Listen to Three New Songs From Nicki Minaj, the Roots, and Future ft. Kanye West

Michael Stewart/WireImage

Late Monday and early Tuesday were this week’s designated times to drop discussion-worthy hip-hop songs. Come, listen and ruminate.

Future ft. Kanye West: “I Won”

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What’s the scoop? Might be the final new song we hear before Future’s sophomore LP Honest drops on April 22. Also, it’s got Kanye rapping all about Kim without it coming across as too much. Also also, Kanye is officially rhyming about his “Bound 2” video now.
Production:
 B+
Which emoji is this song?
Choice line: Future: “We get to bangin’ on the walls / just to piss the neighbors off.” Kanye: “I want to dip that ass in gold / I want to dip that ass in gold.”
Album excitement impact: Previous single “Move That Dope” is as great as Future himself, so the bar was high here. All involved parties came relatively close to meeting it.

Nicki Minaj ft. Lil Herb: “Chi-Raq”

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What’s the scoop? More hard rap from a post-“Starships”-and-Idol Nicki. Insane flow. On par with/better than “Lookin Ass.”
Production: C+
Which emoji is this song? 
Choice line: “I’m with EBK, you on EBT / Got a black nine, call it BET / School n—-s get a GED / And I tease n—-s, make em b-e-g.”
Album excitement impact: Jesus, when is The Pink Print?

The Roots: “When the People Cheer”

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What’s the scoop? First single from & Then You Shoot Your Cousin, the band’s 11th studio release, which will be another concept album like 2011’s excellent Undun.
Production (or, in the case of the Roots, performance): A-
Which emoji is this song? 
Choice line: “I’m down to 95 dollars, that’s the extent of my riches / Out of 99 problems, 98 of ’em is bitches.”
Album excitement impact: Heightened.

Filed Under: Music, Nicki Minaj, Future, Kanye West, The Roots