Certified Fresh
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The news of Brownsville rapper KA’s passing, also known as Kaseem Ryan, continues to shock his fans and collaborators alike. In the days since the news went viral, many in Hip-Hop are trying to make sense of the loss and find time to celebrate KA’s audio art as he intended.
I am not beholden to religious doctrine nor do I invest much time in esoteric possibilities of fate, but something continues to nag me about the death of Kaseem Ryan. I was listening to the Brooklyn rapper’s latest album, The Thief Next To Jesus on the morning of the day that the news of his death was posted on social media.
I was listening to the album to find a song to add to our ongoing CRT FRSH playlist series at Hip-Hop Wired, but also just enjoying hearing the FDNY firefighter presenting ideas of how Christianity is a hallmark of the Black community while continuing to grapple out loud with the religion being used as a tool to keep the enslaved in fear of the masters.
Beyond the dissection of Christianity as a whole, KA also deftly examines how the music and art that the masses consume might have deeper consequences that we’re unwilling to face. Yes, music and its enjoyment is a subjective experience but being inundated with certain messages does permeate the senses far more than anyone would admit.
I was not unfamiliar with Ryan’s work as someone who is an avowed Hip-Hop nerd. These days, the volume at which music is released today doesn’t allow me to know every nook and cranny of the so-called “mainstream” or “underground” scenes, but in the 1990s, it was far easier to keep up.
Also back then, I was an active rapper, most especially the sort that would be in freestyle “ciphers” and battles while also making my meager attempts at recorded material. At my core, I was a fan first and I picked up rhyming as a means to get closer to the music.
Natural Elements, currently comprised of L Swift (now Swigga Da Don), A-Butta, and Mr. Voodoo, featured more members and one of them was KA, who later left the group as he felt he didn’t measure up as a rapper in comparison to his compatriots. The group’s 1994 debut The EP was very much a product of its time and wore its rugged street-born style with pride.
The style of Hip-Hop then, especially on the independent side, was replete with heavy basslines, horn stab samples, en masse choruses, and an emphasis on lyrical superiority over direction or substance. The goal for many toiling outside the label structure was to be the nicest in their respective lanes.
Reinvention is not a new concept in the history of Hip-Hop music. One of our most famous examples of this is the late, great MF DOOM, who began his career as Zev Love X as a member of KMD (Kausing Much Damage). Like DOOM before him, KA found a late 1990s surge of creativity which culminated in the formation of Nightbreed alongside the late Kev, and of the unreleased music one can find online, it was clear that he stepped his game up tremendously.
Time would pass before we would hear Ryan’s gravelly vocals again, and admittedly, I was reconnected to the lyricist by way of GZA’s “Firehouse” track from the Wu-Tang Clan swordsman’s Pro Tools album. As I later learned, GZA, a fellow Brooklynite, discovered Ryan’s debut album, Iron Works, and invited him to a recording session.
It feels trite to say that the rest is history but, it truly was a historic run of critically acclaimed albums that would commence. I treated every KA drop like a spiritual experience and whatever ability as a writer I thought I had was easily dwarfed by the mighty pen of the Iron Works honcho. There have been times when I’ve been listening to an album such as 2016’s Honor Killed The Samurai where I would stop the track or else fall into a heap of emotions.
Everything about KA felt authentic, tangible, personal, vulnerable, and ultimately human. It would be some time before I discovered that his day job was that of saving lives as a firefighter. I dare say Kaseem Ryan saved my life and that of countless others via his selfless flood of self-expression, creativity, and missives that should be studied by anyone who claims to love this culture.
As I’m writing this, the tears are forming at the corners of my eyes but my heart is beating strong knowing that the music KA gave to the world was done in a manner that was befitting of all the outpouring of love we’ve seen on social media in the past week and more.
