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The lines have been blurred in hip-hop over the years. While Fred Durst, Korn and other rock-rap bands gave the subgenre a bad name, the new generation of rappers has made a better effort at merging the sounds of rock music and rap music together.

ZillaKami has been among the leaders of the new generation of rappers who are bringing the spirit of punk rock to the rap game. This week, he returned with his latest single, “Not Worth It.” Laced with grungy guitars and heavy drums, ZillaKami’s latest record sounds leans deeper into his punk roots. 

City Morgue, ZillaKami’s collaborative side-project with SOSMULA, dropped their project, Toxic Boogaloo last year. 

Check out the latest offering from ZillaKami below and sound off with your thoughts in the comments.

Quotable Lyrics
Well don’t look at me for help
‘Cause I can’t even help myself
Fighting off the demons in my head
And so I get up now and feel incomplete
So I just lay down and I go to sleep

K.A.A.N. came through with Sunset Crest Dr. this weekend, and it’s a much-undervalued album. The project packs a lyrical punch and also has quite a few dope beats as well. An example, where both those facts come into play, is “Correa.” The track is sinister and hopeful at the same time somehow, showering you in dark vibes but in the most satisfying of ways. 

Produced by Bleverly Hills, “Correa” pumps listeners with a siren-like synth and boom-bap percussions that give the track a Wu-Tang vibe. K.A.A.N. raspy bars flow masterfully over the drums, and the mixing is among the best on the project. The engineers really took their time with this one. Check out “Correa” and let us know what you think below. 

Quotable Lyrics
Killing and murdering vowels, it’s a pleasure, it’s been an honor
Shawn Kemp, I just been tapped in with the Sonics
Clark Kent, I feel like superman off the ganja
Fly high till I die or I fly higher
Till I hear the beat click like a typewriter
Me and Blev like Michael and Phil
Mikey Quince off the wall with the thriller feel, it’s getting real
We ain’t concerned with a record deal

It’s been a long time coming but finally, BIG30 blessed us with a brand new body of work this week. The Memphis rapper has been one of the most promising new acts in the rap game this year, alongside Pooh Shiesty. Their come up together has been an exciting sight to see but with Pooh Shiesty behind bars, Big30 is holding it down in his absence. 

On Friday, the rapper unveiled his latest body of work, King Of Killbranch. With tons of excellent guest appearances, he links up with Moneybagg Yo and Big Homiie G for “Red Key.” The rappers offer a vivid depiction of violence in their city, as well as his ascent to the top of the game. 

Check out the single below.

Quotable Lyrics
KSBG stepping on shit, million man march
He was going nowhere fast, put his ass on park
Know I love Nuski, he don’t pop out ’til its dark
You know its me when you see me, I matte black all my cars

WizKid has the summer on smash, again. The Nigerian star has been riding high off of the release of 2020s Made In Lagos but it’s “Essence” with Tems that has defined the summer of 2021. WizKid and Tems’ new single has been a commercial hit in the States, as well, after Justin Bieber hopped on the remix. However, there are a couple of others that have dropped, as well. Just the other day, DaBaby put his spin on the record for his latest freestyle.

Just before the song was announced as the #1 song on Billboard, Wu-Tang Clan legends Ghostface Killah and Raekwon served up their own remix to the single. The smooth production is met by equally velvety flows by the two MCs who dub their remix, “Purple Essence” in homage to Rae’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.

Check out the remix below.

Quotable Lyrics
Hula hoop beads jigglin’ on your waistline
You know how to thaw when it’s game time
Wine on it, grind on it
Put your butt back and spine on it 

There are few rappers that know how to rattle the internet like Soulja Boy. In the past week, he’s been drumming up hype for his latest project by instigating a feud with Kanye West over “Remote Control.” Soulja revealed on Twitter that Kanye had reached out to him for a verse that didn’t end up making the final cut, despite ‘Ye deeming Soulja’s contributions as flames.

With or without an appearance on Kanye’s album, Soulja Boy kept the ball rolling with the release of his latest mixtape, Swag 4. On track 3, “Westsize Zone 1,” the rapper delivers a muddy banger filled with braggadocious bars. 

Swag has been a definitive mixtape series in Draco’s catalog. How does the fourth installment hold up? Let us know in the comment section.

Quotable Lyrics
Fuck you talkin’ bout? Boy, you’ll get sprayed
Big choppa’ll shoot that boy right in the face
And my pinky ring cost me an Audi R8
And the mansion, it came with a stupid arcade

Toronto’s Portion has been revving up this summer. Singles like “Ties” and “99 Prblms” have been ringing off heavily this summer. With an EP on the way, he’s keeping the ball moving with his latest offering, “Wave.” Championship-worthy horns ring out over exhilarating 808s as Portion tallies his wins and reflects on the sacrifices he’s made on the way up. “Ran up that cheque, and now look what it did to me,” raps Portion on the record.

