Livewire: Motivation For The Streets Review
While there’s much omnipresence in the Twin Cities Hip-Hop scene of street rap, we run into a lot of circumstances where a lot of it has been done really half-assed, or more treated as a get rich/radio airplay scheme, which doesn’t give it a whole lot of credibility. Despite this trend, Livewire has already been familiarized with growing up in that environment, and after being known for his work with the local group Synoptic Pressure, and well after his debut album “Unexpected Gifts of Styles,” he finally returns with his newest release, an EP called “Motivation For The Streets”. So, how does it hold up?
First let’s talk about the good news: Livewire is still at his core a hungry MC and its well reflected in “Sell No Lies,” which is the first song and also one of the EP’s highlights. Livewire’s vocals being given the bullhorn effect, he delivers a rather extensive verse which is almost like a hustler’s soundtrack, similar to the beginning salvo of Young Jeezy’s “TM102: The Inspiration,” whereas elsewhere on the disc, you have other songs as “Automatic,” and the pulsating 808s that pound on “Point ‘Em Out” that has quite an energetic chorus. Elsewhere you also have “Hit ‘Em” which sounds almost parallel to what 50 Cent pulled on his latest mixtape, and the menacing synths on “Who’s Askin'”. All the while, Livewire hasn’t lost his penchant to deliver a hustler’s mentality throughout the 22 minutes of this EP.
Production wise, having Chancellor The Great behind the boards for the entirety of the EP also helps deliver a sound akin to most of the trap radio hits today that you’d hear from T.I., 50 Cent, or even to a lesser extent, Rick Ross. Hi-Hats stutter and sound crisp throughout, and the menacing violins and trumpet sounds that Chancellor has in his arsenal help Livewire in getting his message across in a powerful and direct manner.
However one issue to take to heart with this disc is that the radio sound could be a double edged sword, especially when making something such as hustler/trap rap as its called nowadays, and if anything we don’t really get to peer more into Livewire as a person, which in some ways makes it hard to connect with his tales. Additionally, some descriptiveness is always key to help really separate one from the pack in various ways, but again, “Motivation For The Streets” should be taken just as a warm-up before Livewire’s game time takes place. In that case its enough to whet one’s appetite until its showtime.
-Ali Elabbady (Background Noise Crew, Egypto Knuckles)
debt to income ratio calculator
facebook phone number
amazon kindle support
organizing for america
bp stock price
Writer / co-founder