Talented acts such as Chuck Strangers, billy woods, Open Mike Eagle, Roc Marci, Pink Siifu, and far too many acts to name all had similar stories of their run-ins with Ryan or their connection to his music. And it wasn’t just the lyrics. Just like his collaborator Roc Marciano, KA didn’t need to outsource production as an adept producer himself but his collaborative works with producers Preservation, Aminoss, and Roc Marci matched his sonic ethos perfectly.
I’ve undertaken the impossible task of gathering one song each from KA’s projects over the years along with a feature verse, opening with the aforementioned “Firehouse” as a primer for the uninitiated. I hope that upon hearing the music you’ll do what I urge everyone else to do if they ever talk shop with me. Just dive in, allow yourself to feel every bar, and try to walk upright as KA did despite the wickedness of the world at large.
Rest Powerfully In Peace to Kaseem Ryan.
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Photo: Images Obtained From www.brownsvilleka.com
HipHopWired Featured Video
CRT FRSH, Hip-Hop Wired’s playlist where we attempt to showcase music we believe is “Certified Fresh,” has been on a far longer hiatus than intended. Now that we’re back, we’re trimming down the CRT FRSH playlist and updating the concept with our latest drop which we hope you all enjoy.
Some readers might remember I used to deliver a disclaimer before each playlist and I’ll do so again. The point of this disclaimer is to effectively share with you all the aims of CRT FRSH and how I want to stay true to the vision.
Disclaimer:
The CRT FRSH playlist is a labor of love. We don’t take payments nor do we do favors. We only add joints to our playlist that fit the theme and vision we’re going for and don’t seek to waste the listener’s time. Further, we don’t stick to one lane of Hip-Hop. We believe that all aspects of the music should get some light, whether it’s young lions in the trenches or those hoping for that one shot to blow up to grizzled veterans puffing out their chests with lots more to say.
I want to explain how I approach curating the CRT FRSH playlist. Most importantly, I don’t segregate my Hip-Hop. Every form of music from the main cultural tree deserves a listen and a look. When I construct the playlist, I want to include all regions across the States and, when applicable, across the globe. I also want to entertain every fan of Hip-Hop, not just those who enjoy one segment of it. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get to it.
It’s been a long time, I really shouldn’t left you, word to Rakim. Life got in the way of keeping the playlist updated but I’m back to try and enlighten not just the listeners and readers but also myself. As a longtime Hip-Hop supporter, I have serious FOMO when it comes to all the constant drops, and curating this playlist helps me to feel, ahem, fresh.
Unlike before when I would break up the list with “mainstream” or acts that are more established and follow that up with “underground” or little-known acts, I’m taking a new one-for-one approach to not bury anyone’s art and divide the sound. Like I say in the disclaimer, I don’t segregate my Hip-Hop.
We open up this week’s playlist with “HOLLON” from GloRilla, who just dropped her debut studio album, Glorious. Next up, Boldy James and Conductor Williams dropped a masterful project in Across The Tracks and we added their stellar “Flying Trapeze Act” track. We keep the Conductor Williams train rolling, pun very much intended, with “FEELINGS ON SILENT” featuring Wale from Leon Thomas’ latest album MUTT.
Taking things up to Harlem, 100GrandRoyce teamed up with producer Dame Grease for their The Fix 2 project and the intro track is an absolute banger. We then return to The D and share Tee Grizzley’s “Blow for Blow” featuring J. Cole from Tee’s new Post Traumatic album that dropped earlier in October. Australian producer SB11 dropped a fresh platter of heat in his Heavenly Unknown album and “Silent And So Cold” features the heavy-duty bar work of Flashius Clayton, Planet Asia, and Defcee.
We round out the rest of the CRT FRSH playlist with tracks from Ransom, Conway The Machine, Doechii, Hus Kingpin, REASON, Rod Wave, Future, Powers Pleasant, and more.
Peep the playlist below.
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Photo: Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
What up, Hip-Hop Wired Nation? We’re back with the first CRT FRSH AKA Certified Fresh playlist of 2024! Part of our duty as a publication and crew is to school the masses on who is doing what musically and there’s no better way to do that beyond our CRT FRSH (Certified Fresh) bi-weekly playlist.
