Staff Picks and Good Shit for the Week of September 5, Featuring Evan Weiss of Into It. Over It.

This is the worst Friday of the year because it marks the end of Summer Fridays. And to rub it in that we're stuck on a nine to five schedule, today's date is 9-5. Ugh. Since we have to be stuck in this office all afternoon when we could be down at the beach getting our bronze on and coming up with sweet tanning names for ourselves (Burnest Hemmingway and LeBronze James are top contenders), so do you. In spirit. Anyway, here’s what the Noisey editors have been listening to this week. Joining us today is our favorite emo revivalist (whatever that means) and all-around nice guy, Evan Weiss. Take it away, Evan…

A phenomenal blend of equally fun and pissed jams, reminiscent of my favorite parts of the Bad Brains' ROIR cassette, 90s era Lemonheads, and NYHC a la Sick Of It All. Somehow (I know… it sounds crazy) this combination works for 12 songs, making for an excellent debut LP from this Baltimore band. ADD never sounded so good.

Evan on Twitter

Kindness has a new album coming out in October and I am extremely excited about it. It features collaborations with Robyn, Dev Hynes, Kelela, Daniel Aged (inc.), and Syd Tha Kyd! But October seems like a long ways away. In the meantime Adam Bainbridge dropped this new tune earlier this week which features some deftly deployed sax (everyone needs more sax), clattering effects last utilized by C&C Music Factory and Salt-N-Pepa, and a glorious melodic switch up for the chorus. Love.

Kim Taylor Bennett, Style Editor
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For all the hand-wringing in the last couple years about the various ways in which The Migos and The Chief Keefs are destroying hip-hop, there's also been an uptick, it seems to me, in the number of Serious Lyricists who make pretty traditionally minded hip-hop and, unlike their older counterparts tied to record contracts, aren't interested in making commercial concessions or crossover bids. Yet even with the enthusiasm this wave of rappers has generated, it also seems to me that there's a bit of identity crisis in terms of what "lyrical hip-hop" might actually be or be worth in the era of The Migos and The Chief Keefs. On one hand, guys like Bishop Nehru or Your Old Droog are safe bets for blog posts because they sound technically and objectively good. On the other, there's not much going on there that feels like forward progress for the genre. It just sounds good. Which is why Mick Jenkins interests me. He's a really strong rapper who has smart lyrics, a refreshingly overt political stance, and an effortless delivery. He's a unique presence in current-day Chicago and a nice counterbalance to the rest of the scene. But he also raps in a way that's musical, using his voice like an instrument, dipping into unexpected baritone singing, stretching out words, and growling when appropriate. Listening to The Water(s) feels a little like listening to Kendrick Lamar pre-GKMC, when it was clear he was learning how to harness his explosive talent into an interesting product. Mick's lyrics are great, but even when they are less than great, he makes his voice sound interesting, leaning into a phrase like "riding round off this ginger alllle" or snarling out the word "record exec." Progress in hip-hop has always been about pushing lyricism outside of its comfort zone, and I can see Mick Jenkins doing that. But beyond all my dumb theories, this mixtape is just really enjoyable to listen to.

Kyle Kramer, Editor
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I love samples like this: taut loops that work in symbiosis with a rapper, each propelling the other forward. The little LA gangster Vince Staples has been slowly gathering steam over the past few years, and his moment of triumph might just be upon us. Staples raps like he's seen so much shit he's prematurely dead inside. He sees the world as a dark place, one where you might want to pick up a gun because you know your dad killed a guy, or where your break-out hit could hypothetically be an ode to Cripping. Though Staples certainly raps with a grave mindset, there's something joyful about the way he puts words together, like it's his one respite from the world of shit threatening to suck him down in it. He doesn't make being a gangster sound fun, but he makes trying to escape seem worthwhile.

Drew Millard, Features Editor

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[gets lyrics to this entire song tattooed on body]

Dan Ozzi, Editor
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When the whole Bobby Shmurda/"Hot Boy" thing started blowing up my Twitter timeline over a month ago, the first thing my roommate and I did was binge-watch every GS9 video available on YouTube. Immediately, two things became evident: these kids are the best, and Rowdy Rebel is the real star. His demeanour reminded me of a younger Waka Flocka Flame, as they both seemed to possess the ability to be threatening and charming at equal levels at the same damn time. One of the best tracks I found from Rowdy, and the one that sealed the deal on my fandom, was a remix of "Money Baby" with Richie P, obviously titled "Shmoney Baby" (http://youtu.be/tYtEJyUMEfE). Now, that duo is back with another song and it's amazing. For his first verse, Rowdy is rapping while seemingly blowing raspberries, but once they start trading bars on the second verse, Rowdy really goes off. Richie P is kind of whatever as a rapper, but it doesn't help that the only time I've ever heard him was when he's on a song with Rowdy Rebel. I'm pretty sure Nas would be boring if he was featured on a Rowdy Rebel song. Oh my god, can we use the internet's collective bargaining power to make Nas feature on a Rowdy Rebel song?!!

Slava Pastuk, Canadian Editor
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This past Monday like 5.8 million other Americans, I watched the season finale of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians." Because they didn't show Kimye's actual wedding—just everything leading up to it—the highlight of the episode had to be when we got to hear a non-audience-recorded version of "Awesome," the beyond-love song Kanye wrote for Kim. I would be lying if I said it was the song I most listened to this week—but it is absolutely the most unforgettable song of the week. It's corny and sappy but it's also the yin to Yeezus' monologue-heavy yang. It's another reminder that we'll never quite be able to figure out Ye, no matter how hard we try.

Marissa G. Muller, Guest Editor
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Hey this is Eric and definitely not one of your other favorite writers on Noisey filling in for him. My pick for this week is "DnF" by P Reign, a song that sounds so good that it make me just want to go get drunk and fuck stuff. I went to see Kanye West perform for like the seventeenth time last weekend, and that made me want to get drunk and fuck stuff too, but not as much as this song by P Reign does. The world is a dark and bitter swirl of loathing and treachery, so sometimes the only thing will make us feel like we're not going through it alone is another person who will get drunk with us. And then let us fuck.

Eric Sundermann, Managing Editor
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It's not really a big deal for most people in the age of everyone having a video camera in their hip pocket, but if you've been around for a while then you know that video of a live show is a rare thing for the 90s and early 00s. I recently went on a spree to try and find videos of old shows I went to in the past. I found a

Jawbreaker show

. I found a

Snapcase show

. And that brought me back to the single largest show I ever went to, which also was caught on video in full, New Order at Reading Festival 1998 (yes, full lineup). That show literally changed my life.

Fred Pessaro, Noisey, Editor-in-Chief
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