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"Black Jack and Roulette", whatupVERN & Skamatics
"I'm playin with my rent money, yeah I'm cuttin' it close." On "Black Jack and Roulette", whatupVERN & Skamatics chronicle "living on the edge" in Las Vegas. VERN's gravelly baritone evokes the dry desert heat & the sobering pressure of debt; Skamatics's conversational urgency is the cadence of a gambler who knows the odds are slim but he's gonna "play the game til I'm dead". The gently bubbling beat, produced by Skamatics, mimics Sin City's hazy oasis aura: soaring backing vocals call to mind the glamour of the Strip & the pain in your gut when you lose it all.
"A.P.D.T.A.", Aaron Shakur & Radio Syheem
"...born at the bottom & the Lord said you'd better climb." Aaron Shakur & Radio Syheem's "A.P.D.T.A." is a tribute to not just surviving, but thriving in the midst of hopelessness. Both rappers are stern, stoic motivators over hypnotic keys and dusty drums. From growing up where "the streets ain't got no heart" to "eating chicken Szechuan in Tel Aviv", Shakur & Syheem "count our blessings up cause we done came too far". This feels like a lost track from a classic mixtape: rugged & timeless boom bap.
"Lost Time", Filip Neuf & xhef
"Prayin' & cryin' cause I didn't turn into shit." Over Filip Neuf's relentlessly tumbling chipmunk soul, xhef describes life with ADHD in agonizingly specific detail. His tone rises and builds with the beat, voice cracking with emotion as he hurtles through a history of failure. A trail of unopened textbooks, disappointed parents & social isolation culminate in amphetamine delirium as xhef's "grippin' my bed, heart beating out of my chest writing a note...I'm not ready to GO!" Refreshingly raw.
"I'm playin with my rent money, yeah I'm cuttin' it close." On "Black Jack and Roulette", whatupVERN & Skamatics chronicle "living on the edge" in Las Vegas. VERN's gravelly baritone evokes the dry desert heat & the sobering pressure of debt; Skamatics's conversational urgency is the cadence of a gambler who knows the odds are slim but he's gonna "play the game til I'm dead". The gently bubbling beat, produced by Skamatics, mimics Sin City's hazy oasis aura: soaring backing vocals call to mind the glamour of the Strip & the pain in your gut when you lose it all.
"A.P.D.T.A.", Aaron Shakur & Radio Syheem
"...born at the bottom & the Lord said you'd better climb." Aaron Shakur & Radio Syheem's "A.P.D.T.A." is a tribute to not just surviving, but thriving in the midst of hopelessness. Both rappers are stern, stoic motivators over hypnotic keys and dusty drums. From growing up where "the streets ain't got no heart" to "eating chicken Szechuan in Tel Aviv", Shakur & Syheem "count our blessings up cause we done came too far". This feels like a lost track from a classic mixtape: rugged & timeless boom bap.
"Lost Time", Filip Neuf & xhef
"Prayin' & cryin' cause I didn't turn into shit." Over Filip Neuf's relentlessly tumbling chipmunk soul, xhef describes life with ADHD in agonizingly specific detail. His tone rises and builds with the beat, voice cracking with emotion as he hurtles through a history of failure. A trail of unopened textbooks, disappointed parents & social isolation culminate in amphetamine delirium as xhef's "grippin' my bed, heart beating out of my chest writing a note...I'm not ready to GO!" Refreshingly raw.