Welcome to Mixdown, an ongoing series where Pitchfork staffers and contributors talk about mixtapes, mixes, and other beat-based ephemera that may not be covered in our reviews section but are worth discussing. Today, Wesley Case, Meaghan Garvey and Corban Goble discuss new releases from Tiffany Foxx and Katie Got Bandz and meditate on the Shmoney Dance.
Tiffany Foxx: King Foxx
Corban Goble: Tiffany Foxx is a rapper on Lil Kim’s label, and though I’d argue King Foxx is probably the most notable + cohesive thing she’s done to this point, she’s been around a little while. She’s from St. Louis originally, which conjures certain imagery (link to Lunatic mask dude)—but this mixtape is more aligned with the sounds of RIGHT NOW and it’s totally viable for Tiffany on songs like “FuckUThought” and “Young and Thuggin”. What stood out to you guys about this?
Meaghan Garvey: I hate to say this, because every time a capable female rapper springs up, the Nicki comparisons roll in—corny. But there are some Nicki-lite vibes here (the “I feel pretty” riff that mirrors "Roman’s Revenge", the exaggerated, rubbery voice-acting on “King Foxx”) and I mean that as an absolute compliment. Honestly, when the comparison actually applies, I could do with a whole lot more Nicki Lites making music. But that’s probably unfair, to a degree—no, no, no shade!—because she’s definitely got broader influences and, like Corban said, has a really good grasp on what’s working in Southern rap right now too (the Young Thug feature, the Zaytoven and Sonny Digital production).
Wesley Case: Comparing a capable female rapper to Nicki — which is apt here, at least partially (“Don’t Trust Em” sounds like it could have come from a paranoid Nicki/Young Thug session) — says more about the Current State of Rap (take a sip if you’re playing the Mixdown drinking game) than anything about Tiffany, who rips this concise tape pretty consistently.
Somewhat sadly, what’s really refreshing here is simply hearing a female voice, through sheer force, cut through Southern trap and swag-rap beats that are typically reserved for hypermasculinity. Balance would help this increasingly stale lane (Wiz Khalifa is calling himself Trap Wiz, people), so yeah, we need more of this! “King Foxx” certainly sounds of-the-moment (DJ Scream drops, staccato flows, trap beats with a weightless bounce) but Tiffany’s mic skills and welcome female perspective invigorate this tape. What’s everyone’s favorite song?
CG: I like “Cdis”, paired with the intro track it really sets the tone and makes you pay attention. You know, when I’m listening at work I’m usually at like, “8 squares out of 20” on the laptop volume, but something like “Cdis” makes me fiendishly slam that F12 key. THIS IS F12 MUSIC! Hb y’all?
MG: “Cdis” was the standout for me too—she harnesses the weirdo energy of Young Thug’s squeaky freakouts and the post-“Karate Chop” flow in a really singular, jaw-dropping way, despite those things being ripped off by every other rapper for the past year or so. (Lowkey, though, my actual favorite thing here is the production credit on “Uno”—Joe. This is incredible any way you slice it: It could be the one and only Joe, or it could be that there are TWO artists on earth who decided, “Yeah, I think I’ll go with ‘Joe.’”)
WC: That “Still Not a Player” money runs out at some point, Meaghan. Before we move on, I’ll ride real quick for “Buy Her What She Want,” which, based off its hook, seems like another “Karate Chop” stutter-fest, until Tiffany raps with off-the-cuff fluidity: “Oh you want to be Judas, huh? / Envy the first sign, Capricorn / United States of Babylon, bitch, babble on/ While I put this Grade-A cattle on and this platinum on/ And I’m rich, I don’t even got a platinum song/ Brought the mack along, make you take a nap for long / Hatin’ ass bitches get to actin’ wrong/ Consider this your warning/ You only get one, bitch, like a carry-on…” Phew.
Katie Got Bandz: Drillary Clinton 2
CG: The next thing we listened to after Tiffany Foxx at the mall—that’s how we do Mixdown, we all go to the mall and just chat about mixtapes over Orange Juliuses—was Katie Got Bandzz newest mixtape, Drillary Clinton 2. I feel like when Katie first became visible thanks to “I Need A Hitta” and we all got that initial glimpse of obvious STAR POWER (that ad lib is intoxicating), people expected big things from her and I don’t think her work, at least judging from fans and critics’ reactions, has lived up to those (perhaps unfair) projections yet. Why not? I feel like there was a time where I was desperate for somebody to just PUT KATIE GOT BANDZ on but maybe now that moment has passed? Or is this how Iggy Azalea makes up for everything? What did you think of Drillary Clinton 2, the sequel to the underwhelming-but-at-the-time-highly-anticipated Drillary Clinton?
