Alley Boy f. Pill, Yung Ralph & Big Bank Black, “Heavy in the Street” MP3
- story Sam Hockley-Smith
This is a little too full-bodied to be an actual snap song, but Big Bank Black’s growl-sung chorus is giving us crazy visions of when it looked like Fabo was going to ride the funk wave to argyle-socked superstardom (we can still hope). Plus you also get Alley Boy nimbly bouncing over the track, Pill channeling Killer Mike and Yung Ralph fast-rapping and showing some I’m-not-just-Gucci’s-weed-carrier chops.
Download: Alley Boy f. Pill, Yung Ralph & Big Bank Black, “Heavy in the Street” (via BLVD ST)
Pill, 4075: The Refill Mixtape
- story Sam Hockley-Smith
- photo Dorothy Hong
Not sure what it says about the rap industry, but we’ve been anticipating this free mixtape more than most actual albums, and that’s a testament to Pill’s power as a rapper. Sure, in a lot of ways he’s a rapper’s rapper—throwing punchlines out faster than we’re able to catch them—but he’s not robotic or boring. He’s not sacrificing charisma to impress with the intricacy of his verses. Plainly put, he’s so clearly having fun that even on the darker moments of this tape (of which there are a lot), the overwhelming impression is that this dude is doing what he’s supposed to be doing.
Download: Pill, 4075: The Refill
Pill f. Freddie Gibbs, “Run Up To Me” MP3
- story Sam Hockley-Smith
We told ourselves that we wouldn’t blog every leak leading up to Pill’s 4075: The Refill (coming for free on Tuesday), but then every leak was so solid that we couldn’t resist. This time Pill links with occasional collaborator Freddie Gibbs for “Run Up To Me,” which features producer Ced L. Young throwing down a distinctly RZA-esque minimal beat built around thick bass drops.
Download: Pill f. Freddie Gibbs, “Run Up To Me” (via The Educated Villains)
Pill, “Coastin’” MP3
- story Peter Macia
We are now just a week away from the release of Pill’s new mixtape 4075: The Refill and who knows how many more leaks we’ll get directly from the source. But after “Afro Sheen” and “Hear Somebody Comin’” and now this, there is no doubt the shit is going to be our go-to cold weather life-pondering soundtrack. Like standing on the bridge looking out into the middle distance, squinted eyes. Deep. We’ll actually be thinking about doing the laundry, but we will feel tough. “Coastin’” in case you were wondering was produced by Mick Vegas, the man behind many of our recent spaced-out jams, including G-Side’s “My Aura” and Freddie Gibbs’ “Natural High.”
Download: Pill, “Coastin’”
Pill, “Hear Somebody Comin” MP3
- story Sam Hockley-Smith
Toward the end of “Hear Somebody Comin,” Pill stops his Kool G Rap-esque flow to breathe heavily before launching right back in, and the whole time it sounds like he’s having fun. All we can ask is: is anyone out there still complaining that hip-hop is dead? Any dinosaur rap backpackers lamenting a dearth of lyricism? What’s up with that? What are you listening to?
Download: Pill, “Hear Somebody Comin”
Video: Freddie Gibbs f. Pill, “Womb 2 the Tomb”
- story Sam Hockley-Smith
There have been some excellent arguments for a full-on collab album between two of our favorite working rappers Freddie Gibbs and Pill, and this video for “Womb 2 the Tomb” (which comes from Gibbs’ most recent mixtape), is just another reason to lock them in a studio together. They could be rapping about the phone book, and as long as it was delivered with Gibbs’ ominous control and Pill’s completely off the rails rasp, we’d be into it.
Pill Live at The Levi’s/FADER Fort NYC
- story THE FADER
By the time Pill took the stage at the Levi’s®/FADER Fort on Saturday, everyone had already sweated out any and all Budweiser or Southern Comfort they’d attempted to consume. So when you watch the audience going loco in this live performance of Pill’s anthem “Trap Goin Ham,” just know that you can’t blame their enthusiasm on the alcohol. Blame it on the unbridled charisma of one of the best rappers out of the A, and the rad dude posse alongside him (including Freddie Gibbs, who’d performed with him earlier in the night). And when FADER editor Felipe Delerme sprayed beer on the dancefloor like he was Puff with Moet in ‘96, he was stone cold sober, and no one was even mad because it was the perfect thing to do right at that moment. When in doubt, go ham.
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posted on Oct 27, 2009 in EVENTS CHANNEL, EVENTS LEVI'S/FADER FORT SHOW, FADER TV tags hip hop, Levi's FADER Fort, Pill
Watch Pill’s Cooking Show, Get Fat Eyes
- story Peter Macia
Trap goin’ Elvis. Recipe for Pill’s “Big Boy:”
1 Honeybun
2 Giant blobs of Jif peanut butter
Heat honeybun until hot, cover in peanut putter blobs. Eat. Become obese. Make Mike Bloomberg sad for the future. Watch out for Pill’s 4075: The Refill mixtape coming in November and hopefully more cooking shows until then.
Video: Pill, “Glass”
- story Sam Hockley-Smith
Ever since Pill dropped the 4180: The Prescription mixtape virtually out of nowhere, we’ve been keeping tabs on dude. From the times he came through our radio show, to the controversial “Trap Goin Ham” video to his two album-stealing performances on Killer Mike’s Underground Atlanta compilation. Now he’s got a new video for all-new song “Glass.” It looks like a toned down “Trap Goin Ham,” the same bleak realities on display, just more palatable for the TV crowd. Makes sense, considering this video premiered on MTV Jams last night, a move that will hopefully catapult Pill into full blast national consciousness, or at the very least get us another couple mixtapes to play on repeat.
Stream: Killer Mike, Underground Atlanta
- story Matthew Schnipper
- photo Michael Schmelling (F25)
It’s a weird throwback that the current underground Atlanta includes one and a half hit wonder Trillville, but it’s a relief that it still includes Princess. Ringleader, cheerleader and proud papa Killer Mike has wrangled a sort of album/sort of mixtape/sort of yearbook of Atlanta, made up of a bulk of his new tracks of melancholy trap rap we love him for, but also sprinkled with cuts from the younger folks on their way up, like FADER friend Pill (but no Donnis).