Disclaimer:
The CRT FRSH playlist is a labor of love. We don’t take payments nor do we do favors. We only add joints to our playlist that fit the theme and vision we’re going for and don’t seek to waste the listener’s time. Further, we don’t stick to one lane of Hip-Hop. We believe that all aspects of the music should get some light, whether it’s young lions in the trenches or those hoping for that one shot to blow up to grizzled veterans puffing out their chests with lots more to say.
For a change of pace, I want to speak in my voice and explain how I approach curating the CRT FRSH playlist. Most importantly, I don’t segregate my Hip-Hop. Every form of music from the main cultural tree deserves a listen and a look. When I’m putting the list together, I want to include all regions across the States and, when applicable, across the globe. I also want to entertain every fan of Hip-Hop, not just those who enjoy one segment of it. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get to it. – D.L. Chandler
Welcome back to longtime supporters of the CRT FRSH playlist, and welcome to the new folks on board.
As explained above, our bi-weekly (which is the hope) playlist features 50 songs in total. The first half is typically bigger acts that most should already know about, while the second half is reserved for the vast, always improving underground scene. Since we didn’t do a top list of Hip-Hop projects list for 2023, this CRT FRSH update is dedicated to our favorite songs of last year.
Let’s get to it.
The playlist opens with Killer Mike’s “SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS” and while the highlight of the song for most is the André 3000 verse, the artist born Michael Render also delivered on the track from his latest studio album, MICHAEL. 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne reconnected for the Welcome 2 Hollygrove project and while it was packed with standout moments, “Bars” stood out for us in 2023.
Drake is as polarizing an artist as any these days and there were mixed reviews for his latest album, For All The Dogs. With the six-pack Scary Hours 3 tacked on the deluxe version of the album, Drizzy got back into his elite rapping bag and traded verses with J. Cole on “Evil Ways” to pleasing results.
Speaking of polarizing, Doja Cat has her fair share of fans and detractors but she certainly had some tracks from her Scarlet project that stood out, notably “Paint The Town Red” among them. And Gunna, who dropped a strong AOTY contender in a Gift & a Curse, his “fukumean” single didn’t leave our rotation. We’re not in street business, we’re just checking out the music, thanks.
Benny The Butcher is now in the major leagues with Def Jam and was everywhere in 2023 with his dealings with the Black Soprano Family, features, and more. The track “Big Dog” with Lil Wayne finds the pair rocking over an amazing beat from The Alchemist.
The ladies got it in, and big up Nicki Minaj for coming back to reclaim her throne as the Queen from Queens. She dropped off Pink Friday 2, and “Everybody” with Lil Uzi Vert seemed to be a favorite of many who rocked the project.
Lay Banks and her viral “Ick” hit was everywhere, and “Put It On The Floor Again” saw an epic pairing of Latto and Cardi B in another song that fans on social media couldn’t get enough of. Megan Thee Stallion also came back with the triumphant “Cobra” track, signaling that she’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
Veeze dropped one of the most entertaining albums of 2023 in Ganger and the opening track “Not A Drill” set the tone for the Detroit spitter. In the deep trenches of the underground, the talented klwn cat showed off his impressive production chops on PRELUDE, linking with past collaborators Matt Draugos and unruly. Apollo Brown and Planet Asia once again locked in for the sequel to their stellar Anchovies album with Sardines and the track “Broad Dayin’” was the one of us.
Westside Gunn dropped what he says will be his final full-length studio in And Then You Pray For Me, an album we personally loved while longtime Griselda fans didn’t appreciate the trap-leaning tracks. That said, “Kostas,” produced by Tay Keith, features the aforementioned Benny The Butcher and a scene-stealing verse from Conway The Machine.
Speaking of Conway, La Maquina has his own situation with Drumwork Music Group, and his artist, 7xvethegenius (Love The Genius) is a star in the making. On the track “Flame” produced by Conductor Williams, 7xvethegenius and Conway trade bars in expert fashion. Washington, D.C. artist Sideshow is one of our favorite rappers to emerge in years, and his track “S.H.O.W. Ent” from his excellent 2MM DON’T JUST STAND THERE! album stayed on repeat.
