New Rap Music: Songs from the Internet

Can someone please explain his hat to me

Beeda Weeda "Mack'n, Trap'n and Rap'n"



Beeda Weeda "Gas City"



Beeda Weeda somehow slipped a mixtape by me last month that I stumbled upon by sheer dumb luck the other day. Beeda Weeda is one of those Bay Area rappers who seems a bit disconnected from the local scene, but I can't really put my finger on why it seems that way. The fact that he has not put out a proper studio album since 2008 (Da Thizzness, good album!) probably has something to do with it. There was a moment when it seemed like Beeda Weeda was the Bay's "next big thing" with his debut, Turfology 101, but that faded with the rest of the Hyphy Movement. He has an album with DJ Fresh, Bass Rock Babies, that has been "coming soon" for so many years now that I'm pretty sure the project has been scrapped.
But anyways, this new mixtape of his is very entertaining. It has a lot of previously released songs by him, but as long as you haven't been spending every day scouring the internet in search of new Beeda Weeda, most of these songs will be new to you.
Lots of bass-heavy beats with a lighthearted throwback vibe to them (think mid-90's Sick Wid It albums) that gives the project a legitimate cohesive feel to it. This is a very entertaining project and definitely worth checking out.

Very abstract post-modern art

Taj-He-Spitz "FEA"



Speaking of rappers who were once thought to be the Bay's next big thing: Fairfield's Taj-He-Spitz recently released his first proper studio album since getting out of jail.
Taji created a huge amount of buzz around himself by releasing countless impressive youtube freestyle videos back in 2007ish and was signed to B-Legit's label, Block Movement Records (along with this dude named 2wiceberg Slym). He then released an amazing debut album, Live Fast Die Young, in 2009, proving that he was much more than just a freestyle rapper. Unfortunately he got locked up for a few years, but he is a free man once again. Unfortunately, I Got It is a huge disappointment. The album has too many songs with the same anthemic vibe to them that gets old real quick and honestly the production and hooks sound really dated, like something that would have been hot in 2008. "FEA" is a good song, but besides that track it's a chore to make it through this album in its entirety. Taj-He-Spitz is still an extremely talented rapper, so hopefully he can change things up for his next project.



Here is a new HD song in which HD is vocoding it up. Longtime fans of the Bearfaced leader will recall the only other time he has implemented a vocoder was on "Fuck Frenz" off 2011's Emotional Bout My Guap (EDIT: Also on "Gave My Heart to the Hood" off the same album). Looking through the youtube comments it appears that people still think their opinions on vocoders are interesting and important like it's 2007. It's reminiscent of when Young Gully broke out the robot voice for "Lose It" and everyone was acting offended like he was selling out by experimenting with a vocoder.
Using auto-tune does not make you a sell out because this is not 2008 where songs like "Low" and "Heartless" are topping the charts. This is 2013 where dudes like Future are using auto-tune with weird and impressive results.
HD's prolific musical output over the past few years has been quite notable in that he has managed to expand upon his original style without ever betraying his vision of making murky street raps.

Young Wappo "Ties & Affiliations"



Young Wappo "Dinner Time"



Do you bros know who Young Wappo is? I did not until recently being introduced to him by Conor of Chop Music. Mr. Wappo is a San Jose rapper who apparently got out of jail recently and has a new mixtape out titled Not Guilty. To be honest I cannot think of a single San Jose rapper I have ever been a fan of, much less the whole South Bay, come to think of it. I think Young Wappo recently beat a murder charge or something like that, hence the title, Not Guilty.

This album is really good though! Lots of raps from Wappo about his struggles with the justice system and he astutely keeps the features down to a bare minimum.
As far as I can tell this is his first full length project, which is very impressive considering how developed his rapping already sounds. He is able to break out double-time raps on particular occasions, semi-sings many of his hooks, and really keeps his flow quite diverse for the album's length. The beat selection on Not Guilty is fantastic as well and distinctively Bay Area, however the production usually takes a back seat to Wappo's stellar raps.
The only downsides to this release are some recycled beats, DJ Rah2K's shitty DJ drops at the beginning and end of each song, and the album is probably a tad too long with 22 songs at 70+ minutes.
You should definitely check this one out, it's possibly the best release I've heard in 2013. 100 Grand on My Wrist recommended, stamp of approval, etc. Looking forward to hearing more music from Mr. Wappo.

That's all for now. Take care of yourself.

What do you think of these songs/albums?