While 2015 has introduced the rap listening public to a long list of promising up-and-comers, this week was about the veterans. Be they hallowed legends (De La Soul, Nas, Raekwon), quietly competent workmen (Curren$y, Wiz Khalifa) or those who have started to come into their own in their 30s (Open Mike Eagle), the past seven days have been a goldmine for gripping rap music from people on the wrong side of 30. After the usual deliberation, the XXL staff presents these, the best hip-hop songs released during the week that ends today, April 24.

RelatedXXL’s Songs of the Week (April 11 – April 17)

De La Soul Feat. Nas, "God It"

De La Soul made headlines recently for their decision to use Kickstarter to cover the costs associated with making their new album. That fans have pledged nearly a half-million dollars so far is a testament to the power that such seminal works as 3 Feet High and RisingDe La Soul Is Dead and Buhloone Mindstate held and still hold over listeners. What better way to assert your enduring worth than to team up with another ageless wonder? The Nas-assisted "God It" is a no-frills seminar in timelessness, boom-bap that will stay vacuum-fresh for decades.

RelatedDe La Soul Launches a Kickstarter for Their New Album

Curren$y and Wiz Khalifa Feat. SAYITAINTTONE, "Weed Nap"

Wiz Khalifa and Curren$y are the kind of duo that probably won't lead their audience astray. The pair, who hail from Pittsburgh and New Orleans, respectively, are going to mainline exactly what their collaboration promises, which is reliable weed rap over breezy production. "Weed Nap" is exactly that--with SAYITAINTTONE in tow, Wiz and Spitta carry the latter's Pilot Talk 3 to its natural conclusion. Curren$y warns that his pockets are so breaded, they're soon to be deep-fried. What more do you want?

RelatedListen to Wiz Khalifa and Curren$y, ‘Uber Driver’

Raekwon Feat. A$AP Rocky, "I Get Money"

The title of Raekwon's new album is FILA: Fly International Luxurious Art, because Raekwon knows what he's doing. Excessive furs, exotic animals, darts that won't ever grow dull. The Wu-Tang legend doesn't need to contort himself into today's radio format if he doesn't want to. When A$AP Rocky meets him on "I Get Money," it's on the Chef's terms. Hockey masks, Timbs and cutoff shorts, threats to those who try to cross through Brooklyn. Rocky may one day have that money that the banks can't hold, but Rae's been printing it in his basement for decades.

RelatedAfter 20 Years in the Game, Raekwon Is a Hip-Hop Survivor

Troy Ave, "Real Nigga"

Troy Ave remains single-mindedly fixated on bringing New York back. To what is unclear--he first gained notoriety for sounding like a young 50 Cent, but his wardrobe borrows liberally from Kanye West's Louis Vuitton Don days; his rejection of Kendrick Lamar as a "weirdo" is odd in the face of the latter's relative conservatism. Maybe "Real Nigga" helps to clarify Troy's central message. Threatening to "smack, shoot or snuff" anyone who disrespects his name, the Gothamite carefully and deliberately lays out his list of principles.

RelatedListen to Young Buck Feat. 50 Cent and Troy Ave, ‘Drug Money’

 Towkio, "Reflection"

As Towkio preps his mixtape, .WAV Theory--the one Chance the Rapper promised would be the best mixtape released this year--the producer of "Reflection" is on his own come-up. Kaytranada, the Canadian DJ who only recently began a serious foray into hip-hop, has quickly vaulted himself to the forefront of those merging the worlds of rap and electronic music. Towkio's yelped, pleading vocals make a strong case for him as a talent to keep an eye on as he continues to develop and differentiate himself from the Chicago rappers with whom he's so closely associated.

RelatedListen to Towkio Feat. Chance the Rapper, ‘Heaven Only Knows’

Open Mike Eagle, "Celebrity Reduction Prayer"

Open Mike Eagle's 2014 was earned, sure--the Chicag0-born, LA-based MC had been rapping seriously since the turn of the century, carving out a name for himself at the storied Project Blowed and as a member of groups and collectives like Swim Team and Hellfyre Club. Dark Comedy, his fourth solo record, was carefully made and endlessly impressive. He deserved the accolades, the national media placements, everything that came in the record's wake. But with notoriety comes the realization that so much of our hero worship is arbitrary and poisonous, that your Twitter feed is just 1s and 0s. "Celebrity Reduction Prayer," an Oddisee-produced contribution to Mello Music Group's Persona compilation, is the key to dismantling it all.

RelatedListen to Mello Music Group’s ‘Persona’ Album

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