This year, Top Dawg Entertainment emcee REASON has been on an absolute tear musically. Back in March, he teamed up with Ab-Soul and the criminally slept-on Boogie for “Trapped In,” before contributing to his label’s Fan Appreciation Week with the controversial “Might Not Make It.” Now, he reveals a new visual for “Pop S***,” which features fellow TDE crony ScHoolboy Q and sees the two bringing their absolute best lyrically over the Kal Banx’ creeping production:
“I came farther, than a lot haters said that I could, became your father, that’s just pop s***, now I pop shit, Reas’ in cockpits/
Wait, high as planes, my stock is raised, let’s be honest, I was ballin’ way before the bucks, feel like Giannis/
Antetokounmpo, these niggas is too slow, done found me a loophole, competition, I been takin’ care of n***as, it’s a group home/
Stacks, been gettin’ plenty, spittin’ crack in inner cities, rap game, had to stick my foot in like eeny, meeny…/”
The Jon Primo-directed visual seems to blend concepts from The Purge and The Dark Knight, as REASON, ScHoolboy and their fellow goons terrorize the streets and end up crashing a listening party — held by an alternate dimension version of the Carson, California star, no less. Somehow, one can imagine that REASON’s recent listening part for New Beginnings was lit in an entirely different way.
Previously, REASON released his debut album There You Have It in 2018, which was in itself a TDE-helmed re-release of his 2017 mixtape. In an interview with DJ Booth, REASON’s manager and son to Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith Moosa spoke on why the decision was made to re-release the project:
“Besides the raw quality of THYI and wanting everyone to hear the growth on his next project, just knowing the process of making the project makes it worth rereleasing to me. A lot of up-and-coming artists talk about needing the big studios, ‘super producers,’ or just a substantial amount of money to work. REASON is a prime example that you don’t. He put this project together with a bunch of random beats off YouTube, working a 9-to-5 and still dealing with personal issues as we all do. When you work that hard the universe is always gonna reward you!”
Press play on “Pop S***” below.