The FADER’s “Songs You Need” are the tracks we can’t stop playing. Check back every day for new music and follow along on our Spotify playlist.
Out of all of the platforms dedicated to freestyles/performances from and interviews with rising rappers, On The Radar Radio is definitely one of the best. Like A Zae’s From The Block series, On the Radar pulls from a wide range of regions and styles, but it’s just more exciting hearing artists come in something new rather than watch them lip sync an old song. (I can't even hold you though, it was funny as hell watching the Philly Goats’ DSturdy stop performing entirely to dance). Sorry to Conway, but there are a ton of platforms for artists to get on now. You don’t need to yell at the Warm Milk General.
If a dragon could burn up its vocal cords, it’d sound like D4M $loan. The Philadelphia rapper has a rugged, growling voice that sounds like a less mutated form of the demonic snarl Bronx drill rappers employ. He and his friend Skiano, who sadly passed away in 2020, broke out as a duo with unrelenting energy and unusual sense of fun. “Baby Shark" doesn’t just feel anticipatory of this wave of club-infused raps — it’s all-in on a style that many wouldn’t dare try until it was proven successful. In his "On The Radar Freestyle," $loan glides over gentle triplet kicks with grunts and groans that somehow become melodic. “Know I’m too rich to be fighting him/Sike, Mike Tyson him,” he growls. “Just hope he ain’t Holyfield.” It’s the strangest two-minute earworm you’ll hear this week.