KING CANGIN has dropped off a new album, titled Knee Deep in Beats. An emcee from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn of Puerto Rican and Sicilian descent, CANGIN's music draws from the rich tapestry of golden age hip-hop while injecting doses of emotive, personal lyricism. His musical roots run deep as the grandson of Frank Cangin, a popular Bensonhurst singer in the 70's and 80's. His latest offering, Knee Deep in Beats, tackles overcoming adversity, embracing heritage, and the relentless pursuit of one's dreams, atop a series of raw instrumentals that blend 90's boom-bap influences with modern flourishes.
A number of potent, auto-biographical and historically rich tracks detail the character of Knee Deep in Beats. "South Brooklyn" laces CANGIN with a hypnotic, dark instrumental upon which he spits emotive flows, painting a vivid picture of a tumultuous upbringing with his father incarcerated, his stepfather battling crack addiction, his own run in with law enforcement. He delves deeper into his Sicilian heritage on "Sicily Shadows", dropping energizing flows atop a harrowing instrumental. While "Bensonhurst" finds CANGIN discussing growing up in Brooklyn as he weaves raw lines atop a jazz-tinged, graceful instrumentation, as he reflects on the hardships faced in the borough while also celebrating resilience.
Knee Deep in Beats takes the listener on a journey through KING CANGIN's life atop gritty, jazzy boom-bap influenced instrumentation as he dives into enriching topics like his history and heritage, overcoming adversity, and his surroundings in South Brooklyn.