TDT's April Playlist

Another month has come and gone so it seemed like the right time to do our monthly playlist. This month we have five writers presenting five songs each so needless to say there's a lot of variation between us. Let's get to it.

BDJ

Kanye West feat. Kendrick Lamar “No More Parties in L.A.” –Since TLOP popped up on Apple Music it’s been a go to for me. I didn’t want to list only Kanye Tracks here, but I could easily fill up a rotation with tracks solely from this album. Ye's verse on "No More Parties" might be my favorite Kanye verse in the last few years so for that it edges out the competition.

Orlando Brown “Fuck My Fame” –I started listening to this song as a joke. It was the same logic as being unable to look away from a car crash. Funny thing is the more I listened to it the more I realized that it was credible. It’s at the point now where I genuinely like the song and have to commend some of the lyrics. While some parts are iffy (the switches from rapping to singing aren’t the smoothest) I’d be a hypocrite to applaud Young Thug and Kendrick Lamar for their experimentation only to turn a around a criticize Orlando.

Guy “Groove Me” –I have to keep classics in the rotation. This month it’s been Guy’s “Groove Me”. The almost 30 year old track sounds retro, but not dated. A testament to the sounds crafted during the New Jack Swing Era. The track makes you want to smile and sing along to this day.

ASAP Ferg feat. Future “New Level” – This song is powerful. If you listen to it long enough you’ll swear you’re invincible. We need more songs like this.

Kirko Bangz “Love and Basketball” – I feel like Kirko Bangz is criminally underrated, the timing of his rise to prominence on top of multiple album delays caused the Houston rapper to get lost in the shuffle. This track though points out what Kirko does best. Accompanied by a Ginuwine sample, Kirko spits an all too relatable tale about young love comparing his love to that of the Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan in the 2000 classic of the same name.

Stoph

Skippa da Flippa “Amazing” – If anyone knows me I don't listen to music really looking for substance. I just want something that I can bump too. This track is the one. Skippa's wordplay on this track is comical and the same can be said for most of his music. I would recommend checking out his most recent tape, I'm Havin 2.

Rick Ross feat. The Dream “Money Dance” – Not too hard, not too much vocals from The Dream, in my opinion this song is a masterpiece. I often bump this song on repeat when I do work and I find myself bobbing my head knocking out whatever I have on my plate for the week. I never hear anyone talk about Black Market, Renzel's latest tape. It is greatly under appreciated and I would advise everyone to go show it some love. You won't be let down.

Tracy T “They Watchin'” – Ever since Tracy's first tape The Wolf of All Streets, he in my opinion has been the best artist in MMG. He has slowed down with releases but this is arguably his best track ever. I often only download tracks that sound tough in my car and best believe when I get on the aux this song will be one of the first I play.

Peewee Longway feat. Woop “Hotel” – I dug deep in my Apple Music archives for this track. With so much music being released daily, I often disregard albums or mixtapes older than a year old. This track off of Peewee's Blue M&M, however, deserves attention and plenty of play. West Orlando native Woop makes this track and is really one of the top rappers that no one outside of Florida or the South knows about.

AG & Scoota “Intro” – Coming off of their second project of 2014, Starlife, both AG and Scoota are up and coming rappers from the DMV. I've always been a supporter of their music and I still bump the Starlife tape to this day. Ask anyone I know, I have said many times that I believed AG was next up. Unfortunately, he passed away earlier this week. It hurts to see someone lose his life when he was doing great things. He had something most people don't. Rest easy AG. Your music will live on forever.

Tex

Tory Lanez “Tim Duncan” – The beat on this track sets the tone for the flow Tory goes with. Lanez is one of the few artists out there who are both good at singing and rapping. This specific track puts both of skills on display. I love the way Tory transitions between styles on this song, which is why I can bump it so often.

dvsn “Angela” – Shoutout to OVO Sound for signing yet another gem to their roster. dvsn has a strong R&B/Soul sound and it definitely adds a different taste to the OVO brand. On this track dvsn sings soulfully about the prettiest woman he ever met, Angela. For anyone out there who has been in and out of relationships, you can definitely relate to this track.

TWENTY88 “Déjà Vu” – Shoutout to Jhené Aiko and Big Sean for the brilliant idea of forming a duo together for a project. They have great chemistry on and off the mic, which can easily be seen through their work together. Their two voices together actually blend very well and they made 8 dope tracks for this release.

