Ten Releases That Explain Hip-Hop In 2023

Welcome to 46th issue of Backseat Freestyle. This is my weekly hip-hop newsletter I send out every Friday focusing on one big thing that happened over the past seven days. I also include links (15-25 of them) to what I’ve been listening to, reading and watching. You can check out the archive, here, and read more about me, here. If you’re already a BF subscriber, thank you for your continued support. If you’re arriving to this issue by way of a forward, LinkedIn or social media, please subscribe below. And please share this newsletter with your circle so that they can enjoy it, too; personal referrals are my best path to long-term growth. With that said, let’s get into it….

(Editor’s note: I’m gonna aim to be back in your inbox in a few days to tackle’s Fabolous’ recent comments and to track everything that came out this past week; the Trunk section is from the past two-three weeks not this most recent week/weekend.)

Front Seat

This is what’s driving hip-hop this week….

HIP-HOP HAS GOTTEN TOP-HEAVY the past few years. It’s become increasingly noticeable during the years where there’s no releases from Drake, Kendrick Lamar, J.Cole, Nicki Minaj and Future, the Big Five of their generation. When they’re quiet, we get loud; you start hearing questions about rap’s vitality or it’s health. I’ve written about where the culture stands with its stars. Consider this a part two. I wanted to do a mid-year check where I make sense of where rap is right now based on the releases we’ve gotten this year. Hip-hop is expanding, continuing to evolve and we’re experiencing a generational shift. But it’s giving us more options than we’ve ever had. What better time for this to happen than on the eve of Hip-Hop 50?

Back Seat

Respect my mind or die from lead shower.

GUNNA’S A GIFT & A CURSE/ YOUNG THUG’S BUSINESS IS BUSINESS: Two years ago, Slime Language 2 represented the beginning of YSL’s peak era that was quickly followed by Thugger’s Punk album (2021) and Wunna’s surprise chart-topper, DS4Ever (2022). Since then, the pair, along with the wider YSL outfit have been battling a RICO case stemming from an indictment earlier this year that alleges gang activity and criminal conspiracy, which has obviously stalled their momentum. Listening back to SL2, I’m struck by the vitality both Thug and Gunna displayed on that album, something their new projects lack for diverging reasons; Thug’s pulsating eccentricity is muted on this assortment of outtakes and halfway finished cuts (the Metro version >) as he endures detainment and trial, whereas Gunna’s album has an isolation about it (and a new gravitas; see “IDK No More” and “I Was Just Thinking”) as he manages a controversial post-release existence.

Takeaway: The YSL Case proves that street codes haven’t entirely been extricated from hip-hop, as allegations of snitching and turning informant percolate through the discourse (though it’s much more complicated than that), however, the real significance is that with all the folks bemoaning a lack of stars within hip-hop it doesn’t help essentially losing one (Thug) and having the other (Gunna) being kept at an arm’s length even after delivering one of the best (if not the best) rap album of the year so far.

CENTRAL CEE & SANTAN DAVE’S SPLIT DECISION EP: Arguably the strongest release of the year, this short set features Cench and Dave simply…snapping. They’ve put in so much work individually to establish their bonafides abroad and on this side of the Atlantic, all the while representing their home country and also speaking to their roots (Guyana and Nigeria, respectively). Here, they’re enjoying the spoils of their grind by living the high life and talking big shit over grand production. The British are coming here.

Takeaway: UK hip-hop has finally arrived, expanding listener’s options and the competition pool as it widens the scope of what rap music sounds like.

KILLER MIKE’S MICHAEL: In an era where the value of lyricism has declined to the point where, say, melody is worth a quarter, vibes are a dime and rhymes are even less, Killer Mike is holding a bag full of nickels—and he’s knocking people over the muthafuckin’ head with them. The veteran rapper’s first solo project in over 10 years is an origin story that feels very much like a debut album despite arriving some 22 years into his career. If you’re gonna release a rapping ass LP in 2023, you need even sense/every cent to buck convention.

Takeaway: Greybeard hip-hop is no longer a fad and as rappers mature deeper into adulthood they have a fuller palette to draw from, which has resulted in some of the best albums in the past few years coming from the over 40-year-old set.

CURREN$Y & JERMAINE DUPRI’S FOR MOTIVATIONAL USE ONLY, VOL. 1: During Spitta and JD’s appearance on The Breakfast Club, Curren$Y remarked about all the press opportunities he now had as a result of his collab EP with the So So Def mastermind and then on The RapCaviar Podcast he explained how different of a pace it was (ie more intentional) to work with the Atlanta producer. I share both of those tidbits because it sounded like Curren$y was going to embrace the deliberate nature of releasing material like a big shot. And the music was so good, I thought if they dropped Vol. 2 this year, Spitta had a real shot at becoming the rapper of the year; instead, two months later he moved on to another (excellent) joint project, this time with Harry Fraud.

