If this stops being fun, we’re fucked. After half a lifetime spent in music, it is still a joy to discover something new, fresh & dope. Case in point: Minneapolis polymath JuneThaKid, a rapper slash producer slash engineer who is absolutely stupid talented.
For a lot of rappers, even some of the very best, you can hear one song and get a solid sense of their music. 2 Chainz is always going to sound like that. Black Thought is always going to go off. There are no political spoken word joints waiting to surprise you in the Action Bronson catalog.
JuneThaKid is cut from the same cloth as Future, Atlanta’s very own Andy Warhol. You can’t predict his next move. His range, both vocally and stylistically, is immense. Unlike Future, his pen game is sly, smart and intricate. Best of all, the kid has charisma & genuinely funny jokes to spare. This is the whole package, as we say in the flesh trades.
“FORBES” is a promo single for SONGS TO LIVE BY, his recent collab project with fellow Hennepin County resident Ace P. The video is simple but strong, the photography and editing both on point. You can’t go wrong rapping in front of a gas station, either.
Props to Knucky to for delivering the goods on his feature verse. When you’re young and hungry, the goal is to out-perform everyone else on the track. As you age gracefully, you’ll come to see that the higher mastery is blending in with the track completely to make it a better song. Knucky matches the flow pattern but immediately puts his own spin on it, and when it’s time to moonwalk offstage, he sets up the hook on his way out. This is a ronin at work.
Props are also due to producer Ace P, who has been on a remarkable run out in the Midwest hinterlands. Everything I’ve heard from him is cold, especially his recent project Things I Can’t Speak About.
All in all, this is that electric jolt I do this for. I expect great things from Basement Gang in 2025. Four Dickies.
