Generic list post: June 2017

Obligatory wrap-up post of those songs I've played most during the month when Juice from Wentworth licked her last pussy, and Prodigy + Grip Plyaz rapped their last verses. Why's it always gotta be the rappers who I like who cark it? And why's EttelThun the only other person on the rap internet wot watches Wentworth?

Mobb Deep - If These Walls Could Talk (2001)
Valee - Seen That Before (2017)
OMB Peezy - Porch (2017)
J-Diggs ft. Young Global & SB Shmack - 2nd Guessin' (2017)
Ricky Smith - Phone System (1991)
Brand New Heavies - I Don't Know Why.. (Kenny Dope Mix) (2006)
8 Bit Universe - XO Tour Llif3 (2017)

Other notables: listened to the new 2 Chainz album and couldn't find anything on there that's even half as good as MFN Right or Diamonds Talkin' Back; listened to the new Young Thug album and was bored by everything on there except Me Or Us; alas If Heaven Had A Cellphone by Bone Thugs & Tank was a better song title than a song; someone needs to tell A-Wax to lay off the Auto-Tune and hop off Atlanta's jock; someone should probably tell T.E.C & Maine Musik the same since their Spider Nation project lacks any kind of regional identity; thankfully Level & Mouse On Tha Track + Jay Lewis popped up with some proper Baton Rouge rap; the WNC lads did the same with Crew Bang, but I only really dig their shtick over Trel Itz A Hit production; wouldn't touch a 2017 Jay-Z album with yours, m8.

Push me to the edge, all my friends are Gadd

8 Bit Universe - XO Tour Llif3
(From Radio 8 Bit, Vol. 2 album; 2017)



Mushroom help the pain, yeah! Finally ya host & other gentlemen of a certain age can enjoy that Lil' Uzi Vert choon without feeling like Ken Kaniff. Joint best cover version of 2017 alongside Yung Cat's OG Stack A Dollar, imho.

King Vulture, Infamous soldier, G-Unit gorilla, R.I.P

Prodigy - Raining Guns & Shanks
(From the Return Of The Mac sessions; 2007)


Night of the living notty heads. You not an insurgent please go home if you don't recognise and realise Raining Guns & Shanks as the G.O.A.T officially-unreleased Prodigy deep cut. Alchemist really shoulda stumped up some of his own Shady/trustfund money to clear that J.B's sample on this one - if The Grunt was good enough for P.E twice on It Takes A Nation Of Millions... then it was also good enough for V.I.P the rebel soldier without a pause on Return Of The Mac.

Sparty's on the photoshop, tell the rest of the crew. It's funny because of the aforementioned pissed off ravers who really bought Return Of The Mac thinking it was a new album by The Prodigy.

U Bet It Did!

#iBetUWontChallange 1M views. #EverythingOnBlossom🌸🌷🌺 @itslevelbaby @famousamos_sofunny @koo_shotya

A post shared by Mouseonthatrack (@mouse.datme) on Jun 23, 2017 at 8:36pm PDT

Pardon the pun, but you know the viral dance challenge era of rap is a great leveler for all artists when it can propel I Bet U Won't to a million views on YouTube in just over a month. Dat Mega, especially for Mouse.

The proper new Level & Mouse single ain't half bad either. It's not another 5 Star General Jiggalator in the vein of I Bet U Won't and Get It Back, more a soundtrack to Baton Rouge club brawls à la the Going Down G-Mix or GYAB:

Level ft. Mouse On Tha Track & Jay Lewis - #DFWT
(From YouTube; 2017)

Everything's fine but I'm in a 2007 state of mind

"Fell in love with the guwop
Startin' beefin' and fell in love with them glocks
Don't fuck with the cops, but they comin' if you want it or not
I'm just preppin' ya brain for the shit you say you wanna be 'bout"

OMB Peezy - Porch
(From YouTube; 2017)


Yer calender says 2017, but the Lay Down kid just dropped the best lost Bad Azz Mixtape, Vol. 2-era Boosie song innit. Let the record show that Peezy is now 5 for 5 since he started takin' rap seriously: Lay Down, Interracial Relations, When I was Down, Loyalty Over Love (Intro), and Porch here. Livin' the fast life of no duds, droppin' 5 songs in a row and all of 'em are good.

Why couldn't God have taken Sherm The Worm instead of Prodigy?

Tell the bossman real M.O.B.B mavens know the dilly, yo.

There's a war goin' on inside no man is safe from, you can run but you can't hide forever from a dicky immune system. Damn, dunny - you know there's no dignity in death and the universe is just a neverending megacosm of cruel irony when the thun emporer P Dubb goes out like Lord Jamar in OZ. Survival of the fittest, only the vegans survive?

Remember Prodigy for what he brought to the table in numerous fields (music, killer opening lines, proto-#problematicness, menswear, bloggin', epitomizing short-man syndrome, sonnin' Joe Budden, talkin' shit about other rappers on street DVDs, havin' an album sponsored by InfoWars.com), and never forget the time he pissed off ravers who accidentally bought Return Of The Mac thinking it was a new album by The Prodigy.

Whether P has ended up at the Pearly Gates with G.O.D or deep in the Valley of Hinnom where it rains guns & shanks for eternity you can guarantee that King Vulture turned up wearing an XXL Avirex, blowing an ill wind in his enemy's directions. Keep your joints zipped up all times, hands in the pockets all times, it's real in the afterlife.

Generic list post: 20 from 2017

Half-yearly round up of the best rap songs of 2017 thus far as according to moi, including unreleased joints which finally saw the light of day this year, tracks from 2015/2016 which only popped this year and are now essential to the 2017 experience, songs from late december 2016 which body pretty much anything released in 2017, a song which currently only exists as 2 Instagram snippets, and even a couple of Roadrapfrobeats jams by British lads of African descent. F*ck being a good year for rap, ya host's 2017 is complicated.

Camp Lo - Camp Lo (Bust Ya Down)
T-Pain & Lil' Wayne - Listen To Me
MF DOOM & Madlib - Avanlache
Level ft. Mouse On Tha Track - I Bet U Won't
Valee - Shell
OMB Peezy - Lay Down
Quelle Chris - Buddies
Creek Boyz - With My Team
Dru Down - My 501's
Street Knowledge - Dru Down Flow
Migos - T-Shirt
Yung Cat - 2Chop Stickz
Ayo & Teo - Lit Right Now
BallGreezy ft. Lil' Dred - Nice & Slow
SOB X RBE - Humble
Rich Homie Quan - Word Of Mouth
Que Almighty ft. 70th Street Carlos & JMM Larry - Put On That Gang
Ya Boy Big Choo - Hustla Remix (snippets)
J Hus - Did You See
MoStack - Let It Ring

Beware the dial Tone

"Get ya Kangol twist quick
Ya bitch get lipstick smeared on her seat tryna duck from the heat"

Fat Tone - Ima Getcha
(From Tha Stick Up Kid album; 2003)


If Not Guilty was the definitive Fat Tone, then Ima Getcha was the next best thing. Mouth on Tony, rapping like he was lasooing words with his tongue. Champagne foulness, exhibition mob musik.

Unfortunately, that line in the 3rd verse about a car gettin' flipped by gunfire is what led to the #FakeNews in California that Fat Tone was subliminally bragging about killing Mac Dre on record, even though Ima Getcha was released a good year or so before that night on the Route 71 highway.