“Mona Lisa” by Lil Wayne Ft. Kendrick Lamar
On Lil Wayne’s long awaited “Tha Carter V” he and Kendrick Lamar belligerently document the story of a woman who sets up her boyfriend for robbery. “Mona Lisa” is an exciting display of Wayne’s ability to weave a storyline together without compromising his goofy tongue-in-cheek lyrics. Wayne embodies the the man who is robbing while Kendrick takes on the roll of a man treating a woman to a life of luxury but has suspicion that she is seeing another man and isn’t loyal to Kendrick. “Mona Lisa” is one of the all star tracks that “Tha Carter V” has to offer — hopefully more Lil Wayne and Kendrick collabs are on their way.
“Wu Tang Forever” by Logic Ft. Wu Tang Clan
In an eight minute cut curated by Logic, the entire Wu Tang Clan takes their bars to the next level. They use the track off of Logic’s latest album as a victory lap, a celebration to the effects they have had on the hip-hop genre. Wu Tang member RZA claims the most lyrically dextrous verse on the track and possibly the whole album, as his rhyme schemes put Logic’s weak intro verse to shame.
“Colored Dreams/ Killers pt.2” by Reason
Recent TDE signee Reason sticks to rapping about his experiences on the streets, and in his emotionally riveting track “Colored Dreams,” takes on the persona of a man who just committed a murder. “Mama I just killed a man/Body is still tremblin' can you feel my hands?” Reason raps for his intro and hook. It’s a tragic story of a man who comes to terms with his actions while behind bars. His message ends with the repeated line, “F**k these colored dreams.”
“TONYA” by BROCKHAMPTON
Originally premiering on the Tonight Show, “TONYA” did not receive an official release until the drop of Brockhampton’s latest album “Iridescence.” Dropping the album’s grimy heavy beats and introducing a purely piano lead intro, “TONYA” is one of the group’s most complete songs. Brockhampton’s vocal layering member, Bearface’s voice and creative lyrics all lead to the emotional ending where Matt Champion can be heard screaming. Merlyn Wood delivers one of the most quotable lyrics on the album “What’s in your wallet/Dead whites in mine.”
“Mariners Apartment Complex” by Lana Del Rey
With help from Jack Antonoff, Lana Del Rey, the usually reserved singer, allows emotion to flow into her latest single “Mariners Apartment Complex.” As described by Lana in an interview, this song is about a time a man she was seeing and her took a walk where he said “I think we are together because we’re both similar, like we’re both really messed up.” She said that was the saddest thing she had heard and went on to write this song. It’s a completely new sound and tone for the singer.
“With You” by Noname
“This is my happy ever suicide/My hands tied behind my breast/My silhouette did pirouettes/The curtains are closing,” raps Noname on her most revealing song yet in a manner no other artist could possibly bring to life as well as her. “With You” explores the effects of her music on herself and the people around her. With a simple drum skit, a light guitar and minimal background vocals Noname creates a safe space for her to air out her grievances about labels chasing after her everything as referenced in her lyric “All my everything’s for sale.” This track is an understated moment on Noname’s latest album “Room 25.”
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“Hallelujah” by Joey Purp
No other rapper can create a celebratory space like Joey Purp, and this skill is most clearly seen on his latest album’s track “Hallelujah.” Here Joey boastfully yells the majority of his verses like a racer who just broke the finish line banner at the end of an exhaustingly long race. “Don't mean to burst your bubble, but I'm kinda like a big deal,” yells Joey with much bravado near the climax of “Hallelujah,” which is just the third in a long series of excitable songs found on his sophomore LP “QUARTERTHING.”
“Girl Blunt” by Leikeli47
First released on Issa Rae’s hit show “Insecure,” Leikeli47 raps a sticky chorus that seemingly won’t leave your mind after first listen. “I only smoke girl blunts,” she raps throughout the chorus of the song, discussing the origin of the term “girl blunt” in an interview with Highsnobiety. “My constant use of the term girl blunt/boy blunt prompted another one of our conversations on the difference between the two,” Leikeli47 said. The choppy song will have you bobbing your head throughout every listen.
“Burb” by Billy Lemos
Originally a track uploaded to recording artist VICTOR!’s soundcloud earlier this year under the title “Suburb Boy,” Billy Lemos added a second verse and a fresh bridge for his “Awkward” EP. Iowa producer Billy Lemos shows the world of bedroom pop that he is just getting started. “Burb” has VICTOR! take the lead with smooth auto tuned vocals singing “brown boy said he could” as Billy Lemos comes in to further smooth out the already catchy track.
Colton Newman is the photo editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted by email at photoeditor@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Coltonperson.
Shayla Cunico is the culture editor and music editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ShaylaCunico.
