Source: Dia Dipasupil / Getty
JID — “30”
JID kicks off the new year with some new bars. The Dreamville MC celebrates 2024’s arrival with a freestyle that displays his acrobatic flows.
“Raw, uncut behind the scenes / I’m all the things I say I mean / And all the things I mean, I say,” he raps on the track. “If all these rats racing, I’m coming in last place / Snakes in the grass, I haul a-s at a fast pace / Offence! I autograph the ball, I passed great / I’m an athlete, turn your favorite rapper to the ashes in an ash tray.”
Christo, Conductor Williams and Tane Runo produced the track. Meanwhile, the Atlanta star says this is an exciting and inspiring way to release new material for him.
“I started doin the freestyles on some practice sh-t cuz I’m usually a pen to pad writer with everything,” he said on social media. “With these I go line for line no writing and not takin’ too long in between to test my self, I have 28 more I did before 29 but that one felt right to start wit and here we r…30 is fye bro, just raw raps about whatever came to my head, I’m excited about music and inspired/blessed to be doin this sh-t fr.”
The Game, Big Hit & Hit-Boy — Paisley Dreams
Hit-Boy has already made a name for himself in music as a rapper and as a super producer. Now, the hitmaker is embarking on a new journey alongside his father Big Hit, who’s been “in and out of prison” for the last 30 years, according to the Associated Press.
Upon his latest release, Big Hit vowed to avoid incarceration with a renewed musical focus. He released The Truth Is In My Eyes with some help from Snoop Dogg, Benny The Butcher and The Alchemist. That project is not streaming, as it’s only available for purchase through Big Hit’s website.
But now, Hit-Boy and Big Hit are delivering a new project via streaming, and they’re adding more star power to the mix with The Game. The trio is joining forces for the nine-song offering Paisley Dreams. TeeFLii and Dom Kennedy also appear as guests.
“The Game pulled up on me and Big Hit 4 days ago and I was thinking maybe we ask him to get on the ‘Bang Freestyle’ remix or something at MOST but instead he locked in with us for the rest of the night and we made a 9 song album,” Hit-Boy explained via socials.
Shortly after the project dropped, Hit-Boy celebrated its No. 1 position on iTunes. “Not bad for an album that was recorded in about 12 hours,” he wrote. “No matter how you slice it. big hit was in a dungeon about 8 months ago with no access to food and every restriction on his freedom NOW HE GOT A NUMBER ONE RAP ALBUM ON ITUNES.”
24kGoldn — “Good Intentions”
24kGoldn was on top of the world in 2020. After generating an underground buzz, the California rapper-singer catapulted to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with his Iann Dior-assisted “Mood.” But to kick off the new year, Goldn returns with some reflections on past successes and more recent struggles.
“This just how it is, no more what it was,” he raps. “If I’m bein’ honest, I’ve been goin’ through a rut / Victim of my selfishness; it’s finally catching up…When you gettin’ famous, they gon’ shower you with love / Copy-pastin’ compliments, don’t mean a single one / I’m addicted to attention, anything to catch a buzz.”
Goldn goes on: “Room is still a mess, been too depressed to clean it up / Plaques on every wall, but they from 2021 / Take a picture, smoke a swisher, reminisce on how it was / Wipin’ off the tears, up, pickin’ up the crumbs / I had good intentions ’til I started slippin’ up.”
Although the track features melancholy moments, it also includes optimism. Goldn announced it with a message about taking responsibility for one’s own actions. “There comes a point in every person’s life where they can no longer sail aimlessly on the winds of their past,” he wrote. “A time where they must take their future into their own hands and start making choices.”
Playboi Carti f. Travis Scott — “Backr00ms”
Playboi Carti and Travis Scott keep their collaborative energy going. After joining forces on last year’s “FE!N,” the duo is back at it with another viral single, “BACKR00MS.”
This time around, Playboi Carti shouts out a rising star in his verse. “I think I need me a Ice Spice. I want me a munch,” he raps on the track. The Bronx rapper seemingly responded with a tweet that included “backr00ms” and the kiss mark emoji.
Elsewhere, Travis Scott also delivers his own verse, in which he talks about his appreciation for curves. “She doin’ Ozempic tryna be different / Tryna be a new woman,” he raps. “That sh-t look iffy, I need her thick.”
To go along with the song, Carti also dropped a music video. The low-fi clip features plenty of smoke and cash, nods to high fashion and a lot of dance moves. Watch the full visual below.
