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Drake -- "5AM In Toronto"

Drake -- "5AM In Toronto" (Instrumental)

I can't stop playing Drake's newest joint, '5AM in Toronto.' Much like 'Started From the Bottom,' this Drizzy's testament of why he should be considered one of the hottest MCs in the game (no MTV).

I haven't done this a while, so let me start this up again.

Every year on Beats and Rants, I nominate one or two songs to be my "Get Money" anthem for the remaining calendar year. My ideal of a "Get Money" anthem is a song that either makes you think or motivates you to go out and achieve your dreams and accumulate that "paper" (i.e., money, greenbacks, Almighty dollar).

In 2010, Aloe Blacc's "I Need a Dollar" was my get-money anthem.

In 2013, Drake's "5AM in Toronto" is my get-money anthem. I wrote it about here at my day gig.

On the track, Drizzy takes aim at his detractors who hate from the sidelines. He throws a subliminal jab at his haters (namely Chris Brown) in one verse. “I got a gold trophy from the committee for validation / Bad press during the summer over allegations / I ain’t lyin’, my nigga, my time is money / That’s why I ain’t got time for a nigga whose time is comin'," he raps.

The Young Money rapper even takes a swipe at the much-ballyhooed "Hottest MC" list by MTV. "I made Forbes list, nigga / Fuck your list, everything’s looking gorgeous," he spits.

There are plenty of rewindable one-liners on here and they all sting. Hearing Drake be so confident and determined on this song makes this an anthem song for me. The beat is pounding, the synths are eerie and dreamy at the same time. It's a great song.

"Niggas make threats I can't hear ya / That's because I'm headed to the bank, nigga!"

Drake started from the bottom and now he's trying to win here again.

Take care.

**Oh, I also included the instrumental for your downloading pleasure. Get motivated.**

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New Video: Ty - "Like You Never"

Listen: Drake "5AM in Toronto"

Check out this great video from Ty, a veteran rapper from the U.K. hip-hop scene who has been making inspiring, thought-provoking hip-hop for over a decade. If you're not familiar check out his stellar albums like his 2001 debut LP Awkward and my personal favorite Upwards.

In the "Like You Never" clip, directed by Adam Rogers and co-drirected by Bunny Bread, Ty raps about the uncreative direction of today's rap music. "And now the new school is no school / Because everybody and their mama knows pro tools / Writing raps and recording bad vocals / Being a star is more than being anti-social / I'm more than boastful," he spits.

The London-based rapper is seen walking through a blight environment of abandon buildings and a graffiti-covered playground as to represent the emptiness of the music. At the end of the video, Ty is walking in paradise -- the island Aruba, to be exact -- as he takes a dip in the ocean to purify himself of bad rap music.

The video might be overly symbolic with its message about the problems with today's rap music, but Ty makes some great points in his lyrics. In one line, he raps, "I grew up in a brown-black facade / So I'm not trying to act like I'm that large / But I'm trying to rap like I'm that guard / When it comes to culture, I pulling rap's card like a placard."

The real standout here is the song's productions -- a fantastic pounding beat, turntable scratching and a wonderfully-placed soul sample makes this an instant head-nodding track.

The song will appear on Ty's upcoming EP A Kick Snare & An Idea, which is due out digitally in April on Tru Thoughts.

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New Music: Tracey Lee - "It's About Time"

New Video: Rapsody - "Non Fiction" (Featuring Raheem DeVaughn)

Remember Tracey Lee? He was the Philadelphia rapper who had a chart-topping hit in 1997 with the club jam 'The Theme (It's Party Time)." Well, he's back with a new song called "It's About Time."

The rapper-turned-attorney flips Marvin Gaye's classic tune 'Time to Get It Together' into a groovy hand-clapping rap song. On it, Tray Lee insists he can still spit bars and he's ready to shine again.

"My faith in the music over time had diminished / But now I'm more focused, got recommitted / So I figured it's about time / Now bear witness to one of the best that ever did it," he raps over Gaye's sampled vocal riffs.

The song is from Tracey Lee (Esq.)'s upcoming album titled ESQ. under his imprint LLeft Entertainment that he shares with his wife Lori Nelson Lee. "[We are] not afraid to go against the grain of the industry and at our own pace," Lee tells Black Enterprise. "Our motto is 'Whenever mainstream goes right, we go LLEFT!'"

Only time will tell if Tracey Lee can recapture the hype and success he had in the mid-90s. To help you relive those golden days, I posted Tracey Lee's throwback video "It's Party Time" below.

**BONUS**: You know how he gets down...

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Roc Maciano has posted a previously unreleased track that, unfortunately, will not appear on his new album Reloaded (due Nov. 13). I'm not a big fan of Roc's "cat-in-the-hat"-type flow on this particular joint but Just Blaze's production on here is a major standout. The perfectly woven samples and the twangy guitars fits perfectly with Roc's punchy rhymes.

It's good to see (and hear) that not only can Just Blaze make anthemic chart-topping hits for major artists, he can still make guttural yet soulful beats for the underground sect. Roc Marciano's "Stop Me" is a slow burner.

Are you guys ready for a history lesson? DJ Rich Medina discusses how J Dilla flip the Mary Wells song "Two Lovers History" into an infectious beat for Mos Def's "History" (featuring Talib Kweli).

I have to agree with Medina that Dilla's sample was a "more mature version of that Kanye West-school of production" where he speeded up the soul sample into a chipmunk sound. Medina compared Dilla's creative sampling as a Mercedes-Benz to Yeezy's Toyota. No shots, of course. This is about music production and the innovativeness of the late J Dilla.

Rest in peace, Dilla Dawg. And thank you for the "History" lesson.

**BONUS**: "Served over Dilla time signatures / It's miracle material..."