Toronto’s Ekelle rhymes about what she knows best: her real-life experience. Money, sex, drama, and identity stir together to create a style she calls Hood Pop – popular music with a street edge. “Your baddies are your real ones, hustlers who get shit done and keep it moving,” Ekelle says about her aptly titled new single ‘Baddie,’ which is “perfect for pre-gaming with your girls or driving around on a sunny day.”

Polaris Music Prize-shortlisted rapper DijahSB shares their latest body of work, the much-anticipated Tasty Raps Vol. 2 EP, produced by Clairmont the Second alongside the blistering focus track, ‘I Feel Like Rihanna.’ On Tasty Raps Vol 2, we see a different sonic side to DijahSB, the long-awaited second installment of the EP series with the title aptly inspired by direct praise from Kid Cudi himself – who is also a major influence in Dijah’s work and drive to normalize rapping with honesty and raw emotion. On ‘I Feel Like Rhianna,’ we get glitchy-but-effective percussion on a dreamy, swagger-dappled track. It’s tongue in cheek, as they rap about their experience with success, weighed against their ongoing struggles with mental health. Ever earnest and open about their struggles with depression, mental health, and financial instability, DijahSB balances their candid, frank storytelling with lyricism that’s always playfully dexterous; inspirational but never didactic.

Germany-born, London, UK-based rapper Ivorian Doll returns with ‘Diss To Dillon’ as she sets off her Doll Freestyle Series. The track sees her in her element and showcases her skill as a rapper who can hold her own as a lyricist. Over the barebones menacing soundscape, Ivorian Doll delivers a plethora of verbal darts toward a certain cheating individual, reminding him that he is not up to par. IVD sure knows the assignment and doesn’t hold back with lines like “disrespect to me, I ain’t the one, come again hoe/ finger up your bum, I made you scream, do your friends know?” and I must add that was just a tip of the iceberg. The track comes with a performance shot-themed video directed by Aminould that captures Ivorian Doll in her element doing what she knows best. It’s simple, straight forward and the seamless transitions add that gritty flavor to the track. [via Earmilk]

Last year, the wildly talented Tampa rapper and singer Doechii broke out with her starmaking she / her / black bitch EP and signed with TDE. This year, Doechii has released the Kodak Black collab ‘What It Is (Block Boy)’ and rapped over the UGK/Outkast classic ‘Int’l Players Anthem’ on her own track ‘Universal Swamp Anthem.’ This fall, Doechii will tour arenas as the opening act on the Doja Cat/Ice Spice tour. Now, she’s got a very fun new single called ‘Booty Drop.’ ‘Booty Drop’ samples Jersey club producer Uniiqu3’s 2018 track ‘Bubble Gum.’ Weirdly, though, the track was produced by Stargate, the Norwegian production team who worked on a bunch of Rihanna’s biggest hits. On ‘Booty Drop,’ Doechii adapts beautifully to the sped-up Jersey club style sing-rapping double-time horny strip-club come-ons. Best line: “Eat that ass fast like DoorDash/ I don’t need knee pads, I just need to see that.” The song’s video takes place on a yacht and involves a lot of butts, and it’s filmed on what looks like an early-’90s VHS tape. [via Stereogum]

Sexyy Red and Sukihana have proved that they’ve got what it takes to make things raunchy with the video for their new single, ‘Hood Rats’. Combining a mix of sophisticated and ratchet to create their own “sophisti-ratchet” style, the dynamic duo give a nod and a wink to BAPS, the classic film starring Halle Berry and Natalie Desselle. Red and Suki raise hell and holy water in a country club, slurping down champagne and twerking for a Joe Biden analogue while leaving nothing to the imagination, as Webbie and other celebs like Summer Walker and Saucy Santana make special guest appearances. If it wasn’t clear as to who Sexyy Red and Sukihana are trying to entice using their feminine charms, Sukihana spells it out: “I swallow n-ggas/ I really feel like an elephant/ Tell Joe Biden I wanna suck on the President!” [via Hip Hop DX]

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British-Ghanaian rapper ShaSimone trades in an exuberant form of confidence. Just this year she has mixed party-starting afrobeats and classic hip-hop on her Simma Down EP as well as turning the BPM way up and jumping on jungle producer Clipz’s ‘No Time’ alongside Beenie Man. Across genres she always appears unflappable, always ready to get her bars off and keep building her name higher and higher. Her ‘Top 5’ video, then, resembles something of a victory lap. The opening track on Simma Down comes with that trademark ShaSimone energy as she declares, “I’m top five dead or alive” and tops it off by stating, “They’re gonna miss me when I’m gone, the heavens will cry.” Behind-the-scenes footage of ShaSimone performing at Glastonbury and an appearance at Rolling Loud set the scene for a video, that also includes the moment she joined Dave on stage at a huge London show, performing their We’re All Alone in This Together track ‘Both Sides of a Smile’ together. “The video for ‘Top 5’ reflects my achievements and my music journey this year, along with meeting some amazing people – it’s like a music diary for me,” ShaSimone tells The FADER. “There’s been so many ups and downs, but every moment has been steps taken for me to be in the position that I’m in today” [via The FADER]

This past August, a 22-year-old Bronx artist named Ice Spice came out with ‘Munch (Feelin’ U),’ a fizzy and divisive two-minute drill anthem in which she clowns some guy for being good for nothing except giving head. That song got on a whole lot of people’s nerves, but it was a hit. Ice Spice made fans out of stars like Drake and Cardi B, and the word “munch” entered the lexicon. Now, Ice Spice has come out with her follow-up. Like ‘Munch,’ ‘Bikini Bottom’ is a two-minute drill track with a catchy hook and a whole lot of presence. Ice Spice raps in quick, darting little bursts, and even if she doesn’t perfectly enunciate every word, she still radiates charisma. [via Stereogum]

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