Only a few rap songs from the past few years have lyrics that offer a welcome shock every single time I hear them. On the shortlist is Rio Da Yung OG’s punchline-driven madness “Legendary”; RXK Nephew’s “American tterroistt,” a 10-minute saga that is the sonic equivalent of a Reddit thread; and lastly, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s raunchy megahit “WAP.” Sexyy Red’s breakout single “Pound Town” is in that league, earning the title of the wildest rap hit of the year. Over a Tay Keith beat that would have the strip clubs on lock in 2008, Sexyy Red is getting her toes sucked, recruiting dudes who are savages in bed but can also be decent stepfathers to her son, and theatrically moaning like she’s in a Paul Verhoeven-directed sex scene. Then, of course, there’s the line: “My coochie pink, my bootyhole brown,” a declaration she breezes through like it’s just another bar. It’s funny, out-of-pocket, and makes pearl clutchers squirm—but it never feels like she’s trying too hard to be provocative.
Elaborating on the spirit of “Pound Town” is Red’s new mixtape Hood Hottest Princess, which sets the tone for what she hopes is the nastiest, sweatiest, and freakiest summer since the smartphone came along. Fittingly, the booming sound of the project feels of a time when beats by Shawty Redd and Zaytoven were the blueprint (honestly, if you were to tell me that Sexyy Red has been in a cryo chamber since the summer of 2012, I wouldn’t be surprised). But the throwback spirit of Hood Hottest Princess actually comes from Red’s St. Louis roots, a city that is, according to her, stuck in the 2000s: “We don’t listen to the new rap; we still listen to the old shit,” she said in a recent interview. You can hear that sensibility in the way she raps with a slurred delivery, as if she’s been stranded on an island with banging 2008-2009 Gucci Mane tapes, like EA Sportscenter and The BurrPrint: The Movie 3D. And most importantly, she doesn’t simply refashion existing Gucci hits. In an era where so many artists are looking to capitalize on “ready-made nostalgia,” that would be the easier route. But for Red, that source of inspiration is a foundation—not necessarily the point.
You could let practically all of Hood Hottest Princess ride at a party or club without killing the vibe; it’s 30 minutes of straight-up standing-on-the-table raps. There are a handful of songs on here that are bound to be summertime anthems (if they aren’t, then we’ll get what we deserve, which is three months of rappers riding the wave of club-rap and J. Cole and Lil Durk doing their version of Schoolhouse Rock). “Hellcat SRTs,” a song about getting turned on by a man who’s willing to do everything behind the wheel that traffic laws would advise against (speeding, fucking, smoking dope), will turn dancefloors into shouting matches. The beat is so thunderous that it sounds like you should be listening to it in an IMAX theater. Meanwhile, “Sexyy Walk,” produced by Juicy J and DJ Paul, is all brute force, with Sexyy Red starting the song off blazing hot and never letting up: “Coke-bottle shape and I got some soft skin/Chanel No. 9, exotic weed, that’s my scent.”
Hood Hottest Princess is also full of moments that are hilariously off the rails. The shrill hook on “SkeeYee” is so hypnotic and nutty, you’ll probably be asking Why? until you just decide to give in. When Red’s voice is in this high register, the spirit of Gucci that possesses her starts to sound a lot more like Trina. That’s where she’s at on “Mad at Me,” laying down raps that talk about guys the same way male rappers have women forever: They’re all just there to “lick-lick between my ass, suck on my clit” (except her baby’s daddy, whom she seems to have a soft spot for). On “Female Gucci Mane,” she leans into the Guwop comparisons; her delivery is almost drunken, but it never slips into full cosplay. That approach is less successful on the Three 6 Mafia-indebted “Strictly for the Strippers,” which interpolates “Sippin’ on Some Sizzurp.” It’s the one time she lets nostalgia do all of the work.
Underwhelmingly, the original “Pound Town” is not on the mixtape; in its place is “Pound Town 2,” which is pretty much the same song, this time featuring a Nicki Minaj verse that isn’t steamy enough to match Red’s energy. These chart-chasing remixes are inevitable at this point, but if it had to be done, Cardi B would have been a better fit; her updates of Latto’s “Put It on Da Floor” and Glorilla’s “Tomorrow” are worthwhile, not just industry formalities. Luckily, it would take a whole lot more than a mailed-in Nicki verse to bring down a mixtape as fun as Hood Hottest Princess. For a minute there, the mainstream options for soundtracks to warm-weather debauchery were looking slim. That’s where Hood Hottest Princess comes in. Lighten up and take your pick.
