Yung Gleesh’s animated flows and comical delivery have garnered him a solid fan base over the past five years and change. With GLEESH, his oft delayed mixtape that recently arrived to muted reception, the D.C. rapper continues to add texture to the cartoonish world he started to actualize with mixtapes such as 2013’s Your Favorite Rapper’s Favorite Rapper and the following year’s stellar Cleansides Finest 3.
With a career marred by legal issues and wasted peripheral looks from rap’s mainstream elite (“walk Gleesh walk!”), Gleesh remains relatively unnoticed by the general public. Outlined below are seven of his catchiest hooks for the uninitiated and curious.
"Work Wit The Work" (2012)
Long before it received a new school remix by Playboi Carti and Lil Yachty, "Work Wit The Work" was one of Yung Gleesh's earliest successes as a hook-writer. Simple and effective, with elastic ad libs that perfectly compliment his natural D.C. drawl, this is a great showcase of his talents despite it being one of Gleesh's least eccentric gems.
"Its Sad Boy" (2013)
An unexpected collab with Sweden's foremost sad boy, Gleesh's vibrato makes this triumphant hook sound unshakably tainted by an aura of despondence.
"Please" (2013)
Produced by Zaytoven, "Please" is off of Gleesh's 2013 effort, Ain't Shit Changed. The hook is a primal chant for lean and weed, as well as an impassioned declaration of self. While the verses see Gleesh skillfully traversing the many hip-hop camps he's cool with, the hook is clearly a direct homage to the exaggerated stylings of ATL's Peewee Longway, Future and Young Thug.
"Trappin Benny" (2014)
Many of Gleesh's best hooks can be found on his breakout mixtape, Cleansides Finest 3. Produced by TrapMoneyBenny, the mind behind Drake's most recent viral sensation, "In My Feelings", this is an atmospheric anthem for those hustling to secure a better future.
"Wasabi" (2014)
It takes a special talent to turn repetition into a precision art and Gleesh is an undeniable master of such elusive vocal play. He cry-sings half the chorus, arguing for the merits of Japanese cuisine as the perfect foundation for a dinner date, before flipping the switch and crafting a rowdy, mosh-pit inducing anthem. Each time Gleesh says "wasabi" it sounds a bit different than the last, until you're left wondering if he's showering praise on Japanese horseradish or asking you how your day's going.
"Whistle" (2017)
"Whistle" may be the best example of Gleesh's idiosyncratic hook-writing. Building off the foundation laid by earlier songs like "My Dog" and "Water," this track is irreverent, charismatic and annoyingly catchy. The sense of melody is pristine and the ad-libbed whistling is just the cherry on top. Rap game's Patrick Swayze, Yung Gleesh dances effortlessly all over this thudding instrumental.
"Leap Year" (2018)
While hooks on GLEESH, his most recent mixtape, go as far back as 2014's "Wasabi" and include standouts like last year's "Whistle," "Leap Year" may be the most recent example of Yung Gleesh's consistent style. Where the verses are uncharacteristically aggressive, the hook is as silly and easily digestible as ever.