AZ Chike has been continuing to build a name for himself. In 2024, he appeared on two albums from Black Hippy artists. First, he appeared on the track “Movie” from ScHoolboy Q’s excellent album Blue Lips. Later in the year, he appeared on Kendrick Lamar’s surprise album GNX, delivering the standout feature verse on the track “Peekaboo.”
The song became a fan favorite and Lamar even performed part of it during the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show. Since his guest spot on GNX, he’s released a handful of singles. “Whatx2” is the latest, and the strongest of his recent solo output. “Whatx2” is a bouncy track, with a lot of the trademark California flair that rappers out of that state bring to their music.
AZ Chike brings quite a bit of humor to the bouncy, 614Ase-produced track, opening with the line “I don’t trust n****s ’bout as far as I could throw ’em.” The verses feature some raunchy and occasionally ridiculous bars, including a Resident Evil namedrop. It’s two pretty fun verses that work well. Chike also seemingly entered himself into the feud between Joey Bada$$ and what feels like the entire state of California.
In the video version of this song, a snippet of another song can be heard at the end, where he says “you gon’ respect this Duckworth after I’m done with this.” After his big 2024, it seems like AZ Chike wants to have an even bigger 2025. Potentially getting into a sparring match with one of New York’s best lyricists is not a bad way to start. Even if Joey does not respond to that verse, “Whatx2” is still well worth the listen. Stream it below.