With artists releasing songs at a fast and furious pace, it’s difficult for the average hip-hop head to keep track of it all—no matter how tapped in they are. That’s why we created The Ones, a daily post to highlight the song you need to hear.
Nearly every GANG51E June music video begins with the Tulsa, Oklahoma rapper slowly making his way through a prayer. This sets the tone for his painful and bluesy ballads, where he reflects on a system set up for him to fail. Earlier this year on his breakout single “Base Body,” June gave a brief history of Tulsa and rooted the current misfortune of the Black people in his city to the 1921 race massacre. These are generational wounds. That passed down trauma is felt on his new song “Quarantine Dreams,” too. Over gloomy acoustics, he warmly croons, “Remember when Granny had got on my ass cause a nigga was thuggin’ was skippin’ his classes,” a line that’s deeper than its surface. June’s grandmother is likely old enough to know that Tulsa was designed to drive him down the wrong path. This is why June prays so much, it’s the only way to have some hope.
Check out previous Ones, and listen to new rap from GANG51E June and more on our Spotify playlist.