MIKE, one of the young leaders of the underground Hip-Hop youth movement, delivered a masterpiece in his latest album, Burning Desire. With an emphasis on his production as dj blackpower, Big MIKE had several standout moments but our favorite was “Mussel Beach” featuring D.C.’s El Cousteau and Florida’s Niontay.
Larry June and The Alchemist teamed up for The Great Escape album and while the whole thing rides, “Orange Village” featuring Slum Village was our standout.
Salute to all the folks who helped provide the soundtrack for our daily grind such as Blaq Chidori, Rome Streetz, Stik Figa, Oddisee, Kipp Stone, Noname, Aesop Rock, Blockhead, Earl Sweatshirt, blank thought, Dave, Central Cee, Rick Ross, Meek Mill, Nas, Lil Tecca, Baby Keem, Kendrick Lamar among others. Thank you for your art.
We’ll be updating the CRT FRSH playlist in two weeks with 50 new tracks!
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Photo: blackCAT / Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
What up, Hip-Hop Wired Nation? We’re back with CRT FRSH AKA Certified Fresh! Part of our duty as a publication and crew is to school the masses on who is doing what musically and there’s no better way to do that beyond our CRT FRSH (Certified Fresh) bi-weekly playlist.
Disclaimer:
The CRT FRSH playlist is a labor of love. We don’t take payments nor do we do favors. We only add joints to our playlist that fit the theme and vision we’re going for and don’t seek to waste the listener’s time. Further, we don’t stick to one lane of Hip-Hop. We believe that all aspects of the music should get some light, whether it’s young lions in the trenches or those hoping for that one shot to blow up to grizzled veterans puffing out their chests with lots more to say.
For a change of pace, I want to speak in my own voice and explain how I approach curating the CRT FRSH playlist. Most importantly, I don’t segregate my Hip-Hop. Every form of music from the main cultural tree deserves a listen and a look. When I’m putting the list together, I want to include all regions across the States and, when applicable, across the globe. I also want to entertain every fan of Hip-Hop, not just those who enjoy one segment of it. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get to it. – D.L. Chandler
We want to apologize to the Hip-Hop Wired nation for the lack of updates to the playlist and we’re working hard behind the scenes to keep up the place you all have come to expect. Now, let’s get on with the show.
The playlist opens with Megan Thee Stallion’s latest single “Cobra,” a track that had the streets discussing the finer points of her former relationship with Pardison Fontaine. Wale, now signed with Def Jam, returns to the masses after laying low with “Max Julien,” proving just how potent a lyricist he truly is.
It seems hard to believe but J. Cole just earned his first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 charts as a feature on Drake’s “First Person Shooter” track from the For All The Dogs album which we’ve also featured.
We’ve got Lil Wayne showing up on two tracks in this playlist update, “Tity Boi” from Weezy F. Baby’s The Fix Before The VI project, and the New Orleans shows up as a feature on Benny The Butcher’s “Big Dog” single with production from The Alchemist.
For many, the combination of the core Griselda members rapping over Tay Keith doesn’t make sense on paper but “Kostas” from Westside Gunn’s excellent And Then You Pray For Me album proves that it works. Gunn’s cousin Benny The Butcher and brother Conway The Machine add their respective perspectives to great effect.
New York rapper and producer MIKE dropped his latest album Burning Desire, easily one of the best projects to release this year. The track “Mussel Beach,” features Washington, D.C. rapper El Cousteau and Central Florida’s Niontay, both of whom add exceptional verses over MIKE’s (as dj blackpower) production.
Rapsody, a sorely missed presence in the scene, is prepping her next full-length project and makes a hell of a statement with her new single “Asteroids” with production from Hit-Boy. If this is what listeners can come to expect from the North Carolina mastermind, the game isn’t ready.
