PFOS: VOLUME 11
When Age Speaks, Youth Listens (Sometimes)
Happy Tuesday and welcome back to Pocket Full of Stones. There’s a lot to catch up on, so let’s get into it…
ALBUMS (Adult Bracket)
Ka - Descendants of Cain (Apple / Spotify)
Producers: Animoss, DJ Preservation, Ka, Roc Marciano
Label: Iron Works Records
47-year-old Brownsville native Ka has a hip-hop career arc like no other. He came of age in Brooklyn during the Reagan era, and spent much of the 90s on the fringes of NYC’s thriving rap scene, performing as a member of the group Natural Elements (and later as half of the duo Nightbreed) before giving up the dream in 1998 to become a firefighter.
Nearly ten years after he retired from music, Ka’s wife Mimi Valdes (who happened to be editor-in-chief of the legendary Vibe Magazine) convinced him to give it another shot. He released his first solo album Iron Works in 2008, and he’s amassed a dedicated following in the years since.
Ka raps in hushed tones, like he’s letting you in on a potentially dangerous secret. His near-whisper delivery has the effect of foregrounding his writing, which is some of the most incisive penmanship I’ve come across in any medium. On Descendants of Cain, Ka excavates his past in search of answers to philosophical questions of morality, free will, and original sin:
“They used to call us deviants / But if they was feeding us, we might’ve had obedience / You know my stock was only good as my ingredients / The system only leaned on us, never showed us lenience”.
Mozzy - Beyond Bulletproof (Apple / Spotify)
Producers: Drum Dummie, Greg Sekeres, India Got Them Beats, JabariOnTheBeat, James Maddocks, Jay P Bangz, L-Finguz, Manu., Mmmonthabeat, Mook On The Beats, Musik MajorX, Pearl Lion, SephGotTheWaves, Tariq Beats, TnTXD, Yung Lan
Label: Mozzy Records / EMPIRE
Five years after his breakout album, Sacramento native and West Coast luminary Mozzy is the embodiment of creativity with integrity. His storytelling is as illustrious as ever on his latest LP Beyond Bulletproof, where he weaves carefully detailed fragments of autobiography into rich tapestries.
Mozzy writes conceptual songs about the permanent scars of his past that hardly waste a word. He’s a master of pairing rhetorical questions with hard-boiled wisdom: “If they threatened you with life, would you crack on your goon? / I tend to whisper when I feel there’s a rat in the room.” , “I’m adapted to the pain well / Bloody waters, have you ever heard it rain shells?”
Mozzy’s writerly focus must be contagious, because the features on Beyond Bulletproof from younger artists like Shordie Shordie, King Von, and Lil Poppa are superb across the board.
Future - High Off Life (Apple / Spotify)
Producers: Ambezza, ATL Jacob, Brandon Finessin, CuBeatz, D. Hill, DJ Spinz, DopeBoi, DY Krazy, Max Lord, Mike Dean, OmarGuetfa, Outtatown, OZ, PVLACE, Riko Spazzin, Southside, Tay Keith, TeezyOnTheBoards, TM88, VOU, Wheezy, Will-A-Fool, Yung Icey
Label: Epic Records / Freebandz
It’s frustrating to see Future and his PR team lean into the meme that he’s a mascot for toxic misogyny. He’s said some reprehensible shit about women over the years, and I don’t knock anyone who condemns him over that. As a longtime fan, I wish he would take a lesson from Ka and Mozzy on aging gracefully.
That said, hearing Nayvadius Wilburn punch in on a thunderous Southside beat by croaking “Lord forgive me, I’ve been on a rampage, grim reaper riding in a Rolls Royce, yeah yeah” stirs my soul in a way no other artist can replicate. High Off Life is full of these moments (“Ridin Strikers”, “Touch The Sky”, “Up The River”), where Future’s blues stricken intensity overshadows his arrested development.
ALBUMS (Youth Bracket)
Polo G - THE GOAT (Apple / Spotify)
Producers: 1040, Callari, Charlie Handsome, DJ Ayo, Dmac, D. Major, Felipe S, GYLTTRYP, Hagan, Hit-Boy, Keanu Beats, Khaled Rohaim, Lilkdubb, Mike WiLL Made-It, MoneyEvery, Murda Beatz, Mustard, Nick Mira, NntySxs, Resource, Sool Got Hits, The Superiors, Tahj Money, Tay Keith, TnTXD, WayneOnABeat, YosifovBeats
Label: Columbia Records
Chicago rapper Polo G had my favorite album of 2019 with Die A Legend, a strikingly somber debut that confronted the horrors of his teen years - slain loved ones, Cook County Jail stints, joyless drug habits - in stark terms. His sophomore LP THE GOAT isn’t quite so bleak. There’s a raucous Mike Will-produced rap-a-thon with Stunna 4 Vegas and NLE Choppa (“Go Stupid”), a pair of heartfelt love songs (“Martin & Gina” & “Beautiful Pain”), and even a 2Pac “Changes” interpolation (“Wishing For A Hero”).
Still, Polo sounds most at home over mournful piano beats, and his writing about trauma and tribulation remains clear-eyed and unsparing. “Living by the gun, put all my trust into this compact / My n***as went to war, but they ain’t get no Vietnam checks”. His flows are linear and direct, a stylistic choice that underscores the sincerity of his message.
Sheff G - One and Only (Apple / Spotify)
Producers: BassoBeatz, Blokbaby, Great John
Label: Winners Circle / EMPIRE
Brooklyn Drill pioneer Sheff G writes about gang life with the conviction of a veteran who understands its pitfalls. Much like his outstanding debut The Unluccy Luccy Kid, Sheff’s recent mixtape One and Only explores the tension between his troubled past and promising future with wisened poise.
