Black Beatles and Juju on that beat review

I've long given up on pop music in 2016, so at this point in the year I just want to see how low the Billboard top 10 can drop in quality. When I saw today that there is FINALLY a new number one (See my 'Closer' review for the reasons why) I was overjoyed. Then I found out that it was 'Black Beatles' by Rae Sremmurd - but I'll get into that in a minute. Another song that caught my attention was 'Juju on that beat' by Zay Hilfigerrr (Yes it is really written like that) and Zayion McCall, which had remained at number 8. Since I live in the UK where neither song is a big hit yet, I hadn't heard either so I checked them both out. What did I find?

'Black beatles' by Rae Sremmurd ft. Gucci Mane



I kind of love Rae Sremmurd in a so-bad-they're-good way. 'No flex zone' is still one of my go to brilliantly terrible rap tunes I bang out from time to time, usually in Skype calls very loudly. The rest of their discography is just as bad if not worse - 'No type' especially. That's why I was concerned to see them at number one: Has America really fallen this far? Well, 'Black beatles' isn't at number one because of the song, rather because of the #MannequinChallenge, where large groups of people freeze in position as somebody films the whole experience while this song plays in the background. The trend itself is probably the best I've seen so far online, it's entertaining to watch and seems fun to be part of - but anyway, onto the song.

I actually like it... unironically. It's not amazing or anything, but it's got a decent tune and decent production, which is more than can be said of most of this year's big hits. The backing vocals in the chorus are especially great, and fit with the dark, grimey tone very well. Honestly, the most annoying thing about the song is that Rae Sremmurd are comparing themselves to the Beatles, which is obviously not something anybody should do, let alone the creators of perhaps some of the worst songs of the decade. The lyrics aren't even that bad, at least by Sremmurd's standards. I'm not sure if this is the first number-one to feature the words 'Old Geezer' but I certainly hope it isn't the last.

6/10

'Juju on That Beat' by Zay Hilfigerrr &Zayion McCall


This song on the other hand, is trash. You guys remember 'Watch me Whip/Nae Nae', the inexplicable smash hit from last year that repeated other people's already established dances behind a four second loop of a generic beat? If you added in two AWFUL rap verses and swapped out the dances it would become 'Juju on That Beat'. It's not quite as bad as 'Watch me', as the production, while incredibly annoying is still not as bad as Silento's and there are at least actual lyrics in this song.

There's very little to really say about the production, it sounds like a stock beat. The rapping is bad, especially the second guy (I can't be arsed to research which of these two he is, it's not like he's gonna have another hit) who doesn't even try to make some of his lines rhyme and seems suspiciously like he was the first guys friend and just spontaneously decided to be a rapper, practiced for about a week and then recorded this verse. It's still not the worst song of the year, but it's close.

2/10