Every week, seemingly a gazillion songs are released on streaming services. From Soundcloud and Bandcamp exclusives to the endless array of songs on Spotify and Apple Music, it’s a lot to take in. Additionally, some of the tracks aren’t nearly as good as they should be. Who wants to waste their time sifting through records in fear that some aren’t very good? How can one possibly have the time to even do it?
This is where Noisey has you covered. We’re saving you time in the playlist department to narrow it down to the three most essential songs in hip-hop and R&B you should hear. Maybe you’ll find a new favorite artist or album in the process.
3 of the Best New Hip-Hop Songs and R&B Records of the Week
“Denise Murrell” by MAVI
Some creative people feel like the only way to make something is if they’re sad or going through something. The argument is that hard times can create purpose and the belief that art can only be created through turbulence. Ultimately, this is all a farce. We don’t give ourselves enough credit for the beauty and imagination we’re capable of deep down. But when we’re productive amidst our depression, it causes us to think it’s the only way we can exist. Then, we end up in vicious cycles, feeding the demons that eat away at us.
MAVI is proof that this theory doesn’t hold water. He recently told Andre Gee at Rolling Stone that he quit drinking a year ago, and it’s evident in his voice on The Pilot. He always had this big, booming presence on record (ironic for a rapper that’s “150 wet”), but there was this dour weight to his voice, let alone his lyrics. It was as if MAVI felt the weight of the world and its injustices were his to carry, or that they were forced on his shoulders.
Nowadays, he sounds more alert and highly likely to pop his s*** as a result. He’ll talk about how he’s got the best fit to ever touch his therapist’s couch on “Heavy Hand”. The wispy “Denise Murrell”, the best record on The Pilot, sees MAVI rap triumphantly on cheery horns. It sounds like the culmination of every rock bottom he’s ever experienced. Now, he can laugh off when someone asks when he’s gonna “get off that sad s***.” MAVI raps with the assurance that he can overcome any obstacle. After all, he lived long enough to see the other side of all his battles.
“TheRainMan” by Rx Papi
To call Rx Papi prolific would be an understatement. He’s one of hip-hop’s hardest working rappers today, with five solo projects and two collab records this year alone. That’s not even accounting for the dozens of records he’ll throw on YouTube on a whim. After a while, it can be hard to determine which ones are essential.
What’s great about Pap is that ultimately, he’s never going to rap half-heartedly. Take “TheRainMan,” where he shreds the metallic sheen on 5StarChrome’s production. “He a killer, that don’t mean s***, most n****s die with they gun on they hip,” Rx Papi snarls. That’s what makes his music so rewarding– there are always one-liners worth a stink-face, no matter the song. Ultimately, how much you listen to him is a matter of personal fatigue. It’ll never be because he stopped putting in the effort.
“$$$4eva” by Pink Siifu
Pink Siifu is one of hip-hop’s strongest stylists. He effortlessly distills the pure essence of Black expression and the many paths that entails. He anatomically understands Southern music and its history. But he can also dip his toes into boisterous, experimental ventures into funk like Sly Stone. Back in 2020, Siifu channeled a specific kind of stoner flick energy on FlySiifu’s, delightfully chill and mundane. The specificity is what makes these records sing, an anatomical understanding of the art he loves.
Siifu keeps this streak up on Onyx’!, the latest extension to his epic-length album BLACK’!ANTIQUE. He’ll scan his way through ghettotech records on “Egm’!!” while going sparse and off kilter on “1way”. On “$$$4eva”, Siifu curbs from Cash Money era Mannie Fresh; it might as well be the spiritual successor to “Cutlass, Monte Carlo’s, & Regals”. They share the same opening drums before slinking into sexy synths that feel like velour seats in an old Cadillac. He even cites his sources, from old Wayne and Juvenile. Siifu is one Birdman rant about putting dubs and frog eyes on a PT Cruiser away from being an honorary Hot Boy. But he never veers too far into borderline gimmickry. Instead, Pink Siifu wields history to create something familiar but fresh.
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