#2real

[grindinggetsback]

franchise baby.

[angstandhappiness]

So true

[knifeofthestanleyvariety]

Forever isn't forever so just be my baby till whenever and if shit goes sideways just be my friend till🤫...

Sweet dreams bitches🩶

[certifiedyapperr]

i wanna stop telling people my goals and plans in life. I feel like i’m just setting myself up for failure by doing this. i just wanna move in silence and only tell people once i achieve it. but my dumbass got a big mouth

[pathbend-blog]

[shyneangel]

[briteboy]

[thefabelmans2022]

love when i'm listening to lpotl and henry starts fujoing out.

[cacaitos]

eeek 😭😭

[achillesinhighheels]

#2real #2loyal #2cool #2sexy #2funny

[renwestt]

2Raw 2Real 2Pretty

[000l]

2real 2loyal 2delusional

[therappundit]

PUNDIT PICKS: THE CREAM of the Crop - continued... [My Favorite SONGS of 2024 (*so far*)]

ICYMI, my favorite album list from Jan. - Aug.: https://therappundit.tumblr.com/post/763889760563576832/pundit-picks-the-cream-of-the-crop-my-favorite

***Please note: the selections on this list had to have dropped by 8/31/24, FYI***

Yikes. This has been a doozy of a week, to say the least.

But the show must go on, and back in June/July I began compiling what would become my ongoing “best of” list for 2024, with every intention of dropping said list by the end of the summer...aaaaaand it is now October. In my defense, it has often felt like summer over the past few weeks (just one of many red flags to rise that potentially indicate that the world is finally ready to shake us off)...so is it that crazy to be dropping a "summer blowout" list as we sail into Thanksgiving territory???

Meh. Don't answer that - let's just get to the music. Here are my favorite rap SONGS of 2024, ***as of Labor Day weekend***....

MORE OF MY FAVORITE SONGS: "place i rep" by Remy Banks, "Banded Up" by Chief Keef feat. Tierra Whack, "Complications" by Reiiki APOLLO, "HOO" by LIFEOFTHOM, "Bonnet" by TiaCorine, "ALAMODE" by CJ Fly & Stoic, "Type Shit" by Future & Metro Boomin feat. Travis Scott & Playboi Carti, "Curtis Jackson" by C Stunna feat. Skrilla, "Pedal tha Ave" by Wiseboy Jeremy & Kirti Pandey, "Shining Brighter" by Quelle Chris, Denmark Vessey & Pink Siifu, "DUMMY" by JUNECINEMA feat. RoBB, Chow & rivan, "Rotation" by BagChaser Reke feat. 2Real, Rufus Sims, "Custard Spoon" by Cavalier, "Humpty" by Semiratruth, "NOTT" by Hitkidd, Key Glock & Doe Boy, "Money Problems" by Nino Paid feat. Lil Gray, "Colors" by Remble feat. Mozzy & Stoneda5th, "6ix Times 2Day" by BabyChiefDoit, "proper vertigo" by mynameisntjack feat. Sol ChYld, "euphoria" by Kendrick Lamar, "Fisherrr (Remix)" by Cash Cobain & Bay Swag feat. Ice Spice, "Cullinan Gang" by Nasaan feat. Icewear Vezzo, "Doubles" by Sasco feat. Big Flowers, "Grandmother's Lessons" by Your Old Droog, "Penmanship" by Kooley High & Tuamie, "THAT'S HARD" by Anycia feat. Cash Cobain, "Super Rufus" by Rufus Sims & Billionaire Boyscout, "LIBERATION" by Mutant Academy feat. Quelle Chris, "See The Sunset" by Nick Satchel & dp0mmy, “Short Stories” by Jawnino feat. MIKE

24. "12:50 in New York" by Chuckyy

(Probably my favorite flow in rap right now, the "new school" Chicago drill MC is blessed with a delivery that I can only describe as a "menacing auctioneer flow".)

23. "Amanda Seals" by ReallyHiiiM feat. B.A Badd & Boldy James

(Concrete hard ReallyHiiim beat, featuring some classic basement Boldy and B.A Badd vibes.)

22. "MESCALINE" by LaRussell & CAM CORTEZ

(LaRussell is one of the hardest working rappers in hip-hop today, so he has had plenty of high points in 2024, but the way he bounces over this "Grindin"-esque beat puts this joint over the top. LaRussell brings a breath of positivity into his music that the west coast sound is really benefting from right now.)

21. "Ray Vaughn" by Ray Wop

(Ray's recent run has added some teeth back to TDE that they lost when Kendrick moved on.)

