Featuring tracks by Bear1Boss, baby.com, SG Ali, Outlaw Mel, Terrance Escobar, and more essential artists
Follow our Unleashed playlist on Spotify to stay up to date with our bi-weekly must-hear tracks:
Bear1Boss – “Sloppy Pockets”
Listening to Bear1Boss is like riding a carousel where the animals come to life and pulse blinding neon lights from their fur. It’s startling, yet there lies an undeniable beauty in the absurdity. The first few go arounds are overwhelming, but once you see Bear1Boss mounting a rhinoceros while having the time of his life, you’ll want to give in and feed off his seemingly limitless energy.
His newest tape, Super Fancy 2, is a tastefully epileptic 25-song effort that finds Bear and executive producer Popstar Benny’s uncanny chemistry at its strongest. On “Sloppy Pockets,” Bear1Boss uses Miggy’s half-Odesza half-Dirty Sprite 2 beat as a trampoline to recite one of his many hypnotic chants: “Sometimes I just wanna be myself / Sometimes I just wanna be myself.” If you read that line on paper 40 times it’d probably get boring, but each time Bear1Boss says it it sounds like the first. – Millan Verma
baby.com – “iiM SEXXii iiM HOT”
baby.com‘s “iiM SEXXii iiM HOT” is a Myspace-core track in the age of TikTokkery. The cover art is ripped straight from the early 2000s — complete with high pixelation rates and cutesy glitter text, it reads, “I’m not conceited I’m simply aware of my sexy lil self!” This sentiment is paramount to baby.com’s track, as she confidently commands the attention of you, your boyfriend, and the entire club with her Valley girl lilt. Her instructions to “Put your right hand up / Make a circle with your butt / Then put the other one up / Tell ’em we don’t give a fuck” is a TikTok choreography trend in the making, proving that baby.com belongs online. She’s sexy, she’s hot, she’s everything you’re not — dot com. Period. – Katie Manners
Outlaw Mel – “Think I’m Crazy”
Dallas rapper Outlaw Mel has a distinct delivery steeped in the rich history of his city’s hip-hop scene, tracing a regional lineage from forefathers like Dirty South Rydaz to his oft-sludgy take on modern rap. “Think I’m Crazy” is a particularly brooding cut via Broken Home Baby as Mel sighs, “The struggle better end / I’m more tired than I’ve ever been.” You wouldn’t know he’s on the ropes from the way he incisively weaves his way through the track and positions himself as a definitive Texan voice in the process. – Mike Giegerich
SG Ali – “Long Way”
SG Ali grew up in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green projects before they were demolished in 2011, and she writes about life in her old neighborhood with a deep-rooted perspective. The 23-year-old has hit an impressive stride since signing to Steady Leanin/EQT in late 2020, spinning earnest tales of trauma and triumph into delicate threads of melody. On her recent single “Long Way,” she takes armchair pundits to task for their lack of empathy toward Chicago’s neglected communities. “You know nothing about that battlefield / They criticize the shit we do, but don’t ask how we feel.” – Jack Ellis
Terrance Escobar & RXLVND – “Lasers”
Atlanta artists Terrance Escobar and RXLVND are accelerating their sound into a new dimension on Counterfeit Reality. The project’s highlight is an earworm called “Lasers” that strikes a balance between dissonant bars and deceptive atmospherics. For more on Counterfeit Reality, read our review here. – Mike Giegerich
Ho99o9 Presents Territory – “Chasin Burgundy”
Even prayer can’t save you from the hell that is “Chasin Burgundy,” one of the many collaborative tracks on Ho99o9 Presents Territory‘s compilation album TURF TALK:, Vol. 1. The track opens with a sound bit prompting the listener to “press 1 for prayer” and do away with sin — but no automated tele-prompt can stop the song’s sickly progression. Stuck in limbo with the National Prayer Outreach Program in their ear, the listener slips and falls through the nine circles of hell before landing straight in Satan’s nightclub. Here, they’re greeted by the devil herself, inhabiting the form of Dani Miller. She sings, “You can call me daddy / I like it that way / But you’re a little bitch / You’re gonna have to pay” as the listener stands before her. Confronted by villainous cackles that echo across the track’s driving beat, hell’s expanse is marked with a multitude of characters. But every sentence reads the same: “A slow death, torture,” and no chance for redemption. – Katie Manners
Sos B4l – “Beeper”
Lower East Side rapper Sos B4l was one of ten opening acts at the Bizzy Banks concert in Astoria, Queens earlier this month. Most of the performers got a muted reaction, but Sos B4l and his gaggle of hype-men instantly electrified the room. His rendition of “Beeper,” a snarling burst of bravado that samples the merengue classic “El Beeper” by Oro Solido, was the work of an opener destined to become a headliner. – Jack Ellis
Alice Gas and Sawce – “idontcareanymore”
Alice Gas and Sawce team up to present “idontcareanymore,” a track that explores the cyclical mindset of the modern emo kid. The track opens with a bold declaration: “I swear I don’t care anymore,” but it soon becomes apparent that the duo care at least a little. “Try[ing her] hardest not to fuck up” Alice is “almost at the point where [she] just [doesn’t] give a fuck anymore,” but every time she claims to stop caring, the lyrical cycle continues and she’s back to trying her hardest. Despite the track’s emo lyricisms coming off as apathetic, there is a great deal of drive hidden under layers of frustration. This drive is coaxed out of Alice by Sawce’s topically emo guitar and hardcore drums. Destined to be played at a New Jersey house show, “idontcareanymore” is a track best served to a room full of people who claim to not care but can’t stop dancing. – Katie Manners
DivineDevine – “Broke Bitch”
DivineDevine makes music that’s perfect for dancing alone. The harmonies of her soothing voice on “Broke Bitch” reveal a clear twinge of regret that contrasts well with Jackson Laurie’s abrasively enchanting production. But the most impressive thing about this song is that it could be accompanied by only a piano and be just as mesmerizing because of DivineDevine’s grappling allure. – Millan Verma
30 Deep Grimeyy – “First Day Out”
30 Deep Grimeyy has taken an unconventional path to rap stardom, sidestepping the major label system and working with ground-level playmakers like 100k Track and Shawn Cotton of SayCheeseTV to build his audience. Since his breakout single “Dead Goofies,” Grimeyy has established himself as a rapper’s rapper with a hard-boiled sense of humor and an author’s eye for detail. The St. Louis phenom sounds invigorated on “First Day Out,” jabbing with his consonants and gleefully sneering at his prosecutors. “Shoutout my lawyer Mr. Foster, made the PA look stupid / The judge gave me house arrest and said ‘good luck with your music.’” – Jack Ellis