HotNewHipHop was all about the West Coast during our latest livestream yesterday afternoon (Friday, July 24). Aron A. and I broke down the Verzuz battle between YG and The Game, Complex's list of the 100 best Los Angeles hip-hop songs, and the new Tyga era brought forth by the '80s-inspired $TARFACE. In addition, we debated about the new Loe Shimmy album Pretty Girlz Run The World and conversations in the culture surrounding the weight of first week sales.
We started with the new LP from Shimmy, a bright Florida MC who came through with his most cohesive and dynamic project yet. Aron found it a bit too repetitive in some areas. But we both had a lot of praise for the flows on display, the sensitivity to genre-blending, and Loe's burgeoning identity as a hitmaker and seductive crooner. Hopefully there are even greater things to come.
Then, we got into YG Verzuz The Game, talking about their different eras in West Coast hip-hop, the celebratory vibe of the battle, and how we felt Complex voters downplayed Game too much in their assessment. While we believe The Documentary's creator has a better catalog and is more of a rapper's rapper, we argued that YG's cavalcade of hits and more pop-friendly material gave him the edge in a Verzuz setting.
HNHH Livestream
But the discussion around these artists' different eras also got us wondering how artists can even measure success reliably these days. We spoke about artists like Rick Ross and Lizzo having unfortunately poor first week sales despite their continued relevance in the public eye. Our explanations and analysis included considerations for different types of label deals, Internet narratives superseding content, and not yet having a proper metric to gauge streaming success.
Back to Los Angeles, though, Aron and I also praised Complex's best L.A. songs list for its variety, debating over how quickly songs should enter that canon. For example, we disagreed over whether "Not Like Us" by Kendrick Lamar deserved the number five spot, which I still find to be slightly premature.
Finally, we expressed our excitement for Tyga's $TARFACE era, expressing confidence in his hit-making ability and commending his outward shift to a new sound. We will see if it pans out when the album drops very soon.
Join us next week for the next HotNewHipHop livestream, where we'll dive into the most relevant topics of the summer. Elsewhere, stay on HNHH to review new songs and albums and catch up with all of our coverage and analysis.
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