Takeaway: In the DSP era, feeding the streamer with new music trumps an extended album cycle and working a project for months at a time.

ICE SPICE’S LIKE..? EP: This Bronx bomber burst on the scene with a viral video that showcased her curly orange hair and twerking skills courtesy of her innuendo-laden breakout hit, “Munch.” For her follow-up, she patiently put together an standout EP that was long on her trademark style and songcrafting abilities (“In Ha Mood” and “Gangsta Boo” are bangers). In the process, Ice established herself in her own lane; she’s not the firecracker MC that Megan Thee Stallion is nor does she have people projecting virtuosity upon her like they do Rapsody or prudes painting her with the same brush they try to do to Cardi B.

Takeaway: New acts develop in real-time today and Ice Spice was able to slow that process down and not succumb to the hype-machine, which allowed her to incrementally grow (as opposed to pop or flop) as she kept a consistent presence online, on the radio and on playlists.

LIl UZI VERT’S PINK TAPE: This sprawling release—with 26 combined regular and bonus tracks— showcases the best and worst of the Philadelphia rap star. On the one hand, Uzi opens up the set by addressing the endless chatter about his sexuality and masculinity with bravado/humor on the first two tracks (“Flooded The Face,” “Suicide Doors”); on the other hand, his nu-metal collaborations (with Snow Strippres, Bring Me The Horizon and BABYMETAL, respectively) are trite interpretations of the genre that lack the originality of, say, Trippie Redd’s work. It’s evident throughout Pink Tape, however, that Uzi is uniquely talented (see: The rock opera-like“CS,” “All Alone” and “Died and Came Back”).

Takeaway: Uzi perhaps is more influential than impactful because he seems to represent the inverse of the innovator’s dilemma, where he instead too quickly bores of his own abilities and dabbles in a bit of everything to get his rocks off.

METRO BOOMIN’S HEROES AND VILLAINS/ METRO BOOMIN PRESENTS SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE SOUNDTRACK + DELUXE: With all due respect to Mike Will Made-It, 40 and Boi-1da, but Metro Boomin is the most influential producer of his era, The 29-year-old has established himself as the right hand man to many, including mainstays like 21 Savage, Offset, Lil Uzi Vert, Young Thug and Future, whose familiarity with the St. Louis native brought a rare cohesion to a compilation style LP. But it’s the way he continued putting his fluency with various artists on display as he did on the Spider-man soundtrack by collaborating with newer partners such as Don Tolliver, Big Boss Vette, Rema and Myke Towers that provides a glimpse into where hip-hop is heading.

Takeaway: Metro’s trap sound got an all-world upgrade courtesy of his ventures into Afrobeats and Latin rap on the Spider-man deluxe, continuing hip-hop’s global infiltration.

JACK HARLOW’S JACKMAN.: The story of white rappers in hip-hop is historically one of deference, ie Macklemore’s text message to Kendrick Lamar or Eminem’s over-effusive praise to the Black artists that influenced him. Harlow’s had enough of that, however; on his latest, as I wrote in my previous newsletter on the topic, through an impressive array of material “he’s looking to move past his whiteness by going through his whiteness.” He doesn’t shy away from privilege but instead of apologizing for it he calls it out and calls out the type who takes advantage of it, all but putting aside his rising star in the process to certify his bonafides and right to pursue the crown.

Takeaway: An authentic narrative still matters, as evidenced by Harlow eschewing his celebrity profile to sure up his credibility.

COI LERAY’S COI: Her beauty, body and social media prowess can dominate the conversation (especially from critics who willingly choose to ignore her music) but Coi Leray has come into her own artistically on her sophomore set. Similar to Ice Spice, Coi is developing in real time and here she’s honed in on a sound that manages to stuff in all her talents (rapping, singing, vibes, etc).Through samples (“Players,” “My Body”) and homages (“Spend It”), she’s found a formulate where she can exploit her eye-winking charm while still retaining and affirming her individuality.

Takeaway: Women continue to exercise their humor on social media in ways male rappers can’t (or won’t) replicate and for Coi it’s carried over to her music, which is plenty of fun while still bringing in acclaim.

MORGAN WALLEN’S ONE THING AT A TIME:  This LP has caused a lot of consternation among the hip-hop community as he’s had the top spot of the Billboard 200 in a chokehold all year. As a result, it wasn’t until earlier this month that rap notched a no. 1 album; the latest the genre has achieved the feat in some 20 years. The thing is, though, despite this being a country collection, he’s influenced by Drake just as much as he’s influenced by, say, Kenny Chesney; Wallen’s songs are full of couplets that could double as social media captions just like Aubrey Graham and his melodies are Soundcloud rap-esque.