Young Thug “Tattoos” – SS3 definitely has numerous tracks I rock with, but this one is my favorite. The thumping bass paired with the piano bits are brilliant pieces of producing to me. Thugga never disappoints with his ad-libs and shouts.

Skippa Da Flippa feat. Quavo & Offset “I'm Tellin Ya” – One of the most underrated artists out there, Skippa is slowly but surely climbing the ranks. He is surrounded by a boatload of talent on the QC roster, but trust and believe his time is coming. His entire I'm Havin 2 tape goes, but to me this track is the one he kilt the most. And of course one can never complain when they get 2/3 of Migos to feature on a trap banger.

Refiloe

TOKiMONSTA "Smoke & Mirrors" – I love this song and I love TOKiMONSTA. As one of my favorite female DJs she consistently delivers. As I aspire to become a producer/DJ myself, I get inspired listening to her. This song takes me places I want to call home.

MMOTHS feat. Superhumanoids "Summer"– Recently heard this song buried deep inside one of my Spotify playlists. Hadn't heard it in months and I'm glad I heard it just in time for summer. This is an unwind and enjoy a summer night in the city kind of song. This song takes me places I want to call my vacation home.

Wafia "Heartburn" (Jaramix) – I've had this song on repeat for quite a while. It's cute and honest and I can listen to it around anyone without worrying about it being inappropriate or offensive. Neither the beat nor the lyrics and vocalist are overpowering and it's great.

Mandeh & Velvet "Clear Mind" – This song is ambient and helps me clear my mind. I've been playing to just be at peace and relaxed and the lyrics "I see clear now no one can stop me" are really motivating. I'm not naive to think it's true, I just enjoy sort of thinking positively while listening to some solid music.

Kelly Khumalo "Asine" (aFrikaSoul Deep house Remix) – This remix is amazing and elevated an already great South African song. I love this song and the deep and Afro house elements to it. It's right up my alley and every time I play it my soul is at peace. Khumalo's voice never fails to be perfect which is why I can't stop listening to this song.

Sio

Young Thug "With Them" – Not only does this beat hit you in the mouth as soon as the track starts but you find yourself relating to lines throughout the song. "I wanna fuck her but she play more games than the NBA" we've all been there before, and if you say you haven't I have two words for you; lie again.

Dej Loaf "Make Money" – Dej dropped this mixtape seemingly out of nowhere, and while it's a great tape in my opinion, a couple of songs stand out to me this being the song that does the most. Dej comes hard on this classic hood anthem with lines "All these niggas rat for that cheese shit, snitching telling everything they seen shit, I'm bout that action I might pop up on that scene quick". This is Dej at her best.

2 Chainz Feat. Lil Wayne "Gotta Lotta" – Just gotta say the whole Collegrove project was a success in my eyes, there's no part that I can't bump, this song stands out to me even more than "Bouncin", it's raw, gritty, the beat sounds like some Mannie Fresh would've dropped in his prime. It's lines like "Born in the projects, papa was a rolling stone selling rock crack" that set the tone of the song.

TWENTY88 Feat. K-CI & JoJo & Detail "2 Minute Warning" – I'm a fan of TWENTY88, I see the duo of Sean and Jhene as one of the more natural and organic duos in a while, they compliment each other so well, it's almost scary. Sean is his usual braggadocios self pretty much saying I'm going to do this to you and you want me to because I'm SeanDon. Jhene perfectly compliments that by saying you wanna do those things because I'm Jhene.

Drake Feat. The Throne "Pop Style" – No disrespect to the Six God but The Throne absolutely took over this song. Jay made his presence known in only two bars, not saying that Drake came like he was sweet or something, but Kanye by far had the best verse, we've been getting that a lot since TLOP dropped so I'm not surprised at all. I bump this song at least once daily, I think it will be one of the highlights of Views.

#playlist #KanyeWest #KendrickLamar #OrlandoBrown #Guy #ASAPFerg #KirkoBangz #SkippaDaFlippa #RickRoss #TheDream #TracyT #PeeweeLongway #AGScoota #ToryLanez #dvsn #TWENTY88 #BigSean #JheneAiko #YoungThug #Migos #Drake #JayZ #TOKiMONSTA #MMOTHS #Wafia #MandehVelvet #KellyKhumalo #DejLoaf #2Chainz #LilWayne #KCiJoJo