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Hot 97's Summer Jam concluded its 22nd year last night at MetLife Stadium. Complex was live in New Jersey, roaming the parking lots for tailgating parties, and catching all the acts on the Festival Stage and Stadium Stage. We’re only weeks away from the official start of summer on June 21, and there’s still no unanimous anthem to dominate the next three months. So, we decided to poll random rappers hoping to get discovered at the East Coast's biggest hip-hop show to get their opinions on the song of the summer. We attempted to get five rappers in total, but one (who was wearing an “I Got Bars” lanyard) turned us away when we refused to pay $10 for his tape. Oh well.
Eric Diep is a writer living in New York. Follow him @E_Diep.
Name: Tirado
Age: 23
Hometown: Patterson, N.J.
Mixtape Plug: "I came out here with 1,000 CDs. I was trying to flip them, [but] no one was trying to buy them like I would hoped. All my information is there. I got a feature in here with Movie Star J from 1738 Remy Boyz. One of my artists, Tommy Versetti, from Patterson, N.J., is on there as well. And this is one of my remixes to Drake’s 'Energy' called 'Frienemies.' This is stuff that hasn’t come out yet."
Your Song of the Summer: "I would say either 'Trap Queen' or 'My Way.' Either way it’s Fetty Wap."
Name: A-Thug
Age: 28
Hometown: Harlem, N.Y.
Mixtape Plug: "These are some of the fan favorites like 'Rambo' and 'Bubba Kush.' 'Be Cool.' 'I’m a Rolling Stone' and 'Her Aura Is Fire.' I also got the 'Baddie Queen' single. It’s almost like 'Trap Queen,' but a little bit more intricate. It’s something that you would want to wife up [with]."
Your Song of the Summer: "The song of the summer is 'Baddie Queen.' Hands down. It’s coming from a different level where it is upgraded and bigging up women instead of degrading them."
Name: Dav3 Childz
Age: 28
Hometown: The Bronx, N.Y.
Mixtape Plug: "My mixtape, my EP is Forever Real. We dropped it last week, and so far it’s been picking up. A lot of people fuck with it. Honestly, trying to put some work in. Mix in with the people and let them know that we out here. The new single is out. The video is dropping soon. It’s called 'The Crew.'"
Your Song of the Summer: "Song of the summer? It’s gotta be that Fetty Wap. That new shit that dropped with Drake. That shit is crazy."
Name: Kenneth Tello of Fillthy Rich Crew
Age: 21
Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Mixtape Plug: "Basically, we know that we got a wide variety of music. Hence the name Nothing But Bangerz. It’s great music on there."
Your Song of the Summer: "I like Fetty Wap. He’s definitely putting on. The 'My Way' joint. Drake remixed that joint. He definitely moving in the right direction and I commend that."
Fetty Wap it is!