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 talk about Drake's hosting gig at the ESPYs, new tapes from Lil Durk and Waka Flocka, and Dukie from "The Wire"'s smooth R&B.
Corban Goble: Before we get into it, what did you guys think of Drake’s hosting gig at last night’s ESPYs? He’s such a dweeb. I love him. Me and Joel Embiid can’t get the strangeness of that Skylar Diggins/Drake interaction out of our minds. What grade would you give his performance, and why? What was your favorite moment from the show?
Wesley Case: Given the ridiculousness of the ESPYs as a concept, it’s hard not to give Drake anything less than an A. He took a two-and-a-half-hour show dedicated to showering millionaires with unnecessary awards (ha, we could say this about seemingly every award show, but last night a “Best Play” trophy was given with a straight face) and turned it into something closer to a prime MTV Movie Awards show. If that doesn’t sound impressive, go back and watch Jon Hamm’s hosting job from last year.
The ESPYs are typically an awkward slog, but last night I couldn’t look away. OK, it was still plenty awkward but it was also that entertaining, because Aubrey Graham can actually act. Poking fun at himself helped, as usual. The deliriously over-the-top “Blake/Drake” skit was fantastic (I didn’t even hate the Chris Brown cameo, but Breezy, referring to yourself as “America’s sweetheart” is a bad look), but it didn’t include Brian McKnight, so… Drake deserves props for the wonderfully uncomfortable middle-finger to Donald Sterling, too. Meaghan, how did our host do?
Meaghan Garvey: Man, so, last year when Drake did a lecture at NYU, he said something offhand to the extent of, “You guys think I’m corny now, wait til I’m 40 performing in Vegas every night.” And dude, YES. He was born for this shit. I’d like to give a little shoutout to his full-on Margaritaville linen suit, complete with some sort of hemp mesh. My only disappointment is the glaring omission of any mention of butt stuff.
CG: Every NBA player I follow on Twitter demanded that “Side Pieces” be released as a single. They are not wrong.
WC: Which one of us gets to write the Best New Track blurb? Do we have to talk about actual rap now?
Lil Durk: Signed to the Streets 2
CG: Yes. Last week, Chicago rapper Lil Durk released the sequel to his excellent Signed to the Streets mixtape, the DJ Drama and Don Cannon-cosigned Signed to the Streets 2. This sounds pretty good! Something that jumped out at me was the Young Chop-produced “I Made It”, in terms of bottling up Durk’s array of hooks and bars. What did you guys like about this? What do you make of Durk’s crossover appeal, in general? It seems like of all the non-Sosa people coming out of that initial bundle of GBE signings, people have the most faith in Durk. What’s the deal with his Def Jam album?
MG: Yeah, oddly enough, Durk sounds really natural on these sort of almost-EDM tracks—actually, my secret favorite song of his is practically a juke track (“I Get Paid,” off 2012’s I’m Still a Hitta)—so he’s got a minor precedent for pulling off the clubbier stuff that I think could ultimately cross over. In an ideal world, the Youg Thug-featuring, tastefully fist-pumpy “Party” would be on the radio, but in reality, it might be a little too weird; I definitely don’t see anything on here reaching the ubiquity of “Dis Ain’t What You Want” or “L’s Anthem”, unfortunately. Overall, though I like most of this tape, it doesn’t stand up to the first Signed to the Streets, and a lot of that has to do with length—with its ten best songs, then we’re talking. Still, like you said, of all the first-wave drill artists, Durk’s probably been the most reliably great over the last three years. Wesley, is this... what you want? *slaps knee*
WC: I love you, Meaghan. Don’t ever change. Durk has always been my pick to have the longest career of the original drill guys, and this tape offers more evidence of Durk carving out his own street-rap lane. True to Durk’s style and point-of-view, it isn’t flashy or interested in compromising to cross over (“Party” could be the exception, but you’re right, it’s still too on-the-fringe). As a rapper, Durk is nothing but solid, though, like a drill version of Meek Mill. The snarly rapping is proficient, consistent and always emotionally charged.
What I like most about the tape—and Durk in general—is how he emotes, especially through Auto-Tune (another Meek move). “Hell in My City” is scary enough to be a movie villain’s theme song. And “I Go” works because it sounds like a true duet between Durk and Johnny May Cash — not just a rapper and a hook-filler, but two artists finding interesting pockets to interact off each other. Nothing here is as strong as the two hits Meaghan mentioned, but I hope it’s a nice setup for his proper debut. This is obvious, but Durk, if you’re reading—more French Montana collabs, please! (*Coke Boys, baby drop*)
MG: Regarding his Def Jam deal—there’s a line on “Don’t Take It Personal” (which is really good!) where he says, “I got a deal and I still be on that bullshit.” This seems pretty accurate, for better or worse. On the plus side, his sound’s barely changed since signing with Def Jam—we’re not dealing with, like, Durk and Big Sean collabs about thots yet. At the same time, I kind of doubt that his debut album’s gonna happen anytime soon.
