Best Songs of the Week: Royce 5’9″, No Malice & ILoveMakonnen

Royce 5'9" is one of the most skilled lyricists that stills scribbles with the pen and he's back once again with a new hot song called "Dead Presidents Heads." Produced by Streetrunner, the soulful track serves as an appropriate canvas for the Detroit native to paint his thoughts over with its tumbling cymbals and snares amid a glorious soul sample. Leaving not a bar to waste, Royce has the eye of the tiger on the banger and serves up a healthy heap of quotables on this stellar outing. Stay tuned for the Slaughterhouse member's free EP Tabernacle: Trust The Shooter, as well as his forthcoming album, Layers, which is due to arrive on April 15.

No Malice, one-half of the now-defunct rap duo, Clipse, may have decided to put God to the forefront and leave the coke rap alone, but that hasn't done anything to diminish his skills on the mic, as evidenced with his latest release, "Best Believe It." Lifted from Movin' Weight, the accompanying soundtrack to his The End of Malice documentary, the song sees Malice teaming up with MD Uno and tackling the roots of evil and the pitfalls of the fast life. Rapping "Best believe it / Take it from me they coppin' the plea and I done seen it / She down on her knees fulfillin' your needs / That's that demon / That's the reason, got them fiendin', best believe it" on the hook, Malice also delivers a riveting verse before MD Uno puts the final nail in the coffin with his own 16 bars. "Best Believe It" is a sure-shot banger and one of this week's hardest tracks. This should quiet any concerns of Malice's religious conversion getting in the way of him delivering tough music for the streets.

ILoveMakonnen hasn't duplicated the success of his 2015 hit "Tuesday," but has kept on his grind with a number of mixtape releases and occasional loosies to keep his spot in the game warm enough until his next mainstream release. With his latest mixtape, Drink More Water 6 touching down, the ATL OVO connect relinquished a track from the project called "Solo," that could be a diamond in the rough once enough ears get privy to it. Inspired by those times in life when you have to get the job done by yourself, the upbeat song is one of this week's more enticing offerings and finds a home on our playlist with good reason.

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