What up, Hip-Hop Wired Nation? We’re back with CRT FRSH AKA Certified Fresh! Part of our duty as a publication and crew is to school the masses on who is doing what musically and there’s no better way to do that beyond our CRT FRSH (Certified Fresh) bi-weekly playlist.
Disclaimer:
The CRT FRSH playlist is a labor of love. We don’t take payments nor do we do favors. We only add joints to our playlist that fit the theme and vision we’re going for and don’t seek to waste the listener’s time. Further, we don’t stick to one lane of Hip-Hop. We believe that all aspects of the music should get some light, whether it’s young lions in the trenches or those hoping for that one shot to blow up to grizzled veterans puffing out their chests with lots more to say.
It’s been a minute since we’ve updated CRT FRSH due to Hip-Hop @ 50 taking the lion’s share of our creative time but we’re back to resuming our regular bi-weekly schedule as best we can. This time around, we’re including 25 artists you should know and 25 artists you need to know, keeping in mind that our mission is purely educational at root and aimed at promoting all sides of Hip-Hop at its best.
For a change of pace, I want to speak in my own voice and explain how I approach curating the CRT FRSH playlist. Most importantly, I don’t segregate my Hip-Hop. Every form of music from the main cultural tree deserves a listen and a look. When I’m putting the list together, I want to include all regions across the States and, when applicable, across the globe. I also want to entertain every fan of Hip-Hop, not just those who enjoy one segment of it. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get to it. – D.L. Chandler
We open up this week’s playlist with Nas, who celebrated his 50th birthday by releasing the potent Magic 3 alongside Hit-Boy and the track “Never Die” featuring a blistering cameo from Lil Wayne (we really need to acknowledge the feature run Tunechi has been on for the past five years). Next up is “Another One Of Me” from Diddy’s newest drop, The Love Album: Off The Grid featuring The Weeknd, French Montana, and noted R&B fan, 21 Savage.
We just informed the HHW nation about Offset’s new joint “Fan” coming from his upcoming album, SET IT OFF. Killer Mike gave his already stellar album MICHEAL the deluxe treatment and the track “YES!” adds to the quality drop.
Drake’s For All The Dogs was slated to come out this Friday but has been delayed yet again. Hopefully, “Slime You Out” featuring SZA will satiate fans of The Boy until October 6. Cardi B connects with Megan Thee Stallion again for the entertaining “Bongos” joint, and the super slept-on EarthGang returns with “Swing” from Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 original soundtrack.
The hardworking independent king Russ dropped another dope project in SANTIAGO and we include “Enough” from the joint. Navy Blue, one of Hip-Hop’s most thoughtful writers, gives us a gem in “Dolla.”
Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist connect on the track “The Caliphate” featuring a sorely missed Vince Staples. Speaking of Alchemist, he and Roc Marciano decided to drop a deluxe version of their solid album, The Elephant Man’s Bones and we added the “Turkey Wings” track.
Anytime we get a chance to add a track to our playlist from Smoke DZA, we do so. The Kushed God connected with Flying Lotus for a potent EP, Flying Objects, and we have “Drug Trade” with the Harlem spitter rocking with Philadelphia bar god, Black Thought.
Salute to all the acts on our playlist which include the likes of Busta Rhymes, Coi Leray, Sexxy Red, REASON, Ray Vaughn (shout out TDE), Yo Gotti, DJ Drama, Rich Homie Quan (we missed the homie), Cordae, Gunna, Doja Cat (on her rap sh*t), Tyga, YG, That Mexican OT, Paul Wall, DRODi, MIKE, Rome Streetz, Conway The Machine, 38 Spesh, Lukah, Kipp Stone, Mick Jenkins, Benny The Butcher, J4K, Brainorchestra, Patty Honcho, and more.
Check it out below.
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Photo: Getty
