made a thousand songs that made you move yr ass

This has been out a minute now but its got some legs; as with M.O.P.'s "I'll Whip Your Head Boy," the vets are killing it this year. Almost makes you forget about that new Mobb Deep record.

My favorite $hort record is Get In Where You Fit In, maybe because it is the perfect mid-period Short Dog LP, his rapping style already fully established but with beats that wouldn't have sounded dated or out of place on B.I.G.'s second album 4 years later when Easy Mo Bee went Cali bounce. $hort's always been able to drop a hot single whatever the era, whether yr thinking of classic late 80s "Freaky Tales" or early millenial "Burn Rubber." But to me GIWYFI is where he hit his stride, album number 8, around the time of Ant Banks' first solo record, halfway between the Life Is... platinum breakthrough and Gettin' It, the first record where the beats start to sound dated and $hort sounds a bit weary, his 'retirement' release. Not that you can blame him, ten albums deep; everyone started fucking up in '96, the year where rap across the spectrum seemed to stumble and grope for a new direction.

Back to Get In Where You Fit In: yes "Blowjob Betty" is classic - can't believe it took this long for someone to turn his sittin'-on-the-sink line into a hook, and the comedy-grotesque finale is something to behold - but really it's all about "Just Another Day," an epic 8 minute bass-heavy groove that feels far too brief, the kind of track you could let ride for 20 minutes plus without getting tired, just listening to $hort spit the same effortless cross-country celebration lyrics, the anthem that launched 1,000 parties, pristine summer barbecue music that soundtracks hazy 80-degree daylight through breezy sunset dusk.

"Blow the Whistle" is good too, and it's cool to hear Lil Jon's still got it; I thought $hort's mixtape Pimpin Incorporated from earlier this year was alright, although he sounded a little tired. I couldn't force myself through that Gangsters and Strippers comp but I've been rocking this single since it dropped and it's still in the rotation. Alongside the ridic new Shondrae-produced Kelis track I'm definitely gonna check for Up All Nite when it drops, if it drops soon, and you should too.