Invincible – Shapeshifters [Album]

It's fitting, for those of you who are unfamiliar with Detroit-based rapper, Invincible, that you would find out about her here, on a music blog that devotes equal energy and interest in covering underground artists as it does mainstream acts.

Though she has the chops to dominate the mainstream, Invincible is as underground and indie as a rapper can get. Aside from consistently rejecting offers from major labels to sign with them, particularly those that saw the potential to make her the next female Eminem, she has made a concerted effort to make an impact in her home city and state, through works of art. Deemed by people like Talib Kweli as, "one of the most talented emcees I've ever heard black or white, male or female", Invincible remains vigilantly true to the kind of hip hop that represents a revolutionary, counter-cultural message.

Born in Israel but raised in Detroit, as a female activist emcee, Invincible offers a perspective typical listeners are not often privy to. While Hebrew is her native tongue, she learned English through hip hop. She delivers searing lyrics with earnestness and soul, speaking to all the issues any notable revolution has ever been about. In "Locusts", over a House Shoes beat, Invincible and fellow Motor City rapper Finale analyze the disheartening gentrification of their city.

Invincible's debut album, Shapeshifters came out on her own label, Emergence. Never one to sleep on new and diverse opportunities, be sure to follow to Invincible's Twitter to see what she's up to next.

• Emergence Official Site

@lizchoi / liz@earmilk.com