#youngtwoseven

There was a time when I thought Asaad was next. I truly think he's one of the most underrated and influential rap figures of the past five years - he was the first that I can remember that could combine rhymes of high fashion with credible ear-to-the-street talk over soulful production. He churned out project after project - none of which that I'd immediately consider classic, but showcased his potential as the Internet's illegitimate child of Mixtape Wayne and a gritter, better-rapping Kanye. Well it's ironic that in 2012, Asaad accused 'Ye and Pusha T for sharkbiting his 'God Flow' terminology - and also the lead track off his then-new mixtape White - and creating 'New God Flow', one of the lead singles off G.O.O.D Music's Cruel Summer compilation. The Philly rapper also cited Kanye's usage of Alejandro Jodorowsky's work as another form of blatant thievery: there's a song on White called 'Holy Mountain' - named after Jodorowsky's most polarizing film, and the one which 'Ye has often cited as his main inspiration for his Yeezus tour. Saudi was doing this months - possibly years - before 'Ye "popularized" it.

Soon, Saudi's rants about G.O.O.D. Music, lack of acknowledgement or credit by his peers for his influence, his defunct deal with Atlantic and the backlash from his 'Boss Status' cover turned inward and got dangerously self destructive. He spoke about leaving the rap game for good to return to Philly and murder cops, and anyone else that stood in his path, as well as sending out a plethora of other depressing tweets. It was such a shitty sight: watching a kid with so much promise disintegrating online before our very eyes. And for those who appreciated Saudi and saw this all transpire without him getting a stitch of credit, you couldn't help but feel sympathetic and equally angry for the guy.

A much-needed break from social media suited Saudi well, so when returned in 2014 with Flowers II, the sequel to the original five years prior, it was a welcomed sight. The project felt somewhat patched together - 'Alejandro Jodorowsky Flow' has the same cadence as the insta-classic 'Paint On The Fur'- but it was fun just to hear him rapping again. But what he's doing to start 2016 is simply glorious. While everyone has been on pins and needles for a new 'Ye track every Friday, Saudi has been blessing the Internet with a new song every day. I've counted 26 thus far and most of them are incomplete and run under 3 minutes - and I'm fairly certain 'Cups (Reprise)' is a reworked, slowed down version of 'Lean Too Hard' - but almost every single one of them is good. Like, really good.