Staff Picks is back for another week helping you cut through the noise, by bringing you a selection of the tunes you should definitely be spinning that dropped over the past week.
Lil Durk – I Know
Lil Durk has come through with some wavey visuals for “I Know”. The album Signed to the Streets 3 dropped a month ago today, and features a monster tracklist- boasting the likes of Gunna, Future and Kodak Black.
“I know” is my favourite track from the album. He’s telling the story of returning to a hero’s welcome after time away. I love wavey music with pain, and in this track, Lil Durk masters it.” – Myles Hornibrook (Writer) (@mylesidm)
Young M.A – “Bleed”
Undoubtedly one of the hardest in the game. Young M.A rose to prominence when her track “Ooouuu” went viral and saw many MCs trying to tackle the instrumental themselves. Since then, she has gone from strength to strength and continued to provide us with stellar lyricism; “Bleed” follows suit and sees M.A drop nothing but hard bars.
“I’ve always been a purist. Of course I’ve grown to love the melodic rap wave that’s been washing over me these last couple years, but old fashioned lyricism reigns supreme in my world. Young M.A doesn’t get the plaudits she deserves. She’s taken the mantle from some of the greats heralding from NYC, and she’s a true Yonkers thoroughbred . “Bleed” is the latest showcase of her prowess on the mic, I’m definitely excited for the album.” – Seth P (Features Editor) (@Writersblog88)
Young T & Bugsey (Feat Not3s) – Living Gravy
With these three on a track you know you’re in for some serious vibes. With Not3s manning the hook, you know that its going to be hella catchy. The dynamic duo from Notts don’t disappointed with wavey set of verses, the instrumental produced by Ill Blu is unbelievable and sets the three arts up with the perfect soundscape to vocal.
“Powerful visuals from the Uk’s hottest trio, Not3s handles the hook perfectly assisting the Nottingham duo with their back to back fiery flows”. – Amal Al Tauqi (Writer) (@altxuqi)
Vibbar – Amnesia
Featuring visuals from one of the original grime scene lenses Risky Roadz, Vibbar drop hard new banger “Amnesia”. Production comes courtesy of Naldo and The Confect, the latter worked extensively on Ghetts’ modern day classic Ghetto Gospel: The New Testament. Everyone goes hard, definitely hard to pick a favourite verse on this one.
“The whole Vibbar crew go in on this track but Skribz’s verse is nuts!” – Courtney Wynter (Weekend Editor) (@cwynter_)
Earl Sweatshirt – “Shattered Dreams”
Earl Sweatshirt released his long awaited album Some Rap Songs last week to critical acclaim. “Shattered Dreams” is the opening track of the album and features some incredible boom bap production Madlib esque production from a bygone era.
“Shattered Dreams” is the first track of Earl Sweatshirt’s latest project Some Rap Songs. I love the sampled production and emotive lyricism on it. It sets a great tone for the rest of the album.” – Mike Spyrou (Writer) (@spizzgeta)
Little Simz – 101 FM
King Simz has come through with another hard banger “101 FM” from her forthcoming album. Little Simz has always consistently delivered when it comes to lyrics, this latest bouncy offering has Simz proving she can flow with the best of them, in case you weren’t already aware!
“After dropping a trio of singles, Simz is just getting me more and more gassed for her upcoming album, especially with her latest drop of “101 FM”. – Alice Moodle (Writer) (@musicmoodie)
K Koke Ft Rina – Down on Me
You may be more familiar with hearing K Koke on some hard rap shit, but “Down on Me” serves as a reminder just how wavey and versatile of an artist that Koke actually is. The Former Roc Nation signee enlists the vocals of Rina, who delivers some wavey melodies on this one.
“It’s so good to see K Koke back, and this record makes you remember how versatile Koke can be with the music he drops, Rina absolutely kills it with the hook, visuals are sick and we definitely need to see more consistent drops from K Koke because he can be one UK Raps top artists”. – Mehul Bhatt (Writer) (thisismehul_)
Check out last weeks instalment of Staff Picks right here.