Asset.Radio is a weekly playlist of new hip-hop releases curated by OGM contributor Aidan C Werder (@aidantheasset). Listen on Spotify and see last week’s Asset.Radio.22.10.5 here.
Tune in weekly for a freshly curated batch of 15 (ish) new releases from the week, or throw on shuffle for a random sampling of new music from some of the most original and compelling artists in hip-hop.
The goal of Asset.Radio is to paint a picture of what the cutting edge looks like, answering questions like: Which artists are bringing something new to the table? What are the cool kids listening to? And who is an asset to the culture?
And keep in mind, all in the humble opinion of Aidan the Asset
(November 2022, Week 1) The only place to start this week is with a moment to recognize the tragic losses that occurred, each of whom made impacts on their communities and culture at large that will be felt for years to come. Long Live Takeoff. Long Live Edot Baby. Long Live Aaron Carter.
To start this week’s playlist is “Hotel Lobby” off Quavo and Takeoff’s recent project, Only Built For Infinity Links. The project’s lead single has Takeoff’s infectious baritone front and center, shining with one of his best-ever verses which surely played a major role in the building excitement and ultimate success of the Unc & Phew collab project. Takeoff’s contributions to The Migos and to the culture cannot be overlooked, and his legacy as one of the last decade’s most important pioneers won’t be forgotten. Long Live Takeoff.
In the midst of a dark news week, there was a shining bright light in Drake and 21 Savage’s highly anticipated joint-album, Her Loss. Between the creative fake promo rollout and the pent-up demand following the (unwarranted) hate to Honestly, Nevermind, Drake finally dropped the project Aubrey stans have been waiting for. While there has been a lot of emphasis on songs like “Rich Flex” and “BackOutsideBoyz,” the best collab tracks might just be “Treacherous Twins” and “Spin Bout U,” built around an infectious sample of B.G.O.T.I’s (seemingly unreleased?) “Give Me Your Lov-N” – the same obscure sample found on Lonny Love’s “Ice Spice” of NYC’s Sexy Drill movement from earlier this year. Another one of the best moments on the project is the F1lthy-produced “Jumbotron Shit Poppin”, one of four Lil Yachty production credits. Shoutout to Boat for showing Drake what the cool kids are up to and for his hand in some of the project’s best moments, including the divisive cover that we’ve borrowed here for Asset.Radio.
Next up is one of the most promising new artists you probably haven’t heard of. In addition to being one of Florida’s best kept secrets, Loe Shimmy is also the flagship artist of NFL superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson’s new label, Lamar Jackson Entertainment. Loe Shimmy is expertly tapping into to that dark, raspy, understated lane of gangster rap that artists like Real Boston Richey have helped popularize – often assisted by eerie, idiosyncratic Detroit-style production. He’s already held his own with the literal best of them on what could be considered his breakout track “Bounty” with Kodak Black, and just this week seemed to predict his upcoming rise on his new single, “Wake Em Up.”
Another sleeping giant with an inexplicable rolodex and penchant for raspy, understated flows is Detroit’s Veeze. Known for being extremely well connected and an all around cool guy, Veeze is “Close Friends” with many of your favorite rappers’ favorite rappers – from Lil Baby to Future to basically all of the biggest names out Detroit’s blossoming scene, especially the calmest and coolest of them all, Babyface Ray. Known for his Detroit classics like “Law & Order” and “A & W”, and more recently “Let It Fly,” Veeze had the biggest moment of his career earlier this year when he hit the Billboard charts with his collab with Lil Baby and 42 Dugg, “U-Digg?” On “Close Friends,” he says what everyone is thinking as they wonder who the hell this Veeze guy is: “I’m dressin like I’m scamming. I’m living like the dope man.” Hopefully he’s had time to record as well because cool kids around the country are clamoring for new Veeze, and his new project Ganger will surely be worth the wait.
There were a few notable releases this week out of New York. One of Brooklyn Drill’s undeniable pioneers, Sleepy Hallow, dropped a new single from behind bars. Accompanied by an impressive full-fledged anime short film, “Marie” is a great example of Sleepy’s melodic, chill drill style that he created along with his right hand man, Sheff G and secret weapon, Great John behind the boards. While their surprisingly gentle melodies and stripped-down production are noticeably different from the prevailing drill sound, their style is wholly original and still intensely New York.
Bronx Drill’s Dougie B continues to put on for the BX, the DOA camp, and his currently incarcerated brother Kay Flock with his new single, “Keep It 100.” After rising to the top of the Bronx Drill movement alongside fellow frontrunners Kay Flock and B-Lovee, and his standout performance on the back of their breakout joint-single “Brotherly Love,” Dougie’s star has steadily been rising as he continues to drop solid solo-single likes “Keep It 100.”
