Rolling worldwide rap thread 2021

This one goes out to you, breastcrawl. The Ghanaian diaspora in Denmark makes music too, and Abudebi Zonjon is one of my favorite up-and-coming pop artists. I was obsessed with these two tracks a year ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB-e7F1os-g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFnmpvTvuHU

Unfortunately he does not get a lot of support here, so singles are trickling out quite slowly. I'm hoping an album could be one of the best Danish pop albums this year.

“Shout My Name” especially is great. it sounded vaguely familiar, turns out I played it after you nominated it for the 2020 EOY.

this one from earlier this year is by far his biggest streaming track on Spotify - hopefully that album will materialize at some point!

“Biggest Wov!”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHCx8IE01As

Yeah, hoping for an upward trajectory!

Speaking of songs i nominated in 2020, and artists where I'm impatiently awaiting an album, the biggest story in Danish rap the last few years are of course: Tessa! Inspired by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, technically proficient freestyle-rapper and an extremely dedicated writer of complicated rhymes. And completely brazen, sex focused and -positive.

Blæstegnen was my favorite song of 2020, an ode to Vestegnen, the suburbs west of Copenhagen. Great dembow beat, fun lyrics about sex, drugs and assault, and the woman at 0:20 in the video is former prime minister Helle Thorning Schmidt being the proto Sanna Marin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSGjsAsZllk

Hallo Kitty from last year is one of her best sex-songs ('pull my g-string down, say 'Hello Kitty'). The first verse illustrates how purely euphonically great her verses are, especially the moment where she ends one rhyme-scheme on 'tiktok' then begins the next one on 'toxic'.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd5EKLPrKFs

And then... She kinda stayed silent. She only just released her first single of 2022, Engangspik (One-time-dick), which is fun, but not her best stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzQchUie-64

I've heard she's been working on her album for years, but... Still no sign of it.

I was listening to a bit of French rap, and a new single from Niska made me check if Gnonmi avec lait was ever posted? That's a total classic from last year, a bit coupé-décalé, I think.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQtwXWk3gJQ

Another thing was the album RIYAD SADIO from rappers Ashe 22 and Freeze Corleone (both of whom people might remember from the Eurovision track on Central Cees album). I like the sound of it, it sounds like the title, sad desert music, vaguely arabic-sounding samples + wheezing and buzzing drill and trap drums. It's one of the most cohesive drill releases I've heard yet. The whole album is recommended.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NREvaS5qzyE

Okay, this is only a little bit rap, but it's the big one. This is the biggest Danish pop album in ages, and while of course the impact is lessened if you don't know Danish, I'd also say it's one of the best non-English-language pop-albums of the year (a little below Stromae and Rosalia, but still). Tobias Rahim has been absolutely dominant on the charts with his songs, and as he began dominating his lyrics became wilder and wilder, including a song about how men take drugs instead of crying, a song attacking lawyers, an ode to a fifth grade girlfriend, and a song fantasizing about being a prostitute in Dubai. It's so insanely catchy and hooky, and the complex lyrics are obviously from someone who comes from a hiphop tradition.

Again, this is definitely a top 25 album for me, but I get why it won't be for anyone else on here. Just please check out 'Kurdere i København'. It's about being from Kurdistan, having made it in Denmark, then going back to the old village to celebrate. The song goes from melancholic piano loop and a verse about the racism his granddad endured, and gets more and more celebratory until it's a full on Kurdish rave. This is absolutely one of the songs of the year, in ambition as well as execution, and I'm going to hype it a lot at poll-time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQYDn2N4UFw

https://open.spotify.com/album/40mMNrTODUEEEd7JNsNd3A

Thanks, Frederik!

yes, thanks for posting!

Headie One's 'No Borders: European Compilation Project' is a pretty good introduction to a lot of European rappers, whether French, German, Italien or even Dutch. Gazo's fine album DRILL FR from last year was exactly what it said on the cover, and Luciano does the same throaty trap thing he does on a thousand hits a year. A lot of the producers are continental as well, which is nice. The inclusion of Yasin is a sour note to end on though, due to his conviction in a kidnapping/torture case where the victim was later murdered. And I don't get why there's no Danish rappers on there, but oh well.

Drill is big in Denmark, all the biggest rappers peppered their albums with drill-tracks as soon as Pop Smoke broke through, and I'll still claim the Shooter Gang debut is one of the most consistent drill-albums released anywhere. Yesterday saw the debut-release from Kong Kurs, an underground rapper who made his album with dubstep-producer RDG, and they've created a sort of dubstep-drill hybrid - dub-drill? - and I'm loving it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDiPCHMI__k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2l_Cx-5Vlw

maybe time for a rolling worldwide rap thread for the ages thread

I see there is some discussion on Norwegian rap on the EOY thread

Tøyen Holding are amazing

look forward to their coming 3rd album, the 2nd is among my all time rap records from any nation

This is apparently a Norwegian hiphop chart topper:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCTC2wkUgUE

I rest my case

that's not hip hop

tøyen holding is

it's not terrible tho?

In comparison, this is Danish pop rap at it's most populist. I think we can all agree it's much better, even if you don't know the sample.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ_o2Lvd-C8

(I honestly don't know if we can agree on that. And I'd also be interested in recommendations for the best Norwegian hip hop songs)

hehe the lowrey/gobs/helmig tune is hilarious!

I actually don't know much abt norwegian hiphop, mainly fascinated with the 2nd tøyen holding album, first one not as great (to me) and I'm lukewarm but hopeful on their upcoming release

My favorite Danish rapper, Stepz, just relased a new album. Everything is produced by my favorite producer Nicki Pooyandeh (who did Baiana, which got an amazing two votes in the 77 poll). Truth be told it might be his worst, he consciously included a couple 'crossover' tracks, that won't work, but these two are so great together. Great beats, often changing with weird outtros, and Stepz has such a good voice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtM9I7rAulU

There's an article on Tobias Rahim in the New York Times. I told you this was the big one:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/19/arts/music/tobias-rahim-danish-pop.html

Undergrunn is the second biggest group in Norway (after Karpe) at the moment. They are definitely hip hop.

This is Karpe, btw.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0OymS-SET8

PAF.no, from the album Omar Sherrif.

Today is the ten year anniversary of perhaps the best and most important Danish rap track of all time, at least since the eighties. D.A.U.D.A. by Sivas. Brought trap to the Danish masses, is in my opinion one of the best trap beats made anywhere, and it's a track I shamefully forgot to nominate for the decade list. Would have been top five for me, I think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDLaJm5noSU

Two of todays biggest rap stars, ArtigeArdit and Lamin, released a Watch the Throne style collaboration a couple weeks ago. It's up and down, but this jersey club track is great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxC_MuFF1vg