Another week, another batch of fresh hip-hop from the Mile High City. Pries draws all eyes to him with The Lonely Kid Show, the tireless SP Double shows his proficiency on "The Mission Statement," Myke Charles, FL and the ReMINDers take on some G.O.O.D. music in "The Mourning," Black Mask member AGFlux recounts his musical journey on his new album, Scenic Exchange, Molina Speaks puts in work on Flobots.org's The Ten-11 Tapes Volume 1, and K!NG gets personal with his new release, ODOTGL (Over Dose on That Good Love) Vol 1. Keep reading to see what's good.
See also: - Fresh local hip-hop from Innerstate Ike, Billy Lipz, Young Doe, L-Keys - Fresh local hip-hop from King FOE and Yonnas Abraham, Naeem Oba and brikAbrak - Fresh local hip-hop from SP Double, Mr. Midas, SF1, Turner Jackson and Kid Hum
"Let Me Shine" - Pries Pries is one MC out of Denver who seems to be on the verge of breaking out. On "Let Me Shine," he demonstrates his ability to connect with a beat, and, with it, tell a story that commands attention. Like many local MCs, Pries definitely has the lyrical ability to be a major player, and he also has mainstream appeal that is easy to consume. If you were to put this track on a mixtape with the most popular artists around, it would definitely hold up, even if it wouldn't necessarily stand out.
"The Mission Statement" - SP Double SP Double bodies Focus's eerily strident composition with an immaculately constructed flow that showcases multisyllabic rhyming, assonance and consonance. SP is reminiscent of Los in terms of his technical proficiency, but unlike Los, SP avoids sounding mechanical with the way his voice naturally changes tone to reflect what he's saying. It's an adroit blend of natural expression and careful footwork that SP Double finds so well here.
"The Mourning" feat FL and the ReMINDers - Myke Charles Myke Charles organizes a superb crew to collab with him on a rework of "The Morning" off of G.O.O.D. Music's Cruel Summer. These Colorado rhymers prove who the cruel ones really are; as FL says: "The superstars are getting bodied." The G.O.O.D. fellas should be grieving in the wake of "The Mourning" because a few of the original's features get outdone here.
"Family Biz" - Molina Speaks On "Family Biz," Molina Speaks demonstrates his ability to capture common but affecting subject matter with simple and easy-to-understand lyrics. Skillfully layered '70s funk samples give this self-produced track its cheery outlook, and combined with the Nas sample scratched up by DJ Icewater, "Family Biz" has momentum that carries the head-bobbing fun past the end of the tune.
"Set It Off Choose a Road" - AGFlux On "Set it Off Choose a Road," AGFlux and bandmate Aklock talk about their respective journeys picking up the microphone and finding their modes of expression. The tale is punctuated with powerful cathartic moments of realization and actualization, like in Aklock's line, "until I finally awake to fight the final fight, dividing my fate, to grip a mike and find the right to relate." The beat, which was also constructed by the multitalented AG, is hopeful, but troubled, and gives a fitting sense of progression.
"The High" - K!NG Somewhere in between Frank Ocean, A$AP Rocky and Schoolboy Q is where K!NG's current inspiration seems to lie. While there are some chill R&B joints on the album, K!NG definitely raps best on "The High," where he sounds most natural and confident. Lines like, "Her perfume tastes like cocaine/Her ass is on that dope game/Her lips are made of fire/Strike a match and call that propane - boom." give the track a sense of immediacy that works well with his sensual style.
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