Bout to Blow: 10 Dope New Songs You Should Be Hearing Everywhere Soon

Our August '16 installment features surefire hits from Tinashe, PnB Rock, Dreezy, and more.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

July saw an influx of records from names across the board: big (Gucci Mane) rising (Lil Uzi Vert) and ignored (Migos). Lil Durk and DJ Khaled dropped albums; 21 Savage and Shy Glizzy dropped mixtapes. Yet despite the surplus of music in the market, much of it served to drown the signal in the noise. Looking for hits felt like a complex exercise this month, and several records with burgeoning hit counts felt less interesting or original despite their initial buzz. So it was time to dig a little deeper.

Welcome to the August 1 edition of Bout to Blow. This column has two goals: 

1. To use the many tools available to us today to get some idea of what songs were really bubbling with "the people"—in other words, to insert some science into the process. 

2. To contextualize that information, because raw numbers in a vacuum would have you thinking an anonymous rapper dropped onto a stellar track was hip-hop's next big rap star when he was more like an empty, tattooed vehicle for a dope beat and a hook. 

The post is obviously intended to be somewhat predictive. There's also an element, though, that is cheerleading. Many of these songs might be flourishing in certain markets but could use wider exposure. They're tracks where the metrics suggest some forward momentum, even if the clubs and radio play don't reflect that. After a harsh decision-making process, for July we narrowed a long list down to the 10 best records you have to know. 

It's this month's edition of Bout to Blow: 10 Dope New Songs You Should Be Hearing Everywhere Soon.

Mila J “Kickin' Back”

Not Available Interstitial

Mila J—sister to Jhené Aiko—has released a few singles that earned the attentions of a slice of critics for flirting with respected trends; "Smoke, Drink, Break-Up" for example, was a late '90s Timbaland pastiche. Unfortunately, while cool in theory, the execution was wanting, with little added to a familiar formula. "Kickin' Back" is no less lazy or trend-hungry (Aaliyah flipped the same sample) but it works because "Summer Madness" is a perfect, unbreakable piece of music. It less implies an era (it was originally recorded in the '70s) than a time of year (summer, obviously) or geographic space (never forget the GTA: Vice City advertisements, which so effectively connected the song to a fictionalized '80s Miami.) There's not much inventive or original about this record, true—but there's nothing wrong with just being good.

Swift “Pull Up”

Not Available Interstitial

Discovering this record on SoundCloud was pure joy: there's nothing more fun for someone who spends too much time online than finding a song which has the most anonymous possible title and presentation, but feels singular and exciting. (Of course, it turned out the track was posted on the SoundCloud account of an Epic Records VP of A&R, but never mind that.) "Pull Up"—not to be confused with another song by a different Swift also called "Pull Up"—is a slow-rolling funk record with a Jodeci sample. According to HipHopDX, Swift is a former Def Jam signee from North Carolina who currently resides in Atlanta, but none of this information really explains why "Pull Up" is worth hearing, and based on other records of his, "Pull Up" may be a one-off. But it's a lovely one.

PnB Rock “Selfish”

Not Available Interstitial

PnB Rock's arrival could be viewed cynically: in the shadow of Fetty Wap's massive grand-gesture crossover success, along came an East Coast crooner with an earnest touch, his sing-song a familiar formula of yearning resilience in the face of sorrow. But where Fetty's "Trap Queen" and assorted splinter-songs were massive manifestations of one great idea, edifices of populism, PnB Rock's approach is nuanced and subtle, his creative depth allowing for the possibility of greater surprise. "Selfish" is as sincere as "Trap Queen," and as attuned to the vulnerability of love, but rather than striding through the airwaves towards No. 1, it seduces, earning your trust over time. PnB Rock is the album-oriented Fetty, but with "Selfish" he may take some territory on Billboard too.

D.R.A.M. “Cute”

Not Available Interstitial

"Cha Cha" was a lighthearted, fun song, a creative curiosity that became a national phenomenon without really picking up much radio play. The subsequent success of "Broccoli," though, proved D.R.A.M. had pop instincts which could work on a major stage. "Cute" may be the best—if not the biggest—of his career to date by bridging the two approaches. A cheerful, whimsical gem, "Cute" is a song about devotion that keeps a sense of humor about itself, refusing to sacrifice what makes D.R.A.M. D.R.A.M. It's also extremely accomplished, emphasizing his strengths without treading on old terrain.

