With so many dope singles coming out of the St.Pete Hip Hop scene I felt it was only right to release the second installment of the “St.Pete Stand Up” series.
On “Pauline” Mackey Emannuel wants his grandma to see all the success he has seen over the recent years. Emannuel is the king of hooks in the burg, whether it’s on “Too Much” off the Zhu tape or on “Poppin” Emmanuel has that ear worm potential every time he graces a mic. I feel anyone who ever wanted to make a lost family member proud will relate to this track. Can’t wait for the album and whatever comes next from Mackey Emannuel, “Fish Head Soup” on the way.
Dephree wrote this track after his wife and son left him due to his drug use. The story telling on this track is an approach Dephree has taken on other tracks but this one has more of a melancholy vibe. Most of us have messed up in relationships before. I really dug the vulnerability Dephree showed on this one. Can’t wait to here new music from the St.Pete new comer.
Despite not having a full project yet Playrunna Av is definitely king of the trap scene in St.Pete. Wynner Circles head honcho has the sharpest flow and most quotable lines, that’s the reason he won the gold medal in the Trap Olympics. “Gangsta Shit” is just on some cold gangsta vibes that you can just ride out to. His newest single “Different Level” is just a barrage of quotable lines. This track is the definition of flex music. RodXTheXGod should continue to make all of Playrunna Av’s beats they make deadly combination.
On “Walt Disney” Palm Pact and Face Melt representatives Euphemistic and B-Zeik bring 90s underground hip hop vibes to the burg. This track reminds me of some Rhymesayers shit but that is definitely an untapped lane in the scene right now. Not sure what is next for Euphemistic but he had some standout verses on Palm Pact’s “Armada” from last year.
After dropping the Tampa Bay classic “Www.Flexedupshawty.com” Big Baby Scumbag has been dominating the Tampa Bay Hip Hop scene crossing over to both sides of the Bay Area. His “Tom Brady” track was the Buccaneers anthem all season. Big Baby is showing no signs of slowing down, dropping two of the years dopest freestyles. On “Grove Streer Party Freestyle” Big Baby is able to capture those west coast mid 90s gangsta rap vibes on some San Andreas shit. The beat goes hard and Big Baby does his thing, “I’m with mad dog and I’m drinking on some mad dog.” On “Crank Dat Yu Gi Oh” Big Baby shows why he’s the rap game Exoida. Whoever made that beat is a legend. Combining “Crank That Soulja Boy” and the “Yu Gi Oh” theme hit me in all the right places.
On “Yaya” featuring Joe Devlin, Vinny Vigro takes us on a trip to heaven. The god level hook on this track has a James Blake feel similar to Travis Scott’s “Stop Trying To Be God”. I would highly recommend checking out Vinny Vigrø’s 2018 album “Love is Life. Life is Love.” if you dug this track it’s on some Alt Hip Hop vibe. “R.I.P. DOOM” is a solid tribute to the Super Villain. Vinny definitely let the world know DOOM has fans down in Tampa Bay.
Coming off his “Sacrifices” project Josiah Odin is back with some more introspective bars on “Patek Heart”. Josiah is in his pocket on this slow airy beat. The beat made by Raz sounds like some “Me Against The World” era Pac shit. “I’m just an old soul not in touch with a whole lot” is one of my fav lines from Josiah Odin.
Josiah Odin also recently created a living playlist featuring new music from him as well as other Tampa Bay Area artists. Be sure to stay up to date with the “ROOTS” playlist exclusively on SoundCloud.
So much dope music coming out lately from both sides of the Bay. For all things St.Pete and Tampa Bay Area Hip Hop keep it locked.