If summer is about deep house; if summer needs those airy chords and the breezy melodies then hip hop belongs to the winter. Hip hop isn’t meant to be played while walking down a street in the middle of summer whist beads of sweat drip off your skin. No. Hip hop isn’t always sunshine. Most of the time it’s not. It’s not about becoming something it’s not either and as such it seems to remain dominant on my speakers throughout the winter. The chills that travel up your spine as you step outside match the deep voices of my favourite rappers. The wind hits my face but my ears are protected by my headphones which not only are noise cancelling but apparently wind cancelling too. So that’s helpful.
I credit my one and only saviour, Lord Kanye West as the main reason why I listen to hip hop in the fall. After releasing College Dropout in February of 2004, I was set on listening to hip hop during the snowy months. More recently, other rappers have followed suit, Drake being as emo as ever obviously releases his music in the fall. The Weeknd even has been bold enough to call himself King of the Fall, alright, Abel, enough.
https://soundcloud.com/dailyloudmusic/the-weeknd-king-of-the-fall
Whatever the reason, fall and winter is for hip hop. It’s for deep voices, snares, bass and (sometimes) angry sentiments. Because the only way to deal with the impending cold is to foster that I-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude it seems only hip hop can organically produce.
Check out Rome Fortune. He’s signed to Gucci’s label (???) and has recently released this amazing EP called Small VVorld which is perfect for the fall.
You know what else is a perfect fall album? Take Care. He may not be able to hit a pull up jumper (in warm ups) but shit, Drake sure can make a emotionally charged album perfect for autumn. He’s so Canadian sometimes.
Claire McArthur 