Freddie Gibbs, "Careless"
Freddie Gibbs came off the triumphant Piñata, an album-length collaboration with Madlib, riding high. For his follow-up, Shadow of a Doubt, he worked with a variety of producers, and while the production is solid, it's really all about Gibbs and his rhymes. I'm not the first to say it, but Gibbs comes across kind of like 2Pac, only with much more variation in his flow. I think this album really kind of demonstrate it, as there is so much focus on his delivery. While I think his work with Madlib is his best work, this is a very good record.
Lily Allen, "The Fear"
I'm not sure how to describe it, but it sounds to me like Allen will break her vocal rhythm outside the measures pretty often, pulling phrases across the breaks into order to change the feel of the song. It's a really nice effect she does on a number of songs, and you can hear some of that in the first verse here.
Yo La Tengo, "Griselda"
From Fakebook, Yo La Tengo's 1990 acoustic covers album, which isn't really like anything else they've done. They certainly exhibit this acoustic side every now and again, but it's usually balanced by their noisy side. But this record is just pretty across the board, and it therefore stands apart from the rest of Yo La Tengo's discography.
Unsane, "Hazmat"
Occupational Hazard is the final Unsane record before their reunion, and their first for Relapse Records. Relapse isn't a major label, but is certainly one of the big dogs of the underground, and is home to many of the most famous loud bands. With the move to Relapse presumably came more of a budget, and this is the clearest recording that Unsane made in their first incarnation. While there's plenty of crushing material here, I think the clarity of the production isn't really doing them favors. I like some grit in my noise rock.
Nas, "Stillmatic (The Intro)"
This track is mostly notable for being the thing that leads in to "Ether", but otherwise, it's pretty forgettable.