Song of the Year : 21 Savage feat. J. Cole - A Lot

I don't generally like "mumble rap". The new stuff doesn't appeal to my 90s boom-bap ear. These kids are certainly talented, I'm just not a fan. I'm old, it's not for me. Ebro calls 'em "Lil Young Facetats" and that's how I feel - it's all kinda the same, this repetitive blueprint. 21 Savage is definitely in that group in my mind.

But if there's one thing that can catch that ear, it's a soul sample. Those old 'Ye beats, that Just Blaze shit. Heatmakerz everything. Nothing Like It. U Don't Know. Soon You'll Understand. Bound 2. I Really Mean It.

And so so many more. It appeals to my ear like nothing else. The right beat can make me love a song that has the worst MC on it. I value beats over raps any day - Id take a dope beat with a trash ass rapper on it all day (Crime Mob - Circles) over the best rapper on some shit beats (most Eminem).

I used to scour 2DopeBoyz from 2010-2013 for rap MP3s. I would listen to every post, and if I heard a sped up soul sample, I would download it. That's how I found Theo Martin's Good Will Hunting RZA '94.  I fell in love the second I heard the opening sample. Oh my, the soul. It just hits me that right way.

So you could imagine my surprise when I heard that sample flipped on a 21 Savage song. I recognized it immediately. It was actually...more soulful. Slower. The kinda shit I wanna roll a blunt to. I listened to it on repeat. Over and over. This. So much this. I actually like 21 Savage's verses, and I've always liked Cole. This shit was my late winter/early spring anthem this year. And I still bump it now.