Image via SwaVay/Instagram
Donald Morrison says it’s oddly fitting that “Wah Gwan Delilah” is genuinely the last good Drake song.
Playboi Carti & NBA YoungBoy – “ALIVE”
Less than two years ago, fans genuinely feared for NBA YoungBoy’s life. Photos appeared of him lying on the floor next to Xanax bars; an Instagram made for Youngboy’s cat, Neon, posted that his father is unhealthy and taking “20xanxz” a day (it’s unclear if YoungBoy actually ran that account.)
There were charges related to a prescription drug fraud ring operating out of his Utah home in Utah, and charges for identity fraud and forgery (he pleaded guilty). And then there was the actual jail stint for a gun-related conviction in April 2024. All this leads us up until the present moment, where YoungBoy recently received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump – meaning that he doesn’t have to follow the terms of his probation.
Unfortunately for YoungBoy, anything involving Playboi Carti and Ye is destined to be messy and controversial. The release of “Alive” was no different, which is a shame considering how good it is. It sounds like they recorded a “First Day Out” single during rethe same sessions as Yeezus. The opening verse has an intensity somewhere between Meek Mill’s “Dreams and Nightmares” and vintage Tee Grizzley. Its production sounds like it came from that same Parisian cave where Carti made parts of MUSIC. And it makes for one of the best rap songs of the year.
“Alive’s” first version featured the human attention-vacuum better known as Ye. It’s much less memorable – with Ye continuing his streak of trying to desperately attach himself to anybody with relevancy. I liked it well enough, but can’t imagine listening to it again. Then I heard the correct version. Within hours, Playboi Carti uploaded his own take on “Alive,” complete with a music video and Swamp Izzo drops, telling Ye that it was actually his song.
From the first seconds, “Alive” smacks with a distorted, buzzing, speaker-exploding bass. Over the production from F1LTHY and Lucian, YoungBoy sounds gleefully chaotic. Deep-voice Carti enters the song halfway through with a brain-bending verse. An unorthodox style that complements YoungBoy’s all-gas-no-breaks approach.
Benji Blue Bills & BNYX – “Morgan”
BNYX, a member of the Philadelphia-based production collective Working On Dying, has worked with everyone from Drake and Travis Scott to Yeat and Lil Tecca. He’s able to mix rage rap aesthetics with booming modern trap for a much-needed revamp on the increasingly passé rage rap sound.
Benji Blue Bills is a technically proficient rapper who has often been held back by overly predictable beat selection. With BYNX by his side, Benji has releasing perhaps his best album yet. Out The Blue sees him finally rapping on inventive beats without actually losing his appeal. On album standout, “Morgan,” the Power Rangers-themed music video shows Benji and friends morphing into a vape. Once most popularly known as Playboi Carti’s biggest opp, Benhi reveals himself to be almost as powerful of an artist.
SwaVay – “elroy” (feat. NASAAN)
Atlanta’s SwaVay has released 13 mixtapes since age 16. He’s gained the attention of everyone from Metro Boomin to James Blake. His latest is BILLY2, a 10-track tape that shows a reinvigorated artist. On “Elroy,” he unites with NASAAN, the son of the late Proof. It reminds me of rap from six years ago – full of tasteful beat switches and unexpected back-and-forth flows. Futuristic Detroit shit mixed with an almost nostalgic trap beat. The whole tape manages carries this same momentum and makes for some of SwaVay’s best music in years.
seiji oda & Trunk Boiz – “NO FILLINS²”
Not since Nef The Pharaoh has a Bay Area artist so embodied the spirit of Mac Dre, a man known for pimp-like cool, an effortless flow and whimsical one-liners. Enter seiji oda, a Japanese-American rapper and producer from Oakland, CA, known for mixing lo-fi with hyphy to create something he describes as “calm but geeked.”
His latest, Nature + Nurture, is his most invigorating release yet, equally indebted to hyphy as it is to lifestyle rap like Larry June and Curren$y. You can tell Seiji is having fun with his process; it shows in his breezy vocals, and calm (yet geeked) delivery. On “NO FILLINS²,” with Oakland rap group Trunk Boiz, the rappers create the type of lo-fi bay area slap that I wasn’t sure could exist. “I take the time to stay still, but I’m still in motion,” Seiji says.
He somehow embodies the laidback hippie spirit, while also maintaining an effortless cool that doesn’t seem it’s doused in Patchouli oil.
Duffy – “Stay Down
Duffy has stayed consistent for more than five years now. The OTM linchpin’s flow has always been heavily indebted to his mentor Drakeo, but he’s managed to make Drakeo’s slippery and nervous flow into something of his own. It’s not mere Drakeo-cosplay. Duffy has found a way to channel the Ruler while still showing up his natural and individualistic rapping ability. “Stay Down,” is the latest example, a bass-pounding track that sounds like a Drakeo disciple finding his own voice.
Emptying the Chamber
