Rumor has it the Hitmen have reassembled, and though Well$' "Clocks" is a decidedly 2015 affair, it's "cinematic" in the way Puff would hope, toothpick twirling in his mouth. The Charlotte rapper's latest is a slinking bit of call-dodging. Borrowing pieces of "Poetic Justice," the Janet Jackson-sampling Drake collaboration from Kendrick Lamar's good kid, m.A.A.d. city, Well$ darts back and forth between barked boasting and the simple hope that his girl will look up from her cell phone and pay him some attention. Your first tour is always a trying time, and from the sounds of it, the separation anxiety is permeating everything Well$ touches. The North Carolinan has previously relied on high-concept approaches to lure listeners, from the throwback Louisiana artwork on "'98 Juvie" to the parks department PSA of "Bike Safety." Here, the approach is more straightforward, but the relationships more wrought with tension, the 4G signal spottier.

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