Kodak Black Gives Fans Christmas Surprise With 'Gift for the Streets'

12-25-2024

(ICLG) Kodak Black season continues as the multi-platinum rapper delivers a Christmas Day surprise: his third full-length project in two months, Gift for the Streets, out now via Vulture Love / Capitol Records. After two mostly solo outings, the Pompano Beach luminary throws a star-studded affair featuring Lil Yachty, Veeze, Rob49, Taylor So Made, No Limit Records OG C-Murder, and more, not to mention a partial Hot Boys reunion with Juvenile and BG.

The release follows Kodak's December 23 appearance at his hometown's Pop the Trunk Christmas Toy Giveaway, a free drive-through event which included giving out 1,800 toys for kids - and a surprise Kodak cameo, too. This Thanksgiving, he continued his annual Kodak's Turkey Drive, giving out 1,800 turkeys in honor of the 1800 block he grew up on.

Gift for the Streets lives up to its name, blessing fans with tracks like "Sh*t Show," where Kodak turns dark visions into a sticky hook - "Need my ice crushed up, double cup stuffed" - over an ethereal beat packed with rubbery bass and crisp snares. Veeze brings his creaky slur to the mix, and Yachty follows, making a case for dismissing the backstabbing haters and focusing on some earthly rewards instead.

Elsewhere, vengeance wins out. On "Same Altima," Kodak, Juvenile, and BG unfurl narratives full of poverty, paranoia, punishment, and penitentiary visions. And while our host riffs on romance on "Go Get Em," New Orleans star Rob49 speaks on the streets in his bone-rattling baritone: "Put my heart aside / My s--- been broke too many times by n----- who I think ridin'." BG, who was released from prison last year after serving 12 years, returns for the reflective "Short Timing," and C-Murder, who is serving a contested life sentence, lands on a familiar, heartbreaking refrain: "Is there a heaven for a gangster?"

The 12-song set (which also includes cameos from TTO K.T., Emoney, and Taji Akeil) arrives after a pair of November mixtapes: Dieuson Octave (led by the single "Catch Fire"), a haunted, inward-looking project titled after the artist's actual birth name; and Trill Bill (featuring "News Matt"), which captured the multifaceted man from a different angle - the "fly, fresh, and foolish" side.

The three recent releases are Kodak's first solo full-lengths since 2023's When I Was Dead, in which he vividly explored both his nightmares and his aspirations. Featuring the smash hit "Lemme See," the set only reaffirmed Kodak's status as one of the most gifted of his generation. More recently, he dropped the hard-hitting "Hit Stick," preceded by introspective tracks like "Dis Time" and "Stressed Out."

Furthermore, Kodak kickstarted this summer with his record label Vulture Love's first official project, Vulture Love Presents: The Last Zombies on Earth, featuring contributions from VVSNCE, Lil Crix, G6reddot, GorditoFlo, Big Fredo, Jay Dirty, Taji Akeil, and more. Listen HERE. Beyond generating millions of streams, it received tastemaker acclaim. XXL and The Source plugged it, and HotNewHipHop praised, "where this debut album succeeds is giving these up-and-coming artists a great platform to make their voices hard." He then later followed up the compilation with a sold-out show at Los Angeles' NOVO.

Kodak's expansive vision and status transcend rap. Over the years, he's cultivated the role of a prophetic storyteller and resonant channeller of the culture, and his reach continues to grow. He has over 25 billion global streams to his name and continues to engage in altruism within his beloved Florida community.