Image from Fenix Flexin's "1, 2, 3, 4" music video
Every week, The FADER’s Brandon Callender shares his highlights from across the rap world, from megastar artists to the deep underground.
Fenix Flexin – “1, 2, 3, 4”
There’s no single emotion you can use to describe Fenix Flexin’s “1, 2, 3, 4.” He cycles through irritation, lust, and disinterest without skipping a beat. Fenix leans into FBeat’s low-end heavy bounce, rapping under his breath with a rubbery flow that refuses to stay in one shape for long. “I just spent a nigga Hellcat up in Rick Owens,” he says with a shrug. It’s a flex so vaguely specific there’s no reason to not believe he’s telling the truth.
Aleza, Gloss Up, Slimeroni & K Carbon – “Shabooya”
GloRilla, Gloss Up, Aleza, Slimeroni, and K Carbon popped up last year with a run of posse cuts that had the competitive yet free-flowing energy of lunchroom cyphers. Since then, GloRilla’s broken out as a star, and her friends are coming in hot right behind her. On “Shabooya,” the Memphis-bred firestarters take a roll call to get everyone up to speed on who they are and what they’re about. While their verses all go about it in their own humorous ways, they all have one thing in common: they’re all trying to run the pockets of lame dudes. Every rap clique needs a song that states their mission.
1100 Himself – “Thai Tea”
When rappers intentionally mispronounce words to force a rhyme they usually try to make a joke out of it, but 1100 Himself sounds downright disappointed in himself when he pronounces “Super Saiyan” as “Super Sigh-in.” He’s not sly like Robin Williams in One Hour Photo, the Oakland rapper doesn’t hide his love of anime—just look at the cover of his new mixtape The 11th Hokage. 1100 Himself’s rapping is so laid back that his voice practically melts into the smooth R&B sample. “You gotta turn your speakers up to see what I’m talkin’ bout,” he raps. It’s worth leaning in to catch everything he says.
WesPalmRich & Rich Lee – “Vibes”
WesPalmRich and Rich Lee’s The Blues Brothers has all the makings of a fun Detroit rap mixtape: a few ridiculous samples (“Limbo”), colorful flexes (“I be high off counting money, never popping no Xannies”), and a catchphrase they drop so often it starts to sneak into your own dictionary (“Approved Thanks!”). They put it all together on “Vibes,” which feels like a breezy highlight reel of their lives. They even do some Rio and RMC Mike-style spice talking in the song’s second half to keep you guessing. “Wear fake watches goofy shit’ll stay timeless,” Rich Lee raps over the funky keys. They make being corny sound like the worst crime on Earth.
