Big Boi [ft. Gucci Mane]-“Shine Blockas”
Why haven’t I heard this song before?! So underrated.
Here’s the review from pitchfork:
That Big Boi’s solo album still hasn’t seen the light of day is further proof that the record industry is irreparably broken. “Shine Blockas” should be more than a rap blog curio. It’s the sort of track that we should hear blaring out of every passing Civic. The track works as a study in contrasts. Even more than usual, OutKast’s still-rapping half raps in darting, stuttery little bursts, his flow fighting its way upstream on the beat, dropping syllables in places nobody would expect. Gucci’s guest spot does just the opposite. It’s a fully intuitive vocal, his hoarse, marbled monotone drifting lazily over the cascading beat like he was born rapping on it. Cutmaster Swiff’s lush, strobing Harold Melvin sample might be fundamentally opposed to the dinky synth symphonies that Gucci generally favors, but he makes rapping over it sound like the easiest thing in the world. Big Boi makes it sound like the most difficult, but he still sticks it. None of these ingredients seem like they should work together, but everything piles on top of everything else, and against odds, the song turns itself into a towering anthem of self-assurance. —Tom Breihan
