A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Leftlanin' My Lifestyle

As the cover suggests, Leftlanin’ My Lifestyle, a long-player from Ralphy Davis benefits from the correct listening context: I was blaring this on my car speakers the other day while bombing along I-5 on my way home from Portland and it left me feeling like a baller. As with Ralphy’s other music, the focus is on fame and money and achieving the champagne lifestyle. At 16 tracks, there’s lots of room for narrative flow: The first few songs set the mood before bringing on the straight-up bangers. “Countin’ Money Witta Bad Bitch” surprises with a sweet piano loop, and two tracks later, I love the squishy bass line of “How It Go.” Between the two, “Wym” dazzles. It’s this centerpiece trifecta that I replay most often, and repeatedly.

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A film about Northwest hip-hop from

Chef Killa

Chef Killa is a 2015 mixtape from Cam The Mac. The blood spatter on the cover is accurate: These are 15 tracks of Machiavellian murder, loyalty, women, and rubber bands. But they eschew the loud, aggressive approach you might expect: songs like “Get some $” and “Rollin’ Again” are gangsta rap at half speed, full of understated, laid-back menace, quiet drums, and vocal harmonies, piano flourishes, and gentle high hat taps. “0-100 Freestyle” shows off Cam’s rap game, and is one of the many standout songs on this release, especially halfway through when the beats drop away into the sublime, slow soundscape. This is late-night, chill-out, homicide rap; calm, certain in its posturing.

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