The past decade has seen an explosion in the number of YouTube channels showcasing rappers flexing on the mic. NYC-based On the Radar Radio has emerged as one of the most popular of the bunch.
Hosted by Power 105.1 on-air personality Gabe P, On the Radar has made a name for itself by consistently delivering memorable moments from some of the hottest up-and-coming rappers in the game. The channel has become so popular that it’s even attracted established acts like Meek Mill and Drake, the latter of whom accompanied the newly minted UK star Central Cee.
The latest MC to absolutely torch the On the Radar mic is Decatur, Ga.’s own Baby Tate. Rapping over the “Let’s Get Blown” beat, which the Neptunes produced for Snoop Dogg back in 2004 for his R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece album, Tate returns for her second freestyle and sends a few shots at her doubters, rapping, “They say I blink like Nicki, dress like Kimmy, get real freaky on a track like Missy, cocky like Rih Rih, rough like E-V-E, but I don’t understand why n—as won’t let me be me.”
Elsewhere, Tate gives props to some of her major inspirations, which include her mother, singer Dionne Farris, as well as Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, Eve, Kelis, Lauryn Hill and more, but laments the fact that because she’s a Black woman, “They don’t see Kendrick in me, they don’t hear the Ye, and they don’t see the P.”
But don’t just read the lyrics; go watch it. She goes in for the entire two minutes and 10 seconds that she’s onscreen.
Tate’s been killing it since she dropped her 2016 Toni Basil-interpolating “Hey Mickey!,” which became a viral smash seven years later thanks to TikTok. Most recently, TikTok gave her another assist when her 2022 collaboration with JID and 21 Savage, “Surround Sound,” powered what became known as the “ceiling challenge,” which saw fans placing their phones on the ceiling to get a bird’s-eye view as they danced to the song. The track, which peaked at No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, was propelled to No. 1 on Billboard‘s Rhythmic Airplay chart last month.
