Tree – “The King” (MP3/stream)

An Elvis song, let alone the schmaltzy classic “Can’t Help Falling in Love”, seems an odd choice at best for a rap sample (at worst, we’re talking Dipset “Built This City” territory). But Chicago rapper/producer Tree manages to flip the sample into a soul-trap hybrid that, I don’t know, just works. He spits gruff, elastic, occasionally pinch-voiced tough-talk and hippie street guru bars, slipping in affecting lyrics like “Drunk as hell, man / I probably shouldn’t have a pistol.” As much as the drill scene has dominated its recent rap coverage, Chicago is a city of many voices just like any other, and Tree happens to be, along with steadily rising Chance the Rapper, one of its more interesting and talented.