Robbie Rapids drops "Class 2 Rapids" onto the table like a heavy set of keys to houses you used to live in, but can’t quite remember the address of. This Atlanta-based Gen X rocker has assembled a collection that feels less like a polished studio product and more like a glove compartment mixtape that has survived three car wrecks and a cross-country move. It...

A warning can sound like ego until you learn what preceded it. YesaYa’s "D.P.W.M" makes that tension the starting point of its challenge. "Don’t Play With Me" can read as a boast, or a wall raised before anyone gets close. Yet the UK rap single places confidence beside years of doubts, delays and knock-backs. That difference gives the statement weight. The point is not invulnerability. It...