Hello, I’ve been writing about music for many years, and now I’m going to tell you about some new music you should listen to this weekend. These tunes feature rap, metal, and rap-metal (you think I’m kidding, but I’m not). Just think of me as that weird kid in high school who had an unrequited crush on you, but instead of telling you about his feelings he just made you a mix CD and hoped you’d listen to it and magically fall in love with him because he knows about The Replacements.

I know that kid well because I once was that kid, and only while typing this did I realize that no one I ever made a mix CD for back in high school actually listened to it. Anyways, please listen to these songs. You will like them. You already clicked on this article, so you might as well click on the songs we have embedded in the article.

Trinidad James – “Dad”

The thing about Trinidad James, of “All Gold Everything” fame, is that he is a comedic genius. I don’t know if you’ll believe me, and frankly, I don’t care. Besides, a few days after Father’s Day, Trinidad James released a song called “Dad” that proves he’s a comedic genius all on his own. If you couldn’t guess, the concept of the song is that Trinidad James is your dad. He raps, “Bitch I’m your dad!” like a million times in it, and its music video consists of him wearing old-man makeup and getting pushed around in a gold wheelchair.

Needles//Pins – “Miracle”

There is an entire genre of music that’s just prematurely aging people with scratchy voices playing ridiculously catchy pop-punk, and this is one of the reasons that the world is an OK place. Like, two of the best bands of all time are Cheap Trick and Jawbreaker, so why the hell wouldn’t somebody want to make bands that try to sound like both of those bands at once? This is the entire driving principle behind Needles//Pins’s “Miracle,” whose music video involves their drummer dressing like a poodle. There’s really nothing to dislike here, unless you dislike good things.

Da Buze Bruvaz – “Special Agent”

Kinda seems like people have been saying hip-hop is dead ever since rappers started recording music in studios instead of relegating themselves to hopping on the mic at block parties to rap a couple bars about how somebody was double parked or whatever. And these days, real hip-hop heads refuse to acknowledge that the biggest rappers, guys like Lil Uzi Vert and Lil Yachty, are even hip-hop at all. Still, a chill thing about the internet is it lets you go from not knowing about extremely great rap songs like Da Buze Bruvaz’s “Special Agent” to knowing about them in the span of one click. This is some true-school, knuckle-up hardcore hip-hop shit, and if I listen to it four more times I’m going to go have to find some teens and tell them to get the fuck off my lawn.

Mack 11 f. Project Pat – “Biscuit (Remix)”

There’s already a rapper called Mack 10 and he’s good as hell. I don’t know if Mac 11 wanted to call himself Mac 10 but couldn’t, but anyways that’s immaterial because this song rips. A bit of dot-connecting here: The beat for “Biscuit” was originally used by a Chief Keef affiliate named Rocaine for a song called “Chicken Chicken,” which sampled Project Pat. So, it’s only natural that Project Pat, my favorite Memphis rapper of all time, would eventually hop on the beat in one form or another.

Prince da Pistol f. Mistah F.A.B. – “Like This”

We continue with our mini-theme of beloved regional rappers continuing to make great music with “Like This,” by Prince da Pistol and Mistah F.A.B. If you don’t know about F.A.B., he’s a battle rapper from the Bay Area who is acclaimed for his ability to freestyle for hours on end. He also used to be signed with Mac Dre’s label Thizz Entertainment, and once rushed onstage to punch DJ Mustard in the head while he was DJing in the Bay. One more thing: he is Marshawn Lynch’s cousin.

Pallow – “Idle Minds”

Let’s say you really like shoegaze, but want to listen to something that fits into a genre that still has the word “core” in its title. Well, friendo, slowcore is the genre for you, and the Atlanta band Pallow’s “Idle Minds” is the slowcore song you should be listening to this week. It’s hot out, so you should be moving slowly when you’re outside anyway, and “Idle Minds” makes everything seem deep and dramatic and dope as hell.

Powerflo – “My M O”

Remember how I threatened to tell you about rap-metal? Well, I am now following through on that threat. Consisting of members of gym-hardcore legends Biohazard and metal innovators Fear Factory and fronted by Sen Dog of Cypress Hill, Powerflo is basically the Judgment Night soundtrack in band form. You should put on their self-titled debut album in its entirety and do push-ups until you’re strong enough to bench-press an entire mosh pit, or at least be able to lift up a crate of Body Count LPs.

Vince Ash – “Deuce Ash”

Founded by the esteemed music writer Jeff Weiss, the POW Recordings label specializes in fusing grimy lyricism with slamming avant-rap sonics that feels both utterly modern and within the greater continuum of underground hip-hop throughout the years. Their newest signee Vince Ash is a perfect fit for the label –– his hypnotic “Deuce Style” feels like it could have been released in 1994 or 2044, and its music video feels like the iconic clip for Chief Keef’s “I Don’t Like” as filmed on a VHS camera and augmented with lo-fi digital effects.

Arion Mosley f. Baby James – “At the Party”

Arion Mosley is from Pomona, the Los Angeles suburb that should be considered a national treasure for producing the canonically funky pimp-rapper Suga Free. Fittingly, Arion Mosley’s “At the Party” is Suga Free cosplay in the best possible way, all airy slick talk over a bouncy beat that sounds like it was tailored for blasting while you’re stuck in traffic on the 405.

Prodigy – “Mystic”

Unlike all the other songs I’ve told you about this week, Prodigy’s “Mystic” didn’t come out this week. It came out in January of this year, and is my favorite song off P’s Hegelian Dialectic, the final album the Mobb Deep rapper, hip-hop innovator, and eccentric genius had a chance to release in his lifetime. There’s so much I could say about Prodigy’s greatness, but Eddie Huang characterized him best as “a Hemingway-like character who was physical and visceral.” You should listen to it, as well as Mobb Deep’s The Infamous and Prodigy’s unheralded classic debut solo album, H.N.I.C., this weekend as well as every other weekend.

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