3 songs for the week by SlimeGetEm, Papo2oo4, Boldy James, and some notes.
A return to music blogging.
I’m back. Happy Easter, Xbox.
SlimeGetEm - “Cough”
I found DC underground rapper SlimeGetEm from noz, seemingly the most tapped in unc I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with, which eventually led me down the rabbit hole of DMV crank (or freecar music) in the last few months. Now that I reside in DC, I’ve been hyper focused on finding this shit in the wild but have yet to hear a single car, stereo or earbud-less iPhone speaker play this stuff on the street or metro, which makes me wonder if this sort of extremely digital hyper pop adjacent music truly exists as an internet-only trend, or if I’m truly washed up and my old ears are now immune to hearing this shit played in public.
On “Cough,” a track I’ve been enjoying lately, you get that DMV crank in full-force: Punch-in laden recordings, abrasive, trunk-rattling 808s, the sort of cloud rap beauty you’d hear elements of in an anime theme song or Super Nintendo-era dream sequence, sparse moments of brevity. The bass and digital distortion here is so intense that when I’m listening with my headphones on it makes me feel like my head is permanently locked into squigglevision. I love that feeling, but can only take him in spurts; I’ll admit I’ve never heard a full mixtape from SlimeGetEm, not because I’m confident in his ability to hold a full-length, but because I don’t know how long I can stand to hear this sound for an extended period of time. Maybe I am washed, and this sugary ASMR for aspiring car thieves is best for me to spectate, never participate.
Boldy James - “Whatchu Think” ft. Valee & MVW
It’s tough talking about Detroit rapper Boldy James without also mentioning his manic work ethic. Music pubs and Internet forum users do it. Every Apple Music description for a Boldy album released in the last year has done it. I’m doing it. And surely, yes, it is impressive. We’re four months into 2025 and he’s managed to drop five projects worth of his signature monotoned, lowkey hustler raps with a variety of producers.
What isn’t spotlighted enough by critics and rap fans alike — within the context of Boldy, and not, say, another always-releasing-shit rapper like Curren$y or Lil B — is how that constant buffet of music can be fatiguing. On the one hand, Griselda diehards and the super-consumers of New Music Fridays have more boom-bap coke raps to serve as background music while online shopping for designer furniture, glazing each other on Discord, and flipping merch releases on Grailed. On the other hand, it’s chore work tuning into new Boldy while I’m still actively digesting the last record I heard by him, the fantastic Penalty of Leadership. His backlog grows, and despite hearing from several friends, No dude, this is the Boldy album to hear, nothing has moved me into pressing play.
Not until seeing his latest single, at least. This one absolutely caught my ear because of the unexpected Valee cameo. (The recent El-P feature also caught me by surprise.) This feature did its part in breaking through the cocaine adventure vacuum he’s created for himself. Produced by composer-turned-rap-producer MVW (who apparently studied under the legendary La Monte Young?), the piano loop takes off the usual grit found on Boldy raps and smooths it out into some seaside JRPG town instrumental, giving him grounds to rise just above a mumble. I love the playful, airy manner in which Chicago’s Valee enunciates his syllables and how, surprisingly, Boldy sounds less coherent than Valee here. I need more of this from Boldy, really. Give me more rappers stepping out of their comfort zones.
Papo2oo4 & subjext 5 - Counter Strike
Jersey’s subjxct 5 produces like if the worst songs off Nas’ I Am… were actually good. I mean that sincerely. He has a knack for flossy, shiny, glistening hip-hop you’d hear from the early to mid aughts. Think Dipset, Ruff Ryders (he openly worships Swizz Beats) or Rockwilder and Trackmasters. Papo2oo4 (another rapper with a wild output) is the Styles P to his DJ Clue. The two connect with 00s-inspo that goes far and wide, with Papo’s raspy baritone voice flowing like a long lost Diplomats member over subjxct’s laser blips, stuttery hi-hats, occasional twinkles, and booming bass.
On “Counter Strike,” co-produced by Lord Unknown, Papo flows with the swagger of Remy Ma on “Lean Back”. Riddled with G-Unit-era handclaps, the oft stadium drum break, and a vocal sample and synth that gives it a PS2-era aesthetic (I’m following a pattern here with my favorite songs of this week…), it plays like a love letter to the internet-mixtape blog era. When Papo raps “Young Money shawty says she want me make her bed rock,” it’s a funny, too-obvious nod by two rap nerds raised in the internet rap trenches of the late aughts. A Rob Schneider reference in 2025? Crazy. The DJ tags at the end? Impeccable.
I’m all for blog-era worship given that ‘90s hip-hop worship has 1. been done to death 2. deferred to playlists at every natural wine bar across the nation. The aughts haven’t been tainted oversaturated yet (imo), and I’m dreading the day it happens. Until then, I’m enjoying this new album, Papoholic Vol. 1. (Side note: Do you also hear Trent Reznor on “Chopper City”?)
From my weekly journal and notebooks:
Last Sunday I caught experimental rock group (and latest best new music babes) YHWH Nailgun live and told everybody about it, and when everyone asked me how they were, I replied, “they were great, lead guy is kinda weird.” I would like to go on record in saying I was missing a keyword here; I meant aesthetically weird, not creepy weird. Zack Borzone has a sasscore energy about him, limply flailing his arms around as he sings, sometimes in a bird-like manner, occasionally giving the audience a straight-faced stare for a silent reminder: we’re in this together, enjoy this space. There’s a primitive, stripped-down element to Nailgun’s percussion that wonderfully pairs with Borzone’s doom-y, sometimes melancholic lyrics that translates well live. See them on tour while you can. They rule.
babybaby_explores opened for them, who are much better live than on record, though they had a wild energy about them I really enjoy watching. They may not be for me — those electric drums remind me too much of Tim and Eric joke music — but I’m a big fan of their vocalist dancing by way of shadowboxing and the Devo-esque synchrony. “Nice Sometimes” may be their best song.
Did you see Pitchfork brought back movie reviews? Paul Thompson on ”Warfare” is some good shit.
I’ve been playing a lot of Persona 5 Royal this week on my Switch, be proud of me for finally starting it.