Album of the Day: Kimba - Digital Underground

A relatively short EP that, like most other music I get, I just happened to stumble across one day while looking for other stuff. I like that a lot of newer rap lately, especially Eps and mixtapes, has been deviating from the usual money-women-murder tropes without overtly pandering to the “underground” crowd with needlessly complex beats and purposefully cryptic lyrics. That is evidenced here, as everything he rhymes about seems genuine, with positive, feel-good lyrics (“We shoot for the stars and though we may miss/we leave an imprint that's sketched with intent”; the majority stay positive about women, no less, a rarity) R & B hooks and beats that make me think of sitting outside on a summer day. This reminds me a lot of some of the tracks on the Elevated Soul LP by Magnificent Ruffians, that similar laid-back style that still manages to be fraught with intention and passion. The strongest track here, in my opinion, is 'Dancing Tables,' which pushes the beat back a bit and lets the rhymes take center stage, with a flow that is completely adverse to the rest of the EP. The final track, 'The Secret Recipe' features him rapping over a series of rapid-fire beats, ranging from old-school early 90s stuff to newer Madlib and Atmosphere beats. This one just clicks, and I'll be getting more of his music in the future.