Nothing happened this week that trumped the release of Kendrick Lamar’s greatly anticipated debut album, good kid, m.A.A.d city. Nothing. In fact, nothing will for the rest of the year. A Compton kid who has been plotting his way to the top–on his terms–blessed the world with a body of work that tells a deeply personal and emotive story, not seen since the days of Illmatic and Aquemini. This week’s word is “victory,” simply for the fact that a hip-hop album–with real hip-hop sensibilities–has been welcomed to unanimous acclaim and is on-track to enter the Billboard 200 in a top 10 position. We thank you, Kendrick, for ushering in a bright and promising future in our beloved genre.
Oh, and some pretty good music was also made elsewhere these past seven days. You can check out our picks from King L, GrandeMarshall, Hot Sugar, The Alchemist and Heems below (but then return to good kid, m.A.A.d city afterwards, of course).
1) King L (feat. Juicy J & Pusha T) – “My Hoes They Do Drugs”
King L’s “My Hoes They Do Drugs” leaves nothing to the imagination, as Chicago up-and-comer gets ig’nant with Juicy J and Pusha T for the first track off his debut album, Dope & Shrimp, coming soon via Epic Records.
2) GrandeMarshall – “Thuggin Shidd Pt. II”
Directed by: Glassface
Philly hotshot GrandeMarshall gave the world his first release since signing to indie stalwart Fool’s Gold this week with a sublime video to his intoxicating “Thuggin Shidd Pt. JJ” jam. It doesn’t feature on the project, but Marshall’s 800 mixtape is well worth checking out.
3) Hot Sugar (feat. Kool A.D., Fat Tony, Lukatis & Nasty Nigel) – “Leverage”
With Danny Brown’s “Grown Up” also under their belt, Scion A/V partnered with eclectic NYC producer Hot Sugar for his new offering, “Leverage.” The track–which is bizarrely yet brilliantly built on samples of him “kicking stuff on the street like traffic cones, bikes, garbage [and] parked cars”–is helmed by Das Racist MC Kool A.D., H-Town native Fat Tony, the raucous (half-) Rusky Lakutis and Children of the Night’s Nasty Nigel.
4) The Alchemist (feat. MidaZ) – “Don Seymour’s Theme”
Directed by: X:144
The Alchemist gave his Russian Roulette LP yet more visual insanity it needed this week. Junkies sleep, Barbie dolls get touched up and a toy T-Rex does battle with Donald Duck in the video to his MidaZ-featured “Don Seymour’s Theme.” Trippy shit.
5) Heems – “Cowabunga Gnarly” (prod. by Harry Fraud)
Das Racist cool kid Heems doubled our excitement for his upcoming solo project, Wild Water Kingdom, this week by debuting this Harry Fraud-produced cut, “Cowabunga Gnarly.” Not just an awesome name, the song itself, with all its rattling hi-hats and skewed samples, goes hard. WWK drops November 1 via Greedhead.