Ugly God f/ Trill Sammy and Famous Dex “Let's Do It”

Not Available Interstitial

A young rap ironist in the vein of Lil Yachty, Tyler, the Creator, and the post-Lil B diaspora, Ugly God is known for virally popular one-trick songs like "Water," and records which momentarily verge on creative-via-transgression like "I Beat My Meat." His best song to date, though, is "Let's Do It," a collaboration with future Teen Beat model and Bruno Mars look-alike Trill Sammy and Chicago eccentric Famous Dex. The beat approximates the arpeggio of the Isley's version of "Summer Breeze," and each rapper acquits​ themselves well: for an artist whose pretty boy looks may have as much to do with his success as his rapping, Trill Sammy is at least not the anonymous presence he's had on earlier tapes, and Ugly God's verse shows a flurried competence. But it's Dex who steals the show; though his style—underdeveloped and often borrowed, from rappers like the Sauce Twinz and Chief Keef, who clearly inspired his latest solo single "Rambo"—is often wacky, it feels as if it's reaching for something more.

Tinashe “Superlove”

Not Available Interstitial

It's not at all surprising that, in the wake of "My Boo"'s recent viral success, the classic sound of '90s So So Def R&Bass records are being exhumed. "Superlove," though, sounds more reminiscent of INOJ's version of "Love You Down." Tinashe has struggled to regain her footing after the success of "2 On" in 2014. It's hard to say if this will reverse that slide, but it would be a pleasant diversion on radio.

3T Brax f/ 3T Tootie “4AM”

Not Available Interstitial

Little-known Baton Rouge rapper 3T Brax has worked with DP Beats, the producer behind many of Chief Keef and Lil Uzi Vert's best records. Otherwise, he's a fairly obscure talent, and the song "4AM" likewise has yet to connect on a wide scale. Yet it feels like a record which could do well with wider exposure, its chiming nursery-rhyme melody a refreshingly cheerful, buoyant​ release in a city whose sound tends more to the dark and demonic. It may be a bit early for him as an artist, but a great single is a great single regardless.

Dreezy f/ T-Pain “Close to You”

Not Available Interstitial

With "Close to You," it looks like Dreezy may be two-for-two in the pop hit department. Her debut album sounds pretty heavily A&Red, but it's not a bad thing per se; "Close to You" is a strong record, even if I retain a loyalty to Dreezy's more hard-edged, bars-for-bars-sake street raps, and T-Pain makes a strong sparring partner. Overall, not likely to redefine the game, but certainly a welcome presence on the radio dial where commercial R&B's presence has seemed pretty sparse.

Lud Foe “What's the Issue”

Not Available Interstitial

Lud Foe is a Chief Keef disciple, but where Keef had a multitude of styles, Lud Foe seems to focus on one particular vein and intensify it. If Keef was Gucci's son, Lud Foe seems intent to rewrite history as if Keef were the son of Jeezy, shifting from manic unpredictability to pure force and heft. With uptempo, Detroit-influenced production courtesy of Kid Wond3r, Foe hammers into each punchline for maximum aggro impact. This has been his model since "187" took off late last year; "What's the Issue" suggests there's room in this formula for plenty of iterations, although one begins to wonder if Lud Foe has other tricks up his sleeve.

The Team “Can I”

Not Available Interstitial

Clyde Carson, Kay Kyzah, and Mayne Mannish comprise The Team, a Bay Area group that broke in the hyphy era and successfully lobbed another regional hit a few years later with "Slow Down." "Can I" samples a 1982 funk record of the same name by One Way, a record which has made a few appearances on other West Coast rap records over the years. Old school flips are a Bay Area specialty—think Ezale's Run-DMC flip "Foreal Foreal," or the NhT Boyz' "Daisy Lady"-sampling "Chee$e." "Can I" is the latest entry in this proud tradition of inter-generational unity.

Latest in Music