While last week’s playlist managed to keep things on the lighter side in preparation for the summer, this week’s load is a bit heavier. Featuring a wide array of crafty wordsmiths and lyrical masterminds, the eight edition of the Hip-Hop Dojo is bound to get your head nodding and your mind racing. While I won’t be elaborating on every track this week, please note that we do have quite a bit of diversity in this group. Most of the names on this list should be familiar to you already, but there are a few newcomers this time around too.
First off, we’d like to welcome you to “Get Inspired” by 16 year-old rap phenom, AkonoMiles. Over a soulful sample of James Brown‘s “Sunny“, the eager young emcee shows us he knows just how to have fun, while also displaying skills far beyond his years. Another new name to the mix is Nike Nando, who lets us know exactly why he’s not one to be messed with. The SAVEMONEY crew makes a return this week as well, providing a brand new song “For The People.” This was definitely a stellar week for Chitown’s Thelonious Martin, who put his production skills to the test on a multitude of different tracks, including Naledge‘s “Arthur Agee Freestyle” and Alex Wiley‘s “Icky Woods.”
The title of this week’s most unique sound might go to Weekend Money, as Ne$$ tries to exorcise his inner “Demons” over some creepy, lurching production courtesy of Baghdaddy. A-1 might have the strongest track in this week’s lineup though, with “Summertime Sadness.” Spitting over the Ryan Hemsworth remix to the Lana Del Rey single of the same name, A-1 takes the song’s title to heart, highlighting the spike in violence that occurs in Oakland as a result of the scorching heat of the summer. On “Ol’ Skool Pontiac,” Jeremih tries his hand at the rap game, opting for a more chopped and screwed, Houston sound alongside Big Sean and Paul Wall. We’ve got a few more bangers right beside that one as well with A.J. Crew‘s “Don’t Ask Me (Crafty)” and “Hate Me On The Low” from Tory Lanez. 2 Chainz and Wiz Khalifa bring us the theme song for Fast & Furious 6, with “We Own It,” a song that seems more appropriate for Eminem and 50 Cent circa 2005. Finally, we end things off with Yonas, who invites us to “Feel The Love” over a sample of Rudimental‘s single of the same name.
We hope you guys enjoyed our eight edition of The Hip-Hop Dojo as much as we did. As always, send all submissions/suggestions to baseer@themusicninja.com.
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Ol’ Skool Pontiac Feat. Big Sean, Paul Wall’
