Del the Funky Homosapien – Iller Than Most
Del the Funky Homosapien raps like no one else. Plenty of rappers make threats, but who else would say “Certain ways about him, man I just had to bash him.” He’s also decided to call himself Zartan Drednaught COBRA for this 11 track self-produced mixtape. Del’s own summary of the project, “Lyrically ill but fun to listen to, nothing super heavy” is very much on point. I can’t get into all of the beats on this tape; some of them like “Land of Immediate Rap Hits” are too chunky and repetitive, but the highlights like the beat for “Robust” reminds me of something DOOM or Madlib could have cooked up. (Download)
Legit – Thief in the Night
How are there this many talented rappers coming out of one city at the same time? This tape places Legit in the same conversation as Vic Mensa, Chance The Rapper, and Tree as a part of Chicago’s emerging rap game elite. I’ve never heard of Legit before, but this tape is outstanding. Hearing something like this makes me wonder how many other great rappers are in Chicago waiting for the hype to catch up to their talent. (Download)
Ace Hood – Starvation 3
Two kinds of rappers get written about the most on blogs. The first kind are rappers on top of the game like Wayne, Ross, Kanye, or Drake. The second kind are underground heroes and weirdoes like Danny Brown, Action Bronson and MF DOOM. Ace Hood exists in a kind of rap game limbo between these two categories. Even with big hits in “Hustle Hard” and “Bugatti”, he hasn’t ascended to the top of rap’s mainstream. At the same time however, he’s far from an underground backpacker. This is too bad, because dude can really rap. He’s inconsistent, but on Starvation 3’s best tracks, it’s clear that almost no one in rap brings as much energy to the table as Ace Hood. (Download)
Dag Savage – The Warning Tape
Dag Savage is a rapper/producer duo of Johaz and Exile. I’m a huge fan of Exile’s beatmaking on Blu alubms Below the Heavens and Give Me My Flowers While I Can Smell Them (hugely underrated project by the way), so I was looking forward to this tape. Exile’s beats on those Blu tapes were warm, soulful and beautiful. Some of the beats on The Warning Tape sound similar (like “Better Belive”), but a lot of them take a weirder turn (like “U Turn” or “Freak Out”). Johaz is an ill MC but on future projects I hope he raps from a more personal, relatable place. (Download)
French Montana – Coke Boys 4
I never thought I would be recommending a French Montana tape in the column. When people complain about what’s wrong with Hip-Hop, French Montana is who they’re thinking about. This is unconscious rap. But man, you have to hear these beautiful beats. On “God Body”, Harry Fraud immaculately flips Flight Facilities’ “Crave You” (featuring Giselle) and the production team of Black Metaphor, Rick Steel, and Young Chop provide a lush, morphing backdrop for “Intro”. (Download)
Russ – Pink Elephant
Russ is a producer and rapper affiliated with the DIEMON crew. The main strength of this tape is the production and sometimes, Russ’ rapping can get in the way of these gorgeous beats. “Goodbye” has a fantastic beat, and Russ ruins it by complaining about a woman in an unremarkable Eminem-lite way over the whole track. But there are a few moments on this tape where the lyrics catch up with the beats. And when this happens, you can tell Russ has a lot of potential. (Download)