By Gabrielle Taylor | 8 September 2023
Everyone has their own personal song of the summer. Artists from all genres have been dropping music left and right, touring, and teasing even more music that’s next to come. If you’re a fan of West Coast hip-hop here’s a playlist of songs to keep you going through the dog days of summer!
I started off June revisiting an artist I haven’t listened to in-depth since my high school days: Vince Staples. As a freshman in high school diving deep into the rap industry, I stumbled upon Vince through his hilarious interviews. His humorous and raw personality was constantly captured, clipped, and uploaded to social media at the time. I was hooked once I decided to binge his discography, which included three incredible releases in the span of three years: Hell Can Wait EP, Summertime ‘06, and Prima Donna EP. All these projects earned him a spot as one of my favorite artists this summer. I dove into his self-titled album and his most recent project, Ramona Park Broke My Heart (2022), and fell in love with his style all over again as if I were back in high school. Vince’s cadence still sounds so incredibly unique and fresh and his beat selection always pays homage to his West Coast roots.
Young Thug released his third studio album, Business is Business, on June 23. Given his current status as incarcerated and still standing trial, I was surprised his team released any music. The album cover references his current position in court, the simple black and white filter adding a layer of somberness to the cover. The album opens with a feature from Drake called Parade on Cleveland; it’s one of the few songs that are more laid back and calming, but midway through the beat changes for Young Thug. Beat changes mid-way through rap songs have become increasingly popular thanks to Metro Boomin’s production. Tracks like Oh U Went featuring Drake and Wit Da Racks are perfect for the summer with their heavy bass and catchy flows.
Dreamville fans haven’t received a collaboration from the legendary J. Cole and Bas since their 2018 song “Tribe.” This duo is undefeated when it comes to their collaborations, so to call fans “excited” to receive this song on July 19th out of the blue is an understatement. The beat is similar to the vibe of “Tribe,” with the reminiscent afrobeat and the lyrics about island living. Memorable tracks such as Night Job and Lit were an introduction to the unique sound these two artists were capable of making. I’d pay good money for a full album.
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