Sounding Off!: Hammock’s Hits for Week of Sept. 5

Welcome back to Hammock’s Hits, where I select five of the best releases from the past week to showcase and hopefully land on your playlists.

This past week had some quality releases, and below you’ll find the best of the best.

5. Freddie Gibbs: Too Much (ft. Moneybagg Yo)

Freddie Gibbs has returned from hiatus with new music ahead of his new album, recently announced to drop on Sept. 30. This track is a lot more melodic than what Freddie usually puts out, though he’s seen some success with this style in past songs like “Gat Damn” or “Gang Signs.”

Moneybagg Yo provides a great verse, the peak of the track in my opinion, complemented by Freddie’s hook and verse directly leading into the feature. Recently promoting his upcoming release with billboards over America, I’m sure that we’ll see more quality tracks out of Freddie Gibbs in the near future.

4. Lil Baby: Detox

Lil Baby is widely recognized as one of the most consistent artists in the game, and his upcoming album has been highly anticipated by fans and critics alike.

His new single “Detox,” which was released last Friday, includes everything you’d expect from a classic Lil Baby cut, from bouncy drums to a processed guitar melody.

Lil Baby’s consistency is definitely apparent in songs like these, and in just four days after release, the song is nearing the three million mark in Spotify streams at the time of this publication.

This song is definitely worth a listen, and you can expect to see his upcoming album tear up the charts sooner rather than later.

3. Pi’erre Bourne: Safe Haven

In back to back weeks, Pi’erre Bourne released the single “Good Movie,” and followed up with an album of the same name. “Safe Haven” is one of the standout tracks from this project in my opinion, blending multiple styles of hip hop into one track.

This track is most comparable to songs of his like “Hacked My Instagram,” and the catchy melodic elements in his vocal performance blend perfectly with the booming 808s on the low end here.

This is one of those tracks that you can just sit back and vibe out to, similar to most of Pi’erre’s music.

He is set to tour later this month.

2. Smino: 24-8

Similar to Lil Baby, Smino is an artist whose album is highly anticipated by fans, given that his last full-length project was released back in 2018 with “NØIR,” and he has blessed fans with a YouTube exclusive track, “24-8” featuring production by Illinois-based producer Phoelix.

With melodic vocal delivery, witty bars, and a syncopated, loose beat, this track is everything you would expect from an artist like Smino.

Though not on streaming services, it’s definitely a song worth your time.

1. Kenny Beats: Last Words

A track off of Connecticut born, Los Angeles-based producer Kenny Beats’ debut album “LOUIE,” intentionally offbeat drums and a melancholy top layer electric guitar make for a slow, laid-back relaxing instrumental.

This track features a beautiful vocal performance from New Jersey’s Fousheé, which Kenny treats as a sample rather than a part of a song, using her voice as an instrument to create a unique, creative element on top of the track.

Kenny even calls Long Beach rapper Vince Staples to provide a spoken word section at the end to wrap up the sensational instrumental track, as well as using him for distorted scratch sections throughout the beat.

Long story short, Kenny Beats has made a splash with this track, and with his debut album overall. I’m sure this isn’t the last we’ll see from his solo career.

That’s all for this week’s top 5, catch a new list next week to keep up with what’s hot and worth listening to!

You have something I should check out of missed, please let me know in the comments section below.

Until next time, this is Dylan Sounding Off!