“I want people to feel like they won a championship,” he said in a statement. “No matter what mood I’m in I play this song and I’m confident again. I want people to use this song as motivation to keep going and give people something to feel confident to. We all want to flex sometimes, and this is the soundtrack for that.”

Quotable Lyrics
I swear my drip on infinity
I spend 42 on my Amiri jeans
This Celine not McQueen, are you kidding me?
When you see me, just keep the same energy

After a pandemic pushed back practically every major album release in 2020, it seems that rap’s heavy-hitters are coming out to play. Drake’s Certified Lover Boy finally dropped on Friday morning after several delays. The album surprisingly didn’t include previously released music, such as “Laugh Now Cry Later” or any of the cuts released on Scary Hours 2.

The tracklist for CLB was finally unveiled on Thursday night but Drake took an interesting route in unveiling the guest appearances. Billboards popped up in the hometown of each guest verse, announcing their appearance on the project. While Atlanta has a few heavyweights included on the project, 21 Savage connects with Drake for the Memphis-inspired cut, “Knife Talk” including an intro from Project Pat. The triplet flow and horror film-influenced bars take full display over Metro Boomin’s production and Peter Lee Johnson’s violin, which adds a cinematic touch. 

Check out the record below.

Quotable Lyrics
I heard Papi outside
And he got the double-R droppy outside
Checked the weather and it’s gettin’ real oppy outside
I’ma drop this shit and have these pussies droppin’ like some motherfuckin’ — 
Type of n***a that can’t look me in the eyes, I despise

Nigerian-American song maker Tobi Lou is back with a new single for the fall. “WIDE Open” is a love song, a statement to the emotion and the feelings that it intensifies. This melodic and fun single has Lou describing feels of infatuation that push him to the point of vulnerability. A lovely guitar and majestic synths make the beat feel like a dream. “WIDE Open” is a single that deserves to be in your playlist ASAP. 

“WIDE Open” reminds listeners of something from the early 2000s. It just has the vibe of that era when it comes to R&B tunes. The single is the first off his upcoming project Non-Parrishable. You can pre-order the project now on Apple Music. 

Quotable Lyrics
I’m wide open like a receiver
Pass me that, you know I won’t miss
Catch it like a golden retriever
I grab anything that you dish (Dish)

Drake dropped off Certified Lover Boy this past week, after what felt like months of delays. The clever Canadian is known for twisting his flows and mixing up his cadences, and he takes command of these two skills on “In The Bible.” The slow-tempo track is a smooth banger that also features Lil Durk and Giveon. 

Drizzy uses a delayed flow for the hook that makes it sound like he’s lagging behind the beat on purpose. The lazy flow sounds perfect, but Lil Durk comes with an equal amount of creativity. No matter though, Giveon’s crooning really steals the show at the end of the track as the drums drip out. “In The Bible” isn’t get as much attention as some other bangers on CLB, but it deserves a spot in your playlist. 

Quotable Lyrics
Judge me how you judge me, take them bitches out to trial
Fucked a hundred niggas, how them niggas love you now?
You don’t know love, you don’t love me like my child
Lay your ass down, then that liquor get you fired up
Turn up every day, girl, it don’t say that in the Bible

Although today (September 3) is being hailed as Drake’s day as Certified Lover Boy breaks chart and streaming records on both Apple Music and Spotify, there were other artists to share tunes on New Music Friday. Soulja Boy, Asher Roth, Mike Dean, Benny The Butcher, and Sly Glizzy are just a handful of other artists to step onto the scene with new music, as was Lil Duval who dropped a track with Boosie Badazz.

Boosie is hailed as a Lousiana icon in the Rap game, however, many of his personal takes on pop culture have caused controversy. All that aside, Duval and Boosie join together on “Sexy,” a single that samples Surface’s classic 1987 hit, “Happy.” Duval is known for creating feel-good jams that pay homage to R&B classics of yesteryear.

Boosie sings his way through this one, so let us know what you think of “Sexy.”

Quotable Lyrics

I got my hand on her waist and she two-step (Go)
I got a smile on her face when she two-step (Go)
And you ain’t gotta look, baby, Boosie boo here (Leggo)
Last year was kinda crazy, it’s a new year (Yeah)
And I ain’t tryna rub you wrong but you got it goin’ on
And I really wanna know