Although originally from West Coast, K$upreme is another mysterious cool kid who has popped up in all kinds of interesting places over the years. In recent times he’s taken a shine to the coolest kids in Queens, Shawny Binladen and the Yellow Tape Boyz, who made multiple appearances on his new tape Me vs Me that dropped this week – not only on “Trappin Words” with Shawny but also “Road Trips” with Big Yaya and “Shark Pack In” with Four50 and Big Gltoaw.
Moving on to the South, Lil Double 0 appears to be the next hottest thing out Memphis’ exploding scene. In addition to being signed to Future’s FreeBandz Entertainment (around the same time as the red-hot Real Boston Richey), this week he dropped a new album Walk Down World jammed packed with big name features, including Future, EST Gee, Lil Uzi Vert, G Herbo, and Nardo Wick. He also slowed down his gritty, streetwise style for the LUCKI collab, “Spill My Cup” featured on Asset.Radio.
Atlanta’s CEO Trayle remained true to his Halloween tradition with his new tape, HH5 (Happy Halloween 5). Known for his deep, calm flow and irreverent bars, Trayle continues to march to the beat of his own drum on the new tape, perhaps best captured on tracks like “I Love You, But”, “Chokehold” or “Took Some Time. ”
Also from Atlanta, Tony Shhnow has quietly developed into a serious force to be reckoned as he blends the trap and the underground with his wholly original style. Originally released in July, with the visual dropping this week, “Ease My Pain” is a great example of Tony’s raw, charismatic delivery and retro feel.
There were also some notable releases from some of the West Coast’s brightest new faces this week. Out of Sacramento, DB.Boutabag is easily one of the most promising new acts rising out of Cali, making waves with his slick bars and particularly punchy rap style – which he understanly prefers to call “shit talking.” Often accompanied by the best-in-class production of Al B Smoov and ThankYouFizzle, this week DB did it once again with “Crash Victim” – with an alleyoop to the RaniiBoutabag from the home team.
You may not know it yet, but there is growing scene of new artists making waves out of San Diego. Artists like KT Foreign are bringing their own SoCal swag to the table, dropping a steady stream of singles making use of his calm-cool-and-collected demeanor and slick talking bars. While he’s been making noise for years now, this year KT had a big moment when he dropped “Free Game” with the legendary Suga Free. Just recently he dropped a new collab with another Daygo frontrunner Lil Weirdo, and this week he dropped “Stompin” – a hard hitting collab with Verde Babii thats put his wordy flow and punchy west coast production on full display.
Another new face out of SoCal is Lil Maru who, along with newcomers like Lil Weirdo and 22gfay, is part of a growing wave of popular latino artists rising out of San Diego. After hitting the map with his catchy melodic style and distinct muted vocal delivery on early hits like “Change Up” and “Been 2 Gone,” Maru has done a great job capitalizing on his momentum with tracks like “On the Block” and his Been 2 Gone EP earlier this year. He recently flexed his versatility with a catchy spanish single, “Como Yo” and this week slowed all the way down for “High,” an impressive, totally stripped down borderline-ballad that let his unique melodic delivery shine.
Last but certainly not least are a few entries from the new wave. At the moment, Dom Corleo seems to be one step ahead of the rest of the underground with his latest series of singles. He’s tapped in with many of its best producers to put together catchy, fresh sounding out-of-the-blue hits like “Ginseng”, “Penthouse Shordy” and most recently “Converse” – which came with its own twofer DotComNirvan visual, essentially stamping his place as a force in the new wave.
And finally Hardrock, another fresh face putting his own spin on the new wave. On the back of his well-developed experimental sound and ear for forward-thinking production, Hardrock has caught the attention of tastemakers around the industry with songs like “Hardcore Drugs” and “God’s Hands” off his 808 Speaker Knockerz EP. This week he dropped a new project, SLATTYDON, and its opening song “feel alive” is already turning heads on account of its punk rock feel and interestingly incorporated Deftones sample.
Overall, a lot of interesting new talent is on the rise from all angles – from NYC to the West Coast and from the Midwest and to the South. This week though, the music seems less important as NYC mourns the loss of Edot Baby, our nostalgic inner kids are shocked by the loss Aaron Carter, and the entire hip hop community is devastated by the senseless loss of Takeoff.
Listen to Asset.Radio.22.11.1 Below