Waka Flocka Flame: I Can't Rap
CG: Let’s give it up for Waka Flocka’s career arc: He comes out of left-field to release (what many consider to be) a classic right off the jump, but since then—Flockaveli came out October 5, 2010—he’s made some strange decisions and fell out with his label partner Gucci Mane. Recently, he’s collaborated with Girl Talk and made something called “Rage the Night Away” with veteran electronica hack Steve Aoki. I Can’t Rap features a number of freestyles over tracks like “Danny Glover”, “Blood on the Leaves”, “0~100” and many more. It seems OK? I don’t even know anymore. Did you guys like this? Is Flocka somebody who owned such a specific sound and that, now that that style isn’t necessarily en vogue anymore, could still have a impactful career in front of him? “Hard in Da Paint” forever though.
MG: It’s kind of crazy—the Flocka/Lex Luger sound has sort of faded away (in Atlanta at least) and been overwritten by Future and, to a lesser degree, Migos and Young Thug, but meanwhile, Flocka’s legacy is so influential. Like, speaking of Durk, drill as a style probably wouldn’t exist in the same capacity without Flockaveli and all the Salute Me Or Shoot Me stuff. But, though it’s hard to get too excited about a mixtape of freestyles over jacked beats, this could’ve been way worse! Respect to Lil Jon, but “Turn Down For What” really needed Flocka all along. The most bizarre thing about this tape for me was how he seemed to be getting back to his New York roots a little? Which, like, what? Definitely didn’t see the Troy Ave feature coming…
CG: Troy Ave jumps on and calls himself “Harry Powder”, which impressed me as a fan of the Harry Potter books. I had never thought of that!
WC: I’m a bit torn here. Based on the rapidfire rapping and the winking title, Waka is clearly out to show and prove he’s not the same less-is-more artist we first met. In a technical sense, his mic skills have been improving since Flockaveli, and it’s most obvious on “I Can’t Rap.” There is something cool about hearing him hold his own on beats made for more dexterous rappers, but I couldn’t help but think this version of Waka is too polished for my taste. I heard “O Let’s Do It” on the radio for the first time in awhile recently, and Flocka’s sheer sledgehammer-like force remains an inspiration. Still, Waka makes clever moves on this tape—like rapping strictly on the amped-up horns coda of “Blood on the Leaves” and taking his time on “I Know”. Best of all, he’s still sprinkling his verses with the real-life details that first drew us into “Hard in Da Paint”. The best song here is “Ghetto Gold”, which finds Flocka reflecting on lost friends and family. Hearing Waka punctuate his verse with “Plus my momma just beat cancer/ I’m looking at the sky for an answer” is powerful.
But here’s my real question: What’s crazier to see on a 2014 mixtape: “feat. Ron Browz” or “feat. Un Kasa” (like on Cam’ron’s recent “1st of the Month, Vol. 1”)? I’m not mad at either.
MG: I mean, at the end of the day, I guess we can all be comforted that in the title alone, Flocka has basically made the “Ceci n’est pas une pipe” of our time. Also, for all the conspiracists out there: “I Can’t Rap”... “I Can Trap”... really makes you think.
CG: OH SHIT! Mind is kind of blown, and for the first time today I’m not thinking about Skylar Diggins and Drake so thank you MG.
Andddddd we’re back.
Jermaine Crawford: "Janet"
CG: Previously on Mixdown, we talked about Tristan Wilds’ mixtape, which featured his semi-hit “Own It”. Tristan Wilds, you may know, played Michael Lee in the "The Wire", and recently one of his Season 4 classmates—Dukie, real name Jermaine Crawford—put out some real smooth, strikingly soulful R&B cuts. Wesley, as our Baltimore guy, have you heard of this series "The Wire"? What do you think of Dukie’s tracks?
WC: Was that on Starz? Randomly, I’ve been watching episodes of Season 4 lately, and it’s hard to imagine Dukie—the quiet computer geek who dropped his laundry off to his teacher Mr. Prezbo—as an R&B singer but hey … ACTING! I wanted to like this, especially since Mack Wilds did not set the bar very high for “Wire” actors-turned-crooners, but Crawford’s voice doesn’t have enough texture for me. Meaghan, you’re feeling this, though, right?
MG: I actually just binge-watched "The Wire" in its entirety for the first time last month, so I’m freshly traumatized from Season 4 (also, what the hell, no one warned me that Season 5 kind of blows, but *insert Kermit meme.*) So while watching Crawford get all grown-and-sexy is very uncanny, I LOVE THIS. Nobody sings like this anymore! He’s on his New Edition/D.R.S. “Gangsta Lean” shit and I respect that. And yo—his sexy cane walk in the “Janet” video?! I SCREAMED. Pure swag.
CG: I will give it this—this did not sound at all how I thought it was going to sound. Anyway, I can’t wait for that McNulty album. It’s going to be some like Tom Waits shit. I just felt $14 zip out of my wallet.