I asked Finals year-end contributors to do whatever they wanted this year, but also gave ideas of either a straight top 10, or to think of someone/place/thing that had a "huge year." Special Texas-via-Manhattan correspondent kimdollars1 did both, detailing an argument for the Upper West Side as having a legitimately outsized and generative year in rap music, and kicking in a hot 10 at the end. Endless salute to Kim for this kind of work, going above and beyond fr. Check the story below and buy/stream her new project, out today, The Bohemian!

-Andrew

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Keeping in the vein of Finals EOY coverage, I wanted to write about “having a big year,” and while in 2024, the “downtown scene” continues to generate much of the cultural image, energy, and attention for Manhattan (within certain parameters of trendiness and cool), I have no choice but to cast my vote for the Upper West Side.

This year, we got near daily dispatches from Manhattan Valley courtesy of the prolific Sweepers Ent. It was Jay Hound and Jay5ive who held it down after sending off 2023 with the minimal and menacing “Ukraine,” as crew members Sdot Go and NazGPG remain incarcerated. My favorite from Jay Hound was the bouncy “Mysterio,” along with his appearance on Jay5ive’s Sweepa Baby tape with “Pill Popper.” It’s on this project where Jay5ive really carves out his own vision of gritty NY pain rap. Particularly on “Oh Lord (Интерлюдия),” we get reflections on his drug use, his criminal history and inability to break from it, and the feelings he has for his friends who are currently behind bars. In the lines where he speaks of his love for his daughter, his intonations make me wonder if he grew up listening to Juelz Santana (a bonafide Amsterdam Avenue legend).

Only ten or so blocks south, we saw a breakout year for M Row, who built a following around his versatility, delivering edgier, more traditional drill tracks alongside party, love, heartbreak, and pain raps, all culminating in a “heartbroken ooter” persona. “Undefeated,” his raunchy collab with MCVERTT, was a big highlight, but I found myself coming back to a solid handful of his singles.

These artists appeal to me in how they push the conventions of drill to meet their perspective, with new emotional depth as a result, but alas we still see the emergence of classic, more violent tropes. Here, this is staged as a “beef” between M Row and the Sweepers, particularly Jay5ive. I am not really at all qualified to speak on stuff like this, but my research indicates that M Row and 5ive actually grew up together and are… lowkey kind of friends? I suppose that the hangouts on Instagram Live speak for themselves… Though I don’t doubt that their current dynamic produces tension amongst their circles? Who’s to say… I suppose I find it reassuring (albeit depressing) that the ultimate end to all the dissing is allegedly just some healthy competition, savvy kids playing into the warped demands of their audience.

An analysis and critique of how violence is represented in contemporary rap music can be found across Kurious’ new album Majician, which garnered attention for its MF DOOM credit as Executive Producer. Kurious is cemented as a hallowed figure in the underground rap world due to his feature on Operation Doomsday’s “?,” but his discography runs deep across decades, representing the Upper West throughout. Hopefully my description thus far hasn’t made the project sound stodgy and moralistic. The new album strikes a lovely balance of aged wisdom and fresh sonics, particularly on tracks like “Untainted” and “1984,” where Kurious waxes about the Upper West Side of his childhood. Other highlights for me include DOOM tribute “Cow’s Eye,” upbeat opener “Unknown Species,” and the head-bumping “Barry Gibbs.” It’s a great release, and it makes the Upper West Side’s big year a true multi-generational front.

I would be remiss not to mention the Upper West Side rapper who garnered the most critical attention this year, even landing a Nardwaur interview about Riverside Park and local Chinese-Latin restaurants. Of course, I’m talking about Xaviersobased, the experimental vocalist who skates at the Monument and shoots promo vids on 110th. Like, I did a double take when I heard the V&T reference on “Pediatrician.” I had my middle school graduation dinner there! Speaking of middle school, Xav kicked off the year with “finna go ot,” shot at St. John’s the Divine and the courtyard of MS 54 (alma mater of none other than A$AP Rocky). Considering that I also grew up on the Upper West Side listening to a lot of Chief Keef, I liked this track a lot. I find it interesting how geographically close Xavier is to artists like the Sweepers, and yet his music occupies a totally different world, only connecting in tangential moments, like on SoundCloud-loosie-turned-Osamason-video-cameo “Macaroni Time.” Once again invoking Keef, Xav delivers the best version of the 917 Rackz-produced track, which also saw a release from Jay5ive. Between keep it goin xav and with 2, both solid tapes, we also got “ghost town,” blown-out and surreal with stand-out lines like the brazen and emphatic, “Baby I’m sorry if I fucked up your pronouns.”

Xav getting the Tay Zonday co-sign in the “Macaroni Time” Youtube comments ✍️✍️

Writing for Passion of the Weiss, Jayson Buford analyzes how Xaviersobased differs from more traditional rap stars, presenting an artsy rebelliousness over the rough grittiness that used to define New York lyricists. I understand how Buford views this as part of a broader, more frustrating shift that aligns with the corporate decontextualization of hip-hop. But simultaneously, it does feel like the article projects a kind of narrow expectation of masculinity onto Xavier that doesn’t feel quite right. Let’s not forget we’re talking about some young bisexual kid. His mom used to be a house DJ and his dad allegedly works for Microsoft. Welcome to the Upper West Side! While Buford shakes his head, I think to myself, “The kids are alright.” The last big rap phenom to come out of the neighborhood was Wiki, who depicted Buford’s grit as a suffocating feature of city life. But while Wiki and Ratking did innovate on the classic New York sound, they remained firmly rooted in tradition. It feels refreshing to see Xavier by and large upend that. As Buford points out, his strength is in taking the delocalized influences that come with an internet-based music education and presenting them in a singular manner.

Ultimately, I’m just happy when I get a glimpse of the neighborhood in a music video. Since I no longer live in New York, it’s one of the things that can connect me to home offhandedly when I’m clicking around the web. There’s no delight like catching some random shots of Broadway in the B-roll of a Max B music video. And before Xav was posted up in front of PS 165, we got our glimpses of 109th from Cardi B. Anyways, here’s my top 10 songs – peep the Port Authority bowling alley in the Diany Dior video if you remain unconvinced of West Manhattan’s cultural dominance this year!