Welcome to Crack’s monthly rap column

Rap music has never been more readily available. Whether it’s sold through conventional channels, buzzing on YouTube or increasingly pumped into free-to-download mixtape sites, the choice is overwhelming and your time is at a premium.

We feel your struggle, so each month we’ll be here to guide you through the albums, mixtapes and songs that stirred us the most. Our only remit is to cover what’s exciting – big or small – from platinum-selling stars right down to rappers hawking their tapes out the trunk.

Until next time, this is what’s been on rotation over the past month.

T-Pain - Look At Me

Having created the blueprint for a generation of rappa-ternt-sangas, T-Pain needn’t answer to anyone. With that said, you have to respect the profound tackiness of his new video for Look at Me, which seemingly only exists so that the auto-tune overlord can cop a free light-up case for his smartphone. “This entire video was filmed on a cell phone in a pitch black room,” T-Pain told Buzzfeed with complete transparency. “Enjoy this very well-lit, turd-quality selfie video.”

As for the song itself, I didn’t expect to find myself singing passionately along to a tune about a late night selfie session, but through T-Pain’s larynx I guess anything is possible. Now, where’s that new album he promised?

Dej Loaf - All Jokes Aside

Dej Loaf hasn’t released a lot of music since her 2014 breakout Try Me, but until now all of it has been perfectly formed. The Detroit rapper has just one mixtape and an EP to her name, plus a record contract with Columbia and the best verse on any song she appears. Connections aside, it’s easy to see why Dej keeps getting feature work. Whether it’s Mustard on the beat or Mike Will Made It, she invariably glides over it with ease – her flow smooth, effortless and distinctive. Somehow every Dej Loaf feature feels like a gift.

If All Jokes Aside is in any way disappointing, then, it’s only because of this very high standard. Although enjoying obvious chemistry with regular right-hand man DDS (Who Am I, Keep Going), the tape never quite reaches the heights of songs like Back Up, Desire and We Be On It from previous projects. This is a harsh critique of a very decent project, but that can happen when you set the bar high. I’m rooting for her to clear it confidently next time around.

Dj Quik x Problem - Rosecrans

“Y’all know where Rosecrans is?” asks DJ Quik on the opening track of his new EP, a collaboration with fellow Compton rapper Problem. “It’s a long ass avenue that goes from the beach to the streets…and it probably ain’t got no potholes in it,” he explains. “They got money in Compton now.”

In rap terms at least, Compton is on the rise. But just as the sun stays shining on the city regardless of who’s watching, DJ Quik stays locked into his groove. This surprise release finds the legendary rapper/producer securing his place on the G-funk Mount Rushmore. There are delicate keys and funky basslines, scratch interludes, talkbox solos and even an extended 8-bit jam interpolating the theme from Super Mario (A New Nite / Rosecrans Grove). Problem, for his part, continues to prove himself as one of Compton’s most competent, while Quik remains the exception to the rule that says producers should keep well away from the mic.

Dae Dae - Wat U Mean (Family To Feed)

If the blaring synths and relentless hi-hat rolls of Atlanta trap have left you feeling fatigued, rest assured you’re not alone. It’s a sound that’s practically designed to pummel you into submission, and – while unlikely to go away any time soon – it’s always refreshing to hear music out of Atlanta that sounds genuinely different.

Although existing in the same ecosystem, Wat U Mean (Family To Feed) from 300 Ent’s Dae Dae is an instant standout. Producer Nitti Beatz brings a feeling of space to the song with a multi-layered approach, combining tension-building strings with the relief of a heavy, pace-changing beat. Meanwhile, Dae Dae looks after his family and prepares to release the hounds on non-believers (“German Shepherds in my backyard / Trained to kill, I was born to deal”).

Cam & China - Vibe

The slow drip feed of music over on Cam & China’s Soundcloud continues to satisfy and torment in equal measure – each drop leaving me thirstier than the last. Nearly two years after uploading Do Dat the former Pink Dollaz duo is still rapping rings around the competition, but in such short bursts they maybe aren’t getting the traction they deserve. A more substantial project can’t be far away, but for now I’ll make do with Vibe. This latest song is slower in tempo but no less tough, as the sisters go to work on JLBS’ lumbering, futuristic beat. “Can we chill for a minute?” asks the hook, though with Cam & China that’s always unlikely (and even more unlikely they’d ask our permission).

Bankroll Mafia - Bankroll Mafia

I wrote last time around on how Young Thug’s influence has disseminated throughout both Old and New Atlanta, including the recent T.I single Money Talk. Of course, the connection between the two ATLiens runs much deeper than that. They shared an obvious chemistry on the 2014 smash About the Money and on last year’s Peanut Butter Jelly among others, and it’s explored again here through this long-awaited group project.

In a way, I wish Bankroll Mafia was just between them, and the effects of this tape are sometimes drowned out by the group’s four other members (PeeWee Roscoe, Shad Da God, MPA Duke, London Jae) and numerous guests (21 Savage, Lil Yachty, Offset). Still, even with so many moving parts the project hits a lot of the right notes. Singles Out My Face and Bankrolls on Deck are posse cuts done right, Neg 4 Degrees is insanely catchy and opener Hyenas would feel right at home on Rich Gang’s Tha Tour. Incidentally, Shad Da God spends most of the tape’s 17 songs perfecting his Rich homie Quan impression. If nothing else, there are six Thugger and Tip collabs here for your collection and the best Young Dro verse in a minute.

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