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06 August 2018

Summer Jam 2018 Week 13: Rapping

Sometimes I can't believe that I've done thirteen straight weeks of this. Then I can't believe this is my ninth straight year of this. That's like 149 Summer Jam posts! I don't even have 149 views on these pages. But it's hot, so let's do this again:

Hot Jam of the Week: "Side Effects" by the Chainsmokers ft. Emily Warren



Is it weird to be kind of nostalgic for like a 2015 song? I don't think this will be a huge "Closer" or "Paris" Chainsmoker track, but I do really like the breakdown here, and say what you will about these two EDM bros destroying music, they keep finding good new beats which is damned tough to do in a genre where everything is designed to sound the same. It's true, haters, deal with it.

"In My Feelings" by Drake

Drake cranked out a bit 8-minute crappy video this week to a track he definitely wants to land, even though most of his other jams this summer have been better. I heard "God's Plan" a ton this week, too. What's the deal here, man. How come Drake won't die? Do you even remember all that Pusha-T dram drams back in May? Who cares now. I'm kind of confounded - I don't think anyone actually listens to Drake nor critically thinks he's that great, but for some reason he's popular and well-lauded. Maybe I'm crazy. But here's Drake.

"SICKO" by Travis Scott

Real popular on that Spotify thing. This is a decent track. His whole ASTROWORLD album is doing solid and apparently is the rapper that young people like right now. He doesn't sound all that distinct, to be honest, but then again, my ears are old and faded now. I like all this 2017 music like some kind of Neanderthal.

"No Tears Left to Cry" by Ariana Grande

"God is a Woman" is doing okay but hasn't quite taken over as the NEW Ariana. I threw this on here just because it came on and dammit, I knew every single word and loved it. That's a powerful stage in the pop ballad life cycle. It's a dirty showdown for Summer Jam, and this helps. It's definitely not where it was, but it's been great. At the same time, though, why do I get the feeling that I'm the only one who thinks it's the Summer Queen forerunner?

"Nice for What" by Drake

More Drake. See above. This song is still charging pretty well and remains his most fun summer track. I don't think it can make the push it needs for true Summer Jam status, but fuck, it's trying its damndest right now! We'll see where the cards fall next month.

"FeFe" by 6ix9ine ft. Nicki Minaj, Murda Beatz

Man, what a crappy song. There is never a good reason to get a face tattoo. I mean, self-expression, whatever, but that social stigma of being a piece of shit is not dissipated yet. Nicki, I don't know...exists again. She's been around this summer, but just isn't quite having the time that fellow Young Money Drake is. Makes me think of "Bedrock." I wonder what Gudda Gudda and Lloyd are doing these days.

"Girls Like Me" by Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B

This song keeps climbing and is suddenly racking up some serious points to its name. I suppose when I was geling on it earlier in the summer it really was more fledgling and often missed the cut in any given week. Well, now that it's surging, if it can close out August there's definitely a power there to be feared! And respected. Dynamite. You know, "Nice for What" is the same exact video with more art to it.

"I Like It" by Cardi B

This is another one that's suddenly making late summer moves. #1 this week but does it feel #1? Just like everything else these days I suppose #1 is really just my #1. Everyone is off doing their own thing and consuming their own music, movies, and TV in their own ways, it's harder and harder to really judge anything as distinctively the top of the heap. That won't stop me, though, baby! Cardi B gets the top two spots this week, dammit! This is a big threat, and muddles the water for Camila and Ariana. Some brown chick is going to win Summer, that's for sure.

Next week...

We've only got four weeks left and while the aforementioned Camila and Ariana have big leads, it's far from in the bag with a few late tracks being pretty consistent. We had a lot of Hip-Hop this week, and it's far that it's soon becoming the dominant musical genre in this country. If we can get more Jay Rock and less Drake I'm cool with that.

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