Newcomer Josh McFadden, who has a sound slightly reminiscent of Andre 3000, drops his debut mixtape Project Genesis, and proves that his career as an emcee is just getting started.
When hip hop originated in the 1960’s, the term “emcee”–which generally referred to an event announcer–took on a new meaning. Early hip hop performers were dubbed MCs, for their ability to move the crowd.
Many who grew up at the height of hip hop’s golden era say that hip hop today is dead, but that’s because they haven’t heard the new blood in the game, like Josh McFadden. McFadden has artfully mastered hip hop’s tenets of storytelling and kicking knowledge, presenting deep thoughts in an entertaining way, with a style sometimes reminiscent of Outkast’s Andre 3000.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Josh McFadden was adopted, and later raised in sunny Daytona Beach. Rather than rap with the typical braggadocio about a rented lifestyle–rented cars, video vixens, houses–Josh seeks to bring back the intellect that hip hop was once rich with, before label executives figured out hip hop was a goldmine and attempted to hijack our hip hop. His latest mixtape, Project Genesis, is a thirteen-track project infused with artistic genius, guaranteed to be aesthetically pleasing to both the hip hop purists and the hip hop progressives.
From the moment you hit play, the intro provides an ambient soundscape, setting McFadden up to come through with the kill, and he swiftly delivers, from beginning to end, putting out a cohesive, solid project that’s unique in that it’s as thought-provoking and socially conscious as it is entertaining.
Standout cuts include “Bucks of America,” a track that pays tribute to Eric Garner and #BlackLivesMatter, “I Love You, Melanin,” “EveryTyme Eye,” and “AS ABOVE, so below.”
Track 11, “Meditate Never H8″ is particularly distinct, as rather than bars and a beat, it features binaural beats which are auditory tones believed to help induce certain brainwaves that help induce relaxation, meditation, creativity, and other beneficial mental states.
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