The Audacity of Dope

Following up on his XXL Freshmen cover, Mack releases his new video with Ryan Lewis for “Victory Lap,” showing that his rise to stardom has been in the works far longer than just the past year.  Obviously everyone in Seattle knows this firsthand, but this video should help tell that story to the rest of Mack’s rapidly growing fan base.  So proud of these two guys for absolutely killing it…for years!

Obie’s been one of my favorite MC’s for the last decade, but also one that I…and everyone else…sadly seems to forget when making their lists. The label drama he’s been through recently didn’t help, but it looks like everything is finally lining up for a return to the limelight. The flow has remained throughout. So Detroit.

I love how Drake’s at the point where he can just release two videos out of the blue with no regard for marketing pushes from his label or anything else to worry about.  It’s similar to Kanye releasing “Theraflu” for no reason right after “Mercy,” just cause he felt that the people needed them both.  So right after “HYFR” comes this more serious, sullen video from Drizzy and a very un-Rihanna looking Robin Fenty.  As far as radio singles go, I’d be hard pressed to think of a record I like more than this one in the past year.

And if you want the inspiration, enjoy the classic from Bobby “Blue” Bland:

There really are no words at this point. Drake is hilarious, whether it’s intentional or not, and he’s still one of my favorite artists. Greatness.

Is there a better female R&B artist out right now than Goapele? Assuming you count Adele in the pop world and perhaps overlook Erykah, I’m not sure there is…

We played this record on SNSS last week and I love it.  It’s not my favorite “gunshot made into a beat” song (that would be 50’s “Heat“), but Nottz & Kardi turned in a banger.  Plus, Kardi spit some real ish.

Kill shot…it’s a kill shot!

Roc Marciano has been killing it for years (you should remember those old Flipmode records) and recently, he’s starting to finally get the credit he deserves. Here are the new visuals for “Emeralds” off his upcoming project, Reloaded, dropping this summer.

Quickstrike off the homey Thad’s Maven project, which you can download here.  Do it.

There’s something about Lana’s music that’s just sexy AF.  I like a girl that’s that confident in herself and dedicated to her dude too: “love you more…than those bitches before.”  Well alright then.

Some folks have been wondering who’s rapping on our new SNSS intro each week, but our regular listeners should already be familiar with Homeboy Sandman.  They probably remember us playing this record too, which may be the greatest lyrical example of breaking down the creative process that I’ve ever heard.  No exaggeration.