Best New Music

A look at the best new music the rap scene has to offer

KIRK- DaBaby

DaBaby takes a victory lap following his breakout summer.

DaBaby had a fruitful summer, to say the least. He saw his first studio album, Baby on Baby, reach #7 on the Billboard 200 and make RIAA Certified Gold. The lead single from the album hit #1 on the R&B/Hip Hop chart and made RIAA Certified Platinum. He also had three more singles make Gold this summer. The Charlotte rapper also gained the respect of his peers and gained notoriety by appearing on tracks with J Cole, Post Malone, Chance the Rapper, and Gucci Mane. 

In his second full studio album, KIRK, DaBaby takes a step back and vents about both the troubles and blessings of his newfound fame. He regularly makes references to the passing of his father, which happened the same day “Suge” hit #1 on Billboard. “That was confusing a little bit, you know I flew in with the stick,” he raps about that day on “INTRO”. He reflects on the life of his daughter and his desire for her to be brought up in a healthy environment “Let’s raise our right, let’s watch what we teach them,” he raps on the same track.

DaBaby switches lanes after “INTRO” with “BOP” and “VIBEZ,” two catchy, production-heavy bangers that immediately catch your attention. This is primarily due to the skillful production of Jetsonmade, who has been with DaBaby from the start of his career. He originally showed off his talent on “Suge” but on KIRK, he proves he is here to stay with three premium beats. 

If DaBaby proved one thing on KIRK, it is his ability to perfect the high-paced, bouncy song that made him famous. The downfall of this skill is that he uses it on all 13 tracks, making for a very repetitive record. However repetitive it may be, DaBaby has found his place in the rap game and is stretched out with his feet kicked up, comfortable as ever.  

We Love You Tecca- Lil Tecca

Though a tad uninventive and sleepy, Lil Tecca’s debut project is a muted success. 

After blowing up on the back of enormous single “Ransom”, 17-year-old New York rapper Lil Tecca released his debut project on Friday. Seven of the 17 tracks on the album had previously been released as singles so there were really only ten new songs on the album. 

Out of these ten new tracks, “Shots” and “Sidenote” stand out the most. His flow is very clean and measured on these tracks which makes them easy to listen to. The hooks are very catchy and bouncy. These and many of the songs on the mixtape are concise and to the point, which is always a huge plus on any album. 

Tecca does not take too many risks lyrically or stylistically, but for a 17-year-old you can’t really ask him to. I also think the mixtape would have benefited a lot if he did not include any of his singles in the project. Around track ten, it starts to get repetitive and listening becomes a bit of a chore. Tecca’s beat selection also adds to this sentiment. There is not a lot of variation in the instrumentals throughout the album, which also makes it feel like you are listening to the same song over and over again. 

I think Lil Tecca has a lot of room to grow over the next few years. We Love You Tecca is a good jumping-off point for a 17-year-old artist who has a lot of talent and the ability to make hits.