Sometimes You Just Need a Quick Hit
Artists like Bino Rideaux and Tierra Whack have forged a new artistic efficiency from ultra-short hip-hop songs
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Most days, I wake up feeling like I’m already running behind. Gotta get up, get to it. Now. If I’m conscious, I’m probably at least a little restless. It’s not that I don’t take care of myself — I drink lots of water, try to get enough sleep — it’s that even when I’m handling business, sometimes it feels like everything’s urgent. There’s no time.
So: I hop out of bed, say my prayers, make my coffee, and bang some hard shit through the speaker as loud as I can while I get ready. I want something that matches my energy early in the morning. Something urgent, honest, and as concerned with family as with the self. That means lots of Mozzy, Nipsey Hussle, and Dave East. It also means one of my new favorites, Nip’s collaborator Bino Rideaux — recently, I can’t get enough.
Some of that is the usual attachment you get to an artist you really connect with. Rideaux’s music carries the tone and quality of soul and blues without sacrificing the confidence, self-determination, and persistence of spirit that makes hip-hop so…
