5 Songs for Your Saturday

By Julian Cuebas

1. Yacht Club- Lil Yachty ft. Juice WRLD

2018 has been the year I started listening to Bubble Gum Trap. When it was first pioneered I had mixed feelings. I have a tendency to hate on pop music. It has to be art pop like Lorde or Bruno Mars for me to enjoy it. Music with integrity is important to me. But, in the last year or so I have realized music is about conveying a message to an audience. It doesn’t matter what the message is, as long as someone receives it. That’s what makes a song enjoyable in my opinion. With my relaxed definition of good music, I have been able to enjoy more music like “Yacht Club” with Lil Yachty and Juice WRLD. These two artists spend the majority of the tracks delivering witty tradeoffs over a minimalistic clavichord beat.

Favorite bars:
“Reach for my chain, you'll get beat just like Nexus
Lamborghini dreams, but you still drive a Lexus
I'm a young king, I might fuck Alexis Texas
But I ain't on no Drake shit, I won't get her pregnant”

Conclusion: Lil Boat's airy positivity and Juice WRLDs dark undertones makes a balanced floaty collaboration that I want to hear more of.

2. SICKO MODE - Travis Scott ft. Drake

I think there are two clear contenders for video of the year: Travis Scott’s “SICKO MODE” and A$AP Rocky’s “A$AP Forever.” It’s evermore fueled by the clashes of the two monolith rappers over the last year. This songs bass and drum heavy production creates an ear worm that ages like fine wine. Add a rapper that hasn’t left the billboard since February (Drake), Travis Scott riding a horse in one of the opening scenes, and now the pair of rappers has created a historical hit. I have always found psychedelic flexing to be a delicate balance. Because it’s hard to balance materialism with the abstract in a corporate society. However Travis Scott is on the forefront of rappers accomplishing this task. I shifted in and out of feelings of flexing then to wondering the importance of money and the weight of millions on a person in a single song.

Favorite bars:
“Different colored chains, think my jeweler really sellin' fruits
And they chokin', man, know the crackers wish it was a noose”
 
“Yeah, this shit way too formal, y'all know I don’t follow suit”
 
“Had me out like a light (Like a light)
Like a light (Like a light)
Like a light (Like a light)
Like a light”
           
Conclusion: Sicko Mode had me, OUT LIKE A LIGHT, LIKE A LIGHT…!!!

3. Ordinary Day - Logic

It’s a Wednesday, sixty degrees, I’m riding around with my friends, and we’re listening to Ordinary Day by Logic. This song has a breakbeat that takes us through the day regardless of its a little good or a little bad. This tracks feel good nature is infectious and takes something normal and makes it extraordinary. Logic has had an amazing couple of years and furthers his career by being relatable. This song is about being normal. Which is contrastive of a lot of hip-hop natures to be extravagant. In writing a song about a day with nothing special happening it becomes a marvelous song.

Favorite bars:
“It was an ordinary day until
I saw you crawl around my way”

​Conclusion: Logics ordinary days are different than ours but he still manages to relate to his listener by making them feel the benefits of a day in the life.


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4. 151 Rum - J.I.D. 

J.I.D is one of my favorite rappers out right now. And as we anticipate DiCaprio 2 he gave us the track “151 Rum” which is a discontinued Bacardi rum that had warning levels of its flammability. I’m Puerto Rican, and Bacardi is my drink and rum of choice. This song has it all for me: Dexterous lyricism, a saw synth line, bars that keep the listener conscious of the struggle of the story teller, and non-stop flow.

Favorite Bars:
“Son of a god, son of a bitch
Son of woman and man, son of a son, in a sunken abyss”
 
“Fuck that, this some real ass shit, I paid blood for this
Taking cheese from the government
Cereal boxes with the bugs in it
Hand me down this my brother brother shit”

​Conclusion: J.I.D is one of the best rappers in the new wave, destined for success in this industry, and everyone should go back and listen to the first DiCaprio on SoundCloud.

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5. Pretty Little Fears - 6lack ft. J. Cole

​Everyone goes through relationship struggles. Each time a relationship is tested it’s up to the people in that relationship to choose whether they will face the problem together, or keep their respective walls up, and distance themselves from their partner. I don’t hear songs often about a vulnerable declaration of love anymore. A lot of the songs are heartbreak and disconnecting from a partner instead of getting closer in hard times. Baggage can weigh a relationship down, but acceptance can give a relationship the strength to stand. This songs hazy production and melodic flows offers trust and comfort through relationship problems that 6lack and J. Cole face.
 
Favorite Bars:
 
“Do better, who better?
You better? Been around, like hella, propellers”
 
“I'm lovin' your light, vulnerable
Lettin' your guard down, it's honorable”
 
“I'm your dog, ears perk up at the sound of your name
Count on your main, wildfire, can't handle your flame”
 
“You plant a seed to grow some roots, a branch and leaves
Becomes a tree of life until our nights are filled
With peace from stress and strife”
 
Conclusion: Real love is deeper than the fun we all fantasize. It’s an intimate experience and an exchange in ways of life. Learning someone and mending their scars. 6lack and J. Cole are genuine people with souls that bring out the intimacy and empathy of others.