Hip-hop is in a crosshair’s point in 2024. With the advent of the feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake still being felt along every aspect of the music industry, one of the factors that made it such a big deal in the first place was because of Kendrick’s ethos; the idea of whether hip-hop was going to stay in its current commercial-core phase that is best represented by Drake (for better or for worse, depending on who you ask) or if we are to drag hip-hop back to a semblance of its former glory. To quote the best diss track in the beef: “it’s not just me / I’m what the culture feeling.”
Bringing back the ethos of good bars and great bravado to match that is imperative for the culture, and for a good case of that, I would like to introduce you to one Raw Soul, a rapper grinding away in the underground hip-hop scene whilst at the same time working as a lawyer. I’ll give some kudos to that.
What I like most from Raw Soul however, especially on his mixtape Journey / Destination comes from his influences, which pay a clear homage to the early greats as he is a clear connoisseur of the classics such as Nas and the Wu-tang Clan, with his vocal presence feeling like it was cut in the same cloth of one Ghostface Killah in the period afterwards Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).
On this project composed of ten tracks recorded over the span of a third to nearly half a year, Raw Soul highlights their journey in classic boombap and early gangsta hip-hop production as he flexes wordplay like one would in the era of freestylers and open mic performances. Opening track Terra manages to kick the project on the best note and highlighting Raw Soul’s influence and impeccable pen game with bars like “I done broken my mind / I done torn my insides / Flesh and spirit designed / Hand craft by the divine” and “Hold the mic in the hand / I got more to demand / Timing tight in the plan / Rhyming like I’m entranced / Writing like it’s enhanced” showing his strife all throughout his life and the hunger he has to express himself in hip-hop that is as palpable as it is admirable.
Tracks like How’s That Sound and Monk manages to convey a late-2000s hip-hop feel to them that I was able to appreciate for what they were, though I should mention the former track sounds eerily to close to Headshots (4r Da Locals) by Isaiah Rashad in a way that while I do vibe heavily with, is something that I should address in case of intent or homage. Another highlight, 2012, stands out more due to the production being the most interesting with its well-groomed rhythms baked into the beat.
There’s also the track A While, which feels like a lost classic all in its own and containing such gems as “I’m just tryna find a way / A way to escape / Is it a little way too late / Don’t I got enough on my plate / Why you looking in distaste” and “I’m tasteful / my plate full / I’m hunting for a hundred damn thousand man I’m wasteful” as well as “I’m feeling like the meaning behind my dreaming got me in the deep end / But I’m still afloat I cope with hope got the boat I’m soaked / But all’s good i just don’t wanna boast” on the first verse alone.
Admittedly, this mixtape feels like a journal, encompassing Raw Soul’s trials and tribulations. While that is admirable as a snapshot of his life, replayability is a bit of a factor as the hooks aren’t exactly here as of yet and while the multiple producers in all the tracks show his skills rapping on any and all beats, the flow of the project is affected by the lack of consistency. Nevertheless, if you’re just here for the classic bars and the bravado of a hip-hop artist making his mark on music, Journey / Destination is a good place to start.
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About the Author
A tenured media critic known working as a ghost writer, freelance critic for publications in the US and former lead writer of Atop The Treehouse. Reviews music, film and TV shows for media aggregators.
