Throughout the history of Hip-Hop, posse cuts have made for some of the dopest lyrical exhibitions of all time. The ever legendary “Forever” comes to mind, a track featuring four rap titans in Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem–all of which display an absolute mastery level pen game. Asap Rocky’s “1Train” is another track that comes to mind. A classic cypher that features seven artists in total battling it out one verse at a time.

These are posse cuts that have garnered a slew of public attention and will be celebrated accordingly for quite some time. While these tracks are undoubtedly bangers, there are a handful of similarly posse cuts that have flown under the radar over the years. Cuts that are just as quality as the aforementioned tracks, but may have not gotten the praise that they deserve in their time. Here are three of the most underrated posse cuts in recent memory.

Clockwork Indigo – “Butterfly Effect”

This collaboration between New York outfits Flatbush Zombies and The Underachievers is nothing short of amazing. Every verse on the track is fantastic and Flatbush member Erick Arc Elliott’s production is extraordinarily grand. The chopped up choir vocals paired with the vinyl crackle drenched drums is euphoric. Erik also makes minute changes to the beat throughout that each rapper adapts to wonderfully. Some stand out lines from the track include: “Rare to see, Sirius Star B, I’m a Star Seed/My light-beam across the nation, changin’ tastes, unitin’ races” (Issa Gold) and “Our life, it like sand castles, we are not built to last/But if we pack together close enough, the weather, we would stand” (Meechy Darko). What elevates this track from a lyrical mosaic to a sonic paragon is the beautiful outro sung by UK’s Espa. Her heavenly vocals juxtapose the raw energy displayed by Flatbush and The UA in such an incredibly complimentary manner. Simply stated, this track is a must-listen for anyone that appreciates great music.

Westside Gunn – “Frank Murphy”

“Frank Murphy” is as grimy a track as they come. The geniusly sparse horror movie-esque production creates a haunting atmosphere that allows the rappers on the track to really flourish. It is an out of the box instrumental that most rappers in today’s day and age would have trouble spitting on. But that is definitely not the case for Westside Gunn, Smoke DZA, ElCamino, Estee Nack, Flee Lord & Stove God Cooks. All of said rappers come through with hard hitting bars that cohesively fit together like adjacent puzzle pieces. Some of the dopest bars from track include: “Don’t ever judge a book by the cover/Bitch, judge a cook by how it bubble” (Stove God Cooks) and “They like “Don’t fuck up the price, DZA” (Ha)/Doggy, your method ain’t workin’, throw your hustle in rice, nigga” (Smoke DZA). The amount of stank face inducing punch lines that run throughout the track are endless. Each rapper kills their respective verses and the camaraderie between them is quite clear. This is Hip-Hop in its purest form and deserves much more love than it has received.

Freddie Gibbs – “Piñata” 

This closer track to Freddie Gibbs’ classic album of the same name is a straight up rap onslaught. All of the artists featured (Freddie Gibbs, Sulaiman, Casey Veggies, Domo Genesis, Mac Miller, G-Wiz & Meechy Darko) do not exactly appear to be likely collaborators. Though, this is exactly what makes the track so special. Each rapper brings something completely different to the table and every last one of them eats. Additionally, what really makes “Piñata” a true work of art is Madlib’s one of a kind production. The beat is absolutely perfect and it does not get wasted. There are a number of quotables on this track, some of which include: “Reputation say I’m robbin’ just for recreation/Revive my enemy with gun-to-mouth resuscitation” (Freddie Gibbs) and “Absorb it through your pores, the Lord with horns, a world war/Whores are more hors d’oeuvres when it’s a world tour” (Mac Miller). Even with these two lines, there is clear contrast between what each respective rapper brings to the track. All in all, “Piñata” is an absolute treat to listen to and is as quality a posse cut as any. It is definitely worth a listen and should be held in the upper echelon annals of Hip-Hop music.

G-HOLY.com, 2021.