ALL CAPS Weekly 001: XXL, Deepfakes and Season Finales
Big week for local artists
Yo! Monday, Monday, Monday motherf***ers, Monday is the motherf***in’ deadline!
You *****s knew that shit, let’s get to it man.
— Freddie Gibbs
Yo! Today’s ALL CAPS Weekly comes off the back of our podcast’s season finale — a multi-genre gauntlet where we recommend hip hop for fans of other genres such as pop, metal, country and more.
In the news, we hit up the XXL Freshman Class for 2023, share our impressions of a new AI-driven video from Lyrical Lemonade, Cordae and the late Juice WRLD, and Lenny reacts to a killer DNA rendition by Sampa The Great.
Our track roundup is full of features and posse cuts this week. We highlight two impeccable drops from the land down under, and dive into new releases from The Alchemist, Earl Sweatshirt, Jay Rock, Chika, JK-47 and ALL CAPS newcomer Kash Kyla.
Also, we’ve got new stickers — illustrated by Lenny and designed by Chad. Drop by CBCB if you’re in the area for a freebie.
Alright Cappers (let’s see if that sticks), let’s get into it! 👇
XXL Freshman Class 2023
Welp, it’s that time of year again.
Whether you’re on the hunt for new hip hop or simply froth the cringe highlights coming off XXL’s annual Freshman Classes, the hip hop magazine’s new-talent showcase is always a talking piece among rap fans.
This year’s artists include:
Finesse2tymes
Lola Brooke
Rob49
Fridayy
GloRilla
2Rare
SleazyWorld Go
Central Cee
Real Boston Richey
Luh Tyler
TiaCorine
DC The Don
And production by recurrent powerhouse Pi'erre Bourne.
Some of the more obvious picks in here include Central Cee, who went viral after his deftly named hit ‘Doja’ in 2022, and GloRilla, who’s been the talk of the town among other artists such as Ice Spice and Coi Leray in the proverbial “Carefree Black Girl” movement.
Standouts for the ALL CAPS boys include TiaCorine — who’s been an absolute joy to listen to through her respective 2021 and 2022 LPs, and who also went viral for her ‘FreakyT’ dance trend on TikTok.
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Other than that, Chad was quick to point out the absurdity of some of the names in the Freshman Class. I mean, it’s hard not to bat an eye at monikers like Finesse2tymes and SleazyWorld Go.
One has to wonder if these seemingly lackadaisical naming choices could impede artist growth, but hey, stranger things have happened.
Juice WRLD Deepfake
Multi-media music outfit Lyrical Lemonade dropped a music video with Cordae and the late Juice WRLD titled ‘Doomsday’.
Rapped over the instrumental from Eminem’s classic ‘Role Model’, the new song utilises AI-powered deepfake technology to visualise the tag-team bars between Cordae and Juice, super-imposing the late artist’s likeness over Cordae in a fun, respectful homage to Juice’s legacy.
While Lenny was initially tentative at the use of AI to produce a deceased artist’s likeness, the video wraps up with some archival footage of Juice and Cordae actually creating the track in the studio before the artist’s tragic 2019 passing — demonstrating a strong comradery between the rappers and making it clear Juice WRLD was impassioned for the song.
The video ends with a callout for those suffering with mental health complications to hit up a Crisis Text Line by Live Free 999 — an organisation backing mental health treatments and drug use alternatives — founded by Carmela Wallace after her son Juice WRLD’s passing.
“Juice WRLD touched the world, but Jarad was my son.” - Carmela Wallace
“I promise to continue your message of healing and use Live Free 999 as an avenue to normalize the conversation around mental health and substance dependency and help those who suffer in silence” - Carmela Wallace
For the ALL CAPS crew, ‘Doomsday’ represents an ethical use-case for AI in arts — something hard to come by outside of the occasional homage.
Sampa The Great covers DNA for Triple J’s ‘Like A Version’
It's cold in here Must be a Sampa Like A Version in the atmosphere
This enchanting, cinematic, rock-influenced Sampa The Great cover of Kendrick Lamar’s ‘DNA’ popped up in my algorithm today.
While it’s been out for 9 months, it’s🔥enough to warrant some coverage.
Sampa comes through with a strong rendition of the Compton king’s 2017 hit — sprinkling the track with odes to the African diaspora and some presumably Zambia-language backing chants.
African states, most copied and most hated
Africa is the greatest ghostwriter in the world
Word, fuck what you heard
Straight outta the "third world"
It’s a rollercoaster of a cover which fuses elements of ‘Money Trees’, ‘DNA’ and shoutouts to the likes of The Fugees, Tupac, Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliot.
By the time it builds to its masterful crescendo, I’d already hit the replay button.
Weekly Wrap Picks
Like the end of a questionable IGN review, this weeks track roundup has “a little something for everyone”.
The leading track off The Alchemist’s new EP ‘Flying High’ sees Earl Sweatshirt and billy woods spit some signature poetry about designer jeans, running out of lies, and Ghostface Killah’s apparently overcrowded crib.
Ghostface Killah crib was overcrowded, I know the feelin'
'Cept now it's a house of mirrors I've broken into
The whole reveal on some Jordan Peele shit
— Earl Sweatshirt
Meanwhile, Naarm/Melbourne-based collective Picked Last drops a posse cut as dense as it is smooth with ‘NO CLUE’ (featuring Agung Mango, Boy Ace, A81yann, Manny Müla, Eissa, and inhales Porter Rico), and everybody’s favourite big-boned rappers go bar-for-bar about who’s the huskier hunk on ‘Fat Blacc Twins’ by Maxo Kream and Bfb Da Pacman.
Relative newcomer Kash Kyla drops a braggadocios homage to Trina with the single ‘Like Me’, Jay Rock breaks his hiatus with an Eastside banger featuring Kal Banx (chaotic/dope music video), and Chika strikes gold on her unlikely paring with the cocaine rabbit himself Freddie Gibbs in ‘Truth or Dare’.
Finally, Aboriginal artist JK-47 drops a f***ing bop about flipping problems into progress on ‘Rain’. Featuring silky production, immaculate flow and beautiful choir vocals, JK-47, Jay Orient, Adrian Eagle and too many artists to credit here really made something special on this one.
This track has been such a growth process, musically and mentally.
Nearly 2 YEARS in the making and we’re so glad to to be sharing this journey with you all 💛
— JK-47
ALL CAPS #011 — Genre-based recommendations and Season Finale
Have you ever wondered what country singers and rappers have in common?
This week’s podcast sees Chad and Lenny discussing hip hop tracks based on their proximity to other genres - think what Old Town Road did for country, but with other tracks touching folk, metal, EDM and more.
Playlists sporting hip hop tracks with influences from each discussed genre (Rock x Hip Hop, Metal x Hip Hop, EDM x Hip Hop etc) will be available on the Pour Up Spotify account early this week.
The topic of conversation leads to some sincere, vulnerable insights about hip hop in the mainstream and Chad’s experience showing TPAB to his old man.
We also get into news of a rumored Andre 3000 album and the XXL Freshman Class in more colloquial detail.
Also, season finale!
A massive, Notorious B.I.G. sized thank you to everybody who’s been with us so far. Your listenership inspires us to do all that we do, and we’ll continue to express our gratitude by bringing our best hip hop coverage, conversation and cold-brew clinking noises to your eardrums.
We'll be back in precisely seven days to kick off season two.
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