2 Chainz - Like Me (internet, 2012)

2 Chainz enlisted the assistance of Chicago producer, Million $ Mano, for this Weeknd-sampling affair. Utilizing The Weeknd’s “The Birds, Pt. 1”, Mano creates a somber backdrop for 2 Chainz’ ever misogynist lyrics, as Abel heeds an unknown woman not to “fall in love with a nigga like me.” Though they don’t make the likeliest of pairings, both Weeknd and Tity work far better in execution due to the fact that both of them are, at the core, repulsive human beings. Though 2 Chainz never quite admits to this on the song, the fact that he chose such a self-loathing sample to identify with proves that 2 Chainz is more self-aware than his critics would have you believe.

Zone 6 Sinister - Dungeons & Dragons (D4L Records, 2012)

I don’t even care/hungry as bear/bitch, I gotta eat, but I ain’t no fuckin’ scavenger/take food off my plate, thank you fool for the scavengers/only thing to do is to grind on this calendar/I’m at Red Lobster, Dutch full of lavender (LAVENDER?)

Gucci Mane - Muscles N My Hand (Str8 Drop, 2001)

This is the same beat that Squadda B used on “The Greenova Way”. Ever the innovator. 

Gucci Mane - 12 (Str8 Drop Records, 2001)

I’ll be writing about Gucci Mane’s career in-depth for a whole week sometime this year, and now I’m studying his earliest work, La Flare (his first mixtape from 2001) in preparation. It really is amazing how strong of a rapper he was in 2001, far better than he was in 2005, displaying all the tools that would lead to his legendary career span the next ten years. Even though the music isn’t quite there (despite the fact that an early Zaytoven seemingly contributes to La Flare in spots, especially on the catchy “Say Cheese”), this is a wonderful case study that was tragically overlooked during its re-release in 2010. Any fan of Gucci Mane should spend an afternoon with this piece of history. 

Gucci Mane - Body Language (So Icey Ent., 2008)

baby, talk to me/she told me “nigga, I don’t talk, cause talk is cheap”/and shawty fine to me/she blow your mind, like a mime use her hands to speak/you think I’m lying? ain’t lying, she a ten to me/from the top of her head to her pretty feet