Earl Sweatshirt’s newly formed empire consists of himself, MIKE, and the prolific, blissful Medhane. In 2017, the New York rapper first made ground with a collaborative album with rising producer, Slauson Malone, and has now been slowly building a repertoire for his art to last ever since. “Affirmation #2”, off of his debut album Own Pace, which came out earlier this November, defines Medhane’s rhythmic, ambidextrous production and rapping to portray an abstract version of the evolving hip-hop scene.
Medhane’s ability to carry a song from beginning to end is consistent; the production is smooth, the lyricism is rich, and the vocals are distant but lively. Although every song on Own Pace is a declaration of what Medhane can do with his rapping, the most “affirmation” for himself comes off of, coincidentally, this track. The young rapper derives his unique look on the rap scene with touches of nostalgic and oneiric values. The track’s clamant piano keys complement his free-flowing, vastly changing rapping styles he represents wonderfully. The usage of no chorus is the way Medhane likes to rap: he has no need for a hook because he keeps you involved the entire time. He is outlying his self fulfilling prophesy to be successful and accomplished with accompanied lyrics of ease. “Drop the window let the wind hit my face/ Thinking about the days I made my own way” he raps.
At the end of the day, Medhane knows what Medhane can do: rap with luxurious sentiment for the past and create a pensive rhythm.
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