Wednesday 8/5: ChaseTheMoney and Valee—"Bling Bling"
Today, we share our thoughts on a new song from the St. Louis producer ChaseTheMoney and the Chicago rapper Valee.
Welcome to Endless Scroll, the brainchild of Eli Enis (he/him) and Eric Bennett (they/them). Since Feb. 2019, we’ve been a weekly podcast about music, the internet, and where those two things intersect. Now we’re, also a M-F newsletter about songs. Our format is simple: a link to a song and a short take from each of us about what we think of it. Each day of the week has a corresponding genre: Monday is indie, Tuesday is punk, Wednesday is hip-hop, Thursday is pop, and Friday is misc.
Today, we share our thoughts on a new song from the St. Louis producer ChaseTheMoney and the Chicago rapper Valee. We’re joined by official Endless Scroll hip-hop contributor Michael Brooks.
ChaseTheMoney and Valee—"Bling Bling"
Michael Brooks:
After signing to GOOD Music back in 2018 and living rent free inside of summer playlists with one-off singles like “Allat” and the Jeremih-assisted “Womp Womp,” Valee seemed all but destined to be the next breakout star from the Windy City, until he wasn’t. That next year he released the Runnin’ Rich EP, which made headlines for its now-infamous cover (a photo of his Chihuahua with its fur dyed red) rather than the music itself, which is a shame because Runnin’ Rich is actually pretty damn good. It should come as no surprise then that I’m all in on his latest track “Bling Bling,” which finds Valee teaming up once again with frequent collaborator ChaseTheMoney.
As a producer, ChaseTheMoney creates minimalist backdrops littered with booming 808s and skittering hi-hats, the perfect playground for Valee’s drowsy and hypnotic flows to slide around in. His oddball delivery might not be for everybody; he raps like a sentient meditation app that occasionally hops into cyphers with his classmates during free periods. But in an era dominated by SoundCloud crooners it’s exciting to see somebody veer off the beaten path. Rumor has it that Valee and ChaseTheMoney have a new album coming out later this year, the duo’s second project together following the VTM mixtape. If the rest of it’s as good as “Bling Bling” then I’ll take it as soon as possible.
Eli Enis:
I must say, it’s really refreshing to hear a whisper rapper right now. In a year that’s been dominated by boisterous personalities like Sada Baby, Flo Milli, and BFB Da Packman and self-assured MC’s like Freddie Gibbs, the Griselda crew, and even Lil Baby, Valee’s way of rapping like he’s giving someone a wiff of his freshly minted breath is a nice change of pace. ChaseTheMoney’s beat on this track is relatively minimal, but Valee still finds a way to hide in the background and dip in and out of the cushiony bass. Although the title, “Bling Bling”, brings to mind extravagance and flash, Valee’s delivery on here could almost be described as coy. The song isn’t a stunner or even all that memorable (I’ve listened to it four or five times and can’t even recall the main melody). It’s just. . .nice and. . .soothing—but not in the insipid, “White Iverson”-era Post Malone way. In the cold glass of ice water on a hot summer day way.