Best Tracks Of April (So Far)

It's been quite a week for hip hop (in which it usually is, but there's so much to hear that I normally don't catch every hot release), and I've caught a decent amount of new tracks from artists I don't even really pay attention to (whether it be based on a feature from someone I like or not, that's not the point). In this post, I'd like to highlight the hottest tracks that have been released in April so far!

Babeo Baggins ft. Drake - Things I Forgot To Do
https://soundcloud.com/ovo-sound-radio-858382383/babeo-baggins-things-i-forgot-to-do-feat-drake-new-song

Drake has been putting out track after track to roll out the release of his highly anticipated upcoming 4th studio album Views From The 6, and this Babeo Baggins feature has a nice feel to it. It's more on the lighter love song side which is right up Drake's alley, and the song is actually a cover of Nico's 1967 song "These Days" (which I mentioned in the last Drake article, which you can find here). Something about that fluttery (guitar?  I think it's a guitar, who knows) instrument in the background hits you right in the feels with it's instruments alone, not to mention Babeo's beautiful voice.

Phife Dawg - Nutshell


Phife Dawg's unfortunate passing is nothing less than an absolute tragedy for the hip hop world, but the silver lining is that we might not be hearing the last of him. News broke shortly after Phife's passing that we would be getting a posthumous album from the 5-foot assassin. The album is supposedly named Give Thanks, and Phife had been working on it for some time before his passing, though there is no set release date for the album. This new Phife release certainly has it's fair share of bounce (and you knew it would, being produced by J. Dilla)!

Black Thought ft. Styles P - Making Of A Murderer


If you ever wondered what microphone murder actually sounded like... then who better to show you than Black Thought?!  But seriously... Black Thought and Styles P were PISSED writing these verses... they had to be. Why else would they slay this beat and everyfuckingbody else who raps for 4 and a half straight minutes?  Not to mention that beat... 9th Wonder did it again. This song is a 5/5 in terms of true HIP HOP. Yeah, the real heads got a treat with this one.

Blu, MED & eLZhi - Caddy Music


On the same day hip hop heads got Black Thought and Styles P lyrically beating a track to death, they also got a smoothly sampled, Bombay-produced cut featuring MED and eLZhi, "Caddy Music". This one features all 3 going ham on the track as you'd expect, with a couple of beat switch ups along the way to keep you on your toes. Yes, this track certainly flew under the radar.

And these are just a few of the crazy new tracks that have hit the web as of April, and we're only 10 days in!  You know I'll keep you posted if anything else crazy comes out (even though now everybody is probably focused on Drake's Views release at the end of the month on the 29th, I'm sure he'll be putting out another crazy track or 2 leading up to the album). Be sure to follow my Google+ account if you have one, seeing as that's the place where I post the most direct links to tracks.    



  

  








    

What Drake's Views From The 6 Will Determine

(This billboard certainly interests me, almost insinuating that Views From The 6 could be dropping today, 4/2)

What's there to say about Drake that hasn't already been said?  He sings too much, he doesn't write his own rhymes, he's too sensitive, blah blah blah. When it comes down to it, the man puts out some of the best music in hip hop, and some of the most vibe worthy and widely listened to in all of music. Women love him, the gangsters love him, teenagers love him, even middle aged men and women love him, Drake makes music for ALL people. He's been a staple in hip hop for over 7 years (give or take), and he's not even making hip hop music all of the time. But Drizzy's latest leaks haven't been sitting well with the people. Now most of the time this means nothing, the Drake formula has always been to drop a questionable track that people will have to get used to, then drop something that everybody is going to love immediately, but this time seems a bit different. Is Drake getting bored?  I'm here to find out.

Drake - Faithful (ft. Pimp C)

The above song is Drake's latest leak (came out today) featuring a Pimp C verse that was also featured on Jay Z's "Tom Ford" remix. Drake's other recent leaks include "Controlla" featuring Popcaan (which you can listen to here) and "These Days" featuring Barf Troop's Babeo Baggins, a cover of singer Nico's 1967 song, written by Jackson Browne, which Drake and Babeo (quite a name) renamed to "Things I Forgot To Do" (you can listen to that here).

So I don't know if it's just me, but to me these newest Drake leaks seem very... un-Drake-ish. On "Controlla", Drizzy seems to be taking the experimental Snoop Lion route, (it's like the next thing you know we'll be seeing him rocking some kick ass Rasta dreads) on the "These Days" cover Drake seems to be getting suicidal about past loves (which is very Drake-ish, but even "suicidal" seems a bit too far for Drake). The only leak that seems up to Drake's typical speed is the Pimp C feature "Faithful". It features all the wavy sounds and recorded-conversations-that-will-get-your-girl-mad later type of vibes that Drake is so well known for. The real question here seems to be; is Drake really getting bored?

The only assumption that could be made is that Drake is in fact getting bored, I mean you can only emotionlessly shout "JUMP MAN" so many times before you go completely numb (What A Time To Be Alive it is, indeed). Drake has mastered the pop #1 smash hit with "Hotline Bling", He's mastered the #1 album and going platinum (all 3 of his solo efforts have done so), and he's practically mastered being able to sing a hook for your girl on one track, while being able to body your favorite rapper's career on the next track (obviously a stretch, but you've seen, or better HEARD what the guy can do on his "am" tracks). So what is left for Drake to do but walk away in the sun set while we retire his #6 jersey in the rafters like Jordan?  (Or I suppose that's a statement better reserved for Jay-Z; "when I come back like Jordan"... never mind.)

No, Drake certainly doesn't want to walk away from it all yet (or so we hope). But the only place to go from up on top of everything... is down!  Is Drake on his way out?  I think it's a bit far fetched to say that, although I do think it's safe to say that Views From The 6 could have a much bigger impact on Drake's career than any of us are able to tell right now. Views From The 6 can once and for all prove whether or not Drake is actually as much of a "wave rider" as fans and critics think. Based on the turn of events in Drake's career (including WATTBA, "Hotline Bling", etc.), Drake has to prove that he can still make great music. Obviously he can still make music, he can make music that people absolutely enjoy, and music that people can jam to for years to come, but the real question is; does Drake still own his own lane?  I'll cap this off with one of my favorite Drake tracks ever below, you could almost think of it as a simulation of what I'd hope that Views From The 6 brings.


(*I do not own any of these songs, or the rights to them*)