Two consecutive weeks of RAT? Vainglorious!

The Kid Daytona f. Ted Smooth “The Champ” [mp3]
Wowiewow.

Aleon Craft “Project Blue Beam” [mp3]
Aleon Craft “Time Machine” [mp3]
More than 2/3rds of this new Aleon tape is unlistenable BoB garbagio but the good stuff is REALLY, REALLY, REALLY good. Like the previously praised “Donkey Kong,” “Blue Beam”s hypnotic ATL Bass-isms, and the Cake sampling “Time Machine.”

Fabolous “I Ain’t In Love” [mp3]
Speaking of samples, this does not flip the best 10cc song ever. Instead, Loso interpolates Lauryn Hill. What a gyp.

Keak Da Sneak “Maxi Pads” [mp3]
In other switcheroo news, this ain’t what you think it’s about, either. (That would be Black Squad Click’s “Dat Bitch Say Her Period On,” presented without comment.) However, as a new slap off Keak’s all-DJ Fresh produced (!!!) forthcoming album, “Maxi Pads” is THEE SHITT.

Mal The Boss “Like This” [mp3]
A laundry list of all the best, most obnoxious bits of trap / swag rap (farty hi-hat rolls, steel drum, bow bow bow) coming at you at once, courtesy of OJ Da Juiceman’s weed carrier.

Twista f. Raekwon “The Heat” [mp3]
Today in Twista boasts: “as good as Pelican Brief is.” Grisham!

Dogg Pound “I Fears No One” [mp3]
“Cali Iz Active” was four years ago?!? Since then Kurrupt and Daz haven’t had anything close to a hit, but they can always be relied upon to drop a new batch of RAT-worthy tunes every year or so. The new 100 Wayz LP is particularly consistent, making it hard to pick a standout on an album of album tracks. There are multiple RBX and Lady Of Rage appearances on this shit! But “I Fears…” wins thanks to sample choice and a sentiment we can all get behind. Unless you scared, in which case, go to church.

Kyleon f. Juice “Live At 5” [mp3]
In other (sorta) Cali rap developments, here’s two guys from Houston and Phoenix making surprisingly convincing g-funk. Whoda thunk it? Back in a past life as a scrappy young Fader editor, one of the first “front of book” mini-stories I worked on was a day-in-the-life kinda thing about Slim Thug, who was just about to release “I Ain’t Heard Of That” and make his first ventures out of Houston. We started out at the Hilton accross from Radio City (where I would later DJ an insane Fox News Christmas party but that’s another anecdote) and went on promo runs to Music Choice, Sirius, etc with an Interscope radio rep and various Boss Hogg Outlawz in tow. One of them was Kyleon, on his first trip to New York, and I didn’t have enough space to write about how he kept asking me about 9/11 while drawing elaborate BHOz logos in blue magic marker on the wall of every studio we visited. Rap music! Also Slim Thug is awesome on Twitter now.