If you’ve yet to hear of klwn cat, a prodigy on the boards not even old enough to buy a beer, please get hip. The Southern California producer’s latest single “FATE IS COMING” features another leader of the underground youth movement in Unruly and Chicago’s Willyynova.
Salute to all the artists who created the art that we curated for this CRT FRSH update such as Rick Ross, Meek Mill, Lady London, Jeremih, Veeze, Flo Milli, Young Scooter, Doja Cat, Sideshow, Earl Sweatshirt, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, Kingpen Slim, Symba, Lil Darius, Ken Carson, and more.
Check out the playlist below.
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Photo: Unaihuiziphotography / Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
What up, Hip-Hop Wired Nation? We’re back with CRT FRSH AKA Certified Fresh! Part of our duty as a publication and crew is to school the masses on who is doing what musically and there’s no better way to do that beyond our CRT FRSH (Certified Fresh) bi-weekly playlist.
Disclaimer:
The CRT FRSH playlist is a labor of love. We don’t take payments nor do we do favors. We only add joints to our playlist that fit the theme and vision we’re going for and don’t seek to waste the listener’s time. Further, we don’t stick to one lane of Hip-Hop. We believe that all aspects of the music should get some light, whether it’s young lions in the trenches or those hoping for that one shot to blow up to grizzled veterans puffing out their chests with lots more to say.
It’s been a minute since we’ve updated CRT FRSH due to Hip-Hop @ 50 taking the lion’s share of our creative time but we’re back to resuming our regular bi-weekly schedule as best we can. This time around, we’re including 25 artists you should know and 25 artists you need to know, keeping in mind that our mission is purely educational at root and aimed at promoting all sides of Hip-Hop at its best.
For a change of pace, I want to speak in my own voice and explain how I approach curating the CRT FRSH playlist. Most importantly, I don’t segregate my Hip-Hop. Every form of music from the main cultural tree deserves a listen and a look. When I’m putting the list together, I want to include all regions across the States and, when applicable, across the globe. I also want to entertain every fan of Hip-Hop, not just those who enjoy one segment of it. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get to it. – D.L. Chandler
We open up this week’s playlist with Nas, who celebrated his 50th birthday by releasing the potent Magic 3 alongside Hit-Boy and the track “Never Die” featuring a blistering cameo from Lil Wayne (we really need to acknowledge the feature run Tunechi has been on for the past five years). Next up is “Another One Of Me” from Diddy’s newest drop, The Love Album: Off The Grid featuring The Weeknd, French Montana, and noted R&B fan, 21 Savage.
We just informed the HHW nation about Offset’s new joint “Fan” coming from his upcoming album, SET IT OFF. Killer Mike gave his already stellar album MICHEAL the deluxe treatment and the track “YES!” adds to the quality drop.
Drake’s For All The Dogs was slated to come out this Friday but has been delayed yet again. Hopefully, “Slime You Out” featuring SZA will satiate fans of The Boy until October 6. Cardi B connects with Megan Thee Stallion again for the entertaining “Bongos” joint, and the super slept-on EarthGang returns with “Swing” from Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 original soundtrack.
The hardworking independent king Russ dropped another dope project in SANTIAGO and we include “Enough” from the joint. Navy Blue, one of Hip-Hop’s most thoughtful writers, gives us a gem in “Dolla.”
Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist connect on the track “The Caliphate” featuring a sorely missed Vince Staples. Speaking of Alchemist, he and Roc Marciano decided to drop a deluxe version of their already solid album, The Elephant Man’s Bones and we added the “Turkey Wings” track.
Anytime we get a chance to add a track to our playlist from Smoke DZA, we do so. The Kushed God connected with Flying Lotus for a potent EP, Flying Objects, and we have “Drug Trade” with the Harlem spitter rocking with Philadelphia bar god, Black Thought.
