Rap Song of the Week

Rap Song of the Week breaks down all the hip-hop tracks you need to hear every Friday. Check out the full playlist here. This week, YG and Lil Wayne reunite on “Miss My Dawgs.” YG and Lil Wayne have been frequent collaborators over the past decade or so, first teaming up on the remix to YG’s breakout hit “My N****.” Earlier this week, YG acknowledged their close relationship by gifting his “favorite rapper” with a red 4Hunnid chain during the video shoot for their new collaboration, “Miss My Dawgs.” Featuring melancholy, piano-driven production by Gibbo and Ambezza, “Miss My Dawgs” serves as a tribute to YG’s late friend and rapper Slim 400, who was fatally shot one year ago today. The track’s title might be a nod toward Wayne’s 2004 track “I Miss My Dawgs,” too, as the rappers r...

Rap Song of the Week breaks down all the hip-hop tracks you need to hear every Friday. Check out the full playlist here. This week, Latto and GloRilla team up on “FTCU.” Few artists had a bigger rise in 2022 than Latto, who followed her first Top 5 hit, “Big Energy,” with her second studio album, 777, and a headlining tour. Memphis breakout GloRilla is experiencing an accelerated trajectory of her own, going from a viral hit (“F.N.F. (Let’s Go)”) to a Top 10 single (“Tomorrow 2”) to her first headlining trek next year. Both artists recently earned their first Grammy nominations, too. Now, the Southern rappers have teamed up to celebrate their success on “FTCU.” The club banger gets a stamp of approval from their forebear Gangsta Boo as producer d.a. got that dope flips ...

Rap Song of the Week breaks down all the hip-hop tracks you need to hear every Friday. Check out the full playlist here. This week, Latto and GloRilla team up on “FTCU.” Few artists had a bigger rise in 2022 than Latto, who followed her first Top 5 hit, “Big Energy,” with her second studio album, 777, and a headlining tour. Memphis breakout GloRilla is experiencing an accelerated trajectory of her own, going from a viral hit (“F.N.F. (Let’s Go)”) to a Top 10 single (“Tomorrow 2”) to her first headlining trek next year. Both artists recently earned their first Grammy nominations, too. Now, the Southern rappers have teamed up to celebrate their success on “FTCU.” The club banger gets a stamp of approval from their forebear Gangsta Boo as producer d.a. got that dope flips ...

Rap Song of the Week breaks down all the hip-hop tracks you need to hear every Friday. Check out the full playlist here. Today, BROCKHAMPTON return with their new single, “Big Pussy.” BROCKHAMPTON have announced their final album, The Family, and on lead single “Big Pussy,” Kevin Abstract builds a funeral pyre and sets the band on fire. The track begins with a sample containing the words, “Fuck you,” and while it doesn’t appear to be directed at anyone in particular, if there were any doubt about Kevin’s feelings, he opens his first verse the same way: “Fuck you to anyone that claim that they got me/ When my heart was low, it turn to kami-kami-kamikaze.” With those words ringing in your ear, “Big Pussy” starts to feel like a final suicide mission. It’s one of the few BROCKHA...

Rap Song of the Week breaks down all the hip-hop tracks you need to hear every Friday. Check out the full playlist here. This week, Lil Uzi Vert hops on a Jersey club beat with “Just Wanna Rock.” Lil Uzi Vert takes pride in acknowledging their roots in North Philadephia’s Francisville neighborhood. With Jersey club recently breaking out from its origins in Newark — just an hour or two away from where the rapper, who uses they/them pronouns, was born and raised — it was inevitable that the always-experimental artist would dip a toe into the genre. The result is “Just Wanna Rock,” an uptempo dance track with gothic keys that Uzi Vert dropped after it went viral on TikTok. Co-produced by MCVertt, a frequent collaborator with Jersey drill pioneer Bandmanrill, and Synthetic, who is kn...

