L used the 1-900 number concept before The Convicts or Roc-A-Fella, and hit the same Watermelon Man loop as the Dolly My Baby remix before Super Cat, Biggie et al. And LL did it while sounding effortlessly smug in a flow which probably made MC Shan real mad. In a perfect world 1-900 L.L Cool J woulda been the 4th single from Walking With A Panther instead of the nauseating ballad One Shot At Love.

Shit's got me thinking about what the first Rap song to start with a phone call was. Earliest I can think of is Spoonie Gee's The Big Beat. If not, The Big Beat was definitely the first Rap song to feature a "freak this" breakdown with the sound of squeaking bed springs. Insert your own Puffy joke here ----> _________.

My Mind Spray 16

I copped the CD of that new LL Cool J album and he's only gone and printed all the song credits and shout outs in tiny red text on a black background which I can't even read properly with my magnifying glass. Rappers, if you learn anything from this blog then let it be the layout - white text on a dark background is unfadeable, baby.

Another problem with the new LL CD is that there's no tracklist on the back sleeve. An unforgivable rookie mistake from a rapper who dropped his first CD in 1985. Musicians should always have the tracklist on the back of their CDs and should always have the tracks numbered. If I crash my car searching for songs on the CD then I'm sending LL the bill for damages.

My m8 went to see Alchemist DJ on Saturday night and offered me his spare ticket. I declined because a modern day Chemical Alan DJ set would be fulla dreary-arse recent songs by Griselda, Action Bronson, Armand Hammer and Earl Sweatshirt & his boring m8s. If I go watch Alchemist spin choonz then I wanna hear his obvious old anthems plus his banger ne plus ultras like Agallah's Crookie Monster, Casual's I Gotta (Get Down), Saigon's Stocking Cap, Big Noyd's Shoot 'Em Up, Bang, Bang, Prodigy's Raining Guns & Shanks and Boldy James' Moochie.

Fave Rap videos of 2024: Move by Mello Buckzz; Fun by Ezale; Devils Contract by Coyote; Yeah Glo! by GloRilla; A Gentle Gigg by Seiji Oda; and Yankin' by LARussell & P-Lo ft. D-Lo & Malachi. It's nice to see rappers making an effort and coming up with visuals which enhance the songs and which make the songs best experienced in video-form.

Is Milo from The Mask the greatest dog companion in movie history? Loyal, smart, inventive, crafty, funny and cute (no Bodil Joensen), Milo was the perfect lil' homie. And, unlike Jim Carrey's other great dog companion in a movie Max from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Milo was played by a single dog and not six different near-identical dogs.

Whose gran is this?

"Can't trust you no mo', so I have to say goodbye
Too much drama even for a lil' guy
Haha, yeah, that's you - the lil' guy
Put me through a lot, boy bye!"

UrFavGrannie - Boy Bye
(From YouTube; 2024)


Vera Punt from Neighbours raps now? Cot-damn, "you was dead wrong, so back to the trap where you belong" is one of the coldest lines in a 2024 Rap song. Anyhoo, last time I posted a UrFavGrannie song it was for the bantz, this time it's for the bantz and because the song actually jams. Grannie looks like she ate Eazy-E, and maybe she did given how she's replicated his flow on this shit. That Nirvana shirt tho - name 3 non-album tracks, luv!

Late pass!

"Time is overdue, so I'm gonna spill
My guts on the theory 'cause things is gettin' ill
Dreams get traded and sold like gold ropes
And ya hopes get sunk like boats"

Kurious - Fill 'Er Up
(From unreleased; 1991/A Constipated Monkey Demo Sessions EP; 2008)


The recent renaissance by Kurious has finally inspired me to check out that EP of his unreleased pre-A Constipated Monkey recordings. I was already up on Trueness To The Blueness but unfamiliar with the rest. Fave song on there is Fill 'Er Up where Yung Jorge is already in fine self-deprecating form over some Pete Nice production; even though Jorge has already been bitten by cynicism, the song still retains that 1991 Rap innocence. In a perfect world Fill 'Er Up shoulda been Kurious' debut single before he followed it up with Walk Like A Duck.

(I asked him on Instagram when it was recorded and he reckoned late 1991.)