Salute to all the acts on our playlist which include the likes of Busta Rhymes, Coi Leray, Sexxy Red, REASON, Ray Vaughn (shout out TDE), Yo Gotti, DJ Drama, Rich Homie Quan (we missed the homie), Cordae, Gunna, Doja Cat (on her rap sh*t), Tyga, YG, That Mexican OT, Paul Wall, DRODi, MIKE, Rome Streetz, Conway The Machine, 38 Spesh, Lukah, Kipp Stone, Mick Jenkins, Benny The Butcher, and more.
Check it out below.
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Photo: Getty
HipHopWired Radio
Our staff has picked their favorite stations, take a listen…
HipHopWired Featured Video
What up, Hip-Hop Wired Nation? We’re back with CRT FRSH AKA Certified Fresh! Part of our duty as a publication and crew is to school the masses on who is doing what musically and there’s no better way to do that beyond our CRT FRSH (Certified Fresh) bi-weekly playlist.
Disclaimer:
The CRT FRSH playlist is a labor of love. We don’t take payments nor do we do favors. We only add joints to our playlist that fit the theme and vision we’re going for and don’t seek to waste the listener’s time. Further, we don’t stick to one lane of Hip-Hop. We believe that all aspects of the music should get some light, whether it’s young lions in the trenches or those hoping for that one shot to blow up to grizzled veterans puffing out their chests with lots more to say.
It’s been a minute since we’ve updated CRT FRSH due to Hip-Hop @ 50 taking the lion’s share of our creative time but we’re back to resuming our regular bi-weekly schedule as best we can. This time around, we’re including 25 artists you should know and 25 artists you need to know, keeping in mind that our mission is purely educational at root and aimed at promoting all sides of Hip-Hop at its best.
We began this week’s playlist with Travis Scott and the opening track “HYAENA” from the Texas superstar’s UTOPIA album. We follow with DDG’s “Tryna Link” and FendiDa Rappa’s “Point Me 2” joint with Cardi B on the assist.
Lil Tjay is back on his upward swing with “Hole In My Heart” from his 222 project with Jadakiss lending his perspective with the bars. The first half of the playlist is rounded out with A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams, the late King Von, Lil Durk, Blxst, Remble, Bas and J. Cole, Nas, Drake, Central Cee, BIA, Nas, Russ, and more.
For the second half, we highlight the talented Backwood Sweetie, and the Earth delivers the blistering “Couldn’t Cee” with Skip The Kid on the production, coming from her latest EP, Ancestral Aspect. The always formidable Planet Asia connects with Apollo Brown once more to follow up their 2017 Anchovies project with Sardines, and the track “Peas & Onions” is more of their usual magic.
Dame Lillard, better known in the Hip-Hop world as Dame D.O.L.L.A., continues to create music at an extremely high level and the track “Da One” from his album Don D.O.L.L.A. features a standout feature from Lil Wayne. Here at HHW, we’re big Smoke DZA fans and the Kushed God adds to his active 2023 run with the single “Harlem World” featuring Estelle with Flying Lotus on the track.
The playlist concludes with contributions from Mick Jenkins, Stik Figa, Lupe Fiasco, 38 Spesh, Conway The Machine, Lloyd Banks, DJ Muggs, Ghostface Killah, Westside Gunn, Nickelus F, WhatupVERN, Five Steez, Son Raw, Patty Honcho, and more.
Check out the playlist below. We want you to live with these songs a bit so we’ll be updating in two weeks. Stay tuned.
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Photo: Getty
HipHopWired Radio
Our staff has picked their favorite stations, take a listen…
HipHopWired Featured Video
What up, Hip-Hop Wired Nation? We’re back with CRT FRSH AKA Certified Fresh! Part of our duty as a publication and crew is to school the masses on who is doing what musically and there’s no better way to do that beyond our CRT FRSH (Certified Fresh) bi-weekly playlist.
Disclaimer:
The CRT FRSH playlist is a labor of love. We don’t take payments nor do we do favors. We only add joints to our playlist that fit the theme and vision we’re going for and don’t seek to waste the time of the listener. Further, we don’t stick to one lane of Hip-Hop. We believe that all aspects of the music should get some light, whether it’s young lions in the trenches or those hoping for that one shot to blow up to grizzled veterans puffing out their chests with lots more to say.