20. "INFORMATION AGE" by No Label

(A NYC based crew that you absolutely need to keep on your radar.)

19. "SINCE I WAS LIL" by JasonMartin & DJ Quik feat. Curren$y, Bun B & Jay Worthy

(Classic westside head nodder with veteran reps from other cities. Dope album from Quik & the artist formerly known as Problem, if you haven't peeped it yet.)

18. "MLK" by Myaap & Nedarb

(Myaap has been one of my favorite artists out of Milwaukee since last year's "h.t.s. (Hit That Shit)", her records are fun as hell.)

17. "PAYMEAGRIP" by Ovrkast. & Cardo Got Wings

(His star keeps rising, as the barriers between sub-genres in rap music continue to fall. Ovrkast. has already proven to be one of the most impactful young producers doing it today.)

16. "Match That" by BRISTACKZ

(Another attention grabbing artist out of Milwaukee, rapping like a trap Missy Elliot, experimental in a similar vein as Certified Trapper, and like Trapper, Bristackz records might miss the mark...but when she hits, she hits real hard.)

15. "I'm G (OMG)" by Blu & Shafiq Husayn

(Funky, hard joint - with a perfect Easter egg of a movie sample worked into the hook.)

14. "Dream Blunt Rotation" by Rich Jones & Sleep Sinatra/SINAI. feat. AJ Suede, Qari & J.U.S

(As smooth of a dope posse cut as you're going to hear, coming from a diverse collection of some of the underground scene's finest.)

13. "Trippin" - Bossman DLow

(As contagious as mainstream rap can get today, and I'm still laughing at "I pullin' up in a what the fuck kinda car is that?")

12. "SONJE" by Mach-Hommy. feat. Hephzibah

(I went back and forth trying to choose which Mach song to include here, but in my mind this luscious instrumental best represents the strong vibes that run across #RICHAXXHAITIAN.)

11. "Rocafella Chain" by Grafh feat. Freeway, Peedi Crakk & Memphis Bleek

(A dope Roc-A-Fella themed posse cut is not what I expected to hear in 2024, but I couldn't be happier that it exists.)

10. "Gank Move" by Big Hit, Hit-Boy & The Alchemist feat. HitgirlLENA

(Hits that sweet spot between smooth west coast rider music and underground grime, and when that combination works well, there aren't many soundscapes capable of yielding a stronger outcome. This album's aesthetic is peak chemistry between Hit-Boy & The Alchemist, and I hope that all of the challenges facing Big Hit today end up in his rearview soon, because this talented family still has a lot to share with the world.)

9. "Psalm" by 7xvethegenius feat. Jae Skeese

(If 7xvethegenius wasn't high up on your radar before I sure hope she is now. 7xve packs all of the skills of a traditional "conscious MC" without sounding the least bit trapped within those constraints, she's an exceptional writer that knows how to corral the thoughts of a woman that's trying to excel in rap music in 2024, and that in and of itself, provides endless material. 7xvethegenius is the true MVP on Drumwork's team..yup, I said it!)

8. "Lost Angel" by Blu & Evidence

("This album is dedicated to L.A., and everybody who helped me get home, every step of the way." Blu and Evidence's Los Angeles album is easily one of the best rap albums of 2024, and even though it's a skip-free ride that showcases Blu's gifts as a presence on the mic and Ev's - somehow still underappreciated - incredible mastery over the production of this album, it's this loosie that the duo dropped earlier this year that perfectly captures Blu's heartbreak, and subsequent rise from the ashes of his painful past to release some of the best art of his already impressive career.)

7. "Yea Yea" by Star Bandz

(With certain records...you just know it as soon as you hear it. The beat, the swagger of the MC, thay MC's voice...on "Yea Yea" every box is checked. And Chicago's young rising star, appropriately named Star Bandz, has breakout potential written all over her.)

6. "expensive piss" - shemar & Child Actor

(Hazy, unrestrained, and representing some of the best indy music out there today, capturing some of the best traits of the boom-bap era but adding they're own twist to it, the combination of shemar and Child Actor yields a sound that I hope to hear a lot more of in the future.)

5. "The Harder They Come" by YUNGMORPHEUS & Alexander Spit

(The teeth of YUNGMORPHEUS's pen paired with the soothing palette of Alexander Spit, hit me in a special place when I first heard this song earlier in the year. The whole album they did together is great, but this one has stayed with me all year long as one of the strongest examples of hip-hop music being in great hands today.)

