What’s Poppin? How Lil Yachty brought the wok to Poland

I took the WoOoOoOOok to Poland

Anyone who hangs out a lot on the Internet these days will inevitably be confronted with rapper Lil Yachty again and again. In memes he can be seen on the ship of the British founding fathers or as part of the Viking invasion because he has a mission: to bring the wok to Poland. What sounds like absolute non-sense is the latest coup by the dazzling musician from Atlanta, because his new song “Poland” is currently exploding on all platforms – even though the single was only released on Soundcloud. “I twerk to dis heavy,” Tyler, The Creator proclaimed below the snippet for “Poland” on Instagram, speaking out loud how we all feel.

With F1lthy’s obscure synth beat and Yachty’s wobbling autotune performance, the song has everything it takes to stand out in the daily tide of music, be smiled at – and then stubbornly lodge in the subconscious. The viral hook line “I took the Wooooook to Poland” Incidentally, this has nothing to do with Asian stir-fries, but much more with Wockhardt – the pharmaceutical active ingredient in the rap drug codeine. With “Poland,” Lil Boat ditches the rugged attitude of his Detroit projects and returns to the weird catchyness of his novices – only this time the world seems ready for it.

Ye will be blocked

Anger for Ye – again. Or still? In the past few weeks, the rapper, producer, designer and entrepreneur has publicly waged his war against previous collaboration partners Adidas and GAP on social media. At the height of this crusade on his own, Ye then caused shocked headlines at Paris Fashion Week with his “White Lives Matter” shirt and further fueled the controversy. After sharing heated chat histories with Diddy and Supreme designer Tremaine Emory on Instagram over the last few days, his active posting behavior has now come to a sudden end: Kanye West is blocked on both Instagram and Twitter until further notice. The reason: unveiled anti-Semitic statements.

He wrote on Twitter in a post that has since been deleted from the platform: “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE. The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also you guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.” Uff. As a fan of Yes’s musical work, it is becoming increasingly difficult to separate such statements from his art. So maybe this time it’s really the public end for Ye, because without a megaphone, even the most ardent sermon goes unheard. And that’s really better here.

Kid Cudi – Entergalactic (Album)

Mr. Rager says goodbye. In a recent interview with Zane Lowe, Kid Cudi says, “I think I’m closing the chapter on Kid Cudi. You know, I’ve made a lot of music, man, I said a lot and I just have other desires”. Instead of the music, the rapper would like to focus more on his family in the future, but also on other projects. His new animated film “Entergalactic”, which was created in cooperation with Netflix, reveals what this could look like. The brightly colored comedy is reminiscent of the “Spiderverse” film, but also of feel-good classics like “When Harry Met Hally” and also comes with the right soundtrack. His presumably last album is also called “Entergalactic” and closes this last chapter of his music career with a psychedelic, melodic rap sound that nobody but Kid Cudi can do.

Freddie Gibbs – $oul $old $eperately (Album)

Freddie Gibbs is proof that sometimes all it takes is hard work and persistence to make a name for yourself. The rapper has tirelessly released project after project over the past few years, continuously paving the way for a modern boom-bap draft. Freddie Gibbs is now 40 years old, but the hype around him only really flared up two years ago with his celebrated album “Alfredo” together with producer The Alchemist. Now “Gangster Gibbs” finally delivers new material in the form of the album “$oul $old $eperately”. While “Alfredo” boiled down to the absolute essence with ten tracks, “$$$” is a bit more extensive with its 15 songs. The same applies to the range of features: With Offset, Moneybagg Yo, Rick Ross, Anderson .Paak, Raekwon, DJ Paul, Pusha T, Musiq Soulchild and Scarface, Freddie Gibbs has gathered the best of the new and old school around him.

Quavo & Takeoff – Only Built For Infinity Links (Album)

They had a respectable run and now it’s over: The Migos. For more than a decade, the Atlanta trio have been in the rap game, influencing generations with a flow that’s now tantamount to a trap blueprint. But now the group seems to be over for the time being, at least in the previous line-up. Recent interviews with Quavo and Takeoff confirm what tensions and small details have already indicated over the past few months: Migos are just a duo from now on.

She doesn’t reveal any details about the exact circumstances or the current relationship with her cousin Offset, but for the time being he seems to be going his own way. Quavo and Takeoff, on the other hand, release an album for two: “Only Built For Infinity Links”. For the most part, the two present themselves as a duo as if nothing had happened and deliver the proven Migos formula. In 2022 it’s definitely not the reinvention of the wheel it used to be, but it’s still quite impressive how consistently Quavo and Takeoff remain true to themselves.

YG – I Got Issues

When I think of YG I think of modern west coast trap and the Bloods. The Compton rapper is closely linked to both of these things like no other and there is probably no picture of him in which he is not wearing at least a red bandana somewhere. Still, YG can overlook gang politics and was close friends with Nipsey Hussle – who famously represented the Crips – until his passing.

His loss has left a noticeable gap at YG, but there are also new faces in the inner circle of the 4Hunnid leader. For example his signing Mozzy, with whom the joint album “Community Service” was released last year and which can also be found on YG’s new record “I Got Issues”. With bouncing G-Funk, trap and a good boss aura, YG raps about toxic love, muggings, intoxication and sobriety. My favorite so far: The soulful collab “Sober” with Roddy Ricch and Post Malone.

Bree Runway- That Girl

Bree Runway comes from London, but the rapper shines with an international sound instead of associating herself with the local drill or grime scene. In lavish music videos and outfits, she presents herself as a pop-rap diva à la Nicki Minaj, Cardi B or Doja Cat – and maybe she will soon be the next in this list. After I presented her Afrobeat single “Pressure” here in February, her next song “Somebody Like You” followed shortly after in March and then nothing at all for a while. Now, however, Bree Runway is back and makes it clear: she is “That Girl”. This is the title of her latest song, a confident, club-ready banger that draws its R&B and industrial influences in equal measure.