Pitchfork writer Alphonse Pierre’s rap column covers songs, mixtapes, albums, Instagram freestyles, memes, weird tweets, fashion trends—and anything else that catches his attention.
The best Florida rap right now
Keeping up with Florida rap is a full-time job. A popping scene in the Sunshine State is nothing new: From Miami bass in the ’80s to Trick Daddy’s street raps around the turn of the century to the breakouts of current stars Kodak Black and the City Girls, Florida is a constant.
But the state’s rich rap output is so overwhelming because it’s fractured into tons of microscenes that rarely cross paths. There is the drill scene in Jacksonville. The laid-back street raps in Tallahassee. The Kodak disciples spread throughout South Florida. Party rap. Pain rap. Michigan-inspired beats. Fast music. Internet scenes. No Limit-type funk. Florida rap is such a criss-crossing world of its own that there is a whole-ass TV show on HBO right now trying to capture a small glimpse of it.
This year, I’ve been trying hard to not fall behind, but there is always something new bubbling up from the swamp. There have been a handful of major albums to come from the state in the last nine months—by Kodak, Rod Wave, Denzel Curry, Trapland Pat, and Hotboii—but the songs that have resonated with me most have largely come from the underground. Below are a dozen of my favorite recent Florida rap songs that not only bang but also highlight how many different styles exist in the state.
While Michigan rappers have perfected the punchline marathon, Pompano Beach MC Loe Shimmy’s event is the 40-yard dash. In under two minutes, he hurtles through one-liners that hit on everything from his rags-to-riches come up, trap tales, and getting fly. His wheezy breathlessness makes it sound as if he’s constantly pushing himself to the brink. Somebody get this man an oxygen tank.
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Mari Montana has the type of booming voice you’d expect to hear narrating a ’90s Black gangster flick. The West Palm Beach spitter cruises over the funk groove of “Super Star” with the presence of a cold-blooded mafia boss. His rhymes feature evocative threats, money-chasing fantasies, and paranoia, all of which feel so alive because of his storyteller instincts, and small touches that add color: “I’m gon’ get rich regardless but I’m tryna’ go legit/Feel like the biggest target, the fuckin’ Feds on our dick,” he raps, while a police siren blares in the distance. You can’t tell me Menace II Society wouldn’t have been a smidge better if Mari Montana were the narrator instead.
The verdict is still out on whether Real Boston Richey is worthy of the hype, but there’s no denying “Bullseye 2.” Over piano-heavy production backed by thudding percussion and futuristic laser beam effects, Richey’s sleek shit-talking is so red-hot that it feels like steam is about to shoot out of his ears a la Yosemite Sam. It’s such a blazing verse that it even got Future up off his pile of money to turn back the clock for a moment with an electric performance of his own.
The fanfare surrounding TDE’s Doechii has largely been due to her rage-out on “Crazy” and the SZA-assisted R&B single “Persuasive,” which seems destined for a long life on TV rom-com soundtracks. But “Bitch I’m Nice” is by far her hardest song. The Tampa rapper’s minute-and-a-half heat-check is lined with stunting so striking that a City Girls remix feels inevitable.
