Vice’s Hip‑Hop Picks
Vice posted a hip‑hop and R&B roundup for April 17 that highlights new tracks listeners shouldn’t miss, including songs from 6lack and DevilDriver and an Outkast cover by Return to Dust. (vice.com) The piece is framed as a targeted shortlist inside a broader New Music Friday moment. (vice.com)
Vice’s Noisey vertical used its April 17 column to cut through a crowded Friday release slate with three rap and rhythm-and-blues picks. (vice.com) The three tracks in Caleb Catlin’s list were Sexyy Red’s “David Ruffin,” Rob49’s “Do It,” and “Flight Risqué” by Jenevieve, Freddie Gibbs, and SALIMATA. The article published April 17 at 3:38 p.m. and framed the picks as the week’s “most essential” songs in hip-hop and rhythm and blues. (vice.com) Catlin described Sexyy Red’s record as a party song built around a repetitive hook, cast Rob49’s single as a New Orleans rap throwback, and called “Flight Risqué” a rap-and-singing crossover that pairs Jenevieve’s vocals with Freddie Gibbs’ verse. (vice.com) The roundup ran inside a larger April 17 “New Music Friday” package at Vice, which also highlighted DevilDriver’s “Dig Your Own Grave,” 6lack’s “Sunday Again” featuring 2 Chainz, and Return to Dust’s cover of Outkast’s “Hey Ya!” That broader list published later the same day at 5:56 p.m. (vice.com) That split shows how music outlets package the same release day in layers: a broad all-genre digest for casual listeners and a narrower rap-and-rhythm-and-blues list for readers who want a faster filter. Vice’s two April 17 posts were published by different writers and under different banners, with Stephen Andrew Galiher handling the five-song roundup and Catlin handling the Noisey shortlist. (vice.com, vice.com) The artists in the wider package also sit in different corners of the market. DevilDriver’s official site was promoting tour dates in Florida, Ohio, and Australia, while Return to Dust’s official site listed a Los Angeles show on April 17 and a San Diego date on April 18. (devildriver.com, returntodust.com) Vice’s pitch in both stories was the same: too many songs hit streaming services each week for most listeners to sort through on their own. The April 17 coverage answered that overload with one list of five songs across genres and one list of three focused on rap and rhythm and blues. (vice.com, vice.com)
