The Earn

YU
The Earn

Part of Washington D.C.'s Diamond District crew (along with Oddissee and XO) and affiliated with both MelloMusicGroup and Fat Beats, yU is probably best known for his critically acclaimed 2010 solo shot, Before Taxes. Sporting a swift flow loaded with smart, personal lyricism and smile-inducing references, he's clearly a star on the rise. For The Earn, he enlists a burly lineup of sample-savvy producers (Kev Brown, DJ Roddy Rod, Slimkat 78, and others, including himself) to provide moody but funk-laden backdrops to his vivid verses. Overflowing with righteously smooth and jazz-drenched loops, snappy and dusty breaks, rugged bass lines, and a gang of strong features (King Tut, Duff, Imani Bilal, and Nicholas Ryan Gant), this will appeal to heads unimpressed with shallow street rhymes and generic post-crunk club beats. All 17 tracks here are quality, although "Time Machine/I Remember When," "I Believe," "Money (The Ahh Yeah)," and "Blind" are especially nice.

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