The 21-year-old has cultivated remarkable chemistry with a small circle of collaborators, namely the Brooklyn-bred producer Great John and Sheff’s childhood friend / fellow rapper Sleepy Hallow. These three artists have carved out their own sonic universe, where the beats are sumptuous and no one rhymes for the sake of riddling.
JGreen - 510 (Apple / Spotify)
Producers: DaySixBeats, Drum Dummie, Jiggy Bangers, Majin, MJ Nichols, Nashi, NickOnTheTrack, SkyCookEm, Stank of the 48khz, Tariq, Willie Beamin, Yung Shad, Zay808, Zest
Label: 510 Music Group / EMPIRE
Wabasso, Florida native JGreen has created an independent lane for himself as the lead artist and co-CEO of 510 Music Group. On his latest LP 510, Green doubles down on the melancholia of his previous projects, presenting himself as an outlaw with an aching heart and conflicted conscience.
Green’s thematic concerns are grave, and his naturally emotive voice magnifies the stakes. Though he yearns for real love, JGreen inhabits a world marked by treachery and its tragic consequences, where acts of betrayal lead to rainy funerals with no umbrellas in sight.
HONORABLE MENTION
Lil Durk - Just Cause Y’all Waited 2 (Apple / Spotify)
Smino - She Already Decided “Mixtape” (SmiTransfer.com)
Lil Gotit - Hood Baby 2 (Apple / Spotify)
Hotboii - Kut Da Fan On (Apple / Spotify)
Slatt Zy - Zy Story (Apple / Spotify)
WiFiGawd & Tony Seltzer - HEAT CHECK VOL. 2 (Apple / Spotify)
Rahli - Still Big Rallo From Lorna (Apple / Spotify)
Big Moochie Grape - Eat Or Get Ate (Apple / Spotify)
Yhung T.O. & Daboii - Demon and Mufasa (Apple / Spotify)
Jackboy - Jackboy (Apple / Spotify)
NBA Youngboy - 38 Baby 2 (Apple / Spotify)
Larry June & Cardo - Cruise USA (Apple / Spotify)
Slimmy B - Time 2 Shine (Apple / Spotify)
Baby Plug & Black Mayo - Topic EP (Apple / Spotify)
Dej Loaf - It’s A Set Up! EP (Apple / Spotify)
Chief Keef - Extra Glo EP (Apple / Spotify)
Money Man - Epidemic Pack Vol 2 EP (Apple / Spotify)
E-40 - The Curb Commentator Channel 1 EP (Apple / Spotify)
SINGLES
Baby Plug - “After Dark” (prod. Black Mayo)
With a handful of stellar releases under his belt, Baby Plug has established himself as a torchbearer of Atlanta rap’s burgeoning new wave. On Topic EP, his latest project with Indiana producer Black Mayo, the 20-year-old puts a meditative spin on his style and delivers some of the most immersive music of his young career.
“After Dark” is Baby Plug at his fluid, contemplative best. Over Black Mayo’s muted keys, BP raps with guarded composure about the trouble swirling around him, levitating above the fray.
Hotboii - “Gram House Blues” (prod. ???)
Orlando rapper Hotboii released his debut tape Kut Da Fan On last Friday. I haven’t had time to fully process it, but “Gram House Blues” is an early standout.
The song finds Hotboii reflecting on the cabin fever of a 19-month jail stint over a lush backdrop of horns and guitars. His train of thought bounces from abstraction to brutal realism, and the bluntest lines hit the hardest. “When you’re locked behind these walls, it’s crazy how they do you dawg / Out of sight, you’re out of mind, they won’t remember you at all”.
Hoodbaby Peppa - “Medication” (prod. ???)
No song has burrowed into my brain quite like Hoodbaby Peppa’s “Medication”, a woozy anthem with tons of replay value. The Toronto teenager changes the speed and octave of his delivery drastically, while retaining an intuitive rhythm.
Peppa’s flow sounds genuinely spontaneous, a welcome contrast to the predictable stylings of Toronto’s older, more famous rappers.
Rahli ft. Lil STL - “Clip Hangin” (prod. Yung Dza)
Rising Saint Louis rapper and neighborhood philanthropist Rahli first caught my attention with his snarling delivery on the 2019 single “Perc 30”. On his latest full-length Still Big Rallo From Lorna, Rahli sounds fully in control of his signature hiss, and his verses pulsate with frenetic energy.
The LP’s buzzing single “Clip Hangin” might be Rahli’s most infectious song yet. He finds unlikely pockets in Yung Dza’s minimal production, settling into a groove that makes dancing (or at least nodding along) irresistible.
Chief Keef - “No Bap” (prod. Protege Beatz)
At the ripe age of 24, Chief Keef has helped define multiple generations of rap music and outlasted countless imitators. He’s still flourishing on his own terms, and YouTube loosie “No Bap” is a delightful gift to his core audience.
Over twinkling production from Protege Beatz, Keef lifts the flow from Future and YC’s classic “Racks” and has a field day with it. Nearly a decade after “Don’t Like”, Sosa’s off-the-cuff brilliance continues to yield new thrills and reveal new folds.
PLAYLISTS
Finally, two fresh batches of (relatively) new music are linked below. I also started a playlist series on SoundCloud, because Apple and Spotify alone are so inadequate for capturing what’s going on in rap right now.
Fresh Batch pt. 11 (Apple / Spotify)
Fresh Batch pt. 12 (Apple / Spotify)
SoundCloud Batch pt. 1 (SoundCloud)