4. "Collection Plate" by Ka

(Still shocked to be writing this as the last time to ever be discussing a new Ka record. If The Thief Next to Jesus is to be remembered as the Brownsville poet's swan song, what a bittersweet beautiful farewell to behold. "Collection Plate" was the immediate favorite for me, as it captures Ka's knack for simple but highly effective hooks, sharply written verses without one word wasted, all of it dragged over a rolling organ that paints the picture of a Brooklyn evangelist better than anyone else ever could. 52 years was far from long enough, but thank you for all of the art you gave to the world while you were here, Kaseem.)

3. "Free Jesus" by Mike Shabb feat. Navy Blue

(Not totally sure of what the song means, but I felt it deeply from the moment that Shabb posted a snippet from the studio with Navy. I’d like to think that it’s a statement about how tales from the streets can escalate to God-like levels of exaggeration, and the fragile line separating the exaltation of idols from the reality…but whatever it means to you, it’s a potent attention grabber.)

2. "Zayre" by Previous Industries [Open Mike Eagle, Video Dave, STILL RIFT]

(One of many standout records from this trio, but for my money's worth, this joint captures what is so special about the whole album: nostalgia for "the way things used to be" has never sounded more peaceful and content with the present.)

1. "Doves" by Armand Hammer feat. Benjamin Booker

("It's cold again..." Truth be told, I didn't think Armand Hammer's 2023 AOTY We Buy Diabetic Test Strips needed another song to make if that much stronger, but here we are. Maybe the greatest songs that I have ever heard added to an album long after it dropped, "Doves" captures both the beauty and pain of loss. It would be a bleak song as cold as the heart of winter if it wasn't coming from the powerful duo of billy woods and ELUCID, who excel at showing us glimpses of their hearts shining through dark clouds. And the crackle of that Benjamin Booker hook takes this moment to another level.)

[bloodgulchblog]

Finished Rubicon by J.S. Dewes.

Plot: Protagonist Adriene Valero has died 96 times in a war with hivemind space robots, and each time the chip in her brain has rezoned her into a new husk: a cloned copy of her body that lets her continue carrying on as a soldier. And each time, the trauma and numbness and apathy get worse.

After her latest disastrous mission, she is reassigned to a new posting where she isn't cannon fodder. Instead, she's now working with some of the fleet's best on a critical campaign to combat the Mechan threat, and has been given top-of-the-line equipment she'd never dreamed of.

It's also a chance to recover and start to feel like a human being again, and to remember how to make friends.

...Including the developing fully sapient AI in her new implant and the secret, unsanctioned opportunity it represents. Valero can make a difference in this war, but more importantly she might also be able to get what she wants more than anything else:

The deactivation of her rezone chip.

Opinion: Hell yeah, I had a great time (with like one major caveat.) You guys know me, I'm a character-focused person and I loooooove thoroughly-explored suffering.

Things to know that might matter to various friends and acquaintances and various opinions:

While Valero's insane reboot-after-death circumstances make her preoccupation with her own mortality into a fantasy problem I could handle cause it wasn't 2real, be aware that Valero spends a lot of time thinking about the ability to die for good and how bad she wants it back. It's one of the pieces of her humanity she feels has been taken from her.

Valero's trauma is excellent.

Nobody's gay and it doesn't do anything with gender. (I can generally tolerate that because I'm used to reading 50 year old cishet whiteguy SF anyway and let's be real this is a Halo blog, but I'm not everyone.)

This is not A Romance. There's a subplot and it's important because it illustrates the protagonist's recovering ability to feel emotions/give a shit, but this isn't romantic sf and doesn't follow genre conventions for romance. (I did appreciate how attraction-and-sexuality-as-evidence-of-recovery worked out as being very specifically about Valero and wasn't universalized as a ~human experience everyone must have or they're broken~ though so thanks for that, Dewes.)

The romantic subplot is not with the AI (but honestly that's a good thing imo because he's like 5 minutes old and doesn't have any other friends).

I wish there was more of the AI, we do get a lot but there's a time skip in the book that makes me feel like there wasn't enough.

Hopefully this isn't saying too much, but the ending is the kind of thing that is going to require a sequel in order to not feel like shit, for me. The last chapter hits like a gutpunch. It's interesting and I think the whole rest of the book is worth it and pretty well done, but god damn.

If you want actual spoilers feel free to ask and I'll dish, but I think it's a cool book so I will leave it vague here.

[crimeronan]

the symphonic metal about haunted-ass women killing their lovers to southern rock about haunted-ass women killing their lovers pipeline..... 2real.