Every once in a while, Jay Z will bless us with a curated playlist for Tidal subscribers, and if you are one of those East Coasters who are staying in on a rainy Friday night, this brand-new one could be fun to dig into.
Hov delivers a 35-track playlist titled “Brick Phone” dedicated to hip-hop’s golden era, where the majority of hustlers and drug dealers carried those oversized cell phones. We go way back to ’88 with Boogie Down Productions’ “My Philosophy” featuring rhymes and production by KRS-One. After EPMD’s “So Wat Cha Sayin’” and Big Daddy Kane’s “Ain’t No Half-Steppin’,” hip-hop heads will salute Hov’s genius for putting Gang Starr and Nice and Smooth’s “DWYCK” on here. He referenced Guru’s line (“Lemonade was a popular drink and it still is”) on Fat Joe’s remix to “All the Way Up,” but the meaning in 2016 served as a response to Beyoncé’s infidelity claims on LEMONADE.
Geographically, Hov stuck with mostly his NYC cohorts, putting songs from Slick Rick, Run-DMC, LL Cool J, Eric B. & Rakim, and many more on his playlist. He sprinkled in some West Coast artists (DJ Quik, N.W.A., Ice Cube), as well as rappers from the South (Geto Boys, UGK). Shout out to Sir Mix-A-Lot holding down Seattle and the Northwest, as his record “Posse on Broadway” makes it at No. 23.
You can stream Hov’s playlist above. It’s about two hours and 30 minutes, so sit back, chill, and reminisce.
