XXL’s Songs of the Week (March 28

As always, the XXL staff has come together to pick the best hip-hop songs of the last seven days. This week, it's about love. With new cuts from the best friends in rap, Rich Homie Quan and Young Thug (do you think they watch Miami Vice together?) as well as dynamic singles from the likes of August Alsina and Fetty Wap, this week was a time to kick back with the ones you hold dearest and try to parse some Chief Keef bridges. These are the best rap songs of the week.

Snootie Wild, 'Play Wit a Brick'

Snootie Wild is wildly talented; his new solo song, "Play With a Brick," incorporates a host of disparate influences. There's his native Memphis and the inherent tendency to melody, but there's also the vicious bite that might be found a few hundred miles over, from contemporaries like Future and Rich Homie Quan. After a bevy of guest appearances and co-signs from his Southern cohorts, Snootie finally steps out into the spotlight on his own.

Baauer Feat. Fetty Wap, "Promises"

Off the back of his massive hit "Trap Queen," Fetty Wap has made aggressive inroads into the industry. And despite being a favorite of such hip-hop heavy hitters as Kanye West, the one-eyed wonder has decided instead to expand his palate, collaborating with dance and electronic producer Baauer for the brand-new "Promises." The bombastic track is the canvas for Fetty to remind his New Jersey friends and family how hard he worked to get to the top, and what he's going to do now that he's there.

Tech N9ne Feat. T.I. and Zuse, "On the Bible"

Tech N9ne has spent years forging his career, rising to the top of independent hip-hop from his native Kansas City and solidifying a major worldwide following. He's been embedded in the industry for years, earning the respect of more commercially visible artists; he's finally cashing in those chips, and the T.I.-featuring "On the Bible" from Tech's Special Effects is one of the benefits we all get to reap. The cut also features up-and-comer Zuse, and knocks like it's been engineered to test the American auto industry.

August Alsina, "Hip-Hop"

August Alsina has steadily built a fanbase as an up-and-coming R&B sensation, but on his new single, he's out to prove that he's more than just that; rather, Alsina is pitching himself as a multi-talented crossover star. "Hip-Hop," his new up-tempo cut, finds him alternating between rapped and sung verses, reminiscing on Biggie's death and other landmark events. This is the first major noise the New Orleans native has made since his three-day coma last fall.

Chief Keef Feat. King Louie, Lil Herb, Lil Durk & Lil Bibby, "Faneto (Remix)"

Chief Keef may seem as if he's from another realm, somewhere distant and unrecognizable to the untrained observer. In truth, he is--the South side of his native Chicago is a neighborhood so foreign to most Americans as to seem like a developing country. But the Los Angeles transplant reached back to the city to pull from its remarkably deep talent pool, tapping veteran King Louie and burgeoning stars Lil Bibby, Lil Durk and Lil Herb to contribute to the remix of his Faneto. The latter rapper may very well be the breakout star of the group, his loosely-caged aggression carrying over from last year's remarkable Welcome to Fazoland.

Related: Chief Keef “Voodoo”

Rich Homie Quan, "Flex (Ooh, Ooh, Ooh)"

Rich Homie Quan might have seemed at first pass like another product of the warped prism through which Top 40 rap gets processed in Atlanta, a talented kid parroting back trap reverberations on his 2013 breakthrough hit "Type of Way." But through his later solo work (especially I Promise I Will Never Stop Going In) and especially his masterpiece of a mixtape, Tha Tour, Part One, released with Young Thug as Rich Gang, he has emerged as an auteur all his own. On his newest offering, "Flex (Ooh, Ooh, Ooh)," he's having the time of his life--and his life sounds nothing like yours.

Young Thug, "Check"

You're supposed to kill your idols. Though he has long touted his love for Lil Wayne, Young Thug sided firmly with Bryan "Baby" Williams and Cash Money as the New Orleans legend splinters from his longtime record label. Thugga has announced that his next project will be called Tha Carter 6, continuing the still-unfinished, five-part Carter series on which Wayne has staked his career. "Check," the first official release from the tape, is predicated on Thugga's inimitable vocal performances; in his world, the liquor is always bottomless and the checks are always blank.

Filed Under: XXL's Songs Of The Week