Rap Blog is a weekly showcase of a standout rap song written by Vivian Medithi and Nadine Smith.
Maryland has always been a little bit in-between: not quite Southern, but not quite Northern either. Baltimore is one of the oldest cities in the country, but it’s often treated like a small town in the shadows of Washington and New York City. Despite the proximity to other major urban centers or maybe because of it, Baltimore’s music scene has often been something of an island unto itself, with a determined sense of self-sufficiency. The crossover success of Baltimore club has offered a potential gateway to the mainstream for the city’s rappers — Tate Kobang’s appearance on Pink Friday 2 is a recent example — but for whatever reason, Baltimore rap still seems to face an uphill climb compared to its cousins down the East Coast.
YG Teck has been a mainstay of Baltimore rap for almost a decade, and he’s been increasingly making a name outside of the city without sacrificing any of his local flavor. Last year he teamed up with Detroit’s Peezy for the slick full-length collaboration Champain, while his new project 4th Quarter comes with the Gangsta Grillz seal of approval. Teck’s sound has the melodic soulfulness of a Rod Wave or Youngboy, with mournful pianos and wailing saxophones, but his accent is unmistakably Baltimore: catch the twangy drawl that jumps out on words like “too” and “do,” vocally carrying the place that made Teck wherever he goes. There’s an existential weight to tracks like the Babyface Ray-featuring “Not Enough,” but the tape unexpectedly ends on a note of sweaty ecstasy, with a trip to the club on “Bomb.” Never in my life could I have imagined DJ Drama shouting ad-libs over a Baltimore club flip of “Thong Song,” but it’s a disarmingly effective pairing, as Drama functions as both hype man and wingman to Teck’s seductions.
