Weekly Crate Digging #2 - 8/5/22

STAYING ALIVE - DJ Khaled feat. Drake and Lil Baby

Strong 2/10

I don’t know what’s worse, the “interpolation” of the Bee Gees’ “Stayin Alive” or the obnoxiously melodramatic artwork for the track’s cover. The quotation marks are needed for “interpolation” because I don’t know if you can consider such a half-baked homage as paying respect to a classic. The instrumental sounds like it was a Drake-type beat bought off of Fiverr, and Lil Baby and Drake sound as uninspired as ever.

Is This Love (‘09) - Eminem feat. 50 Cent

Soft 4/10

There are a few aspects of this track that are classic. It has Dr. Dre’s classic west-coast production, Eminem’s classically unhinged lyrics that were rampant during his Relapse-era (of which this is an unreleased song from), and a classic terribly sung chorus by Eminem. 50 Cent comes through with a solid, but short, verse though.

Twin Flame - KAYTRANADA feat. Anderson .Paak

Soft 8/10

Some may know KAYTRANADA for his boiler room DJ sets, but his career of original music has been quite proficient as well. In this new funky track, .Paak is consistently enticing with his playful lyrics that flow smoothly along the beat into the chorus’ refrain. KAYTRANADA also provides some natural backing vocals that complement .Paak’s performance well.

Turn On The Lights again.. - Fred again.. feat. Future

Strong 6/10

I’m not the biggest fan of house music, but it has grown on me as I have listened to it over the years. The same applies for this song, one which I grew instantly bored with after my first listen, but enticed me after further scrutiny (or lack thereof). The bouncy track features a redundant loop of a couple Future lyrics from the 2012 cut of the same name, and while this repetitiveness does get tiresome, the instrumental eventually develops into a gratifying drop.

Immaculate - $NOT

Soft 7/10

$NOT has come a long way from his drowsy and nonchalant choruses, and this new single epitomizes that progression. The hook is incredibly catchy and charismatic, and the track generally passes along without any noticeable hiccups.

Big 14 - Trippie Redd feat. Offset and Moneyybagg Yo

Solid 4/10

“Big 14” is just a run-of-the-mill trap cut with dramatic bass and boring verses. It’s not offensively poorly-made, but it doesn’t stand out.