It's Thanksgiving later this week, which means the Noisey staff is preparing an argument on how to explain to grandma why Migos are better than The Beatles. We're also giving thanks for the latest edition of Music to Fake Shore Driveby, our montly column from our friends at Chicago's premiere hip-hop blog, Fake Shore Drive. This month's mix features Alex Wiley, Freddie Gibbs, Fredo Santana, Lil Durk, DeJ Loaf, and more. Stream it below, and on this Turkey Day, be sure to give thanks for the one thing in your life that will never let you down: rap music.
Former GBE member SD is one of the true unsung heroes of Chicago’s Drill movement. While crew members like Chief Keef and Fredo Santana are more well-known and have garnered most of the attention, SD has been quietly dropping dope material over the past couple years. He stepped away from the collective earlier this year to work on a new album, the recently-released, Truly Blessed, which just might be the best GBE release since Chief Keef's Finally Rich. It’s lead by the single “Circles” which is one of the best albeit weirdest singles of the year. –ABBillard - "Can’t Get Enough"
I Am Billard, a mixtape from Cleveland representative Billard, flew under the radar for most—it didn’t get past me though. The 12-track project includes one of my favorite songs at the moment, “I Can’t Get Enough,” and, seriously, I can’t get enough of this joint. —THKing Louie - "Clones"
King Louie has had a regal 2014. But it’s tough being King. Not only is the head heavy that wears the crown, but there are also plenty of clones waiting impatiently to snatch some of your shine (not to mention your scepter). So this joint is straight sovereignty on wax—and it doesn’t take Lou long to get his point across. —ABLamb$ feat. Key!, Reese, and Tezo - "Digi Scale (Remix)"
“Digi Scale” from Cincinnati native Lamb$ was already pretty awesome, but the DJ Osh Kosh-orchestrated remix is even more awesome. Noisey premiered the track's video. Key!, Reese, and Cleveland emcee Tezo add some weight to this already heavy joint. —THLupe Fiasco feat. PJ - "Mazinger"
We still have a little time to wait for Lupe’s Tetsuo and Youth LP, but Lu’s been releasing some songs to make the wait a little better. One of the standouts from his recent offerings is “Mazinger,” a joint that finds Lu switching up his flow and giving us over five minutes of crazy wordplay. Consider this record your yearly reminder that Lu’s skills on the mic are serious. —THAlex Wiley - “Booty Club (Goin Dumb Again)”
Sometimes you gotta make that booty club go dumb. Word to E-40. Alex Wiley takes it to the booty club and pays for some VIP action in the champagne room over this bouncy party-starter. You know what, he’s smart. Nothing dumb about this one. —ABMontana of 300 - "Ice Cream Truck"
No Percy Miller on this one, but Montana does go full Ice Cream Man with "Ice Cream Truck." The content is overly aggressive, but the bouncy beat and catchy melody from Montana makes this one easy to digest—and actually sounds like something that could be played at a children's birthday party. —ABDeJ Loaf - “We Be On It”
Now that the weather has turned brick cold (at least in the Midwest), DeJ’s Sell Sole mixtape has been a soundtrack of sorts for the region. It's the perfect backdrop for the frigid weather that descends upon the great lake states. Sell Sole is meant to be played during this time—especially the addictive “We Be On It.” —ABDusty McFly - "Watch Me Ball Out"
Nothing like some smooth Detroit player ish, right? Dusty delivers just that with the Cardo-produced “Watch Me Ball Out.” If listening to this joint doesn’t make you want to throw on a fur and some Gucci loafers like DeJ Loaf, you’re not living right. —THJ1m C2LE feat. Payroll Giovanni - “Why You Mad At Me”
Payroll Giovanni is one of the dopest MCs in the game right now. Yes, you should be paying attention to Payroll, and yes you should be talking about it. Listen to him body this slow roller from J1m C2LE—haters be damned. If the Doughboyz Cashout aren’t on your radar yet, that’s your loss. —ABWhite Gzus - “Money Up”
The duo of Blanco Caine and Gzus Piece connected to form the supergroup of sorts, White Gzus, and have dropped one of the best Chicago projects of the year, Stackin N Mackin Vol. 1. It's packed wall to wall with straight rider music. But familiarize yourself with the duo via this familiar sample on “Money Up” first. If you’re not hooked, we’ll give you your money back. —ABSpenzo feat. Young Thug - “I’m So Sorry”
What, you thought Spenzo was gonna take a break after “WifeEr”? Nah, think again. After making major waves with the aforementioned single in 2013 and 2014, he’s back with another monster for the clubs, and this one comes in the form of the earworm “I’m So Sorry.” With Thugger on the hook, this is one that is sure not to leave your head anytime soon. Once they put their full foot into promoting this track, it’s absolutely out of here. Chicago has already taken notice. —AB#100Trill - "Head Down"
