‘Raise the Bar’ is VIBE Hip-Hop Reporter Preezy Brown’s New Music Friday column. Each week he picks one Hip-Hop song or album that deserves your attention all weekend (but don’t worry, he’s also got a roundup of honorable mentions below).
With so many rap artists vying for listeners’ attention nowadays, it’s common to be a bit late to the party in discovering a special talent who’s skills merit them being on your radar. Sada Baby falls in that category for me, as he’s quickly become an artist whose exuberant rhyme spills have tickled my fancy since first catching wind of him around the release of his 2020 project, Bartier Bounty 2. Now, in less than two years’ time, it’s gotten to where Sada’s sheer presence on a song merits a spin if I come across it, much less an entire project. The Detroit rep drops off his latest offering, Bartier Bounty 3, a robust LP with over 20 tracks worth of streetwise musings and random flexes atop an array of menacing backdrops built around airy synths and rollicking 808s.
Among the salvos on Bartier Bounty 3 that instantly caught my ear is “Perfect Form Skuba,” on which the “naturally evil” crime lord threatens to swap out an opp’s grandmother’s cup of coffee with alcohol, a hilarious, albeit sinister boast that speaks to Sada’s understated knack for humor. Switching the style up with the aggressive trap ballad “Sada Wada,” he displays his versatility and songwriting, effortlessly switching between impassioned vocals and harmonic couplets throughout. Known for his inventive song titles, Bartier Bounty 3 doesn’t disappoint in that manner, with tracks inspired by Ja Morant (“Ja Morant”), Miles Bridges and De’Mar DeRozan (“Miles DeRozan”), Cade Cunningham (“Bade Bunningham”) Carmelo Anthony (“Karmelo Skanthony”), all adding to his collection of sports-centric anthems.
Shining on additional standouts like “Rehab,” “Bad Boyz,” and “Unkle Emanuel,” Sada keeps things entertaining from beginning to end on Bartier Bounty 3, a body of work that finds him raising the bar as he continues to prove why he’s among the top artists out of the Motor City and primed to be one of its next to blow.
Other new Hip-Hop releases:
A decade in the rap game doesn’t seem as long as it used to, but Big K.R.I.T. has passed that benchmark and is still churning out quality music, a trend that has yet to change for the Mississippi lyrical titan and boardsman. His newest project, Digital Roses Don’t Die, is a smooth body of work that’s perfect for reminiscing and cruising, with silky selections like “Southside of the Moon,” “Show U Right,” and “Rhode Clean” all covering that grind during the first portion of the album. Yet, the getting only gets greater from there, as K.R.I.T. takes things up a notch on my personal favorites, “Just For You,” the lead single “So Cool,” and “Would It Matter,” with the rapper putting forth strong performances on each. Leaning on his musicality on this outing, K.R.I.T. impresses on Digital Roses Don’t Die, a project that is sure to receive an ample amount of acclaim and serves as a marker for the subwoofer enthusiast’s evolution in his artistry.
Upon news of rapper Curren$y and producer Alchemist’s latest collaborative project, Continuance, I got to thinking, exactly how many projects does Curren$y have in his catalog at this time? At this point, I estimated he has upwards of thirty different releases over the past 20 years. Turns out the actual number is 92, according to Wikipedia. If that number is accurate, it’s evidence of an incredible creative output. An artist that’s fully aware of his strengths and plays to them without attempting to reinvent the wheel, Spitta has found the pocket of being able to cater to exactly what his core expects from him, as is the case with Continuance. Creative song titles, smokey, sample-based production and fly raps about his daily operations are on the menu on Continuance, which includes guest spots from Styles P, Wiz Khalia, Boldy James, Babyface Ray, Larry June, and Havoc. It’s certainly a release from this week that I see myself revisiting in the future and one that I’d recommend you not sleep on, unless your nap is the result of you spinning it while falling into a weed coma, in which case he’d kindly oblige.
Valentine’s Day passed earlier this week, which may be why Vic Mensa decided to present his suave side on his new EP, Vino Valentino, a four-track effort that finds the Chicago rhymer playing up his lover-boy status. Delivering melodic offerings that showcase his prowess as a crooner, Mensa accounts for a quick-strike project to hold fans over with Vino Valentino, another standout release for the Roc Nation artist. A few other notable rap releases from this week that could be worth your while are Clyde Guevara and DJ Drama’s 486 Columbia Gangsta Grillz mixtape, 2 Alive by Yeat, Black Heart by Calboy, Everyday the 14th by Deante’ Hitchcock, and Longway Recipe by Peewee Longway.