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▼ Music Coming Up
Three local rappers prove South Florida is experiencing a hip-hop renaissance.
BY DOUGLAS MARKOWITZ
’all know we’re in a golden age for rap in South Florida, right? With acts like Denzel Curry and Kodak Black gaining national acclaim and a smattering of
rookie artists on the come-up, it’s never been a better time to rep the 305 and the 954 when it comes to hip-hop. Here, we take a look at a trio of recent releases from major players in the local rap scene: a new tape from a veteran street rapper, a controversial release from one of the most infamous rising stars in rap, and a calling-card project from a forceful new talent.
Kodak Black: Project Baby 2. Following a splashy major-label album, Project Baby 2 is Kodak Black’s first mixtape since his release from jail in June. Rather than repro- duce the messy spectacle of his “First Show Out” at Watsco Center, the Pompano-born rapper has instead delivered a solid collec- tion of street-rap musings over excellent production from the likes of SkipOnDa- Beat, London on da Track, and others.
Beginning with the triumphant, six-minute “Versatile,” Project Baby 2 consists of 19 tracks wherein the rapper reasserts his identity as a native son of Broward — on “Misunder- stood,” he raps, “Tell the blog ‘correct that shit’ ‘cause I ain’t from Miami” — and a force to be reckoned with in national hip-hop. Features from XXXTentacion and Offset signal the rapper’s hometown pride and major com- mercial intentions, and overall his lyrics are consistently bold, interesting, and moving. Rap tapes are rarely without filler, but this is the rare project where every song goes hard and the listener’s attention is held all the way through. It’s possibly the best South Florida music release of the year, hip-hop or otherwise.
XXXTentacion: 17. Just a few months ago, XXXTentacion killed any goodwill he might have had following his XXL Freshman List
RecentAcquisitions
Meet the new members of Foster the People.
FBY JESSE SCOTT oster the People is fostering more people.
Earlier this year, the L.A.-bred indie- pop outfit added multi-instrumentalists
Sean Cimino and Isom Innis to its lineup, bringing the People total to four members.
But for fans of the group — and the group itself — this change isn’t a big to-do.
Cimino and Innis have been touring members since 2010, coming aboard af- ter lead vocalist Mark Foster and drummer Mark Pontius formed the band in 2009.
appointment by delivering an embarrass- ing, melodramatic verse for the magazine’s cypher. “Fear will be plentiful, death will be bountiful” — those words were spread all over the internet as memes, mocking the rapper’s overwrought, demonic persona.
The edge does not dull on 17, the Lauder- hill talent’s latest release. Beginning with an introductory “Explanation,” telling us
Kodak Black delivers 19 tracks on his latest mixtape.
Courtesy of Atlantic Records
and a cosign from Kendrick Lamar. It’s the kind of album that won’t see critical praise but will certainly make an impression on the artist’s young fans, for better or worse.
Ski Mask the Slump God: YouWillRegret. The biggest surprise of XXXTentacion’s plac- ing on this year’s XXL Freshman List was that he wasn’t joined by fellow Lauderhill native Ski Mask the Slump God, who, by X’s own admission, is a far more talented rapper and whose lightning-fast flow has brought comparisons to Busta Rhymes and Twista. That flow is out in full force on his latest, YouWillRegret, which places raps about
sex and drugs over horror-inspired beats. For any other rapper on the come-up,
a project like this would be a major show- case, but for someone already acquainted with Ski Mask, it’s a bit middling. There’s nothing so brash as his best track, “Take a Step Back,” nor is there anything as fun and creative as his most recent single, “Catch Me Outside.” He also has a problem with mumbling — rapping quickly yet garbling his words to the point of incoherence.
Let’s hope this is just a warmup and he’s saving his “energy” for a better release.
Douglas.Markowitz@MiamiNewTimes.com
Pontius is a native of Orlando, and for him, like many of you reading this, the days surrounding Hurricane Irma’s landfall in Florida were nerve- wracking. Pontius’ mom still lives in Orlando, and she decided to ride out Irmageddon at home. “She’s a tough cookie and wasn’t having any of that evacuation stuff,” he notes. “But she’s fine.”
Pontius and his crew apparently have that same hearty spirit. Though other bands have canceled upcoming South Florida shows, Foster the People has no plans to bail.
Music@MiamiNewTimes.com
Foster the People
8 p.m. Wednesday, September 27, at the Fillmore Miami Beach, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; 305-673-7300; fillmoremb.com. Tickets cost $29.50.
PROJECT BABY 2 COULD BE SOUTH FLORIDA’S BEST MUSIC RELEASE OF THE YEAR.
that we are “liter- ally entering” his mind, he takes us through a series of morose beats and sad acoustic ballads that take equal influence from Elliott Smith, Kurt Cobain, and the Notorious B.I.G.’s “Suicidal Thoughts.”
THU. sepTember 21
Within the album is an onslaught of confes- sional lyrics concerning depression, suicide, and the artist’s troubles with love and law.
It’s difficult to discuss 17 without mention- ing the controversy surrounding the artist’s sexual battery charges, especially when many of the lyrics deny them and even place the blame on the accuser. Yet its success is hard to ignore, with first-week sales of 65,000 units
“These guys [Cimino and Innis] have al- ways been a very integral part of our group,” Pontius says. “Really it’s just a technicality.”
Where the spectacle might lack in adding two new permanent folks to the party, Foster the People is sure to make up for it at the end of the month. The band is slated to hit the Fillmore September 27 on the heels of its latest record, Sacred Hearts Club. The LP dropped July 21.
The new album is as catchy, smile-inducing, and groove-worthy as prior Foster the People goodness, psychedelically complementing a catalogue that already includes “Pumped Up Kicks,” “Houdini,” and “Sacred Hearts.”
“[Before this tour], we had some time off the road for a lot of reflection,” Pontius says. “It feels good to be out on the road again... and it’ll be good for me to be down in Florida.”
ALberT CAsTIGLIA THe FAbULoUs FLeeTwoods
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bIsCUIT JAm WITH THe FUNKY bIsCUIT ALL sTArs FEATURING mArK TeLesCA
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eLIoT LewIs oF HALL & oATes ANd LIve From dArYL’s HoUse WITH SpEcIAl GUEST brIAN dUNNe
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CrAzY FINGers
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HAppY HOUR WITH TWOcAN BlUE
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sAT. sepTember 30
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