As we head into fall, our latest Fire Emoji playlist update is here to round up the best of the best hip-hop releases of the week in the genre's mainstream. Thanks to the quality within the new Joey Bada$$ album – which we've been waiting on for a while – fans will feel quite satisfied this week.
Lonely At The Top is not quite as fiery as his diss tracks to various West Coast challengers, but that's because he wanted to focus on more introspection on this lean effort. If anything, it shows the conflicted, tired, determined, and always passionate lows that fuel Joey's more boisterous and relentless highs, creating a very compelling artistic portrait when you look at the road since "The Ruler's Back."
As far as specific highlights on Fire Emoji, the track "SWANK WHITE" with Westside Gunn is a tender and engaging boom-bap cut that sounds very regal yet rooted. On the other hand, Badmon takes us back to the 2000s-era East Coast hit-making formulas with the funky Bri Steves-assisted "SUPAFLEE." Elsewhere on the tracklist, there's a lot of variety to make for a gratifying project.
HNHH Fire Emoji Playlist
In addition to this new LP on Fire Emoji, we wanted to shout out a brand-new track from one of hip-hop's biggest legends... With a big asterisk. For those unaware, the Eminem documentary STANS recently came out in theaters, which goes over the way in which Marshall Mathers' artistry manifested, evolved, and caused impact in relation to the fanbase and culture that received it.
As a treat on the doc's soundtrack, we got a revamped version of an old unreleased Slim Shady track, "Everybody's Looking At Me." Its first verse is originally from a January 2002 Funk Flex freestyle, and it used to have a Proof feature. Its final version for this soundtrack, though, sees Em totally dominate it with similar energy to cuts like "Criminal," "Role Model," and other classics.
While it's nothing too wild for those familiar with the catalog, it's amazing to hear him in this mode. After all, this is a bag he doesn't reach back into very often these days.
