Tag: Russ

Day 24: New Patek by Lil Uzi Vert

LeBron James is a great source for hip-hop. Being really matey with all the artists means his Instagram Stories of his daily workouts are soundtracked by new Tunechi, Drizzy, Yeezy and Hove. A few months back, it was Lil Uzi Vert’s New Patek that graced the ears of his 46.6 million followers.

Philly born and raised, Symere Woods began rapping as Lil Uzi Vert in 2014 at the age of 24. He became well established within the trap movement as it rose to prominence and got his first break into the mainstream spotlight with his Migos collaboration, Bad and Boujee. New Patek was the first single to tease upcoming album Eternal Awake, but as of 11th January it was still unreleased when the rapper claimed he wanted to go back a few years and quit music, leading to taking his music off streaming services.

The song is still a banger though, referring to the luxury watch brand Patek Philippe. It is creative in it’s lyricism, and blisteringly fast (a godsend really; at six minutes long, who knows how long Uzi would have spat for at a mere mortal’s pace), capturing the essence of him as an artist and why so many were devastated when he announced his premature retirement. Drawing, as many of the new breed of trap-rappers do, from the punk world, it is quintessentially chaotic and infectiously destructive, especially (I assume) when performed live.

It will be interesting to see if and when Lil Uzi Vert returns to music. His sudden announcement shows there is a strong desire from the community for him to retake his place within it, but only time will tell. I pray we get Eternal Awake at some point in the future, especially if New Patek is anything to go by.

 

Spotify Playlist Link: https://spoti.fi/2CKuVex

 

Day 4: Nobody Knows by Russ

So as many of you will know, the majority of new music is released on Fridays. Because of that, every Friday will be a new song that I think is hard. The first of the New Music Fridays is Nobody Knows by Russ.

Russ, born Russell Vitale, is a hip-hop artist of the generation coming out of the new-age Mecca of rap, Atlanta Georgia. He has been simmering just below the surface of mainstream hip-hop since he started making music in 2007 at the age of 14, with his first song recorded 4 years later. Since then, he has released 12 studio albums (not a typo. 12. As in 5 more than Coldplay, 4 more than Phil Collins and 3 more than Radiohead) and was one of the first artists to embrace Soundcloud culture. 11 albums and 87 singles were released on the platform before Columbia Records came knocking in 2016 and to this day he has amassed nearly 750,000 followers on his Soundcloud page alone.

Known for rapping with a chip on his shoulder and doing basically everything himself (writing, producing, rapping, singing, mixing and mastering), he has gained more than a smidge of infamy. He is held in disdain by a lot of the community for posing on the gram wearing a t-shirt that read “How much Xans and lean do you have to do before you realize you’re a fucking loser”, which some claim made a mockery of drug addiction (in my humble opinion it has been interpreted harshly and is a solid message. Had it been championed by a less controversial artist then it may have been a different story).

The song itself gives me MAJOR Stan vibes and talks about the negatives of fame, from substance abuse to his failed attempts at repairing his parent’s fragmented relationship. Newly released as a single after being featured on Just In Case, a three-song EP that was shared just before Christmas 2018, Nobody Knows shows Russ’ ability as a lyricist, producer and is a testament to his work ethic, continuing to put out great hip-hop music.

 

Spotify Playlist Link: https://spoti.fi/2CKuVex