Baltimore’s live-wire lyricist Y1 dropped his fourth album, “The 4 Warning,” in July. The album is an 11-song full-on lyric-packed offering that brings you in and out of grooves and traditional Golden Era hip-hop vibes. Covering topics from romance and heartbreak to the love of drugs, Y1 showcases his ever-growing ability to pick beats and craft songs.
“Sunset Drive” is a smooth Dave O-produced vibe set as the sun is coming up from a night of grinding. The rapper braggadocio is ripe: “You on computers typin’ up a rumor / I’m in the mall arguing with jewelers.”
I wrote about the lead single “Tew Long” back in October of last year, and it really holds up as “a blazing verbal tsunami releasing the frustration of a rapper with many years in the game.”
The features on the album all show up understanding their assignments. On “Back Outside” Hansum Thug raps “None of y’all niggas hotter than this / Me and Y1 hotter than grits.” The JTalbayne-produced “Chamberlain Green” is a trumpet-lead smoothie where Y1 and Mike Memphis match each other with wordplay and storytelling.
“Say Goodbye” has an old-school soul sample featuring Baltimore femcee Lyfe The Oracle on the hook ushering us in: “I never say goodbye / I take it all in stride.” Spoken word veteran Slick Vic Low comes in on the first verse with an unorthodox, nearly off-beat flow, ensuring the listener never finds a moment of mundane.
On “Never Works,” Y1 teams up with DBL (DownByLaw) lyricist DSkillz Harris. The track has a Golden Era ’90s vibe and the duo leave you curious about what a larger project with the two of them would sound like.
The closing track, “D.R.E.A.M,” recalls the classic Wu-Tang Clan song “C.R.E.A.M.,” but the hook is flipped to discuss drug use and selling — “Drugs Rule Everything Around Me.”
It’s clear that Y1 is a student of hip-hop. “The 4 Warning” is evidence of a student’s evolution into teaching as he shows us how to put together a no-skip offering. Highly recommended listen. (Eze Jackson)
Stream “The 4 Warning” everywhere.
You know that feeling when you’re driving back from the mall with your giant pretzel after getting your nails done and maxing out your credit card and you’re off to get happy hour margs and yap? Reader, I know it all too well. And I was doing just that when I listened to SLOT’s new album, “Dry Swallow,” for the first time. Arguably, this is the ideal set of circumstances for listening to the synth-punk duo’s second album, which achieves new levels of style and sass. I had to ask the bartender for extra salt on the rim.
“Dry Swallow” follows three years after the release of the band’s first album, “Limbo,” and represents a new shift in Abby and Max Detrich’s collaboration as musicians. Although Max had previously played drums in Baltimore groups Gloop and Dosser, SLOT was the first band in which Max played bass and Abby’s first initiation into writing, recording, and performing music. Everything was experimentation. On “Dry Swallow,” they’ve honed their surly sound and tapped into their fortes. It’s punk music for fans of industrial goth. The songs are as tantalizing as office gossip. It’s loud and snarky and reckless. Basically, it’s clear SLOT knows what they like.
“I like my rings shiny / I like my teeth clean / I wanna be nice but I’m always mean / I like my cheeks rosy / my hair in curls / I wanna be sweet but I’m a bad girl,” Abby sneers at the beginning of “I Like My,” the album’s cheeky single. Like Lana on “Ultraviolence” and Charli on “BRAT,” Abby skewers and reclaims feminine aesthetics while also making it near impossible for me not to shake my ass. Throughout the album, Abby’s lyrical stylings are refreshingly transparent and so satisfying. She could do a mic drop after every verse. My favorite line: “I keep on talking but what am I talking about / must have a fetish for my foot in my mouth.”
Their drum machine’s beats might be playful and danceable, but “Dry Swallow” isn’t a straightforward pop album. The crunchy, urgent bass and blown-out vocals are undeniably intense. Songs like “Food” and “Bad” have all the grit and spite of Big Black and the seductiveness of Nine Inch Nails.
The album certainly isn’t nostalgic or sentimental, but there is something about it that feels of a different era — an era of tabloid scandals and liquid lip smackers, perhaps. In an era when even pop music is required to be moralistic, SLOT has made a record where every track is pure fun. (Rhea Ramakrishnan)
“Dry Swallow” releases on Bandcamp and most major streaming platforms on September 11. You can see SLOT live at Holy Frijoles at their album release on October 17.
Maiyapologies came up in my TikTok feed with this dreamy money maker’s anthem. “If I only got 40 in my pocket / Imma go and GETMESUMN,” she raps on the hook. Producer Crim gifts the young rapper with a refreshing early-morning jazzy track. It’s not just an airhead’s anthem trying to attract the attention of scammers, though. The song exudes independence and confidence with some introspective laced bars too. “Do you have the courage to stick you arm out with a open hand? / Do you have the power to let go those things that once were had? / Do you have the faith to keep on going when there’s missing paths?”
Maiyapologies is definitely on our radar. Original flow and playback value on this one. You can catch her at the Ottobar on September 24 at 6 p.m. if you’re like us and are curious to hear more. (Eze Jackson)
Stream “GETMESUMN” on all platforms.
Rapping over Baltimore Club music is a formula I will never get tired of. No other city has rappers who can do it the way Baltimore does, if you ask me. Baltimore rapper Cago appears to fully understand this with his new debauchery anthem “Tito’s & Apple Juice.” The infectious hook showcases his wordplay while forcing you to get up and move to that infamous Baltimore accent.
“Fifty dollars and a coupon / We 20 deep in a Nissan / I’m drunk tryna get my freak on / Niggas still looking for a R Long / Hit the avenue I’m lit / My bitch got a attitude I’m bent / Tito’s and apple juice if she wanna come bring a friend too”
His Instagram reveals a video was recently shot and the song just dropped in July so add it to your playlist now. Something tells me this one may be on the rise. (Eze Jackson)
“Tito’s & Apple Juice” is available on all platforms.
Stoko’s is a well known East Baltimore carryout famous for its chicken boxes, cheesesteaks and pizza. Last week, they did something different on their Instagram by posting Joy Postell’s video for “moneycall$.” The Mighty Mark/Kudda Music-produced R&B track is packaged with a sunny video shot by Maggie Rudisill featuring Postell out in front of Stoko’s flagship York Road location. It made me stop and pull it up. The song is a bop tailor made for jumping in the shower, shaking off a depression slump, and getting back to it. It’s an automatic inspiration as she declares on the hook, “I’m only gonna / shine harder on ’em / work smarter make my dreams come true.”
The decision to post the video from Stoko’s seems a good time to discuss how we can see more businesses collaborating with the myriad of artists in the city who patronize them. (Eze Jackson)
moneycall$ is streaming on all platforms.