Bari - “Guns -N- Butter” (Feat. Vandam Bodyslam & Freddy P) (2013)

(The vid is probably NSFW or even this coffee shop I’m sitting in, has a couple of strip club scenes)

Vandam Bodyslam is solidifying himself as my favorite rapper out of South Florida just because he wears Florida Gator hats (and he’s apparently cool with star UF recruit Kelvin Taylor). Also, he can rap well.

Bari expresses some heartfelt stuff about ~the struggle~ and supporting his mom, which I hope we all can appreciate. But Vandam’s brief feature on the second verse stands out. His verse just seems effortless. Vandam’s on another level compared to almost every other street rapper out of South Florida. His voice has some combination of grimey and hoarseness that is pretty gripping. And to think he’s only talking about blunts, women and freeing his friends from incarceration.

Money - “Wham” (Feat. Vandam Bodyslam & Rook) (2012)

“Wham” is off of Money’s strong offering Rookie of the Year, which contains “Plays on My Phone“ and unfortunately features many Yae Yae verses.

PCC - “Cuz Green” (2011)

I don’t know why it took me so long to come across a non-video edited version of this song. Vandam’s verse on PCC’s “Club Scene” provides a set of lines that form one of the more well-crafted conceited hooks I’ve heard in the past year:

I don’t mug-mean, I don’t mug-mean,

I get mean mugged. Fuck cuz—cuz green.

There is absolutely no love in this track. If the beat’s steady progression of the celestial keys (that sound like they should have been a throwaway on a Jeezy mixtape from last decade or so) doesn’t get you bouncing around like a fool, you probably need to get your hater count up. This is off of Paper Chaser Party which features other jams like “Baby That’s Nothin’” in which Vandam starts off the track with an ultra-cocky flow that is likely to make you a believer, if you weren’t already.

Vandam - “I Swear” (2012)

I swear that I’m not posting this because he has on a Florida Gators hat.

Aside from fleeting instances of Miami and Gators fandom, one of the biggest things I look for over time in new artists is hunger. Putting out three songs a year with the same content to mainly attain local strip club fame isn’t a convincing argument for your drive. One standout who has been putting in work in the Palm Beach scene is Vandam Bodyslam. 

In ”I Swear”, Vandamcontinues the street tales & cautionary messages of “Lessons Learned” and “Best Thing” (in which 1Hot snaps as well):

…the other half in the graveyard, cause they couldn’t find no nine-to-five.

Dont give a fuck if your day’s hard, shit it’s hard for us to reach 25.

There is a lot of unity amongst Palm Beach rappers, which means lots of posse-cuts with the likes of PCC, 1Hot, Clete, Tenfoe and 4Pack. “On Da Corner“ gives you a good sense of how commanding Vandam can be on these tracks. The style is simple but probably works becuase of the matter of factness of his rhymes. He is an easy standout on “Just Tickin” as his flow fits nicely with the upbeat vibe despite mentioning an instance of pooping. It’s not a coincidence he’s usually on the hooks, the dude just kind of makes it look easy. 

In the past few months he’s released collaborative mixtapes with PCC’s Breezy Bree, Trap’s Most Wanted, and 1Hot, Unforgettable Statements 2. So Whut It Dew should solidify his mark in the often overlooked market of Palm Beach when it’s released in July.

Money CTC - “Winning” (feat Triple J & Shayne)(2012)

I just posted a song by Shayne Melody and I think the Shayne on the hook of this song is the same dude. This has been in my drafts folder for maybe a week. His sound works a little bit better on “Winning” with Money, who had a cool joint earlier this year with “Plays on My Phone”.

Money - “Plays On My Phone (Remix)” (Feat. Yae Yae & Breezy) (2011)

This video was released the other week and is a remix of last year’s “Plays on My Phone”. I’m sure this isn’t the first usage of a phone button tone for a beat, but this is banging regardless. All of the playbook/cell phone provider references going on here makes it fun too. 

Killa Kim - “I Do This” (2012)

It’s hard to doubt Palm Beach’s Killa Kim’s premise that haters don’t hate on their own accord. Lines like that and “Drink on Harry Potter, sippin magic in a bottle” makes me think that Killa Kim wittiness goes beyond what is shown in “I Do This”.

Let’s hope that this is a resurgence of Trick Daddy’s Dunk Ryder label associate Killa Kim. There’s much more confidence in her delivery than in the past. The beat from Beat Arkitecz has that stick-drilled sound that has been used all over the place for the past few years. With PCC, Vandam and potentially Killa Kim making more music again, Palm Beach is playing a bigger and bigger role in the South Florida rap scene.