Money Makin' Nique has been steadily making a case for himself as one of the funnier, more nimble lyricists in the Atlanta scene, putting out music that's traditional enough to appeal to hip-hop purists while tapping into the creative energy of his city's musical underground alongside artists like Two-9, Rome Fortune, and EarthGang. Earlier this year, he dropped "Rent Money," a heartfelt, aspirational tribute to the come-up with a soulful side thanks to contributions from Marian Mereba and India Shawn. The hook, "it feels good right now, don't know if it'll last but it should right now," is a success narrative attuned to the real world, where victories are sometimes minor and sometimes fleeting. In the fickle world of artistic pursuits or of, say, a tumultuous economy in general, it's a pretty familiar feeling.One cool thing about the Atlanta scene is that its restless so-called underground is about one studio wall removed from the same people dominating radio, which means that a song like "Rent Money" was able to seamlessly make its way to champion crooner Lloyd, who then offered up a verse for it because he liked it so much. That remix appears below and can also be found on producer DJ Slade's mixtape Hotter Than July 19th, which just dropped. Nique says of the collaboration:"Lloyd getting on 'Rent Money' happened in the most organic way. India was laying her vocals when he came through the studio and heard it. He really liked it and asked who it was. Slade pointed to me, and that's how we were introduced to each other. I guess he really fucked with it because Slade called me late as hell one night and told me Lloyd wanted to put a verse on it. Then Lloyd left me a comment on [Instagram] saying he couldn't get the song out of his head. When I came to the studio a few days later it was done. I'm really just happy with how the whole thing went down. When the shit is good it speaks for itself… Shouts to the big homie Lloyd."Lloyd's contribution is ideal, pushing the song even further into the realest of feelings and shooting for even loftier goals: "I'll be like Ali/Pablo and Dali/Soulja and Pimp C/I just hope y'all remember me" (that's Soulja Slim, not Soulja Boy, and Pablo Picasso, by the way). Dream big, kids. Like, Spanish surrealist painter or Southern hip-hop legend big. Check out the "Rent Money (Remix)" below:
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