Yes, we know CRT FRSH is supposed to be a bi-weekly endeavor but sometimes, life gets in the way. That said, we have 50 new, sort of new, and new to you joints for you to enjoy. Check it out.
We open the playlist with Scar Lip’s “This is New York,” one of the hardest songs to emerge in years in any region. We follow that up with “Mr. Gaulden” from YoungBoy Never Broke Again from his latest full-length, Don’t Try This At Home. Teen titan Luh Tyler checks in with his track, “First Show.”
Rising Philly rapper Armani White dropped his new album Road to CASABLANCO., and the remix to his hit song “Billie Eilish” features the talents of Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, and N.O.R.E.
Conway The Machine returns with another stellar full-length in WON’T HE DO IT and among the excellent selection of tracks, we went with “Stab Out” featuring the sharp stylings of Ransom on the helpout. Los Angeles-based rapper YUNGMORPHEUS has dropped some consistently great projects over the past four years and his latest set, From Whence It Came, is possibly his strongest work to date. We feature “Where It Goes” featuring the angelic vocals of Jimetta Rose.
Salute to iann dior, Moneybagg Yo, Sideshow (salute to DC), Kay Anthony, Stik Figa, Planet Asia, billy woods, Kenny Segal, Coi Leray, NLE Choppa, Jae Skeese, Skip The Kid (look out for this producer!), Lupe Fiasco, klwn cat, Backwood Sweetie, and more.
Check out the CRT FRSH playlist below.
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Photo: iantfoto / Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
What up, Hip-Hop Wired Nation? We’re back with another edition of CRT FRSH AKA Certified Fresh! Part of our duty as a publication and crew is to school the masses on who is doing what musically and there’s no better way to do that beyond our CRT FRSH (Certified Fresh) bi-weekly playlist.
Disclaimer:
The CRT FRSH playlist is a labor of love. We don’t take payments nor do we do favors. We only add joints to our playlist that fit the theme and vision we’re going for and don’t seek to waste the time of the listener. Further, we don’t stick to one lane of Hip-Hop. We believe that all aspects of the music should get some light, whether it’s young lions in the trenches or those hoping for that one shot to blow up to grizzled veterans puffing out their chests with lots more to say.
Related Stories
This week’s update is broken up into two halves, much like we did last time. The first 25 songs are folks that should already be on most folks’ radars or very close to it. In the second half, we dug deep into the virtual crates to shine a light on the future big names of tomorrow. As always, we didn’t list everything we liked and we’ll add the joints we missed in some following updates.
We open up this week’s update with SZA’s remix of “Kill Bill” from her 2022 album SOS which features Doja Cat displaying her formidable rapping ability. We follow that up with another remix, this time Ice Spice’s “Princess Diana” featuring Nicki Minaj in a scene-stealing turn.
The Alchemist has been on quite a run in the last few years and his collaborative album with Larry June, The Great Escape, is packed with strong joints, most notably “Palisades, CA” featuring Big Sean for the first time over an Alchemist beat. Other tracks in the playlist’s first half include “Search and Rescue” from Drake, “DOGTOOTH” from Tyler, The Creator, and “Fallin’” from Joey BadA$$.
On the playlist’s second half, we include “Half Steppin’” from Grafh and one of our favorite rappers in Smoke DZA. Patty Honcho, a name you all should look out for, torches his track “Clocking In” with BlaQ Chidori on the help out. In that same crew, producer klwn cat and his collaborative album Don’t Go Outside with unruly has a number of joints we looked over and went with “Tell Me How You Feel” featuring Mourning Run and the talented Matt Draugos.
We also have joints on the CRT FRSH list from Hus Kingpin, IDK, BIA, Curren$y, Nappy Nina, B. Cool-Aid, Chris Crack, YUNGMORPHEUS, defprez, Black Thought, and more. Enjoy the playlist and we’ll be updating it in a couple of weeks with 50 brand-new joints.