Takeaway: Hip-hop’s measurements go beyond traditional metrics, so even if a rap album wasn’t on the top of the charts, the genre still defined what was being heavily consumed, from Wallen to Bad Bunny to Burna Boy.

HONORABLE MENTION (ie showing us where hip-hop is in 2023): Eladio Carrion’s 3men2 Kbr, Destroy Lonely’s If Looks Could Kill and Cardi B as kingmaker via her guest verses.

OTHER PROJECTS I ENJOYED THIS SO FAR YEAR: Kash Doll’s Back On Dexter, Key Glock’s Glockoma 2, Larry June & The Alchemist’s The Great Escape, Armani White’s Road to Casablanco, and the KATRAMINE album.

RELEASES I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO: Albums by Drake, Latto and Polo G, more loosies from SleazyWorldGo, Kid Cudi and the Opium tour.

Trunk (Music)

Music, news, reads, podcasts and videos that I’m checking for this week.

Quavo connects with Future for a heater of a record, “Turn Yo Click Up.” I loved Huncho and Offset reuniting during the BET Awards; I don’t have expectations that they’ll cross paths musically for some time, but it’d be great if they did. In any event, Quavo has been locked in. [Listen]

Back in 20019, Columbia Records hosted The Draft, a spotlight they put together to showcase Lil Tjay, Polo G and Yung Bleu. Tjay was clearly the star that night but Polo G and Yung Bleu have had more success as an album artist and an artist with a hit, respectively. But Tjay has been a development success for the label and he’s really come into his own over his last few projects; here, on 222, “Nightshift”, “Bla Bla” and “Beat the Odds Pt. 2” are track to check out. [Listen]

KenTheMan has put in the grind and it’s showing, her latest,“I Love A Freak,” rings out. [Listen]

Often imitated but never duplicated, Valee returns with “WATERMELON AUTOMOBILE” featuring Saba and Mavi, who tip their toe into his flow pool. [Listen]

This is a Mass Appeal/Sony Certified/Google Pixel branded content series, but Bia snapped on it; she flips Petey Pablo’s “Raise Up” for an autobiographical look at her life in “Raised Up.” [Listen]

Flo Milli got buck on the same campaign, flipping Too Short’s “Blow The Whistle. [Listen]

XXL Freshman list revealed. [Info] Related: Rollingstone released their Future 25 list. [Info]

Ice Spice is crowned via Teen Vogue. [Read]

Really dope read about mixtape archiving and some uneasy alliances to get the process done. [Read]

DJ Khaled covers Variety [Read]

Another Drink Champs classic episode featuring Tony Yayo [Listen]

Audible launched a pod about the greatest rap magazine cover, The Greatest Day: The Epic Story Behind Hip-Hop's Most Iconic Photograph. [Listen] Related: Esquire interviews XXL’s former EIC, Sheena Lester, about the cover. [Read]

Dave East has the makings of a star in a lot of ways, but his music often leaves me feeling short changed. This collab, “WDGAF,” with G-Eazy from East’s new album, Fortune Favors the Bold, though, is a knocker. They rock well together, wouldn’t mind more. [Watch]

I try to stay away from the lineage conversation when it comes to Earthgang, but man, “Bobby Boucher” has such a Dungeon Family vibe. But then it’s ill because the visual is wholly new and their own steez. [Watch]

Feels like Narduar is back outside; recently he’s connected with GloRilla (her laugh!), Durk (his smile!) and Lil Uzi Vert (their hug!). [Watch] [Watch] [Watch]

Curren$y and JD could have run the year; they still had an impact and I get timing the “Essence Fest” video to Essence Fest but…just feels like their timing isn’t timing overall post EP release. [Watch]

NLE Choppa and 2Rare exercise their right to live their lives in “Don’t Run” visual; it’s one of the standouts on Choppa’s Cottonwood 2. [Watch]

Burna Boy’s “Top Of The World” might not be the rap song of the summer consideration (what track got it right now? “Princess Diana”? “All My Life””) but it’s a hit and the video ups the energy. [Watch]

A conversations between Stormzy and Rick Rubin [Watch]

Lil Wayne opened the ESPY’s and was able to put his penchant for sports front and center with some additions to “A Millie.” [Watch] Related: The Greatest Rapper Alive reflected on his career during an appearance on The Pivot Podcast. [Watch]

Backseat Freestyle is written and produced by me, Jayson Rodriguez, for Smarty Art. If you have any comments, feedback or questions, feel free to email me: [email protected]. If you would like to discuss sponsoring an issue of the newsletter, contact: holler@ smartyartllc.com and check out the rates, here. And follow me elsewhere:

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