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It's no secret that we here at hella.diamonds would all list Peedi Crakk in our Top 5 DOA. This opinion is supported by his inspired performances on some of the illest mixtape and radio freestyles ever recorded. It's been a minute since he's released anything new, stating in a recent-ish interview that he needed to step away from the game for awhile to take care of his family and grow up a little. Until that sorts itself out, whenever I need some grimy percocet rap, I'm in the archives. That's how I found...

THIS.

If rap had an all-star league with starting fives comprised of the top 5 rappers from each city, Peedi, Beanie, Black Thought, Meek Mill and Freeway would probably take Philly to the conference finals. Maybe win a ring or two with Big Willie Style behind the bench. Imagine if that was the lineup for State Property 2016? Someone get Dame on the phone. Until then this is the closest it'll get.

in

This is how you write a hook right here. I chose the remix because I like when it gets a little west coast at the end. I like everything with just a little bit of west coast at the end. Hahahahaha, whatever that means. He's got a line about n.e.r.d in there somewhere. I just thought you should know, in case you share similar interests, that first album is a monster after all. Oh sh*t I almost forgot but the original is dope too! the beat has a real, shall I say, japanese vibe to it.

in

Montreal singer/songwriter/producer (also frequent cannonhead collaborator) The Youngness, formerly NKLA, just smoke-bombed us with a new EP entitled "Black Moods". This 4 song instrumental collection showcases The Youngness's elite production range with beats that will make you do shoulder dances while deciding if today will be the day you finally launch yourself off the Jacques Cartier bridge. Montreal winters build character and more often than not that character develops a bad habit of chain-smoking cigarettes with a perma-scowl usually hidden under racks of MOOG gear. In MTL that’s what we like to call “Un bon plan d’action”. For his last official release as NKLA, The Youngness delivers a pleasantly depressing soundtrack for a cold February evening. When the sun goes down at 4pm and the only thing you can do until you go back to bed is look out the window of your filthy studio apartment and say "F**k thaaaat sh*t, I'm stayin' in and making beats".

in

Count Bass D - No Time For Fakin' Produced by Madlib

Some songs are f**king classics even though you haven't heard of them. Partly because I'm the one who makes those kinds of decisions. Count Bass D is a weird character, a self produced rapper (out of nashville?),  he dropped an album in 95 on some jazz sh*t with live instruments and all that. It sank to the bottom of the ocean and he disappeared and reappeared in the early 2000's with the diy basement vibe that was the flavor du jour. That mf doom/madlib/jaydee sensibility, where it feels like it was recorded directly to cassette tape. At some point after popping back up he dropped this song right here, produced by madlib and with dilla on the drum programming. That last part I can't confirm but goddamnit I remember that sh*t. I also recall this version being quickly replaced online by a remix that I can't seem to track down now. Then there's this third version I had never heard until two days ago but I'll be damned, it's dope too.

in

montreal montreal montreal. or vancouver? i don't know. I like this sh*t, you can hear the fuzz at the beginning. Even with all the spacey sh*t going on here, there's something really human about it all. Does the fact that it sounds like something I'd make factor into me digging this?  yeah there's definitely some of that, but at least I know it nahmean.

in

Oh sh*t. I've been hearing about this kid but sometimes it's just too much, you know what I mean? two new rappers a day, each one supposed to be the dopest one yet, and then you hear it and it's all the exact same middling crumb sh*t. All that to say, this track is dooope. It all comes together on this one.

in

You know with all the stuff going on between meek and drake, it really kind of makes me think about how similar they are. Or at least how similar my experiences(/relationships?) are with them. I smoked weed and watched drake grow up on degrassi and I smoked weed and watched meek grow up rapping on youtube. I have a feeling that part of what meek can't stand about drake is a sensitivity that he might recognize in himself, kind of like how marvin gaye's father was probably a repressed homosexual and killed marvin because he thought he was waving around his freak flag too much. Meek is a street dude and as a street dude you can't really let everyone know everything is hurting your feelings, unless you shoot sh*t up all the time. When you're trying to rap you can't shoot sh*t up all the time, rapping on corners leaves you hella exposed. I knew a dude once who loved the original "slippin" and I always clowned him for it. That may have been more me than him though. This sh*t is everything I like about meek mill and one of my favorite versions of future.

in

I've really turned the corner on rocky I think. When he first came out, I liked where he was coming from cause I could tell we liked the same music but it felt like he was just regurgitating sh*t at me. I don't know what changed really. I do know that with all this talk about the ownership over the term/idea of "wavy", rocky is the only motherf**ker out that I would really classify as wavy for real. Or wavy af, if you will. Maybe it's just something intrinsically harlem? who knows, let's not pretend either of us do. This sh*t is dope, though it didn't need that third verse. I like to give a grace period of two to three songs where I don't judge you for congratulating yourself for trying to be different. Hahaha. You know what I mean? you know how many rappers congratulate themselves for trying to be different? a million rappers connected by this one strand, this one common denominator. As soon as you stop doing this one thing, you finally become that one thing you've been hollering.

in

I was watching this movie that I'm not naming because it was trash and this song was playing in the background during a sex scene. My good shit sensors are remarkably on point and I was like "what's that british bullsh*t right there?" and I looked it up and here it is, in it's actually norwegian glory. I love music in english by non-native english speakers, sometimes you get weird turns of phrase or sh*t that just doesn't translate right but ends up sounding dope. Not saying that's the case here, but whatever, you get it.

in

I never thought I'd be all up on an earl sweatshirt song. With me not usually being with that rappity-rap sh*t and all that. But this is dope, homeboy's new york flowing all over this sh*t. There's definitely various clues as to who produced this and they lead to either the alchemist or some other motherf**ker that really loves the f**king alchemist.

in

Try this sh*t out. Next time you're watching the aux cord as if it's a snake about to fall off a cliff and you finally get your chance, come back and play this joint right here. Halfway through, your people will probably say "oh shit, who is this?" and you'll say "tree". Next time you find yourself with that aux in your grubby hands again, come back here and play this track again. If your people say "oh shit, who is this?" don't f**k with them no more.

in

ooohhh sh*t, kano's back! I remember when I first heard kano, in the days when you had to be searching for a british rapper to ever hear a british rapper. I'm telling you it was not easy to find a british dude that wasn't rapping double time, and I was officially over that around then. Jay z had recently cemented his position as the f**king best to ever do it and they were calling him "the uk's jay z" and so you know, that was a good cosign. Eventually he rediscovered his grime/garage? roots and I discovered guitars and that was that, until jay lindsay put me on to the tv show "top boy" in which he had/has? a principle role. If you haven't seen that shit you're bugging. It's been three years since the last season but there were two years between the first two, so who knows. The british are wild with their tv shows man, 3 episodes a season, years between seasons and all that crazy sh*t, absolutely no respect for the audience. That's all whatever though cause IT'S 2016 AND THIS SONG IS CRAZY! kano's still rapping double time but I've come to terms with it. My own issues man, my own issues.

in

Is morly the best thing to come out of minneapolis since prince? I couldn't tell you, at this point I've only heard this one song and I haven't researched who's from minneapolis. I do know that this track goes from good to f**king beautiful at around a minute forty-seven. Don't skip to it though, you need the backstory.

in

New future?! I think it's his sixth project in the realm of two years, which is pretty much definite proof that this motherf**ker is crazy. Allow me to help if you're starting to find it hard to differentiate between his sh*t. That song right up there is a jam.  This song is perfect for when it's time to punch faces. This song will probably be your/my favorite eventually. And in my experience, this song is the kind you make usually riiiiiiight before taking a break from drugs.