A familiar No Limit flip mixed in with a little Chicago-style ratchet gives Dem #100Trill Boyz the best song of their career thus far as a duo. Who says Chi City doesn't make party music? You can't deny this one. —ABYoung Chop feat. Lil Durk "Murder Team"
You may have slept on Young Chop’s Still LP, but you shouldn’t have. The album features some solid collaborations with Ty Dolla $ign, 808 Mafia, and Chief Keef, but one of the highlights of the project is “Murder Team” featuring Lil Durk. Durk ditches Auto-Tune here and straight spits over the tough backdrop from Chop. —THFreddie Gibbs - "Sellin Dope"
Gangsta Gibbs and Grand Theft Auto are two things that I’m pretty sure I’ll never get tired of. I was excited to see Gibbs featured on the original GTAV soundtrack, but I’m even more excited for his new addition to GTA Radio. “Sellin’ Dope,” produced by the legendary Mike Dean, is the perfect soundtrack for being a menace on the streets of Los Santos, and you can believe I’ll be doing just that with this joint blaring. —THShorty K - “No Problem”
Shorty lands on the Noisey x FSD mix yet again—which comes as no surprise. He’s having a breakout year, and he impresses with his latest, “No Problems.” You don’t want problems, and you definitely don’t want to keep sleeping on Shorty. It’s problematic. —ABG.o.D. Jewels - "Money Machine"
G.o.D. Jewels and producer/MC Vyle connected on “Money Machine,” the second single from Jewels’ forthcoming Go On Dreaming album. I knew this record was going to be awesome when Jewels kicked off his first verse by flipping the hook from ZMoney’s “Want My Money.” —THLil STL feat. Yo Gotti "I Can’t Cook"
Lil St. Louis a.k.a. Lil STL is one of my favorite artists out of St. Louis, and his Young & Reckless mixtape from late 2013 was super slept on. “Can’t Cook” originally appeared on Young & Reckless, but it just received the single treatment earlier this year. An oldie, but goodie. —THFredo Santana feat. Lil Reese - “Go to War”
Fredo gets the band back together and invites longtime collaborator Lil Reese to take the competition to war. Fredo and Reesie get ready for the front line and go straight to the mattresses over this Hurt Boy AG beat. This is reminiscent of the rough, rugged and raw GBE material the world first took notice to back in 2012. Sometimes it’s best to just get back to basics. “Go to War” definitely has the opposition waving white flags. —AB
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SD - “Circles”
Former GBE member SD is one of the true unsung heroes of Chicago’s Drill movement. While crew members like Chief Keef and Fredo Santana are more well-known and have garnered most of the attention, SD has been quietly dropping dope material over the past couple years. He stepped away from the collective earlier this year to work on a new album, the recently-released, Truly Blessed, which just might be the best GBE release since Chief Keef's Finally Rich. It’s lead by the single “Circles” which is one of the best albeit weirdest singles of the year. –ABBillard - "Can’t Get Enough"
I Am Billard, a mixtape from Cleveland representative Billard, flew under the radar for most—it didn’t get past me though. The 12-track project includes one of my favorite songs at the moment, “I Can’t Get Enough,” and, seriously, I can’t get enough of this joint. —THKing Louie - "Clones"
King Louie has had a regal 2014. But it’s tough being King. Not only is the head heavy that wears the crown, but there are also plenty of clones waiting impatiently to snatch some of your shine (not to mention your scepter). So this joint is straight sovereignty on wax—and it doesn’t take Lou long to get his point across. —ABLamb$ feat. Key!, Reese, and Tezo - "Digi Scale (Remix)"
“Digi Scale” from Cincinnati native Lamb$ was already pretty awesome, but the DJ Osh Kosh-orchestrated remix is even more awesome. Noisey premiered the track's video. Key!, Reese, and Cleveland emcee Tezo add some weight to this already heavy joint. —TH
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We still have a little time to wait for Lupe’s Tetsuo and Youth LP, but Lu’s been releasing some songs to make the wait a little better. One of the standouts from his recent offerings is “Mazinger,” a joint that finds Lu switching up his flow and giving us over five minutes of crazy wordplay. Consider this record your yearly reminder that Lu’s skills on the mic are serious. —THAlex Wiley - “Booty Club (Goin Dumb Again)”
