Uproxx’s Baylee Lefton Honors Rawkus Records’ Iconic Run With Her Latest Playlist

Keeping up with music news and resources like Spotify’s giant and regularly updated New Music Friday playlist are great ways to keep your listening habits from getting stale. Sometimes, though, you need a deeper dive. That’s where Uproxx’s Baylee Lefton comes in as she routinely offers quick-hit lists of songs you need to add into your rotation this week.

She delivered a fresh mix today (December 12), and is features tracks from the world of Rawkus Records, the iconic ’90s and 2000s hip-hop label co-founded by Uproxx’s own Jarret Myer.

As Baylee explains, the label was a big-time force in the era’s underground hip-hop and helped launched artists like Mos Def (now known as Yasiin Bey) and Talib Kweli. Baylee also notes, “Their compilations pushed some of the most influential, lyrical, and conscious hip-hop of that era. So if you love that kind of sound, Rawkus is a big reason why it caught on the way it did.”

As for her picks, she highlights Mos Def’s “Ms. Fat Booty,” Reflection Eternal’s (Kweli and producer Hi-Tek) “Blast,” Black Star’s “K.O.S. (Determination),” and more.

Check out the video above and to listen to the full songs yourself, hit up the link in Lefton’s Instagram bio.