MG: I also had high expectations for Katie that she never quite fulfilled on her two previous tapes, but for me, DC2 is the tape where she’s finally stepped her game up. For one, her delivery feels turbo-charged here; before, her voice tended to fall a bit flat (to be fair, this was part of her charm, too, especially on “I Need A Hitta”—sort of a “I’m reading my lyrics off my iPhone notes and I don’t give a fuck” vibe), but she’s belting out her hooks here with Casino-level energy. And her lyrics feel more considered, too—right from the jump, on the intro, she goes IN! “That Nina Diana the way that bitch sing” just rolls off the tongue so exquisitely, like rap game first sentence of Lolita. She just sounds so confident, more than ever before. Wesley, are you Team Katiiiiiieeee, or nah?
WC: I’ve been Team Katie since “Hitta,” precisely because of the rough edges of her rapping that you alluded to, Meaghan. When we first met her, Katie looked—and rapped—like a high schooler who enjoyed nothing more than talking tough with her friends. As she evolved, that tossed-off charm was replaced with a seething, take-no-shit attitude and a delivery to match. It’s certainly the case on Drillary Clinton 2, which feels more like a slog to get through than I had hoped, despite its 34-minute running time. Too many of these songs sound like Katie’s reimagining of Future’s “Sh!t.”
That does not mean Katie’s snarl lacks bite. On songs like “Soldier” and “Nothing”, her delivery retains the jarring rawness that first drew me to her music. (A wonderfully Chicago line like “Might money dance on a broke thot” helps too.) My favorite track here is “Lil Bitch,” which sounds like Katie’s aggro-drill version of Hot Stylz’s “Lookin Boy.” (“How the fuck you getting cake but you went to Mickey D’s on a date, lil bitch?” will make some collars hot.) Above all else, Katie revels in her hardness here with an unwavering confidence. It’s not a mistake; I just wish the tape didn’t sound so monochromatic. (Block On Da Trakk handles all of the production on DC2 but where’s the light touch that was heard on Katie’s 2013 single with King Louie, “Pop Out”?) Where does this position Katie in Chicago’s rap scene?
MG: Even if it feels like her best is yet to come (or more pessimistically, she peaked on her first song, which I don’t think is the case), I think Katie’s at the very least solidified her spot as one of Chicago’s most consistent rappers. You know essentially what to expect from her—tough but playful, no-punches-pulled drill bangers—and even when she’s not necessarily on, that’s exactly what she delivers. (And hey, props to her for not doing this anymore.) My favorite thing about Katie: More than anyone else in the drill scene, aside from maybe her Lawless label mate King Louie (who’s weirdly absent on the tape, by the way), it always feels like she’s having a blast rapping. You can tell she cracks herself up.
CG: I thought this was definitely the most confident thing she’s made. She sound steadier as a rapper and I think it has that level of OWNING IT that was missing from previous things. Her flat rapping though can be a little hard to get past but, I think this is a more logical direction, doubling down on this sound, as opposed to trying to show off a range she doesn’t really have on other releases (I vaguely remember some singing on Drillary Clinton). In conclusion, KATTIIEEEEEEEEEEE
GS9: MG: I’m super intrigued by Shmurda Inc, but man, it really feels like they recorded this collection off an iPhone inside of a Porta-Potty. (To be fair, it was released a while ago, way before last week’s “Shmoney Dance” hype tsunami, but still.) Basically, these are a bunch of New York dudes doing their take on drill—specifically, especially with the crew’s most interesting member Bobby Shmurda, they remind me of ZMoney, snarling but a little goofy, with a bumper-bowling kind of flow that stumbles around a bit but always finds its way back. Personally, it’s hard to tell if this legitimately interesting, or just whiplash from Troy Ave’s “restoring the feeling” crusade. “Hot Nigga” is a legitimately great song, and all praises due to Jahlil Beats; aside from that, I’m on the fence. So is the hype warranted, or have we all been hypnotized by Rowdy Rebel’s incredible sweatsuit in the video?
CG: It’s required that every rising NYC rap crew has to have their own lifestyle line right? You might as well just go top-down and start with the sweats. I say that as if I’m not Schomneying right now, which I absolutely am. What say you Shmesley and Shmeaghan? It’s fun. Not sure if I make more of it than that atm but what’s better than fun? For the record, I am highly pro-fun.
WC: I like to imagine Peter Rosenberg crying to the “Shmoney Dance” video, “This ain’t that real New York!”