Rap Song of the Week breaks down all the hip-hop tracks you need to hear every Friday. Check out the full playlist here. This week, Migos members Quavo and Takeoff push on as a duo on “Two Infinity Links,” the opening track from their new album, Only Built for Infinity Links. After months of speculation, Quavo and Takeoff essentially admitted Migos are done (for now) earlier this week. During an appearance on DJ Scream’s Big Facts podcast, Quavo alluded to family loyalty and explained the situation was “something to do with the three brothers” rather than Offset’s recent label issues. Meanwhile, Takeoff left the door open for the return of Offset, mentioning they told him to fix “whatever ain’t right.” Regardless of what went down, Quavo and Takeoff are determined to prove their ...

Rap Song of the Week runs down all the hip-hop tracks you need to hear every Friday. Check out the full playlist here. This week, Smino gears up for his upcoming album Luv 4 Rent with “90 Proof” featuring J. Cole. Since dropping “24-8” earlier this month, Smino’s been teasing his next album, Luv 4 Rent, with the hashtag “droptober.” To close out September, the St. Louis native has reunited with J. Cole for his confessional new single, “90 Proof.” Over a soulful groove co-produced by frequent collaborator monte booker and Groove, Smino uses a singsong flow to plead patience from a woman he hasn’t been able to commit to. Admitting he’s not “great at relationships,” Smino expresses his feelings the best way he knows how. In addition to opening up with lyrics like, “My heart start be...

Rap Song of the Week runs down all the hip-hop tracks you need to hear every Friday. Check out the full playlist here. This week, Sampa the Great shines on “Let Me Be Great,” a standout track from her sophomore album, AS ABOVE, SO BELOW. Like many people, Zambian-born poet and rapper Sampa the Great sought refuge at home during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Returning to her place of birth unexpectedly helped free Sampa of some of the heavy expectations she was carrying after the success of her debut album, The Return. “A beautiful thing happened where I got to relocate back home,” she told GRAMMY.com. “As uncertain and scary as it was, I got to work with artists I saw growing up. Then, I got to journey back to the young Sampa, who dreamed of being an artist, and revert to the re...

Rap Song of the Week rounds up and breaks down all the hip-hop tracks you need to hear. Check out the full playlist here. This week, Freddie Gibbs drops “Too Much,” the lead single from $oul $old $eparately. Freddie Gibbs has kept anticipations high for his follow-up to 2020’s Alfredo by teasing it with superstar collaborations like the ScHoolboy Q-assisted “Gang Signs” and “Black Illuminati,” a previous Rap Song of the Week featuring Jadakiss. After recruiting the standout MCs from LA and New York, respectively, the Gary, Indiana native has turned to Memphis for the lead single from his newly announced Warner Records debut $oul $old $eparately. Moneybagg Yo lends Gibbs a hand on “Too Much,” a celebration of excess and wealth. With a seemingly everlasting, unwinding flow that not...

Rap Song of the Week breaks down your must-hear hip-hop tracks every Friday. Check out the full playlist here. This week, Doechii taps Rico Nasty for her new track “Swamp Bitches.” Doechii has been positioned to be the next one up from Top Dawg Entertainment after being chosen for the 2022 XXL Freshman Class. Boxing in the Tampa native as a rapper would be downplaying her talents, however, because she is just as comfortable with the flirtatious singing on tracks like her SZA collab “Persuasive” as she is with delivering hard-hitting bars on “Bitch I’m Nice.” Both tracks appear on Doechii’s new EP, she / her / black bitch, which opens with the Rico Nasty collaboration “Swamp Bitches.” In the most impressive display of her rapping skills to date, Doechii kicks the track off with snarling bar...

On Fridays, Rap Song of the Week rounds up all the hip-hop tracks you need to hear. Check out the full playlist here. This week, Megan Thee Stallion recruits Future for her new single “Pressurelicious.” Though Megan Thee Stallion counts Future as one of her favorite rappers, the two superstars had somehow never connected on a track until her new single, “Pressurelicious.” Featuring a hypnotic beat from Hitkidd, the hard-hitting trap anthem should heat up strip clubs this summer. In a June interview with Rolling Stone, Meg said Future deserves his flowers for being “unapologetically himself” while dealing with constant online scrutiny “gracefully.” As someone who was put under a microscope long before Tory Lanez allegedly shot her, the Houston rapper can clearly relate to the immense p...