Sometimes you gotta make that booty club go dumb. Word to E-40. Alex Wiley takes it to the booty club and pays for some VIP action in the champagne room over this bouncy party-starter. You know what, he’s smart. Nothing dumb about this one. —ABMontana of 300 - "Ice Cream Truck"
No Percy Miller on this one, but Montana does go full Ice Cream Man with "Ice Cream Truck." The content is overly aggressive, but the bouncy beat and catchy melody from Montana makes this one easy to digest—and actually sounds like something that could be played at a children's birthday party. —ABDeJ Loaf - “We Be On It”
Now that the weather has turned brick cold (at least in the Midwest), DeJ’s Sell Sole mixtape has been a soundtrack of sorts for the region. It's the perfect backdrop for the frigid weather that descends upon the great lake states. Sell Sole is meant to be played during this time—especially the addictive “We Be On It.” —ABDusty McFly - "Watch Me Ball Out"
Nothing like some smooth Detroit player ish, right? Dusty delivers just that with the Cardo-produced “Watch Me Ball Out.” If listening to this joint doesn’t make you want to throw on a fur and some Gucci loafers like DeJ Loaf, you’re not living right. —TH
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Payroll Giovanni is one of the dopest MCs in the game right now. Yes, you should be paying attention to Payroll, and yes you should be talking about it. Listen to him body this slow roller from J1m C2LE—haters be damned. If the Doughboyz Cashout aren’t on your radar yet, that’s your loss. —ABWhite Gzus - “Money Up”
The duo of Blanco Caine and Gzus Piece connected to form the supergroup of sorts, White Gzus, and have dropped one of the best Chicago projects of the year, Stackin N Mackin Vol. 1. It's packed wall to wall with straight rider music. But familiarize yourself with the duo via this familiar sample on “Money Up” first. If you’re not hooked, we’ll give you your money back. —ABSpenzo feat. Young Thug - “I’m So Sorry”
What, you thought Spenzo was gonna take a break after “WifeEr”? Nah, think again. After making major waves with the aforementioned single in 2013 and 2014, he’s back with another monster for the clubs, and this one comes in the form of the earworm “I’m So Sorry.” With Thugger on the hook, this is one that is sure not to leave your head anytime soon. Once they put their full foot into promoting this track, it’s absolutely out of here. Chicago has already taken notice. —AB#100Trill - "Head Down"
A familiar No Limit flip mixed in with a little Chicago-style ratchet gives Dem #100Trill Boyz the best song of their career thus far as a duo. Who says Chi City doesn't make party music? You can't deny this one. —AB
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You may have slept on Young Chop’s Still LP, but you shouldn’t have. The album features some solid collaborations with Ty Dolla $ign, 808 Mafia, and Chief Keef, but one of the highlights of the project is “Murder Team” featuring Lil Durk. Durk ditches Auto-Tune here and straight spits over the tough backdrop from Chop. —THFreddie Gibbs - "Sellin Dope"
Gangsta Gibbs and Grand Theft Auto are two things that I’m pretty sure I’ll never get tired of. I was excited to see Gibbs featured on the original GTAV soundtrack, but I’m even more excited for his new addition to GTA Radio. “Sellin’ Dope,” produced by the legendary Mike Dean, is the perfect soundtrack for being a menace on the streets of Los Santos, and you can believe I’ll be doing just that with this joint blaring. —THShorty K - “No Problem”
Shorty lands on the Noisey x FSD mix yet again—which comes as no surprise. He’s having a breakout year, and he impresses with his latest, “No Problems.” You don’t want problems, and you definitely don’t want to keep sleeping on Shorty. It’s problematic. —ABG.o.D. Jewels - "Money Machine"
G.o.D. Jewels and producer/MC Vyle connected on “Money Machine,” the second single from Jewels’ forthcoming Go On Dreaming album. I knew this record was going to be awesome when Jewels kicked off his first verse by flipping the hook from ZMoney’s “Want My Money.” —THLil STL feat. Yo Gotti "I Can’t Cook"
Lil St. Louis a.k.a. Lil STL is one of my favorite artists out of St. Louis, and his Young & Reckless mixtape from late 2013 was super slept on. “Can’t Cook” originally appeared on Young & Reckless, but it just received the single treatment earlier this year. An oldie, but goodie. —THFredo Santana feat. Lil Reese - “Go to War”
Fredo gets the band back together and invites longtime collaborator Lil Reese to take the competition to war. Fredo and Reesie get ready for the front line and go straight to the mattresses over this Hurt Boy AG beat. This is reminiscent of the rough, rugged and raw GBE material the world first took notice to back in 2012. Sometimes it’s best to just get back to basics. “Go to War” definitely has the opposition waving white flags. —AB