Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Atlanta duo EarthGang return with another #GhettoGods freestyle.
Sampling the Queen of Soul is a bold move, but former Artist of the Month EarthGang are up for the task on “Aretha,” the latest installment in their #GhettoGods freestyle series. The “Bridge Over Troubled Water” flip allows the Atlanta duo to take listeners to church and bear witness to Olu and WowGr8’s confessional rhymes.
Olu, who co-produced the beat with Yudu Gray, sets the tone by calling their latest single a failure (“‘Options’ dropped, barely made a sound, damn/ I guess we let Nas and Cole down”) and then sharing the burden he feels as a Black man with a voice to give hope to those in his community who can’t speak up for themselves.
WowGr8 continues the theme, rapping about creating a legacy and not wasting his gift. “More verses, less interviews/ This what I’m addicted to, this all I’m committed to,” he promises, before bragging that he’s been this talented since he was in the womb.
Some Dreamville fans were let down that EarthGang’s forthcoming sophomore album Ghetto Gods didn’t drop the same day as Cole’s The Off-Season, but “Aretha” is a nice holdover in the meantime.
— Eddie Fu
