5 Play: Key! wants you to 'Tighten Up'

Key! — "Tighten Up" feat. Wavy Wallace (Video)
Key!'s been on a roll lately. Example: "Look At Wrist," FKEYi, "Give 'Em Hell." Late Thursday night Key!'s manager sent over an email with a link to what she referred to as "a trippy ass" video for her artist's single, "Tighten Up," featuring Wavy Wallace. The the three-and-a-half minute clip finds the two MC's smoking gorilla-thumb joints and performing their verses with intercutting shots from the Street Fighter video game. Trippy, indeed.

Rittz — "Fish Hook"

If the previous releases are any indication, this DJ Burn One GREENWOOD project is shaping up to be pretty damn good. Burn One sent over this cut with Rittz delivering his usual spit-fire rhymes over a jazzy saxophone riff, and a little guitar-string plucking from Go! Ricky Go! This Five Points production team (Burn One, Go! Ricky Go!, Walt-Live) are onto something.

Archibald Slim — Better Off Dead

I haven't been able to stop listening to this latest offering from Awful Records MC, Archibald Slim. Maybe it's the fact that he sounds like some amalgamation of Pusha T, Big K.R.I.T., and Freddie Gibbs, or none of the above. Whatever it is, the kid can rap. Archie's Better Off Dead is an 8-song release highlighted with cuts like "Taxin" featuring Awful brethren Father and Pyramid Quince, and the GAHM-assisted, "Same Ol' Shit." It might be hard to keep track of all 14 of Awful's artists, but chances are you'll be hearing the name Archibald Slim more often going forward.

Nappy Roots — "Hazy" and "40 Intro"

For the month of November Nappy Roots has launched a music series where they'll release a new song every Friday. Dubbed, the Something's Gotta Give campaign, the promotion is a prelude to Nappy Root's 2015 album, The 40 Akerz Project, which figures to be mostly (or entirely) produced by the SMKA team of 808 Blake and Kato. Last week, the group dropped, "Hazy," and this week it was the "40 Intro" getting the premiere treatment. Both tracks are definitely worth a listen, and seem to be a telling sign of the momentum being gained between Nappy Roots and the SMKA team.

Last week: Miloh Smith's 'In Here,' and Abra's 'so far gone'

5 Play is weekly post/playlist that highlights new releases from local hip-hop and R&B acts. Got a track, album, EP, or video that deserves a little 5 Play lovin'? Send your pitches to Culture Editor Gavin Godfrey (gavin.godfrey@creativeloafing.com).