Artist: McKinley Dixon Album: Magic, Alive! Label: City Slang Link: www.mckinleydixon.com Style: Rap, Hip Hop
This American rapper was born in Maryland before moving to Virginia, where he attended Commonwealth University in Richmond. He threw himself fully into music in 2015, at the age of 20, and his first album was released in 2016. However, it wasn’t until his third album, For My Mama And Anyone Who Look Like Her, that he achieved critical acclaim thanks to his sophisticated lyrics and instrumentation. In ten years and five albums, McKinley Dixon has carved out a place for himself among hip-hop artists whose productions are eagerly awaited and scrutinized by specialists in the genre.
Known for the narrative power of his lyrics, McKinley Dixon takes a step away from the introspection of his previous albums, preferring instead to explore the feelings of a group of young people facing the loss of one of their own. Musically, he remains true to his love of jazz, which provides a rich and warm backdrop for his compositions. Far from the stereotypical image of aggressive rap with broken rhythms, the atmosphere reflects the rapper’s long, relaxed voice. A few tracks pick up the pace, but they fit perfectly into the flow of the album.
Although Hip-Hop-oriented, the music on Magic, Alive! showcases acoustic instruments. Numerous brass instruments illuminate the compositions, and even the percussion is not the result of a software: it is played by drummer Desean Gault. The backing vocals of the various guest artists reinforce the fluidity of the tracks. Without achieving the cohesion of a live performance, it is the organic connection between the flesh-and-blood musicians that you feel when listening to this album. Added to this is the meticulous arrangement of all the instrumental lines, which makes for pleasant listening even on high-fidelity systems.
Album: Black Hole Superette Label: Rhymesayers Link: https://aesoprock.com Style: Rap, Hip Hop
There is no connection between this New York rapper and the cosmetics brand Aēsop, except for a love of refined and hyper-referenced architecture, in the latter’s boutiques and in the former’s best compositions. During his childhood and adolescence, Matthias Bavitz listened to old-school rap by Public Enemy and Run DMC as well as rock by Ministry and Fugazi. He was also an avid reader and lover of words, which led him to be considered the rapper with the most diverse vocabulary in his lyrics. His first self-produced album was released in 1997.
An artist with a vast musical culture, his productions are exclusively in the world of hip hop. His music is very similar to that of the rap pioneers he knows by heart. There is little use of electronics and no saccharine choruses or catchy backing vocals. Instead, a significant number of sampled or original sounds are linked to jazz or funk. With this in mind, the result is tracks that are reminiscent of De La Soul’s early albums, fortunately without the unnecessary chatter, but with a monotonous flow in exactly the same spirit.
The album Black Hole Superette may be old-school in style, but scratches and other sounds indicating the use of vinyl records as sources remain rare. Unlike modern productions, the bandwidth is not overused in the lower end of the spectrum, avoiding any sense of aggression and favoring a warm midrange with a tranquil atmosphere. A few discreet backing vocals reinforce this soft sound, and while the vocabulary used is extensive, so too is the number of instruments that appear throughout the album, which keeps the listener from growing weary.
Artist: Leikeli47 Album: Lei Keli ft. 47 / For Promotional Use Only Label: Acrylic – Hardcover Link: https://leikeli47.bandcamp.com/album/lei-keli-ft-47-for-promotional-use-only Style: Rap, Hip-Hop
Leikeli47 talks about a shy child when she recalls her childhood, but she quickly decided to pursue a career in rap. As a teenager, she listened to N.E.R.D., Lauryn Hill, and the hugely popular Michael Jackson, and spent her time creating rhythms with whatever she could find. Her career really took off in 2010 with the release of mixtapes. The selection of one of her tracks for the launch playlist of the streaming platform Tidal gave her great exposure. After three EPs, she released her first album in 2017. When she appears in public, she remains masked so that listeners can focus on her music and will only reveal her face in 2024 with the video for the first single from this new album.
With lyrics imbued with feminism, advocating a takeover of power and the affirmation of women, particularly black women, Leikeli47 lets her firm or languid voice flow over the rare ballads. The instrumentation of her rap remains Hip-Hop-oriented but is based on electronica and draws inspiration from both House and Dancehall. There are also links to modern Latin and Caribbean music scenes and the Ballroom movement, which is based in New York, where the artist currently lives. While a few samples are easily recognizable, they are far from central to this music, which can sometimes seem experimental compared to the current rap scene, much to the artist’s credit!
Lei Keli ft. 47 / For Promotional Use Only is rich in machine-created rhythms, and its sound, sometimes a little surgical, often displays clarity and definition to match. While it may pose a problem for fans of older music and even older rap, it will delight those who love engaging bass lines with the possibility of turning up the volume without compromise, without anything overflowing. In addition, Leikeli47’s vocals are varied, avoiding monotony with constantly modulated flows.
Once again, rapper Rico Nasty pushes the boundaries of rap and hip-hop, drawing inspiration from both hard rock and soft pop on her trap album Lethal.
Daughter of American rapper Beware, Maria-Cecilia Simone Kelly never imagined herself working in music as a child. It was in high school that she began producing mixtapes. Around this time, her boyfriend died of a codeine overdose, and just after his death, she learned that she was pregnant with his child. She decided to leave the rap scene to raise her child and took a job as a receptionist for two years. But the call of music was stronger! In 2016, she released a series of singles that met with success on the Internet, including one in the Fast & Furious soundtrack, giving her enough exposure to sign to the Atlantic label.
Rico Nasty’s music is still based on early trap, but far from being confined to it, it can veer towards a punk-rap reminiscent of the first mixes to appear in the 90s, or conversely, plunge into modern hyper-pop that doesn’t forget to add a sweet soulful touch. Overall, everything she does is characterized by a dose of one-upmanship characteristic of this kind of music, where the competitive spirit remains a driving force. Passages reminiscent of Marylin Manson or Blink-182 rub shoulders with genuine pop ballads and tracks more rooted in modern rap, without the segues being overly destabilizing.
A record full of excess, it shines for its production quality, like recent albums by well-known American rappers. It’s a pleasure to listen to, even with a fine system, as the dynamics are often called upon and the bandwidth descends in depth, but always subtly enough so that the bass can also be heard on installations less inclined towards this register. Although based on electronic instrumentation, the timbres have a welcome freshness, often pleasing in their pleasing variety. The soundstage is also very well exploited by the mastering work, this necessary accompaniment being generally superbly managed by US studios.
