Ever since his 2020 EP Haqqani, Hood Tali has continued to build his name as one of the best Philly drill rappers out right now. All beef and street politics aside, Tali is one of the city’s most prolific rappers delivering 5 tapes in the last 2 years, including his newest project Top 0pp.
Top 0pp, in my opinion, is one of his best bodies of work to date. What I love about Tali‘s music is that while it is violent and at times inflammatory, his flow, storytelling ability, and distinct beat selection are something you don’t see from many drill rappers. Especially in Philly, the new trend is to hop on generic Detroit beats and diss as many dead people as possible. Despite the top opp monicker, Tali details having motion out the trap and upping the score in a way that feels much less gimmicky than his contemporaries.
The production on the tape elaborates on the murderous yet bouncy energy of regional hits like “Trapnana”, “Blender”, “Dat Man”, and “Mr. Switchy” without feeling redundant. Ddot Freezing, Don D, Y2Krazy, Gurumadeit, and Pyro spearhead the project’s production and have a clear vision of how to amplify Tali’s sound and persona.
My personal favorites off this project are “50 in My Glick,” “Mob Ties,” “Blake Griffin,” and “Close the Back Door.” Check out the project below.
