FDR - "Fear of Death and the Need for Reproduction"

I like working with Godforbid because he is really good at rap and creates terrifyingly fast. It is good to be inspired, it is better to be intimidated. From Alaskan Fishermen cuts to Hump Jones singles to American Style Cardboard, we've covered a lot of ground. This EP is the opening salvo of something bigger and weirder.

"Majestic Dimensions: Vol III" - Man Mantis

Man Mantis never stops moving. From soundtracking art exhibits to crowd-sourcing noises for beautiful experiments to force-feeding rap music LSD with Nocando, his emerging aesthetic in the past few years is distinctly dissimilar. After perfecting a recipe on Cities Without Houses, the man opted to burn it all down and walk away, which is admirable in any line of work.

#CLASSIC: "Masters of Illusion" - Kool Keith & Motion Man

This is one of the few rap albums I still bump, end to end. Motion Man needs to keep on making records, for the good of the species.

"Pedestrian" - Wombaticus Rex

Does the world need another a-capella, spoken-word, free-verse rap-thing? Almost definitely not. That didn't prevent me from making one, however. This is dedicated to the 217.

#CLASSIC: "The Last Huzzah (Remix)" - Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire ft. Everyone

Photography against a white background: did you know Amazon patented that this year? God damn right. Remains to be seen whether they will pursue litigation over this NYC production. They clearly had a blast filming this, fun is contagious. (Unlike money.)

Music videos: the only thing clothing companies are good for anymore.

"Pale White Cutie Pie" - DJ Multiple Sex Partners

Since Sweaty Summer, the Ol' Dirty Russian has been seldom seen. That's probably a good thing in any language. Every year, though, World Around drops a new label compilation -- to the limited and laughable extent that what they do can be considered a "label" at all -- and Ivan Vilavonavich takes a break from his rollercoaster Hollywood life to dust off the MPC 1000 and get to work. The latest sculpture is this "Pale White Cutie Pie" jamalam, presumably inspired by, or dedicated to, Charlotte Stokely.

Word to Vault 46.

#CLASSIC: "Broken Language" - Smoothe da Hustler ft. Trigger tha Gambler

Aside from the dress code in the video, this really hasn't aged a single f'ing day.

"Brick In Yo Face" - Stitches

This has been on repeat for awhile here in the RYR office. Unhinged Mystikal fan who loves selling blow -- LOVES SELLING BLOW -- gets the full B&W, Hi-Res, Strobe-Cut, Rental-Car 8.1 Trap Video Treatment here. And it's fucking awesome.

Stay classy, Florida. Don't ever change for nobody.

#CLASSIC: "Terror Works" - Sir Menelik

One of the first rap songs to truly blow my mind. The drugs helped, sure, but this still stands as a highwater mark for NYC lyrical wildstyle 90's shit.

"Fake Surfers" - Zilla Rocca & The Shadowboxers

A superbly hot mess of a video that perfectly suits this fever dream of a rap track. A strong, weird lead single from the upcoming Zilla Rocca & The Shadowboxers album No Vacation for Murder. Best enjoyed in gently altered states.

Algorhythms: Deluxe Edition - THE TURQUOISE TAPE

EELRIJUE is coming. To celebrate, Algorhythms has remastered their eponymous debut EP, along with several salient singles, to create The Turquoise Tape. If you're not into rap cassettes, no worries: you can get this digitally, too, in all the multifarious formats that Bandcamp provides. A great soundtrack for Tulpa creation, egregore binding, or just general experimentation with Solomon's Lesser Key.