Fred The Godson ft Diddy, Meek Mill and Cory Gunz – Gettin Money Part 2

I don’t know if Fred the Godson made Spin’s list of the 50 best rap mixtapes of 2011, but I’ve been told that Meek Mill inexplicably did not. So I’m going to assume that, as the anti-ASAP Rocky and a non-Alabama resident, Fred was similarly denied the honor. Not that I think Fred is a great artist yet, per se, although his latest tape has some nice moments. Sometimes when he speaks really intensely about serious subjects it feels a little silly and unconvincing, which is only appealing when the rapper is Yelawolf and even then only when he’s being really intense and serious about partying. But Fred is a skilled rapper, certainly, and if he didn’t take himself seriously he wouldn’t be nearly as charming; therin lies a paradox. Plus I just like the guy, and he’s brought back the ’80s film soundtrack production style in a way the rap world hasn’t seen since the golden age of the Nighthawks Cage & Camu.

But Fred isn’t why New York is back, he’s just the inspiration for my failed attempt to kickstart his career amongst media types / parody the tumblr trend-hunting media circle jerk.

Credit Rick Ross, maybe, for shoving the sound over the East Coast bias-hump, but the real surprise of NY2011 was New York rappers’ sudden interest in nationally-relevant, radio-ready production, thanks to the expanding influence of the McLex Luger beat. “Gettin Money pt. 2” stands with the best Brick Squad tracks of the year, titanic drums and spinning buzzsaw synthesizers and some hot verses from Fred & Meek. Even the most monotone NYer vocal style sounded atypically perfect over, for example, “2050”:

A-Mafia – 2050

That said, while it’s been entertaining to watch NY emerge from its ignore-the-charts slumber, I’d like to see some more circa-’00 mixtape beats like “Shine On” return to hip-hop’s bag of tricks:

Duke da God feat. A-Mafia – Shine On

PS: King Louie and YP are performing at Subterranean in Wicker Park on Tuesday November 22nd. That’s tomorrow, or if you’re just reading this on the 22nd, tonight. This is gonna be a chance to catch dude in a smaller venue on the North Side before he blows up. Take advantage.