Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the Second Golden Age of Hip-Hop.
Exaggeration? Maybe. But crank your car stereo and bump the latest G.O.O.D. Music track and it becomes a vivid possibility.
“Clique,” the third (official) single preceding the Sept. 18 release of Cruel Summer, is as lively as we’ve come to expect from Kanye West and his labelmates. “N****s in Paris” producer Hit-Boy creates a hauntingly grandiose backdrop as Big Sean, Jay-Z and West deliver three respective verses of egotistical enjoyment.
First at-bat is Big Sean, who provides both the chorus — the only part of the track which could possibly be labeled weak — and the opening verse. His lyrical creativity has expanded greatly since his mixtape days:
“Girl you know my crew name / You know 2 Chainz? Scrrrrr! / I’m pullin’ up in that Bruce Wayne,” he spits over swaggering snares and a choir, demanding nothing less than the listener’s head-nodding.
Jay-Z rolls in next, and the RocNation head is clearly not content being out-rhymed by his proteges. He commands that all in his presence “call [him] Hov or Jefe” and brandishes some knowledge from his early days as a cocaine dealer, silencing claims that his wealth has robbed him of street cred.
Finally, West himself reminds us that, even after two double and three platinum albums, he would rather “buy 80 gold chains and go ig’nant” than invest in the stock market. He boasts of his friendship with Tom Cruise and record breaking trips to Louis Vuitton, closing out the track with two verses-worth of classic Kanye quips.
It seems that G.O.O.D. Music is untouchable at the moment, and if “Clique” is a sign of things to come on Sept. 18, there is no doubt that the crew will do some serious numbers.
RATING: 4/5 stars
DOWNLOAD “Clique” (radio edit) on iTunes