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Photo: PeopleImages / Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
What up, Hip-Hop Wired Nation? We’re back with CRT FRSH AKA Certified Fresh! Part of our duty as a publication and crew is to school the masses on who is doing what musically and there’s no better way to do that beyond our CRT FRSH (Certified Fresh) bi-weekly playlist.
Disclaimer:
The CRT FRSH playlist is a labor of love. We don’t take payments nor do we do favors. We only add joints to our playlist that fit the theme and vision we’re going for and don’t seek to waste the time of the listener. Further, we don’t stick to one lane of Hip-Hop. We believe that all aspects of the music should get some light, whether it’s young lions in the trenches or those hoping for that one shot to blow up to grizzled veterans puffing out their chests with lots more to say.
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This week’s update is long overdue but will highlight some of the joints over the past couple of months that we’ve been rocking via our respective audio devices. Hopefully, you find a new fave in the CRT FRSH mix!
Since we’re heading to the Dreamville Festival this weekend, we open up with “Ma Boy” featuring JID and Lute, continuing the magic that the label seems to have on deck at all times. That track is followed with NLE Choppa’s “CHAMPIONS,” which will most likely make it to a lot of workout or walkout playlists. Memphis star GloRilla links with HittKidd once more for the entertaining “Internet Trolls” and it should be clear what her focus is here.
Young Nudy’s latest set Gumbo features several ear-pleasing tracks but the 21 Savage-assisted “Peaches & Egglants” is a standout. Lola Brooke is a rapper with a ton of momentum and her “So DISRESPECTFUL” joint definitely adds to the growth. Wiz Khalifa, one of the many stars of the so-called “Blog Era” re-released his 2008 Star Power mixtape and we include the track “Like A Star.”
One of the surprises of 2023 is Def Jam putting a deep focus on Hip-Hop’s underground with acts like Maxo and Navy Blue. We include the tracks “Both Hands” featuring the talented Liv.E, and “Windows to the Soul” featuring Kelly Moonstone respectively. Washington D.C. rapper Sideshow dropped his excellent 2MM JUST DON’T STAND THERE! album and we include “2MM” on this CRT FRSH drop.
We also have new joints from Privaledge, Spectacular Diagnostics, Ja’King The Divine, Midaz the Beast, Gold Chain Music, Skillibeng, Oddisee, Nito, Rueben Vincent, Flo Milli, IDK, Statik Selektah, and more.
Check out the joints below.
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In this very special update of the CRT FRSH playlist, we’re turning our focus on the legendary trio, De La Soul. To honor the Plugs getting their music back onto streaming services, we’re featuring 33 (see what we did there?) tracks from the Long Island legends.
As every other Hip-Hop publication has artfully noted, the release of De La Soul’s in digital and downloadable form comes as fans of the group are still mourning the passing of David Jolicoeur, largely known as Dave and formerly known as Trugoy The Dove. Plug Two, as he was affectionately known, passed on Feb. 12 of this year at the age of 54.
Breaking the wall here a bit, I can tell you as a young man growing up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., having music created by a group that represented all sides of my personality and embodied some of my hopes and dreams was so instrumental in my development as a person. De La Soul made it cool to be a little left of center, and also be prepared to handle one’s self if needed as the crew told us on the track “Area” from Buhloone Mindstate.
While some might consider Posdonous the best rapper in the group, Plug Two was always my favorite within the rapping portion of De La Soul for reasons far too music nerdy to share here. All I’ll add to this is that a random encounter with Dave some years ago inside Reagan National Airport was a beautiful moment I’ll never forget. Truly a humble giant. May he rest in powerful peace.
CRT FRSH is largely about celebrating the up-and-coming acts in the wide world of Hip-Hop but we thought it best to shift gears and turn our collective attention on the magnificent discography of De La Soul and how much they’ve impacted the culture of Hip-Hop over the past three decades.
The De La Soul edition of the CRT FRSH playlist can be found below.
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Photo: Getty