Nick Mira

Best Hip-Hop Producers of 2021

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Hats off to a solid effort by these impactful producers. Continue reading…

50 of the Greatest Producer Tags in Hip-Hop

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Pi’erre Bourne, Tay Keith, Southside and more have some of the coolest producer tags in hip-hop. Continue reading…

42 Dugg, Flo Milli, Pooh Shiesty, And Rubi Rose Take Over The 2021 ‘XXL’ Freshman Cypher

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The next installment of the 2021 XXL Freshman Cypher is here. For this round, viral favorites 42 Dugg, Flo Milli, Pooh Shiesty, and Rubi Rose take on another hypnotic Nick Mira production to display their varying takes of the annual tradition.

Rubi Rose sets things off with a fittingly raunchy verse in her signature husky verse, followed by a braggadocious, bouncy approach from Pooh Shiesty. Flo Milli drops in and steals the show, turning up the energy with both her bright looks and quirky punchlines, leaving 42 Dugg to bring the baton home with a laid-back verse.

While Blxst and Toosii’s Cypher was competent and the first group of MCs was uneven but attention-grabbing, this year’s batch of Freshmen has certainly added to growing sense that hip-hop’s women are doing more to stand out than the men. So far, the consensus MVP of this year’s Freshmen has been Lakeyah, who’s sharp wit and precise flow impressed fans, while Flo Milli brought something a little different with her perky output. Even Coi Leray, maligned as her performance has been, brought something different to the table and looked like she was having fun instead of just trying to look cool.
Watch XXL’s Freshman Cypher with 42 Dugg, Flo Milli, Pooh Shiesty, and Rubi Rose above.

Pooh Shiesty is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Blxst And Toosii Keep The 2021 ‘XXL’ Freshman Cypher Rolling

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After yesterday’s leadoff, West Coaster rap-crooner Blxst and North Carolina’s Toosii accept the baton for the next leg of the 2021 XXL Freshman Cypher. Once again, their bumping backdrop is provided by Internet Money’s Nick Mira, giving the two rappers an exotic-sounding beat to flex over. Blxst’s verse is a boastful affair in which he offers “two places I won’t go back, of course, / That’s ‘broke’ and that’s ‘forth,’” while Toosii offers an extended verse from his previously teased “Ms. Parker” snippet.

All in all, their part of the Cypher is calm, straightforward, and surprisingly short, with Blxst obviously bringing a bit more effort than Toosii. It marks an intriguing departure from the proceedings yesterday, where Coi Leray’s antics captured the attention of fans on Twitter — and not in a good way. While her cohorts DDG, Lakeyah, and Morray acquitted themselves well — Lakeyah especially impressed a number of fans with her technical proficiency and witty wordplay — Coi Leray delivered an odd, unserious verse/hook/ad-lib combo, giving up after only a handful of bars to twerk instead. Responses weren’t kind, as many questioned her inclusion in this year’s Freshman class, as well as her rap skills in general.

Watch the latest installment of the 2021 XXL Freshman Cypher above.

Coi Leray, DDG, Lakeyah, And Morray Kick Off The 2021 ‘XXL’ Freshman Cypher

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Coi Leray, DDG, Lakeyah, and Morray kick off the 2021 XXL Freshman Cyphers for this year’s class, each bringing their own unique style to a beat produced by algorithm master Nick Mira. DDG opens proceedings with a typical West Coast/Michigan swing flow, then cedes the floor to Lakeyah, who undoubtedly delivers the best straight-up rap verse, hunting for the sort of credit that only comes from being an expert technician. Morray splits the balance between his signature crooning and some off-the-dome rhymes bigging up his cohorts.

That leaves Coi Leray, who is quite possibly the most controversial addition to this year’s list. Despite having three years of tried-and-true material including a handful of viral hits to her name, it was her song “No More Parties” that first exposed her to the wider mainstream audience, drawing comparisons to both Dej Loaf and Playboi Carti in the process. It’s also, oddly enough, the song least like the bulk of her output, so it seemed going in that the Cypher would be her chance to lay skeptics’ doubts to rest.

She absolutely does not do that, instead opting for a choppy, Carti-esque delivery on a relatively short verse that does little to allay the concerns about her placement before giving up and resorting to her trademark twerking. It’s an unusual choice for a rapper who is under fire and facing a make-or-break moment with all eyes on her. While it’s pioneering, to be sure (Megan Thee Stallion once pointed out that a female rapper would face a ton of criticism for rapping like Playboi Carti, and for all intents, it appears she was correct), and a boundary has been broken to allow women to branch out more stylistically, I can see Coi taking a lot more fire now — with this verse undermining much of the evidence that supporters could use to defend her.

It’ll be interesting to see how this Cypher will be received on social media as well as how it affects future installments and the ongoing debate about whether the Freshman Class even needs a Cypher anymore.

Watch the 2021 XXL Freshman Cypher above.

Internet Money’s ‘His & Hers’ Video With Don Toliver, Gunna, And Lil Uzi Vert Is A Fantasy Digital World

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Internet Money’s new single “His & Hers” arrived yesterday amid a packed New Music Friday slate, but that doesn’t detract from its hit potential. To refocus fans’ attention on the single, the production duo consisting of Nick Mira and Taz Taylor released the Cole Bennett-directed video today, prompting some celebratory tweets from Taylor.

As with most Lyrical Lemonade productions, director Cole Bennett imagines a fantastical world for his stars Don Toliver, Gunna, and Lil Uzi Vert to play around in, this time taking inspiration from nostalgia for the Windows XP default desktop backgrounds of his youth (dear God, I feel old). While Don Toliver performs his verse on a grassy hilltop under a partially cloudy blue sky, Gunna’s performance takes place in a cubical room with a similar pattern on the walls and ceiling. Meanwhile, Toliver gets to frolic among a field of sunflowers during the chorus, and Uzi tools around on the surface of the moon. For group shots, all three appear in a misty forest setting, dressed in outlandish camo hunting outfits.

Watch Internet Money’s “His & Hers” video featuring Don Toliver, Gunna, and Lil Uzi Vert above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Internet Money’s ‘His & Hers’ Video With Don Toliver, Gunna, And Lil Uzi Vert Is A Fantasy Digital World

by

Internet Money’s new single “His & Hers” arrived yesterday amid a packed New Music Friday slate, but that doesn’t detract from its hit potential. To refocus fans’ attention on the single, the production duo consisting of Nick Mira and Taz Taylor released the Cole Bennett-directed video today, prompting some celebratory tweets from Taylor.

As with most Lyrical Lemonade productions, director Cole Bennett imagines a fantastical world for his stars Don Toliver, Gunna, and Lil Uzi Vert to play around in, this time taking inspiration from nostalgia for the Windows XP default desktop backgrounds of his youth (dear God, I feel old). While Don Toliver performs his verse on a grassy hilltop under a partially cloudy blue sky, Gunna’s performance takes place in a cubical room with a similar pattern on the walls and ceiling. Meanwhile, Toliver gets to frolic among a field of sunflowers during the chorus, and Uzi tools around on the surface of the moon. For group shots, all three appear in a misty forest setting, dressed in outlandish camo hunting outfits.

Watch Internet Money’s “His & Hers” video featuring Don Toliver, Gunna, and Lil Uzi Vert above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.