D.C. rapper ANKHLEJOHN is now known as LORDY, but he’s as reliable on the mic as ever: It always feels he’s spitting through gritted teeth and his chilly beat selection is still perfect for a brutal East Coast winter. Some music just sounds better when you have your puffer coat on, and Side B of December’s In Him We Trust makes it into my rotation. My go-to cut is “40 Dayz and 40 Nights,” where the soul sample (by producer Kirti Pandey) blares so powerfully that it could probably shatter a glass like Julie Andrews. In the meantime LORDY seamlessly weaves together words that will make you want to hustle harder, references to hip-hop lore (Wale won’t be happy), and one of the few pro-Palestine bars I can think of in recent memory: “Free Palestine, cease fire, and tell Egypt open up the gates.”
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.
Check out previous Ones, and listen to new rap from LORDY and more on our Spotify playlist.
